Moving to Main Line Area. Wayne or Malvern?

[pman]

It may help to put some dollar value on the commute. for example, if you opt for the train from malvern, the added cross county pass. or figure some cost of driving the extra 10 miles each way in terms of wear and tear and gas for a year. then try to value the tme saved (what's the commuter consensus? another 20 min in drive/train time to villanova? the extra cost for a different zone pass for your wife (she'll probably catch the 7:19 Great Valley Flyer which gets to 30th st with no stops after Paoli). On the plus side for Malvern, 30 bypasses it's main drag (King St)so it's quieter in a good way as well.

[Goldblum57]

Malvern is a great area; I prefer it to Wayne. Malvern and Villanova are not that far apart distance-wise, but Route 30 is a mess at rush hour no matter where you are. If you take the train, the time issue is negligible. Almost all the R5 stops go through Malvern (whereas farther west the frequency of stops decreases). If you like the house better in Malvern and its less expensive, I would say go for it! Also, Great Valley School District is one of the best school districts in the area. (T/E is great as well.)

[bicoastal10]

Neither. Look for something in Bryn Mawr or Gladwyne instead.

[JasmineFlower]

Originally Posted by JayKnight

While my heart is for the more charming and beautiful Malvern house, my mind is still debating whether I will be willing to have a longer daily commute to Villanova. Having been spoiled for many years by living in a small college town in Midwest with a 5-min daily commute, a 30 min daily commute seems to be very long.

Well, a decision will be made eventually.

Okay, reading this, I have to suggest Wayne even more than I was initially going to. I'm not sure what town you are coming from, but having attended grad school in a small Midwest town where it took me 5 minutes to get to school and 15 minutes to get absolutely anywhere at the most, you really want to lean towards Wayne. Maybe you do it different than professors and grad students where I went, but having the ability to get to school quickly, keeping an atypical schedule at times, being able to run home between classes or go there in the evening for a meeting or event, so much better to be close. This is 100% true for grad students, but our professors were in the same boat as us, since we were a fairly close knit college within the university. Professors who sponsored groups, who came to our lectures, our events, etc. etc. It was so much better to be close and not have to worry as much about the commute. If this is how you feel, then I would definitely suggest going with the house in Wayne.

[PeeAye Native]

Originally Posted by bicoastal10

Neither. Look for something in Bryn Mawr or Gladwyne instead.

New faculty member at Villanova buys multi-million dollar mansion in Gladwyne. Did university faculty salaries double, triple or quadruple and it somehow didn't make the headlines?

[Avalon08]

I have to agree with Jasmine. Depending on where you are in Malvern and what time you're driving, I'm not even sure you can count on that 30-min. commute time (if you're driving). Also, only a 20-yr. difference in the age of the homes? I thought you were comparing say, a newer home to something from 1920. So, are we talking about 2000 v. 1980? Or 1980 v. 1960? 1960 v. 1940? It really doesn't seem to be a huge difference...once you're past 10 years, everything's old. Just get a home inspection and find out the age and maintenance history of the home's major systems. A $30K difference is not such a huge amount either, especially with today's negotiating power.

I'm not only thinking of your daily commute, but the proximity to the city for weekend jaunts. I assume you guys will want to be exploring your new city. I just find the Wayne area much more convenient (from a driving standpoint)....that said, I don't have any experience with the train to/from Malvern. Perhaps that removes all the hassle of Rt. 30.

[PhillyViaBoston]

I vote Wayne. But I always choose quality of life over additional square footage, even at a cost.

Good luck with your move!

[Avalon08]

Jay, in case you're still checking this thread, I did a little clockwork tonight while on Rt. 30:

6:08 PM: I entered Rt. 30 from 476 (the Blue Route). For reference purposes, this is one mile west of Villanova U.

6:13 PM: I got to the main intersection in Wayne. FIVE minutes!

6:22 PM: Got to the main intersection in Berwyn. So it took me 14 mins. to get there, and probably would've taken another 15 mins. at least, to get to Malvern.

Traffic was fairly light at this time, despite the fact it wasn't much past rush hour. In heavy traffic, I think it could take more than a half-hour to get to Malvern.

I'm just sayin'....Wayne would be soooo convenient for you. Rt. 30 is a lot of traffic and a lot of lights and a lot of people making left turns.

[PeeAye Native]

Originally Posted by Avalon08

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Traffic was fairly light at this time, despite the fact it wasn't much past rush hour. In heavy traffic, I think it could take more than a half-hour to get to Malvern.

My observation is traffic on Rt 30 at commute time has been unusually light in the past week or two or three. The height of summer, lots of people on vacation or away seems to be a factor. Normally full parking lots in downtown Wayne on a Friday evening are more evidence of this.

[Avalon08]

Yes, I think that's it -- vacation time. I've been able to breeze from Berwyn to Bridgeport on 202 around 6 PM as well. Definitely not as much traffic as usual.