Where to move in Chester County? (Lancaster, West Chester: condo, how much, houses)

[nj2apggal]

When are you moving? 3-6 months
Where are you coming from? Harford County, MD (originally from NJ)
Why are you moving? Life events
Where will you be working? APG, MD
Have you been here yet? Yes, I've driven around Chester County.
Will you buy or rent? buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? house How much can you spend? Prefer to spend between $300-$350K. Also specifically looking for areas with public water/sewer.


Are you married or single? single Do you have children? no
Do you prefer public or private schools? No children but prefer to move to higher-rated school district
Do you have pets? yes Do you want or need a yard? yes, but it can be small .25-.5 acre
Are you keeping a car? yes
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? prefer quiet

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

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?
I would not mind a diverse neighborhood but am also looking to see if any area has a jewish presence.

Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi (but the old recipe w/real sugar)

[scosm]

It looks like you will have to be in Oxford or some place down there in the very south part of the county to have your commute come in under an hour.

Why Chester County if I might ask?

[nj2apggal]

Family lives by Exton so Lancaster/Delaware counties a little too far (plus far from work).
I looked at Oxford but limited options for public water/sewer. Was hoping to know if anybody knew if any of the cities close to it had more neighborhoods w/ pw/ps and were still within an hour drive to Aberdeen. Thanks.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by nj2apggal

When are you moving? 3-6 months
Where are you coming from? Harford County, MD (originally from NJ)
Why are you moving? Life events
Where will you be working? APG, MD
Have you been here yet? Yes, I've driven around Chester County.
Will you buy or rent? buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? house How much can you spend? Prefer to spend between $300-$350K. Also specifically looking for areas with public water/sewer.


Are you married or single? single Do you have children? no
Do you prefer public or private schools? No children but prefer to move to higher-rated school district
Do you have pets? yes Do you want or need a yard? yes, but it can be small .25-.5 acre
Are you keeping a car? yes
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? prefer quiet

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

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?
I would not mind a diverse neighborhood but am also looking to see if any area has a jewish presence.

Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi (but the old recipe w/real sugar)

Consider parts of Delaware County as well, which really won't be all that far to Exton.

I'd recommend the West Chester, Chadds Ford, Garnet Valley, and Kennett Square (more Kennett Township and surrounding than the Borough itself) areas, which have Jewish communities. I'd check out the Talleyville section of Delaware as well, which is just off 202. You'll still be fairly close to Exton (~30 minutes), have an even easier time getting to work, and still have the Jewish presence you desire.

[nj2apggal]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

Consider parts of Delaware County as well, which really won't be all that far to Exton.

I'd recommend the West Chester, Chadds Ford, Garnet Valley, and Kennett Square (more Kennett Township and surrounding than the Borough itself) areas, which have Jewish communities. I'd check out the Talleyville section of Delaware as well, which is just off 202. You'll still be fairly close to Exton (~30 minutes), have an even easier time getting to work, and still have the Jewish presence you desire.

Thanks, those places seemed very easy to get to Exton, but when I tried to find the time distance to work, it would be between 1 hr and 15 minutes to and 1 hr and a half each way. I do know the people who live in Oxford/Nottingham have about 35-40 minutes to work but I was wondering about places a little more north as it looked like Avon Grove had a better school system. Out of curiosity, how far would those places be from Chester County (possibly to immerse myself in those communities on the weekends)?
I'm a little wary of being that far north into Delaware with 95 traffic.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by nj2apggal

Thanks, those places seemed very easy to get to Exton, but when I tried to find the time distance to work, it would be between 1 hr and 15 minutes to and 1 hr and a half each way. I do know the people who live in Oxford/Nottingham have about 35-40 minutes to work but I was wondering about places a little more north as it looked like Avon Grove had a better school system. Out of curiosity, how far would those places be from Chester County (possibly to immerse myself in those communities on the weekends)?
I'm a little wary of being that far north into Delaware with 95 traffic.

Alternate idea: live in Newark, DE (which would give you a similar commute to Aberdeen), get a nice Jewish community in a nice town (Delaware schools are a bit spotty in general, but you're going to have to sacrifice some things on your list in order to get others), and be 45 minutes away from Exton on the weekends. I would recommend posting this on the Delaware forum as well, given that I'm only faintly acquainted with the state below Wilmington.

