Philly suburb towns - PLEASE offer advice. (Philadelphia, Plum: real estate, low crime)

[PETE67]

Hi,
Can anyone please offer some advice ? I am relocating from North Jersey to Philly suburbs (several potential job openings). I've done a lot of research online but was hoping to get opinions from people in the know. I'm looking for 4 br house, fairly new, under 500k, need good schools (kids 5,7,8), be safe, be "commutable" to Philly (commute time of an hour to an hour 15 minutes). I know I probably can't have all of the above, but give me your best options.

Can anyone recommend places to research ?

How about comments on the following towns:
Perkasie
Doylestown
Harleysville
Souderton
Schwenkesville
Limerick

THANKS IN ADVANCE,
Pete

[MoonlightMadness]

Try Conshohocken. Hard to spell but nice place to live. Not far from Philly at all. My sister-in-law and her family live there and I like to visit them because it's so quiet and peaceful.

[William shivers]

I work as a realtor for century 21 and I can tell you that all your choices a good. Though as a personal preference i'm not big on Limerick only because of the power plant there but there's never been a problem and people love it there. I might also suggest a couple other areas a bit closer that have what are considered the best schols in the area. First is havertown, chatom park has the best elementary school was written up in philly mag and the housing market price for a 4 bed would be easily under the 500. Also radnor township which is more expensive but also house a great school system. these 2 areas would get you to within 30-40 minute commutes whereas the other areas the commutes would be an hour or more easily.Moderator cut: no advertising on the forum, please

[loose cannon]

Perkasie and Souderton are probably the most affordable. Limerick is good too. Schwenksville I think is closer to the Lehigh Valley.

[lititzman2003]

Harleysville/Lansdale is a great area. Low crime, very close to the PA Turnpike, one hour train ride to downtown Philly and a good school district.

[roatchs]

Alot depends upon what area of Philly you work in; for truly there are only 3 good ways in by car, from 95 north or south, or down the Skuylkill. Go to the state education site to research schools, and there are many good free real estate sites to see how house prices compare in each area. Just be aware it can take you as long to get TO the highways from some of those areas you've listed, as it will to get into center city.

[Adream]

"Can anyone please offer some advice ? I am relocating from North Jersey to Philly suburbs (several potential job openings). I've done a lot of research online but was hoping to get opinions from people in the know. I'm looking for 4 br house, fairly new, under 500k, need good schools (kids 5,7,8), be safe, be "commutable" to Philly (commute time of an hour to an hour 15 minutes). I know I probably can't have all of the above, but give me your best options."

Hi Pete,
As a former "Doylestownian" I heartily recommend not only Doylestown, but the surrounding suburbs of Chalfont, New Britain, Warrington, Warwick, Plumsteadville, Bedminster - just about any town in Central Bucks County. Oh! - also check out beautiful Newtown (not Newtown Square, it's a different town - just "Newtown," it is beautiful, excellent Council Rock school district, and the campus of Bucks County Community College is there).

Great schools, beautiful neighborhoods in any price range, lots to do, great shopping, gorgeous scenery, numerous churches, lots of people to meet and make friends with. Some areas are more affordable than others. You'd get a better deal on a house in New Britain, for instance, than $olebury.

Different areas of Doylestown will differ dramatically in price too. An area called "Pebble Hill" in D-town (Central Bucks East school district) will be pricier than the Central Bucks West school district - but I'll take the C.B. West school district any time! (Guess which high school I graduated from? ) All of the C.B. school districts are extraordinary!

Doylestown's center has great shops, restaurants, jazz clubs, Starbucks - it's very quaint.

Perkasie, Harleysville,Souderton, Schwenkesville, Limerick are nice but will add considerable time to your Philadelphia commute.

I'm a big fan of Central Bucks County - that is where I would recommed focusing your efforts. Check on the Realtor-dot-com website, put in D-town's zip 18901 and see what pops up - you'll like what you'll see.

Feel free to PM me if I can answer any further questions for you.

[faithinthedirt]

Some of the best schools in the area are those in Whitemarsh, which is in the opposite direction of where you seem to be looking but is quite close to Philly. It's an up-and-coming area and from what I hear prices aren't too high, but they are rising.
I've heard good things about Lansdale, but I don't know much about it.
Of the places you listed, Doylestown is great. It's big for a small town, has pretty good public schools, and the commute isn't excessively long.

[Karnak]

Also you might try Warminster. My children were raised happily and safely there. The train station there takes you directly to downtown Phillie, too. Many commute this way.

[Time2Moov]

Originally Posted by PETE67

Hi,
Can anyone please offer some advice ? I am relocating from North Jersey to Philly suburbs (several potential job openings). I've done a lot of research online but was hoping to get opinions from people in the know. I'm looking for 4 br house, fairly new, under 500k, need good schools (kids 5,7,8), be safe, be "commutable" to Philly (commute time of an hour to an hour 15 minutes). I know I probably can't have all of the above, but give me your best options.

Can anyone recommend places to research ?

How about comments on the following towns:
Perkasie
Doylestown
Harleysville
Souderton
Schwenkesville
Limerick

THANKS IN ADVANCE,
Pete

First off, you're going the wrong way. Turn the car around and head toward NY. If you must head this way, here's the scoop.

Perkasie - Don't drink the water.

Doylestown - If these are your ONLY choices, then this one is your best bet.

Harleysville - Hillbillies. Worse yet, suburbillies. Avoid this town.

Souderton - Same SD as Harleysville, but the demographic is heading south.

Schwenkesville - Some nice parts, a whole lot of crappy parts. Avoid this town. Also a popular hillbilly gathering spot.

Limerick - Do you want to live on the north side of the NUCLEAR REACTORS, or the south side? Don't worry, local officials are absolutely sure the higher instances of cancer have nothing to do with those big smoking towers

My advice, check out Upper Gwynned or the better parts of Lansdale(North Penn School District).