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Hello all, I'm researching a potential move to Philadelphia as my son is moving to NYC and I have a desire to be near him. He's still school aged, not an adult, so don't think I'm one of those parents.
Anyways, I did post a similar thread in the city vs city forum, but now that my focus is on Philadelphia, I was hoping you could help me.
I need to be near any sort of train that will get me into NYC in hopefully less than an hour. Great advice in that thread said to focus on Bucks County and the Main Line suburbs, among others.
While organic walkability is great, I am also don't mind a place like KoP town center. I know many urbanists consider it to be sort of cheesy, but I don't mind. My questions:
*Is there another area similar to KoP town center?
*what other areas would you recommend? Walkability and newer housing stock are nice to haves, only true must haves are decent schools, close to train (driving distance is ok too), and safety (duh).
Buying budget would be 700-850k
Renting budget less than 3k if possible, 2-3 br.
I don't think you can do a train ride from Bucks county to NYC in an hour. I would ask in the Northeast section instead. I'm guessing Allentown area might serve your needs well.
Well, KoP isn't anywhere near a train that goes to NYC. With that in mind, I think the areas that you should focus on are Ardmore (Main Line) and Yardley (Bucks). Ardmore has a train station and daily Amtrak service to NYC Penn Station. Yardley is close to Trenton station in NJ that has multiple NJ Transit and Amtrak trains to NYC every day. Ardmore is probably closer to what KoP Town Center is since it's a little more built up and has Suburban Square right in the middle. Yardley is more of a suburban small town feel with a nice Main Street. Schools, safety, and budget are not an issue in either place. In terms of schools, Lower Merion school district (Ardmore) is one of the top 5-10 in the state. In Yardley, Pennbury school district isn't quite ranked as high, but it's still highly rated and there's nothing wrong with it. In terms of budget, your money definitely goes further anywhere outside the Main Line, but you shouldn't have a problem finding a place in your range in either place.
Also note that trains generally go directly into Penn Station, which is under Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan. If your son is in lower Manhattan, you'll want to take the train (Amtrak or NJT) to Newark Penn Station and switch to the PATH train to World Trade Center.
I don't think you can do a train ride from Bucks county to NYC in an hour. I would ask in the Northeast section instead. I'm guessing Allentown area might serve your needs well.
Amtrak Northeast Regional and Keystone Service trains make the trek from Trenton Transit Center to New York Penn Station in just under an hour. New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line trains do it in about an hour and a half. Many Central Bucks commuters will head into New Jersey to catch trains to New York.
Amtrak Keystone Service trains make it from Ardmore, on the Main Line, to New York Penn Station in about two hours.
There is no rail service between New York and the Lehigh Valley.
Given that, Central Bucks really does make the most sense given the OP's expressed desires.
Gaylord_Focker: As it continues to develop, the Village at Valley Forge/King of Prussia Town Center is turning into one of the best-put-together pieces of Instant Urbanism I've ever run across, and it was that even when it looked more like a typical suburban shopping center island surrounded by a sea of parking than it does now. Pity neither you nor your son are in medicine, for one of the additions to the development now on its way to completion is a full-blown second hospital for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, an expansion of the clinic it opened there four or so years ago. Were it not for the fact that it doesn't fall within your desired commute time to NYC, I'd recommend it highly.
About the closest any other development in this region comes to the Village/Town Center is the less urbane development on the site of the former Garden State Park horse racetrack in Cherry Hill, N.J. It's not quite as well-integrated IMO as the Village/Town Center, but it has a similar basic setup, the residential and commercial districts are connected by pedestrian paths, and it's reasonably walkable. All of its housing, however, is rentals, if that makes any difference (Toll Brothers does have a community of townhouses in the Village/Town Center).
It's more convenient to rail service to New York, but the trek would be a little more cumbersome. It would begin by boarding the NJ Transit Atlantic City Line headed towards Philadelphia at the Cherry Hill station, which is next to this development, then transferring to the River Line light rail at the next stop, Pennsauken Transit Center. You would then take the River Line northbound from there to Trenton Transit Center, where you would catch Amtrak or NJ Transit to New York. Take Amtrak and you might make it in less than two hours, depending on wait times at the transfer point; take the NJT NEC line and you definitely will not.
