King of Prussia thoughts? (Norristown, Conshohocken: buying a home, employment, neighborhoods)

[MrSaturdayNight]

Hello,

I am in early 30's engaged and looking to purchase my very first home however I am undecided on where I want to live. I currently live in Bala cynwd but have been considered many areas even including Princeton nj area as the proximity of being between Philly and NYC appealed to me however it's high property taxes and quality/age of homes there did not.

I have now been considering Kop area but I am not very familiar with it aside from the mall they have there. Can anyone add some input about what ur thoughts about living and buying a home in kop is like? From what I've seen, the home quality were pretty ok and the neighborhoods looked very nice, clean and suburban which is what I want. Someone told me property taxes there are very reasonable too and with a very nice family oriented community.

Can anyone share your expertise and experiences as well?

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by MrSaturdayNight

Hello,

I am in early 30's engaged and looking to purchase my very first home however I am undecided on where I want to live. I currently live in Bala cynwd but have been considered many areas even including Princeton nj area as the proximity of being between Philly and NYC appealed to me however it's high property taxes and quality/age of homes there did not.

I have now been considering Kop area but I am not very familiar with it aside from the mall they have there. Can anyone add some input about what ur thoughts about living and buying a home in kop is like? From what I've seen, the home quality were pretty ok and the neighborhoods looked very nice, clean and suburban which is what I want. Someone told me property taxes there are very reasonable too and with a very nice family oriented community.

Can anyone share your expertise and experiences as well?

Gulph Mills is a lot like the Main Line. The rest of KOP's residential areas are pretty typical mid- to upper-mid scale suburbia. If you're planning on having kids, the schools are decent enough (though not remarkable).

Where will you and your fiancee be commuting to?

[MrSaturdayNight]

I'd be commuting to center city Philly (which I know about that commute) but I could always look for a new job closer if it ever had to come to that. My fiancé will be looking for new work closer to wherever we end up moving too.

I liked the idea of living in the suburbs but close by some city and action as well.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by MrSaturdayNight

I'd be commuting to center city Philly (which I know about that commute) but I could always look for a new job closer if it ever had to come to that. My fiancé will be looking for new work closer to wherever we end up moving too.

I liked the idea of living in the suburbs but close by some city and action as well.

King of Prussia is an extremely dense area, a lot of retail traffic.

I would suggest the Media area. Because you stated you want excitement, I do not really find KoP exciting, there is a lot of good shopping, but by action if you mean gridlocked roads everywhere you go?
Anyways Media is an easy commute by train, and faily easy by car to Philly. It all depends on the jobs, and what companies you and your husband will be looking at.

Media is a downtown suburb (not many of them) a good amout of restaurants, small boutiques and bars, surrounded up mosly upscale suburbia and retail.

Wayne may also fit your criteria if you are looking to spend more.

[bryson662001]

King of Prussia offers pretty much the worst of everything..... except for shopping and that can be found most places in the northeast US. It's not convenient to any place and the housing stock is pretty outdated and no bargain. Traffic is heavy.The schools are average. The only good thing is that it is is a major employment center. What attracts you to settle there?

[frankgn87]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

King of Prussia offers pretty much the worst of everything..... except for shopping and that can be found most places in the northeast US. It's not convenient to any place and the housing stock is pretty outdated and no bargain. Traffic is heavy.The schools are average. The only good thing is that it is is a major employment center. What attracts you to settle there?

I agree. Maybe the turnpike?

[MrSaturdayNight]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

King of Prussia offers pretty much the worst of everything..... except for shopping and that can be found most places in the northeast US. It's not convenient to any place and the housing stock is pretty outdated and no bargain. Traffic is heavy.The schools are average. The only good thing is that it is is a major employment center. What attracts you to settle there?

Well I haven't decided on it yet but it's only a possible option and consideration. Houses and neighborhoods I thought looked very and beautiful and I read that property taxes were cheaper there. Also was told it had a good community feel to it and was a nice place to raise a family. This was all told to me by a current kop resident I met.

[bryson662001]

Originally Posted by MrSaturdayNight

Well I haven't decided on it yet but it's only a possible option and consideration. Houses and neighborhoods I thought looked very and beautiful and I read that property taxes were cheaper there. Also was told it had a good community feel to it and was a nice place to raise a family. This was all told to me by a current kop resident I met.

That is all very possible. Taxes should be very low with all that commercial space contributing to the pool. It can't be the best choice to commute into the city. I guess if you find a house you really like within your budget that would be a big factor. The two major negatives are the commute and the local congestion/traffic, which should not be underestimated.

[Avalon08]

Originally Posted by MrSaturdayNight

Well I haven't decided on it yet but it's only a possible option and consideration. Houses and neighborhoods I thought looked very and beautiful and I read that property taxes were cheaper there. Also was told it had a good community feel to it and was a nice place to raise a family. This was all told to me by a current kop resident I met.

Hmmm, "beautiful"? I'm fairly familiar with KOP; most of it consists of 60's ranchers, split-levels and Colonials. Some of the neighborhoods are run-down; some of them are well-kept; I can't think of any that I would call "beautiful", but again I haven't been in every KOP neighborhood. (I'm not counting Gulph Mills.) I understand taxes are very low because of the Mall and other commercial activity. As for it not being "close to anything", I think it is situated very well, right at the intersections of all the major highways. I don't see any problem with moving there, if you find a home you like and can afford.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Avalon08

Hmmm, "beautiful"? I'm fairly familiar with KOP; most of it consists of 60's ranchers, split-levels and Colonials. Some of the neighborhoods are run-down; some of them are well-kept; I can't think of any that I would call "beautiful", but again I haven't been in every KOP neighborhood. (I'm not counting Gulph Mills.) I understand taxes are very low because of the Mall and other commercial activity. As for it not being "close to anything", I think it is situated very well, right at the intersections of all the major highways. I don't see any problem with moving there, if you find a home you like and can afford.

This is well-said.

It's close to all the major highways and the taxes are low. The school district is decent but not "trophy". There is probably 20 million square feet of office space within a 20-minute drive, either in KOP, Mallvern, Radnor, Plymouth Meeting, and Conshohocken. There is no direct train connection to CC from KOP but you can drive 5-10 minutes to the train in either Wayne or Norristown, or to the Norristown High Speed Line. Shopping is plentiful. The fairly ugly 202 corridor is being revitalized with more shopping that IMO is much better looking than what it is replacing.

Some cons are that the housing supply is not always well taken care of. There are almost no street lights. Traffic is fairly heavy. Even if passenger train service on SEPTA's Norristown line is finally restored to the west, the tracks that go right through Upper Merion Township are 1-2 miles from the mall, the casino, and the office space.

There seems to be a general push to "urbanize" King of Prussia but the missing transit connection has stymied this.