What's Wrong With Doylestown...? (Philadelphia, Allentown: transplants, HOA, crime)

[macalan]

and what's right with it?

I lived in Allentown many, many years ago, and remember really liking Doylestown. What's it like now? What's good about it, what's not good so about it?

Does it have the basic amenities - hospital, vet, 24hr vet, doctors, dentists, pharmacy, bank, grocery stores, police, fire, EMS? How is EMS response? Is the town welcoming to transplants? How far is it to Philly (for serious health care situations)? How is the weather? How is the economy? How is the crime - robberies, burglaries? Are there things to do - independent restaurants (not chains) and independent shops? Are there festivals, things going on? Are people "health conscious" - i.e. do they work out (are there places to?), are there farmers markets, farm to table restaurants? How is the health care? How expensive is housing? Would a 350K budget work for a small (1,000 - 1,500sf) one story home? Are there newer homes or are they all old?

Lastly, and this may seem odd, but after 4 years in SC it is a deal breaker for us. How are the venomous snakes? Here there is a LONG snake season- roughly March through November - where they are out. They are in people's garages, in the roads, on lawns, in gardens, on porches and patios, etc. You have to watch EVERYWHERE you step or put your hands. Forget about gardening, something I loved to do back home in MA. Not to mention the large flying roaches, fire ants, black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders. It's like walking through a land mine trying to avoid all the creepy crawly things here.

We're planning on coming for a visit, just wanted to know more about the current state of Doylestown before we come out.

[toobusytoday]

I love Doylestown, but it's not in the Lehigh Valley. It's in Bucks county. Moving your post to the Philadelphia forum.

[Angus215]

It is a beautiful, historic, quaint town in the very outer suburbs of Philly, and yes it has all of those basic amenities you listed. No snake issues. The only downside as far as I'm concerned is that it is quite far from the city. While it sits on the very end of a regional rail line, it is about an hour and 15 minutes to get into Philly. Not good for commuting or accessing the city for other activities. It's also relatively expensive.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by macalan

and what's right with it?

I lived in Allentown many, many years ago, and remember really liking Doylestown. What's it like now? What's good about it, what's not good so about it?

Does it have the basic amenities - hospital, vet, 24hr vet, doctors, dentists, pharmacy, bank, grocery stores, police, fire, EMS? How is EMS response? Is the town welcoming to transplants? How far is it to Philly (for serious health care situations)? How is the weather? How is the economy? How is the crime - robberies, burglaries? Are there things to do - independent restaurants (not chains) and independent shops? Are there festivals, things going on? Are people "health conscious" - i.e. do they work out (are there places to?), are there farmers markets, farm to table restaurants? How is the health care? How expensive is housing? Would a 350K budget work for a small (1,000 - 1,500sf) one story home? Are there newer homes or are they all old?

Lastly, and this may seem odd, but after 4 years in SC it is a deal breaker for us. How are the venomous snakes? Here there is a LONG snake season- roughly March through November - where they are out. They are in people's garages, in the roads, on lawns, in gardens, on porches and patios, etc. You have to watch EVERYWHERE you step or put your hands. Forget about gardening, something I loved to do back home in MA. Not to mention the large flying roaches, fire ants, black widow spiders and brown recluse spiders. It's like walking through a land mine trying to avoid all the creepy crawly things here.

We're planning on coming for a visit, just wanted to know more about the current state of Doylestown before we come out.

Doylestown is a borough of about 8000 people and the county seat of Bucks Co. Bucks is in the Phila. metro and is one four PA counties that surround Phila.

In other it's words it's small town ,not a city, with small town amenities.

If you remember it from years ago, it's probably not too different now with its quaint and lovely Victorian housing.

I never hear anyone talking about snakes on this board.

It takes about 90 minutes by train to reach Philadelphia.

A major reason I visit is the Michener Museum which is a jewel.

[NewtownBucks]

Doylestown has just about everything you're asking about in terms of amenities, social life, crime, etc. It's a great place to live. Doylestown Hospital is a very good hospital that should serve almost all of your medical needs. The only concern is that it is fairly far away from Philadelphia if you need to commute to the city - about 90 mins by train or car in rush hour.

As far as snakes go, I've lived in the area since 2002, and I think I've seen 3 snakes the whole time and they've always been garter snakes. I think there might be rattlesnakes in the more densely forested areas, but I've never seen or heard of one.

[Clark Park]

I think it is very pretty and charming. A wonderful town. Lots of great restaurants. Good shopping. Cultural amenities, It's the county seat.



Only problem? It's EXPENSIVE!!!

[Maddie104]

I would agree Doylestown has everything you would want but the area is in high demand because of the highly rated school district.

Also check out New Hope (very expensive) -- about 1/2 hour away -- a charming town with mostly artisan independent shops and restaurants. It does get very crowded but worth a visit.

You didn't mention your age but since you didn't mention school districts I thought I would suggest an over 55 community. I visited this over 55 community several years ago when my mother was looking and, at the time, it was very nice. Not in Doylestown but just outside.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5...52604926_zpid/

No HOA fee and a low property taxes (over 55 community) which are high in Doylestown due to highly rated school district.

[MarketStEl]

Piling on here:

You will LOVE Doylestown.

Its closest rival for charm and history among the four Philadelphia collar-county seats is West Chester, and I'd say Doylestown has it over West Chester by a country mile.

It has both a lively cultural scene and a lively dining scene for a small town, and the adult playground of New Hope is within easy driving distance.

(Since another poster mentioned New Hope: It's also about an hour and a half by car from Center City Philadelphia at rush hour - and there's no Regional Rail service to the town, in contrast to Doylestown.)

The one hitch, as also already noted, will be in finding an affordable place to live. It will be difficult if not impossible to find such housing within Doylestown Borough itself, though you might be able to find something in one of the new subdivisions popping up around it in Doylestown and Buckingham townships.

[Maddie104]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Piling on here:

You will LOVE Doylestown.

Its closest rival for charm and history among the four Philadelphia collar-county seats is West Chester, and I'd say Doylestown has it over West Chester by a country mile.

It has both a lively cultural scene and a lively dining scene for a small town, and the adult playground of New Hope is within easy driving distance.

(Since another poster mentioned New Hope: It's also about an hour and a half by car from Center City Philadelphia at rush hour - and there's no Regional Rail service to the town, in contrast to Doylestown.)

The one hitch, as also already noted, will be in finding an affordable place to live. It will be difficult if not impossible to find such housing within Doylestown Borough itself, though you might be able to find something in one of the new subdivisions popping up around it in Doylestown and Buckingham townships.

I just want to clarify that the home I referenced with the New Hope address is only 7 miles (approx 15 minutes) outside of Doylestown so easy drive to Regional Rail in Doylestown.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Maddie104

I just want to clarify that the home I referenced with the New Hope address is only 7 miles (approx 15 minutes) outside of Doylestown so easy drive to Regional Rail in Doylestown.

So Buckingham Township, IIRC. I don't think there's any part of Solebury or Upper Makefield townships that close to Doylestown.

All of Solebury and most of Upper Makefield lie in ZIP code 18938.