Looking to buy in Delaware County -- could use advice! (Philadelphia: real estate, condo)

[Marged]

When are you moving? In the next six months.
Where are you coming from? West Chester
Why are you moving? Itching for more space, easier commutes, to be closer to Philly.
Where will you be working? I work in Wilmington, husband works in KOP.
Have you been here yet? Yes.

Will you buy or rent? Buy.
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? Hoping for a twin or a detatched house. Budget maxes out around 230 and we hope to keep taxes under 5K.

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, hope to start a family in the next 2-3 years.
Do you prefer public or private schools? Public
Do you have pets? Cat
Do you want or need a yard? Want
Are you keeping a car? Keeping two
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Happy with either

What do you want to be closest to?
Work 2
Shopping 4
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.) 3
Nightlife 5
Train or subway stations 1

Hi everyone,

We're just starting the real estate hunt for our first home. We have stable, decent paying jobs and want to commit to the region for at least a decade. I've lived in Philadelphia and West Chester and have enjoyed West Chester, but the commute via 202 to Wilmington has been getting tiresome and I would like to switch to 95. I'd also like to be closer to Philly to give me some more job flexibility. My husband loves his job in KOP but I think it's never bad to have more options.

Anyway, I am just getting used to researching neighborhoods and thinking about school districts. We are looking generally based on school districts, and I'm checking out Springfield, Wallingford Swarthmore, Marple Newtown, Rose Tree Media (though I suspect we're priced out of that region). I'm curious what folks think of Upper Darby and Penn Delco.

Any words of encouragement would be appreciated--I am getting depressed every time I think about property taxes!

[sullivjo]

Public transit options for marple-newtown are minimal. All the areas you mentioned are really great towns, but I think I would choose Springfield for its proximity to the city and great school system. Drexel Hill has some nice areas and definitely affordable. Upper Darby's school system has certain elementary schools that fair well.

[cpomp]

I would avoid upper darby, as for Penn Delco, Aston and Brookhaven are good towns to settle in, brookhaven does have a lot of smaller cape cods in the 200-250k range if you are any bit interested in a single. Both towns have many townhouse developments, such as concord hill, and trotters run in aston, and hilltop in brookhaven. Aston is more expensive than brookhaven, both are in Penn Delco which is a stable school district. Rose Tree Media is overall much more expensive, but there are a lot of streets just outside of downtown media with affordable twins and townhomes along manchester ave, and behind state street, Media as well as aston and brookhaven are close to supermarkers, drug stores, malls, etc. Wallingford Swarthmore, Im not as familiar with exact streets, but overall they are pricy towns, there is a section of wallingford around Pennsylvania Ave where the homes are more affordable. Marple Newtown is also expensive and more of a drive to the nearest train station and farther from 95.

[SXMGirl]

We rented a home in Rutledge for a year and loved it. Unfortunately, DH wanted to move to Delaware for big houses/low taxes. The homes are older, but the neighborhood is lovely. Swarthmore schools, walking distance to train, close to I-95, many shopping opportunities. We used to walk or bike to shops and restaurants.