Rush hour commute times to Philly Int'l Airport (Chester, Springfield: fit in, best town)

[austen1023]

I will be moving to the Philly area in a couple of months and will be working at the Philly Intl Airport. I will be looking at homes in the following towns and I wonder if anyone can tell me how long it will take me during the morning and evening rush hour commutes:

East Fallowfield
Kennett
West Chester
Dowingtown
Avondale
Malvern
Collegeville
Lansdale
Horsham

If any of these towns suck, please let me know. I would also be interested in any other suggestions as far as cities go. I am looking for a safe, family friendly town with nice homes in the $250,000 to $300,000 range.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[newmarlig]

Why don't you look in Glenside, Jenkintown, Elkins Park or Melrose Park and take the train right to the Airport?


SEPTA

[JerzBoy]

All of those towns are nice....Lansdale is a little more blue-collar than the rest. However, commuting from any of these places to the airport will be a pain. West Chester is probably your best bet from the towns you listed. You can take 202 to 322 to 95N. THe roads aren't that great but it will move. Probably take 50-60min. Kennett Square to the airport probably would be a similar commute as well. THe other areas will take much longer.

[rainrock]

The only towns on that list under a 1 hour commute to the airport would be West Chester and Malvern.

There are nice communities in Delaware County much closer to the airport.

Nether Providence,Media,Springfield,Broomall,Havertown,Mi ddletown Township,Aston,Brookhaven,Boothwyn,Ridley Park are solid towns and within 20 minutes to the airport.They should all have options under $300 k. Imo the towns you are looking at are too far away, the commute would be a grind. There is no reason to live in Horsham or Lansdale 1 hr 20 minutes to the airport when Media and Nether Providence are 20 minutes from the airport.

Good luck

[Pat_in_Pa]

I lived in Paoli, near Malvern, for 3 years. It took me over an hour to the airport. Not much of a selection of nice homes for under $300k, though. Those are some nice areas you listed, but not really airport commuter friendly.

I currently live in Bucks County, five minutes from 95. While I don't commute to the airport often, when we do, we leave by 6:30 and can be to the airport by 7:15. Sometimes, it's only 1/2 hour. When you leave makes a big, big difference. My husband has his phone programmed for instant traffic reports for alternate route needs.

Anyway, you can find a single family house here for about $275k, in Pennsbury, Lower Makefield. Usually, these are splits, in decent condition and they ask $300 to $325, but they're now going for under $280. Good luck.

[Pat_in_Pa]

Pennsbury School District, that is.

[rainrock]

Bucks County is very nice but its not practical to be on the north side of the city when you will be working at Phl Int. which is south of the city. Plus the traffic on I-95 north of the airport is brutal.

Nether Providence was ranked by (cnn/money magazine) as the 9th best town to live in in the usa(2007).You could be at the airport in less than 10 minutes without ever putting a tire tread on a major highway. Media is a smaller version of Doylestown and thats only 10-15 minutes away from the airport.

Love Bucks County but I personally dont think its a good fit in this circumstance.

[chef58]

Nether Providence:
Great four bedroom, three bath house. 1/2 acre. Train to philly is at the end of our street. Drive 15 to airport. Walk to all level schools, grocery store, post office, library and train. Twenty min to Wilmington DE. Fenced in grounds, gardens selected by Swarthmore Arboratum for tours. Stone and stucco. Many amenities come with house.
775,000.

[Pat_in_Pa]

I guess the original poster will need to go to some of the home listings available in various towns, and compare schools and homes that can be had for under $300k.

Austen1023, if it were my son or daughter, and I was advising them, I'd tell them to rent for a year or until they were more in the know about available real estate, schools and the areas in general. It doesn't sound like you have a whole heck of a lot of financial resources to blow on a bad housing choice out of the gate. You might want to play it conservatively and wait a year or so. Based on the recent statistics published in our local papers and by the National Association of Realtors, inventory in this area will only increase during the next year, which should give you a broader range of selection.

At any rate, welcome to the area.