Phoenixville - What's It Like? (King of Prussia, Collegeville: real estate, houses, buy)

[rivergirl43]

What is this town/area like? I'm originally from Chagrin Falls, Ohio - does anyone know how it compares to that? Currently in Oakland, CA - wondering how it compares to that as well.

Interested in: housing costs, schools, access to NYC, greenery, the town itself, general population/demographics, etc.

Thank you!

[PAFlyfisherman]

Phoenixville in general is a pretty nice little town. Recently, that is within the past 3 years has done a lot to revitalize it's downtown area along main street. It's becoming a mini-Manayunk if you are familiar with that town in Philly. It's a mix of quaint little shops, restuarants, coffee houses and it still has the original theater from the 1958 horror film, "The Blob".

Housing costs at one time were pretty low, that is at least for this general area, but its seems since this downtown revitalization started I've seen the prices rise some, but that said, affordable housing can be found.

In general the town has greenery, but it's more on the nearby outer lying areas which would be just south (heading toward Great Valley) on Rte. 29 or if you head through town toward Kimberton which is just down the road.

There is plenty of shopping to, in town and just west out of town as little mini-strip malls have popped up. There is a Super Walmart, and some additional stores.

I live close to Phoenixville, and my parents live just over in Kimberton so I go through the town quite often.

I think coming from Oakland, Phoenixville will leave with a smaller/quainter town feeling and a bit slower life style.

If you are planning on working in the area, I'd advise avoiding the King of Prussia/Valley Forge area which is nearby if you don't like traffic. I drove Rte. 422 for 10 years and I can tell you it's about as bad as Philly and getting worse. I'd recommend going west, or north from Phoenixville.


One time for example, it took me 6 1/2 hours to get home, which at the time, was in Collegeville (only 20 miles from where I worked), on a day when we had a snow storm. It turned into a a storm that dropped about a foot of snow, but all the employers let employees out before the snow really started to pile up.

In general though it's a nice place to call home.

[pman]

Phoenixville isn't really comparable to Oakland, CA at all. It's a small town that went into decline when the Phoenix Steel plant closed but survived in fairly good shape. It's been on an upswing the past few years. It's major downside is transportation. It has no train service and 422 does back up quite a bit. Probably the best commute would be to Great Valley Corp. that said, it's got a lot going for it. it's close to valley forge park and the schuylkill river trail which is a bike path that runs through manayunk to center city philly.

[samsmith]

phoenixville is a very good place to live in and around. I suggest around, here is what you have going for you.

very close to king of prussia (shopping and dining) and valley forge (parks and trails)
close to business (pharma cos). will take you 40 min to center city, enjoy being in a suburb yet not way out (like downingtown or pottstown).
As King of Prussia and conshohoken become the new center of philadelphia greater area, phoenixville will be yesterdays steal and bargain prices. Its the most immediate suburb that has everything going for it.

[Kamojin32]

There are some nice places in Phoenixville, and you can buy a nice place for under $250,000. However, there are some parts you want to avoid. Don't buy a house too close to the water, or you may end up in the flood zone. Definitely find a real estate agent that knows the area before moving there. There are some really great resturaunts in the area that are affordable. There are really nice community activities that occur every year, like blobfest (in honor of the movie The Blob) and the dogwood festival (which is a great fair if you have kids). There is a lot of great history in this town. As far as demographics go, theres approx 15,000+ people, of which are about 87% white, 8% african-american, and 5% other races. It's a relatively young area, the median age is in the 30's. Though Phoenixville doens't have the best school system in the area, there are a lot worse. You can use greatschools.net to find out about schools all over. Just avoid springford school district, they don't have the best reputation.

[Unstable]

I have a bunch of family in Phoenixville - a brother with a house right an Mill Street and a brother-in-law who is a developer and owns a few buildings. It has always struck me as a lively, if family oriented and early to bed kind of town. The new(ish) Community Art Center is fantastic.