Is Newtown too small? (Philadelphia, Lancaster: rental, big house, school districts)

[christinejf]

Had decided on the Doylestown area, husband was in the US for three weeks and drove all over Bucks county, loved Doylestown as he felt there was a great atmosphere there. However we have found a few great rental houses around Newtown - he just passed through there on the way to Yardley and his memory is of a town that was too quiet and small for what we would like. We will be moving from Ireland for a year and I will be a full time mother which is a change as I run my own business here, and we feel that somewhere that has a bit going on would be better. Any thoughts of Newtown anyone? Thanks.

[christinejf]

PS I forgot to say that my husband will be working out of both Newtown Square (SAP) and Princeton so we need to be as easily accessible to both while finding a great place to live that has some character, mainly as I don't want to live a sterile commuter existance for the year we would like to get as much out of the experience as possible.

[newmarlig]

If I was going to live in another country for a year, I would want to do and see as much as I could. There is nothing wrong with Newtown, it is a lovely community, but I suggest you take advantage of everything the city has to offer and think about living in Queen Village which is very close (walkable) to center city Philly. It is close to I-95 so your husband would have easy access to Newtown and Princeton (As far as traffic, most people are driving into the city in the morning and out at night. He would be going in the opposite direction), or he could take a train to work.

Whatever you decide, good luck.

Queen Village Neighbors Association

ETA - are you talking about Newtown or Newtown Square? They are both totally different places. Newtown is fairly close to Princeton and is in Bucks County, PA. Newtown Square is in Delaware County and quite a distance from Princeton. If it is Newtown Square, than Queen Village would be a central location for each.

[christinejf]

Working in Newtown Square and Princeton, looking at living in Newtown...

[newmarlig]

Well, as I said, Newtown Square and Princeton are very far apart. Newtown is close to Princeton.

[christinejf]

Eh...I know, thanks

[jessnboys]

I haven't visited Newtown or Yardley yet but we are looking at relocating to Bucks County in a few years. I did visit Doylestown last month and absolutely loved it. It's got a great downtown that has an Irish/English feel to it, IMHO. I have heard that both Newtown and Yardley are smaller. I have read that Doylestown, Newtown, and Yardley are all in good school districts.

I do understand what newmarlig means when he encourages living near Center city to take advantage of the city's ammenities but since you have two elementary school age children, I would definitely take into the account the schools your kids would attend. Sounds to me like you're on the right path with looking at Bucks County. Sorry I couldn't help you more about Newtown. Not to confuse things even more, but did your husband check out New Hope too?

Good luck with it all!
Jess

[newmarlig]

About the schools. The grade school your children would be attending in Queen Village is the Meredith School which has a very good reputation.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by christinejf

Any thoughts of Newtown anyone? Thanks.

Newtown is a nice town but extremely small.

If you are commuting to both Princeton and Newtown Square- this is just my opinion- but there is more going on closer to Newtown Square and you may want to make homebase closer to Newtown Square and make the longer commute to Princeton.... Newtown and Bucks County are pretty isolated with huge swaths of undeveloped land- some people enjoy that but if you are only going to be here a year you may as well get to enjoy some of the livelierparts of the area.

I would leave open the option of living further west. Horsham in western Bucks County was just ranked as the 15th best small town in the usa by Money Magazine. Ambler is another nice little town. As you head closer to Newtown Square it becomes even more lively. Plymouth Meeting,Valley Forge,Conshohocken, King of Prussia have great shopping/restaurants etc.

One of the most exclusive/ritzy areas is known as The Mainline. String of towns that run along rail lines and route 30 heading west from Philadelphia to Lancaster.(Montgomery/Delaware/Chester Counties) Newtown Square is located in Delaware County: Keep in mind this is a much different feel than Doylestown which is a pretty isolated town. The area around the Mainline is like having 15 Doylestowns on top of each other, there are some good points to that and bad points-most notably traffic.



Ardmore
Narberth
Merion
Bryn Mawr
Haverford
Radnor
St Davids
Wayne
Paoli
Devon
Malvern

Havertown is right next to Newtown Square and is noted here because it has a pretty strong Irish presence.
Media is a great small town just south of Newtown Square

Good luck

[christinejf]

Rainrock your depth of detail is amazing as usual thankyou. The reason why we are thinking of staying in the middle is that my husband is an SAP consultant...his client will be in Princeton. Until we move and he starts we are unsure of what percentage of time will be spent in either location, so we could stay closer to Newtown Square but then what if he has to go to Princeton most of the time? Likewise if it is the opposite situation. So since has driven all over Bucks Co. he gravitates towards D'town over anywhere else, but we have found two really fantastic houses in Newtown....easier commute all round, closer to main routes, but it it snoozeville despite being so pretty...that therein lies the question! Much and all as I would love to locate in Philly itself it is not an option. Schools not too big an issue - may sound peculiar but the girls are still very little and one year is not a big deal, this is about an all-round experience for them. We live in the country in Ireland...I grew up in city centre and can see the advantages of both lifestyles. The children dream of being able to walk out onto a sidewalk and cycle or go to a playground without getting into the car...they of simple needs! I would love to be in a large house but be able to walk with a buggy again without getting into the car. We have found 3 or 4 lovely big houses in D'town which match this....Decisions decisions...