Planning a move to Philly in Spring 2019

[chessimprov]

Malvern is in a quality school district, and a nice place to live. Far from the city, not a lot to do there, but a great place to raise a family.

[rowhomecity]

Originally Posted by chessimprov

Malvern is in a quality school district, and a nice place to live. Far from the city, not a lot to do there, but a great place to raise a family.

What type of home are you looking for?

Updated/turn key?

Fixer/Upper?

Is the flexibility between Sing Family Home and Townhome there? Which do you prefer? It sounds like you are seeking a yard.

What are the top 3 things you are looking for in a community where you live?

I think this will guide the search. Southeast Pennsylvania is a large metro with an amazing array of suburban towns and ranks top 5 nationwide in top performing public school districts, so there are so many great areas to point you. What are your top 3?

500k in some areas can get you into 1600 sf older brick colonial with updates or 2400 sf 20 year old home without updates.

It all is dependent on what you really want in a home and community.

[Rash_g80]

I am looking for a place with good schools, and a friendly, close knit community. Single family home with a small yard is preferred but we will do just fine with a townhome if the area is nice. We do not have any interest in getting acres of property. Our top 3 things we would prefer would be safety, good schools and a good community. Access to good walking trails would be a great bonus.

[NewtownBucks]

Originally Posted by Rash_g80

I am looking for a place with good schools, and a friendly, close knit community. Single family home with a small yard is preferred but we will do just fine with a townhome if the area is nice. We do not have any interest in getting acres of property. Our top 3 things we would prefer would be safety, good schools and a good community. Access to good walking trails would be a great bonus.

Newtown also fits the bill for all of those priorities:

Good Schools - Council Rock SD
Friendly community
Walkable "main street" downtown
Low crime
Walking trails - Tyler State Park

[Flyers Girl]

Originally Posted by Rash_g80

I am looking for a place with good schools, and a friendly, close knit community. Single family home with a small yard is preferred but we will do just fine with a townhome if the area is nice. We do not have any interest in getting acres of property. Our top 3 things we would prefer would be safety, good schools and a good community. Access to good walking trails would be a great bonus.

With this updated post, I would 100% recommend Havertown, but for the commute to North Wales. Google maps puts it at about 35 minutes right now, but it's a bit past rush hour. Could be closer to 45 minutes in rush hour.

[rowhomecity]

Originally Posted by Rash_g80

I am looking for a place with good schools, and a friendly, close knit community. Single family home with a small yard is preferred but we will do just fine with a townhome if the area is nice. We do not have any interest in getting acres of property. Our top 3 things we would prefer would be safety, good schools and a good community. Access to good walking trails would be a great bonus.

So good schools are a blessing of Southeast Pennsylvania. Most of the region is blessed with top-performing school districts. Just because one ranks #3 and the other ranks #10, honestly there is very little difference. Southeast Pennsylvania ranks as one of the top regions in the nation for public education.

Safety within these districts is also not an issue.

I would focus more in on commute time, housing (do you demand updated or will you sacrifice an updated home for more space)?

Your top 3 exists quite easily nearly everywhere in Southeast Pennsylvania suburbs for the most part. We are blessed with the most likely the top 3 best suburban region in the nation in terms of quality of life.

I think you have to be a little bit more defined on what you ideally are looking for.

[Rash_g80]

Flyers girl, I don't have the need to be close to North Wales anymore. Since my husband will be traveling or telecomuting and I have a business from home, we can choose to be wherever we want.

[rainrock]

If high achieving public schools are Top priority one of The Main Line towns would be the way to go. The Main Line runs along the former Pennsylvania Railroad and is now known as Septa's Paoli /Thorndale rail line. Runs parallel to Lancaster Ave (Route 30). West of the city for about 25 miles or so. Includes dozens of separate towns.


According to Business Insider/Niche There are over 3200 public school districts in the USA. 3 of the top 20 ranked public school districts are on the Main Line . You may want to research Main Line if Schools are key.


Niche 2019 Ratings

MAIN LINE Public School Districts

4.Tredyffrin-Easttown
5.Radnor
18.Lower Merion

A couple other area school districts scored high on the list.

22.Wallingford-Swarthmore
26.Princeton
43.Unionville-Chadds Ford


Walking trails? The best in the area imo is Wissahickon Gorge/Forbidden Drive(NW Philly), Ridley Creek State Park(Media-West Chester), and Valley Forge National Park(King of Prussia). Chester County is known for their land preserves and hiking trails and there is an awesome recreational trail right thru the heart of center city Philly. Schuylkill Banks/Kelly Drive.

Good luck. The western burbs with the top schools are a relative bargain compared to SF/NY/DC/Boston but by no means are cheap to live.Property taxes vary but can be exorbitant in certain towns so keep an eye on that.