Family looking for a walkable town/city - unfamiliar w/PA

[AlexisT]

One thing to keep in mind - Camp Hill borough is much smaller than the postal area. That's one of the reasons they don't have buses--the district is tiny! (2.2 square miles) It's impossible to live there and be far enough to require busing.

In the Philly area, the postal areas correspond a little better to particular suburbs, but the postal zones in central PA are very large. Always check what borough or township a house is located in, and never trust the address. Even city lines aren't respected--Susquehanna Twp is "Harrisburg" to the USPS.

[silverspringer]

A couple of ideas:

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has a very cute downtown, and is one of the few PA towns I can think of where you might be able to walk to nice shops and restaurants, have coffee, browse a bookstore, and have urban amenities. It's about an hour from Philadelphia and two from NY. The schools are probably not that good, though (I don't know much about them).

Philadelphia has suburbs which are somewhat quaint and walkable. Media probably fits the bill best. Swarthmore is cute but too small to really have the kind of useful walkability you're seeking. You can walk around some but you will have to fill most of your needs elsewhere. In truth most of the Philly burbs, even the more walkable ones, are still car-reliant.

I love Haddonfield, NJ, and it fits your criteria better than any of the PA towns I can think of. It has a big, attractive, historic downtown with lots of stuff. You really could walk to school, coffee, library, shopping, etc., and there are other people out walking too. It's not in PA but it's very close to Philadelphia.

[pittsburgh-guy]

Originally Posted by Hopes

They're looking to buy a 300k house.

Ahh, yes. Thanks for pointing that out. A 300k budget could get you much nicer than West View. I guess the area is a bit run down, but as a Pitt student living in Oakland most of the year, I tend not to notice those kinds of things

Also, i know next to nothing about shopping, so go ahead and take Hope's advice on that one, too!

Originally Posted by AlexisT

Even city lines aren't respected--Susquehanna Twp is "Harrisburg" to the USPS.

Yeah. My postal address is Pittsburgh, even though I live more than 25 minutes outside the city limits!

[jnatter]

Take a look at Ardmore, Jenkintown and Abington.
All really nice suburbs of Philadelphia.

[StefferLang]

Thanks to everyone for the great information! My family and I will be heading down to PA to a few of the towns to check them out.

[DailyJournalist]

West Chester

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by StefferLang

Thanks to everyone for the great information! My family and I will be heading down to PA to a few of the towns to check them out.

Which towns did you pick to visit first?

[Kate88]

I have to second Hopes suggestion for Mt. Lebanon. You'll easily be able to find a house within your price range, and it is a safe, diverse, walkable community with great schools. It is also along Pittsburgh's light rail line into downtown. It's probably about 30 minutes on the train, about 20 minutes driving.

[ChelseaDaley101]

Greencastle is perfect ! They have FANTASTIC SCHOOLS more than 75% of the kids that grad. from there are off to college with degrees !
Greencastles a low crime rate one of the lowest, its a very down to earth place.. I have a appartment in greencastle and in shippensburg,PA ... my appt. rent down theres 280$ YOU CANT BEAT THAT ! & were getting ready to drop both appts. and buy a house most r under 200,000$ there not fixer upers either ...