Moving near Reading with wife and 6 year old son (Wyomissing: crime, live in)

[NYMD67]

Just spent a beautiful afternoon at the Heritage Center in Reading. A wonderful festival about PA Dutch & German Heritages.
I think that Berks County has a bad rep. from all those that have never really spent a great deal of time here.
Again, we moved here from MD and I was quite hesitant when my husband told me that he had this job offer... I am slowly seeing the nice area that it is.
Reading is like any other city of it's size with great suburbs and a great family lifestyle!

[PeeAye Native]

Originally Posted by TehStone

I disagree with many of the above posters. I wouldn't live within 30min of reading if it were free, let alone pay. First and foremost, the pollution is ungodly! I didn't think companies were still allowed to pollute the air like I've seen in Reading: worse than Philly, worse than Pittsburgh, worse than LA! Second of all the place looks like crap, to put it nicely. If you're an illegal mexican immigrant the downtown should suit you nicely. Other than this site I haven't heard anyone ever say anything good about reading schools... yet they don't define "good." I define a good district as 85% or greater to higher education, 2% or less dropout rate... most districts in Chester county and Montgomery county (40-60 min commute) will meet my definition of good (Downingtown area SD, WCASD to name a few). BUT you will pay if you want to live in one of these nicer areas. Reading area housing prices are much lower than the other areas I'm talking about. 3br row house with a tiny yard in West Chester is going for $250k +, 4br colonial on .75acre going for about $450k +. Suburban Pottstown is probably a good option to consider as prices are low and I've heard good things about their schools (owen j roberts SD) - you could have a 20 min commute.

In my opinion, the quality of your son's education, not to mention lung capacity, is dependent on a long commute.

I'm unfamiliar with the schools, but the rest of this post/opinion, in my opinion, is pretty far off the mark. I do agree downtown Reading is not the most upscale, attractive downtown you'll ever see. But so what unless you're living in the downtown.

For anyone unfamiliar with the area doubting this, take a drive on Museum Road, and then drive through West Reading. Decide for yourself which opinion is accurate.

[Sagran]

Originally Posted by Raena77

Look up the Berks area near Pennstate west campus I heard nice area there. Also Boyertown or Pottstown and Allentown.

That would be either Wyomissing or Wilson school districts, depending on what you mean by "near". Wilson, most likely.

[Sagran]

You would be working in the Muhlenberg School district. The office is right next to the bypass so you would have an easy commute from just about any of the outlying suburbs.

Housing is very cheap in Reading proper but most is rowhomes. There are nice single or semi-detached homes available, particularly in the NE section of the city. They are considerable cheaper than equivalent houses in the suburbs but the taxes are high. Taxes are set based on the very cheap homes that make up most of the city so the bite on the more expensive homes is more than you would pay in the suburbs. Housing in the suburbs is cheaper than equivalent homes in other counties. If you are going to be here for only a year, consider renting a house in the NE section of the city near Albright. The elementary school is good, as someone else said, and the rents may be lower than in the suburbs. If you end up staying longer and want to buy a house, you will have time to learn the area and make an informed decision on where you would like to live.

[MarleyRocks]

Originally Posted by TehStone

I disagree with many of the above posters. I wouldn't live within 30min of reading if it were free, let alone pay. First and foremost, the pollution is ungodly! I didn't think companies were still allowed to pollute the air like I've seen in Reading: worse than Philly, worse than Pittsburgh, worse than LA! Second of all the place looks like crap, to put it nicely. If you're an illegal mexican immigrant the downtown should suit you nicely. Other than this site I haven't heard anyone ever say anything good about reading schools... yet they don't define "good." I define a good district as 85% or greater to higher education, 2% or less dropout rate... most districts in Chester county and Montgomery county (40-60 min commute) will meet my definition of good (Downingtown area SD, WCASD to name a few). BUT you will pay if you want to live in one of these nicer areas. Reading area housing prices are much lower than the other areas I'm talking about. 3br row house with a tiny yard in West Chester is going for $250k +, 4br colonial on .75acre going for about $450k +. Suburban Pottstown is probably a good option to consider as prices are low and I've heard good things about their schools (owen j roberts SD) - you could have a 20 min commute.

In my opinion, the quality of your son's education, not to mention lung capacity, is dependent on a long commute.

In my opinion after being in the area for nearly 20 years I would say nearly everything in this post regarding Reading and its surroundings can be disregarded completely. Although yes I agree that much of the actual city of reading is not the nicest area, and yes I have lived there so this is from personal experience, and if you have an option I wouldn't advice living there it also offers many nice things. As far as pollution and smog, you would have to litterally be insane to even try comparing it to LA. I actually have never even really noticed air pollution here at all.

Many people try to make it out like it's an absolute warzone in Reading however it's far from it. Although yes theres many areas you may not want to live in, or even really go into at night, it's not like you have to fear for your life going into the city and as I said it actually offers many nice things. To start it has many places to eat such as higher class resturants like Judy's on Cherry, various pubs, as well as many bodegas and such with good Mexican food depending on your tastes. Also there are some shops and things to do along Penn Street as well as in various parks in the city. On top of that there are sections of the city that have very nice architecture and many old historic buildings. In addition although the view from the pagoda (Skyline Drive) is nothing spectacular it is a nice thing to see. In short really if your in the area and don't take trips into the city atleast occasionally you will be misssing a lot.

