Is Main Line near KOP Mall?

[TravelSheila]

My husband and I have lived most of our lives in this general area and both worked in KOP & Wayne, PA until a relo took us away recently (for a couple of years). We have a family too and school districts are important to us, so I can relate.

First of all as a school reference, you can check out the Philadelphia Inquirer (newspaper) online. Annually they do a "report card on the schools" and you can reference the current as well as previous years results. It provides data on SAT scores, teacher salaries, spending per student, etc. for Public and Private schools in PA and NJ.

The Main Line is a wealthy area, so you will get little for your money compared to some other areas nearby within a 30 minute drive. People live there more for the prestige and address than they do a nice home in that price range. So its up to you how important it is to say I'm from such-and-such town. For me I'd rather live in a nice home than name drop a town and live in something that's old and outdated, but that's me.

Immediately around KOP you have the "T/E" school district (Tredyffrin-Easttown) which is EXCELLENT, likewise the Radnor School District but the latter is in the Main Line area. Also, you have Great Valley SD, West Chester SD, Phoenixville SD, Downingtown SD (D-East schools have better reputation then D-West, but both are good) and "OJR" (Owen J. Roberts) SD. These are in Northern Chester County. Heading into Montgomery County, you have Methacton SD, Spring-Ford SD. These are good. The "Report Card on the Schools" has some interactive maps that will give you a feel for where these School Districts are located in reference to each other.

When we move back to the area we also want a 30 minute or less commute and these will satisfy the criteria. We have lived in West Chester, Royersford, and Spring City, PA. They are a 25-30 minute commute from KOP.

Another good web resource is prufoxroach.com. It's a local real estate website that you can create a free profile (and decide for yourself if you want to receive updates on properties that you save as your "favorites"). One of my favorite things about this website though is that you can type in an address to your profile (like your husband's new work address) and each property that you view will automatically calculate the driving commute from the selected property to your specified address. Knowing the area I've found these calculations to be reliable. (But you should cross reference with mapquest or a drive it yourself to be sure.)

If you want to see at a quick glance what you can get for your money in different school districts (or towns) in this area, go to http://everyhome.com/us/home.htm (broken link) and request the username/password ("special" and "guest"). Then you can search by school district, township, etc and price. You will see thumbnails of homes and a quick overview of price, bed/baths, etc. A nice quick way to get a feel for what your dollar will buy you. I use this in combination with pru fox roach to get a good feel for properties.

One last thing, property taxes are high (esp. new construction)so factor that into your monthly mortage fees too. On a 500-800k new house I'd say easily $12k/yr or more.

Hope this helps!

[TrailLover-Pa]

Right next to Phoenixville, very quiet, called the new main line by my wifes doctor friends who live on the main line. Price range 220+ for townhouse/ condo, 400- 1mill for single family. Not a bad neighborhood in the Upper Providence Township area. Crime- 0, I still don't understand how crime can be 0 but anywho...
With traffic 30+ to KOP at the height of rush, I know you said less than 30 but because of 422/ 202 you're not gonna find a road that won't put you over 30 once a week because of construction, snow, wind, the sun is shining!, deer. You know what I mean. traffic and KOP are like PB & J. But Collegeville and or Wayne would be a good search. Good luck

[HappyRider]

Living in Collegeville and commuting to KOP and beyond is sheer madness. We did that for 3 years before we left everything behind(rented the house) and left. If it has anything to do with 422, turn around and run.

[Raena77]

Originally Posted by rainrock

You will love the King of Prussia Mall. Largest Mall on the east coast and I believe the largest"Shopping Mall" in the USA. Its become a regional destination, you will see buses of people from NY,Virgina,Jersey,Md pour out into the mall.

King of Prussia Mall

Along with the great mainline towns you may also want to check out areas to the west and north of King of Prussia. Especially west imo.

West-Great Valley,Chester Springs,Malvern,Pickering Valley,Charlestown Township has an incredible landscape considering you are 20 miles from a dense major city like Philadlephia.

North-Skippack,Worchester Township,Blue Bell,Gwenyd Valley,Collegeville.

Here are a couple maps to give an idea where KOP is in relation to the Mainline.KOP is in the upper middle part of the map The mainline is the area surrounding RT 30 that leads from Philadelphia westward towards Downingtown.

Lower Merion,Radnor,Haverford,Tredyffrin are all considered mainline.

I agree Blue Bell and Skippack are very nice areas drive through this area a lot.

[Raena77]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

Living in Collegeville and commuting to KOP and beyond is sheer madness. We did that for 3 years before we left everything behind(rented the house) and left. If it has anything to do with 422, turn around and run.

hahaha thats why I love back roads.