Possible Move to Philly Suburbs (Lansdale, Washington: condo, how much, house)

[cbbasset]

My family will possibly be moving to Philly from Montclair, NJ and I've been researching towns in the PA suburbs that have a similar vibe to Montclair. I've zeroed in on Ambler & Blue Bell, but thought I might be missing out on some great areas. We prefer to be in the PA side since we're tired of paying crazy NJ-taxes. Schools are very important, but I prefer a school district smaller than North Penn with a decent Asian population since my children are Asian. Also, a walkable downtown would be great.

This forum has been incredibly helpful so far! I've answered the suggested questions below in caps:

When are you moving? 2011 or 2012
Where are you coming from? MONTCLAIR, NJ
Why are you moving? WORK/QUALITY OF LIFE
Where will you be working? CENTER CITY OR MONTGOMERY CTY AREA
Have you been here yet? ONLY BRIELFY

Will you buy or rent? BUY
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? $400-450,000

Are you married or single? Do you have children? MARRIED; 2 YOUNG CHILDREN
Do you prefer public or private schools? PUBLIC
Do you have pets? NO
Do you want or need a yard? YES
Are you keeping a car? YES
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? A WALKABLE DOWNTOWN AREA

What do you want to be closest to? WORK AND BASIC SERVICES
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? DIVERSITY AND PREFERABLY AN AREA WITH CLOSE TO OR ABOVE A 10% ASIAN POPULATION IN THE SCHOOLS

[kimrocktherealtor]

Ambler is great, so is Blue Bell. So if you're working in MontCo you are definitely looking in the right towns. Another option close to MontCo for work would be Doylestown, however it would not be convenient for the person working in Center City by any means. How about Newtown PA? It may work for both parties as well.

[BPP1999]

Blue Bell is not walkable. It's a very nice place, but it's pure suburbia (housing developments, strip malls, office parks). It's not congested, and in fact at night and during weekends it's rather quiet (because the office parks are empty).

Ambler is nice but it's going to be quieter than what you are used to in Montclair. Your children will not be the only Asians in the Wissahickon School District (in which Ambler is located). That's a very good district.

Nearby to Ambler is Fort Washington. Not really walkable, but close to Ambler, and the Upper Dublin School District is even better than Wissahickon, has a brand new high school, and has a larger Asian population than Wissahickon.

You might want to consider Conshohocken as well, which is in the Colonial School District.

There are plenty of great places in Montgomery County to raise kids, with good schools and Asian populations, but it will be a little harder to find lots of communities that are walkable. There are actually a fair amount of small towns in this region that pre-date the suburbs (some are 200 years old or more) but they don't often have the amenities that you might be looking for.

Actually, Narberth comes to mind as well, in the Lower Merion SD. Though it's in a fairly Jewish area, I don't know about the Asian population. It's closer to the city than the other places I mentioned.

[newmarlig]

You should also check out Jenkintown.

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[maestro]

I moved to the Ambler area from outside of PA a few years ago, and I've been very happy. Ambler is a great little downtown, though they need to get better parking options (they are working on this apparently).

Schools are highly rated, and all the major highways are nearby. Center City is a quick and easy 35-minute train ride away.

If you aim for the outlining townships (Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd) you can be very close to downtown Ambler but you might be able to get a bigger house/bigger yard.

[kidphilly]

You also may want to check some towns on the mainline; a little more walkable

On Blue Bell, this area has had a pretty large influx of asians, particularly Koreans which i believe would be the vast majority of the Asain population in the area, but it has become a very visible aspect of this area. I do agree on the earlier comments about the walkable downtown, Blue Bell is not that, to me areas similar to Montclair would be more the main line, Doylestown, Jenkintown, or even Haddonfield or Moorestown in NJ - I believe the South Jersey taxes are less than North Jersey for what that is worth

as an aside most of the areas mentioned will have very public schools that have been mentioned, comparable with what you are used to in that part of Jersey. I agree North Penn is large, think the largest HS in PA currently

[kidphilly]

Originally Posted by maestro

I moved to the Ambler area from outside of PA a few years ago, and I've been very happy. Ambler is a great little downtown, though they need to get better parking options (they are working on this apparently).

Schools are highly rated, and all the major highways are nearby. Center City is a quick and easy 35-minute train ride away.

If you aim for the outlining townships (Whitpain, Lower Gwynedd) you can be very close to downtown Ambler but you might be able to get a bigger house/bigger yard.

Whitpain (or Lafyette hill) is interesting to me also because it is just outside the city Limit (lessor wage tax) offers good access to trains and right on top Chestnut Hill, a fantastic and walkble downtown


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAiLe...eature=related

[Hillrunner]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

Whitpain (or Lafyette hill) is interesting to me also because it is just outside the city Limit (lessor wage tax) offers good access to trains and right on top Chestnut Hill, a fantastic and walkble downtown


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAiLe...eature=related

Whitpain is no where near Lafayette Hills or Chestnut Hill. Whitpain is out by Lansdale and West Point PA.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by Hillrunner

Whitpain is no where near Lafayette Hills or Chestnut Hill. Whitpain is out by Lansdale and West Point PA.

Perhaps kidphilly mis-spoke and meant Whitemarsh rather than Whitpain. And, just to clarify things for the OP, it's Lafayette Hill.

[maestro]

plus Whitpain is not that far from Lafayette Hill or Chestnut Hill. It's at least in the same ballpark.

Anyway -- Whitpain, Whitemarsh, Lafayette Hill, Upper Dublin -- all great choices!