All the communities I listed are very suburban in nature, so other than, say, going to synagogue on the wekeends, you're not going to have much of an opportunity to mingle and get to know people if you're not living there.

[eagles123]

If you lived in Landenberg, PA which is basically where Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania meet (mostly Avon Grove school district, a part of it is Kennett School district) you would have about a 45 - 50 minute commute to work. It is also about 15 minutes away from Newark, DE where there is good nightlife (moreso college crowd to mid/upper 20's). Not sure about the Jewish community though. Landenberg, is rural so it would fit the quiet atmosphere you are looking for.

If your looking to live in a town you could look at Kennett Square (about an hour commute to Aberdeen down Rt. 1). It is a nice small town that is pretty diverse and has some nightlife (although not much, about 2 or 3 bars "downtown" and about 3 or 4 more throughout the borrough). You would be about 20 minutes to West Chester and about 25 minutes to Newark, both towns with good nightlife. You would also definitely be able to find a house in your price range. As far as shopping goes you can go right into DE for tax free shopping or the areas along rt. 1 or Baltimore Pike around Kennett and New Garden townships. Kennett Square is about 25 - 30 minutes to Exton while Landenberg would be more like a 45 minute drive to Exton.

As far as public water/sewer if you live in a town or development I'm sure you would be more likely to have that luxury as oppossed to living in a more rural/backroad type setting.

[dmmj18]

We are looking in the same areas. Although I have kids, so school system is a #1 for me, we wouldn't mind a jewish presence also. I have visited Avondale and Kennett area, I can tell you, there is no jewish presence, nor is there any "town" to speak of in Avondale/Oxford/Landenberg area. We are relocating from a suburb of Chicago, and thought Avondale would fit our price range (400k) and a suburbian feel. Also, if you haven't visited yet, you need to check out the mushroom smell. It sounds odd, but it was so repelling in Avondale/West Grove, we retracted our offer on a house in Avondale. We are now looking at West Chester, Garnet Valley, and Downingtown. Please keep us updated.

[nj2apggal]

Originally Posted by eagles123

If you lived in Landenberg, PA which is basically where Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania meet (mostly Avon Grove school district, a part of it is Kennett School district) you would have about a 45 - 50 minute commute to work. It is also about 15 minutes away from Newark, DE where there is good nightlife (moreso college crowd to mid/upper 20's). Not sure about the Jewish community though. Landenberg, is rural so it would fit the quiet atmosphere you are looking for.

If your looking to live in a town you could look at Kennett Square (about an hour commute to Aberdeen down Rt. 1). It is a nice small town that is pretty diverse and has some nightlife (although not much, about 2 or 3 bars "downtown" and about 3 or 4 more throughout the borrough). You would be about 20 minutes to West Chester and about 25 minutes to Newark, both towns with good nightlife. You would also definitely be able to find a house in your price range. As far as shopping goes you can go right into DE for tax free shopping or the areas along rt. 1 or Baltimore Pike around Kennett and New Garden townships. Kennett Square is about 25 - 30 minutes to Exton while Landenberg would be more like a 45 minute drive to Exton.

As far as public water/sewer if you live in a town or development I'm sure you would be more likely to have that luxury as oppossed to living in a more rural/backroad type setting.

I had looked at possible areas in Landenberg (specifically Somerset Lake) but google had the time to work as over an hour - if it's only 45-50 minutes, that would be perfect. I may go out and rive it to make sure. Thanks.

[nj2apggal]

Originally Posted by dmmj18

We are looking in the same areas. Although I have kids, so school system is a #1 for me, we wouldn't mind a jewish presence also. I have visited Avondale and Kennett area, I can tell you, there is no jewish presence, nor is there any "town" to speak of in Avondale/Oxford/Landenberg area. We are relocating from a suburb of Chicago, and thought Avondale would fit our price range (400k) and a suburbian feel. Also, if you haven't visited yet, you need to check out the mushroom smell. It sounds odd, but it was so repelling in Avondale/West Grove, we retracted our offer on a house in Avondale. We are now looking at West Chester, Garnet Valley, and Downingtown. Please keep us updated.

I haven't started officially looking but may be going out this weekend to start looking in the houses. I know what you mean about the mushroom smell which is a huge consideration. School system is a consideration as I may have kids in the future so Avon Grove looks to be the best. Will keep you updated after looking around.