Good towns for me? (filled out survey) (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: sales, 2015)

[trevor0101]

When are you moving?
> Probably within 6 months.

Where are you coming from?
> Natick, MA

Why are you moving?
> Newer homes for the $, things to do, nice suburbs.

Where will you be working?
> From home, but airport proximity (<45mins in off hours)

Have you been here yet?
> Yes, but not recently.

Will you buy or rent?
> Buy

If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend?
> $1.1M, single family house.


Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb?
> PA please

Are you married or single? Do you have children?
> Married, elementary aged child

Do you prefer public or private schools?
> Public (strong please)

Do you have pets?
> Yes

Do you want or need a yard?
> Needed

Are you keeping a car?
> Yes. Two.

Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet?
> Somewhere in between, but no "droning" interstates, or trains.

What do you want to be closest to?
> In order
Basic services
Shopping
Airport (work) - Within <45mins in off hours
Nightlife
Train or subway stations


Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?
> Probably fair homogeneous. Strong schools reqired

Favorite Beverage - Craft Beer, wine, water?
> Wine

[smt1111]

You might look into Phoenixville, it seems to fit a lot of your criteria. Valley Forge Park and King of Prussia mall are not far. The school district sounds good. Airport might be a little longer than 45 minutes, I don't go that way so I can't say.

[TLC1957]

You may want to check out the West Chester area it has many of the things you are looking for. West Chester Borough things are listed below. For the most part the housing stock is old but the area surrounding the Borough has many new developments in your price range.

People are very friendly, the town has a community spirit, downtown is alive with always something going on, tons of places to explore, live theater, 50 restaurants many shops. The Halloween and Christmas parades are amazing and not to be missed. It seems they always have something going on downtown where they shut down the streets and have a great time. If you love gardens Longwood Gardens is 20 min drive, amazing place a must see. We are members and visit many times during the year. The area around West Chester has many walking and bicycle trails.

Delaware the place with no sales taxes(think liquor, stoves, tv, washer/dryer, etc.) is 20 mins away. Train service to Philly is 15mins away in Exton, local train you are in center city in 55 minutes . You can be in the country in 10 mins. Schools are rated very high. Tons of shopping nearby, King of Prussia mall is 20 mins away, largest mall in the east. Many others malls in the area.

West Chester is a university town, West Chester University with about 10K students on campus, if that bothers you may not like it. You have to be careful not to live near student housing, this website from the borough lists all student housing
http://www.west-chester.com/DocumentCenter/View/34
With that said we have had no problems living near the university. We take advantage of the many free concerts, lectures, etc the university has to offer. The University has a large music program with many talented students. We attend quality concerts 2-3 nights a week, all for free.

https://www.wcupa.edu/music/eventsCalendar.aspx#/?i=1

The local police and campus security keep close tabs on the students and pretty much do not put up with a lot of stuff. Our encounter with students have been great, we were moving in a couch and struggling when all of the sudden it got lighter, a few big guys saw us and stopped and helped and would not take anything for their time.

Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center http://uptownwestchester.org provides live theater, and concerts. Also the University has live theater, concerts and lectures for a fee
https://www.wcupa.edu/oca/wcuLive/do...18Calendar.pdf

Some streets parking can be a problem so look for homes with off street parking or where parking is not restricted. They love to give out $25 parking tickets! Here is a map http://www.west-chester.com/DocumentCenter/View/764 of where parking is controlled.

Homes can come on the market and be gone in a few hours. When we purchased our home in 2015 we were bidding against 3 others. Our home came on the market on a Friday and they accepted our bid on Monday yea that fast.

When we were looking to move out of NJ,we looked at Media, Chestnut Hill, Phoenixville, Doyestown and several places in Delaware and settled on West Chester a decision we do not regret at all.

More info here
http://www.visitphilly.com/towns/west-chester/

Good luck in your search.

[vimeo]214846692[/vimeo]
https://vimeo.com/214846692

[Wells5]

Why Philly? Check out Fox Chapel, PA.

[Muinteoir]

I think you should look into towns like Media, PA and Swarthmore, PA. They are very close to the airport and both have high ranking public schools (not as high as say Lower Merion, but still top notch), have plenty of amenities, cute little downtowns, and train access to Philadelphia. The Media/Elwyn line does not go to the airport, though, so you'll likely be driving to work.

Originally Posted by Wells5

Why Philly? Check out Fox Chapel, PA.

Like the Fox Chapel in metro Pittsburgh? I am assuming because the OP is working specifically at the Philadelphia International Airport.

[Wells5]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

Like the Fox Chapel in metro Pittsburgh? I am assuming because the OP is working specifically at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Didn't take notice of the OP's work location. Apologies.

[chessimprov]

I think you could consider Glen Mills and Lima in addition. Lima doesn't have as much shopping immediately surrounding it per se, but it's closer to the airport distance wise and commute time overall. There is not nightlife or train stations that go to these areas.

[toobusytoday]

I agree with the West Chester suggestion. Getting to the airport means traveling some busy roads but being South and West of Philadelphia will mitigate some of that problem. WC has a great downtown and good schools. It's the county seat of Chester County. Fifteen minutes west and you can be in the country.

[Pocopsonite]

Since you emphasize public schools, you might want to look in the Unionville/Chadds Ford School District, which is consistently ranked one of the best in the state. Many homes in the West Chester zip code 19382 are in the Unionville/CF SD; not sure if that is true for all of 19382, so be sure to check. Other zip codes are also in the same district, including Chadds Ford, 19317.
PHL is about 45 minutes on a good day if you live close to U.S. Route 1 and near or east of Longwood Gardens. $1.1 million will buy you a very nice house; property taxes will likely be low-to-mid teens $K.

[MarketStEl]

Piling on in recommending West Chester Borough.

Since it seems that you sort of want to have your rural cake and eat urbanity too, I think the Chester County seat probably strikes the best balance between the two, though the townships that bracket Media Borough (Upper Providence, Nether Providence, Middletown) might also be within your zone. Your budget leads me to recommend looking for houses on the borough's north side, in particular its northeast quarter, or in neighboring West Goshen Township, part of which lies within the West Chester Area School District's territory.

All of the school districts covering this territory (Rose Tree Media, Wallingford-Swarthmore, West Chester Area) are highly regarded. (Unionville-Chadds Ford, south of West Chester, is even more highly regarded, as another poster noted, but its territory is less densely settled with no real Main Street or town center aside from West Chester's nearby. Wait - there's also Kennett Square, a little further out, if you live in that district.)

Regional Rail trains do serve Media, but as has already been noted, getting to the airport from this part of Delaware County by train is a non-starter, as it requires traveling into Center City then heading back out. US 322, a key link in the route to the airport from West Chester or Chadds Ford, is being rebuilt and improved, and the new highway should be less crowded and dangerous than the current one once work is complete. (From Media, the quickest route uses US 1 and I-476.)