Good Neighborhood Philly Suburbs (Philadelphia, Norristown: apartment, rent, condo)

[louguy]

Help! My family is moving to Philadelphia next summer. I've been there three times in my life and never outside of the city. We need to find a place to live. We have four children and a good public school district is the most important factor. We can spend about $350K for a house/condo/apartment. My husband and I are both working in the city so it would be great if we could live somewhere with public transportation via train, but not required. We're not house people, so we really don't care about lot size, charm, etc. Right now, we rent a townhouse in the DC suburbs. Our rent is about $3,000 a month.

[frankgn87]

The first question is where in the city will you guys be working? That will give us the borders and the nearest suburban area for you.. IE.. If you are working in Somerton, it would not make much sense to be looking at Delaware county or if you are working at the airport it would not make sense to look at Bucks county

[pfrscott]

The main line suburbs of Philadelphia have excellent schools, a few of them nationally recognized (T/E, Radnor, Lower Merion) I have a nice list of school rankings I can send you if you want, email me. pfrscott at yahoo.com. The R5 train line travels through the entire main line to Philly. I was born and raised here and know a lot about all the towns surrounding Philadelphia. If you want further help, please don't hesitate to email me your questions. Scott.

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by pfrscott

The main line suburbs of Philadelphia have excellent schools, a few of them nationally recognized (T/E, Radnor, Lower Merion) I have a nice list of school rankings I can send you if you want, email me. pfrscott at yahoo.com. The R5 train line travels through the entire main line to Philly. I was born and raised here and know a lot about all the towns surrounding Philadelphia. If you want further help, please don't hesitate to email me your questions. Scott.

If i had to find a house for a family of six on a budget of $350K, i wouldn't be looking on the main line. more likely either the outer-ring suburbs or some of the less expensive inner-ring suburbs. I would look at the SEPTA map and look at what you can get on your budget along the various train lines. Most of the suburban school districts are excellent, but this will give you a reference point. Generally, the top 50 districts on that list are all very good.

http://www.phillymag.com/articles/th...istricts_2008/

[RightonWalnut]

Bucks County is a good area to look with a $350k budget. Yardley/Lower Makefield offer some great places to live for that price and within the Pennsbury School District.

[couldntthinkofaclevername]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

The first question is where in the city will you guys be working? That will give us the borders and the nearest suburban area for you.. IE.. If you are working in Somerton, it would not make much sense to be looking at Delaware county or if you are working at the airport it would not make sense to look at Bucks county

This is a great point. If you're working in Center City or parts of West/Southwest Philly then I would suggest anywhere along the 101 trolley line past Upper Darby township or even better anywhere along the Media/Elwyn Regional Rail line past Secane. Everything after that has great schools. There's also the Paoli/Thorndale line or even the Norristown High Speed Line from 69th street, which goes through plenty of Main Line places.

Here's something you might find helpful SEPTA | Clickable Regional Rail & Rail Transit Map

[frankgn87]

I guess louguy left the building

[tuggy24g]

Bucks County PA would be a great place to look for a house. Lots of different public transportation to get you to Philly likes trains and bus. Lots of major highways go right through Bucks to Philly. Also Bucks has a excellent selection of schools to choose from.