As for where to actually live I would say if you plan on actually residing in Reading stay in the NE section. However in my opinion you'd probably have many better options in the surrounding of the city. From personal knowledge I would definetly recommend the Sinking Spring/Spring Township area, West Lawn, Colony Park, and Drexelwood which are all in the Wilson School district which is a great school system. Also Wyommising although more expensive offers a very good education as well. Really many of the suburbs of Reading are very nice and offer good educational chances.

[Jillzilla]

We're going to be moving from Florida to Wyomissing, PA .. I was looking for the same things you are and found it in Wyomissing. It's a beautiful area and has great schools for your son!

[kone]

Wilson and Wyomisssing but you pay for what you get.

[kerensa]

For a little further out, try some suburban/small towns? Fleetwood, Kutztown have good schools and are a little cheaper than Wilson or Wyomissing but still very good and nice, safe fairly quiet towns (Kutztown does have a university, so it can be a little busier at night, but overall the outskirts of town are pretty quiet/ Amish-Mennonite country). Both are about 25 minutes from Reading.

[pisceanprophet]

www.wilsonsd.org
www.governormifflinsd.org
www.exeter.k12.pa.us
www.fleetwoodasd.k12.pa.us
www.wyoarea.org *

Are all good districts, however a HS Diploma from www.wilsonsd.org will give your children an advantage when its time to get into the best colleges due to its much wider array of activities such as a wonderful drama department, an excellent music program, and a top ranking sports division (esp football). Its academic track is rigorous and advanced beyond some other area schools. It also offers the lowest property tax rate in the area.

* http://www.wyoarea.org/ElementaryCenter is 1 of 2 options, the other being www.wyoarea.org/WestReading which has been declining steadily in safety over the years due to blurring border between Reading and West Reading. Having only one www.wyoarea.org/WyomissingArea creates definite tensions within the student body as would exist in any socially stratified population.

Do not send your kids to:

www.readingsd.org

Reading School District
800 Washington Street • Reading, Pennsylvania 19601
610-371-5612
Tip Line: 484-955-9343

http://wikitravel.org/en/Reading_%28Pennsylvania%29"Reading travel guide - Wikitravel

Reading's crime rate is much higher than the national average. In 2006, Reading's theft was 2827.2 per 100,000 people, compared to the U.S. average of 398.4 per 100,000 people. Reading has experienced gang-related crime in the last several years. Reading had more murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, burglaries, thefts, auto thefts, and arsons than the U.S. average.

www.muhlsdk12.org The region has very serious toxic waste issues.
http://content.usatoday.com/news/nat...k/school/76469
http://content.usatoday.com/news/nat...k/school/78043

[TehStone]

My original post (#6) was intended to steer the original poster from the city of Reading. I stand by my assesment of the air quality. I have a rather sensitive nose/lungs and am always surprised about the levels that air pollution in reading is allowed to still occur.

My comments were not intended to apply to all the suburbs of Reading and I apologize if they were misinterpreted. In fact I recommended one suburban Reading school district. Since my experience with suburban Reading is more limited, I also recommended other more distant suburbs with proven school districts and a 30+ year history of nice neighborhoods.

Originally Posted by MarleyRocks

. As far as pollution and smog, you would have to litterally be insane to even try comparing it to LA. I actually have never even really noticed air pollution here at all.

If you would like to do a reading vs LA thread that could be arranged. But as far as air pollution goes, Reading is still pretty bad. I stand by my statements and back them up with facts. The reading area is still very industrial and they kindly generate a lot of power for the region, using high polluting coal power plants...

"Titus Station is located... two miles south of Reading...three coal-fired generating units" Reliant Energy - Electric Power Generation within the United States

...and less polluting natural gas power plants...

"545 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired combined-cycle energy center in Ontelaunee Township, Berks County, Pa" Which can power up to 500,000 homes.
IIR Industry Alert: Calpine Finishing 545MW Ontelaunee Energy Center in Southeast Pennsylvania. - Business Wire | Encyclopedia.com

However there are still other types of manufacturing facilities in the area that emit toxic gasses... (from a study of PA bureau of air quality study, it also shows a history of ozone problems)
"A second air toxics monitor was established in Reading in 2007. Special
purpose monitoring has continued... to determine levels of trichloroethylene
(TCE) in the ambient air. Initial monitoring showed elevated levels..."
PA DEP BAQ - Bureau of Air Quality Home Page

...and possible other carcinogens...
"Berks County commissioners want to study why there appears to be a high rate of cancer among young people in the Muhlenberg School District."
County proposes cancer cluster study: Commissioners direct the Environmental Advisory Council to determine how best to examine rates of the disease in Muhlenberg School District. | Article from Reading Eagle (Reading, PA) | HighBeam Research

...and the level of industrialization is certainly impacting air quality...
"The Reading area ranks 10th worst in the country among mid-sized metropolitan areas for soot in the air" Reading area ranks 10th for soot pollution in mid-size cities: Poor air quality is one of the biggest issues facing Berks County, the president of the county Environmental Advisory Council says. | Article from Reading Eagle (Reading, PA) | HighBeam R

Painting reading as a bad town surrounded by suburban paradise is not entirely accurate when you consider the level of industry in the area. However this is not all bad as it guarantees a certain level of employment for the area and many of them are good paying jobs. Would I bring my wife and 6 year old son to reading? No. Would I bring them to the suburbs? maybe. Like I said before, I wouldn't recommend being within 20 min of the place for any extended period of time but that's just me.