Amtrak Northeast Regional and Keystone Service trains make the trek from Trenton Transit Center to New York Penn Station in just under an hour. New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Line trains do it in about an hour and a half. Many Central Bucks commuters will head into New Jersey to catch trains to New York.
Amtrak Keystone Service trains make it from Ardmore, on the Main Line, to New York Penn Station in about two hours.
There is no rail service between New York and the Lehigh Valley.
Given that, Central Bucks really does make the most sense given the OP's expressed desires.
Gaylord_Focker: As it continues to develop, the Village at Valley Forge/King of Prussia Town Center is turning into one of the best-put-together pieces of Instant Urbanism I've ever run across, and it was that even when it looked more like a typical suburban shopping center island surrounded by a sea of parking than it does now. Pity neither you nor your son are in medicine, for one of the additions to the development now on its way to completion is a full-blown second hospital for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, an expansion of the clinic it opened there four or so years ago. Were it not for the fact that it doesn't fall within your desired commute time to NYC, I'd recommend it highly.
About the closest any other development in this region comes to the Village/Town Center is the less urbane development on the site of the former Garden State Park horse racetrack in Cherry Hill, N.J. It's not quite as well-integrated IMO as the Village/Town Center, but it has a similar basic setup, the residential and commercial districts are connected by pedestrian paths, and it's reasonably walkable. All of its housing, however, is rentals, if that makes any difference (Toll Brothers does have a community of townhouses in the Village/Town Center).
It's more convenient to rail service to New York, but the trek would be a little more cumbersome. It would begin by boarding the NJ Transit Atlantic City Line headed towards Philadelphia at the Cherry Hill station, which is next to this development, then transferring to the River Line light rail at the next stop, Pennsauken Transit Center. You would then take the River Line northbound from there to Trenton Transit Center, where you would catch Amtrak or NJ Transit to New York. Take Amtrak and you might make it in less than two hours, depending on wait times at the transfer point; take the NJT NEC line and you definitely will not.
I think I may have to buy a used home by the time I'm ready, which looks to be in September 2022. I checked out the Toll brothers build and it's basically sold out on three bedrooms so I may look at single family homes a bit further out.
I have no issue with driving to a train station in the burbs and then taking the train into Manhattan either, that's why KoP is under consideration. it's kind of pricey though, almost California pricey.
The Main Line is not a logical pick. It's west of Philly. I also wouldn't live in Philly. It's just adding more time/distance. If OP is only going to NY occasionally, it doesn't matter, but if it's frequent then the most logical location is Yardley or Newtown which are just across the Delaware River from NJ. I recommend taking the train to NYC from Hamilton Station which has a large parking lot and is safer than Trenton station. Hamilton Station to NYC is a bit over an hour using NJ transit.
Newtown has a bit of a town center feel with some shopping centers connected by walking paths.
The Main Line is not a logical pick. It's west of Philly. I also wouldn't live in Philly. It's just adding more time/distance. If OP is only going to NY occasionally, it doesn't matter, but if it's frequent then the most logical location is Yardley or Newtown which are just across the Delaware River from NJ. I recommend taking the train to NYC from Hamilton Station which has a large parking lot and is safer than Trenton station. Hamilton Station to NYC is a bit over an hour using NJ transit.
Newtown has a bit of a town center feel with some shopping centers connected by walking paths.
Newtown has an actual town in its center, dating to the late 1600s; it was the original Bucks County seat, and it sat at the end of a rail line from Philadelphia. (Attempts to make that verb "sits" again fizzled in the 1990s; my understanding is that Bucks County officials would love to see trains in Newtown again, as the line would also serve a much more developed part of Lower Bucks than was the case when the trains still ran, but Montgomery County remains indifferent at best and has converted its right-of-way into a trail.)
It is a good choice for those wanting to live in the Philadelphia area and commute to NYC, and Bucks County real estate agents were awash in New Yorkers seeking socially distant space when the pandemic hit. But given the OP's two-hour upper limit, even the Main Line qualifies if one takes Amtrak all the way.
Newtown has an actual town in its center, dating to the late 1600s; it was the original Bucks County seat, and it sat at the end of a rail line from Philadelphia. (Attempts to make that verb "sits" again fizzled in the 1990s; my understanding is that Bucks County officials would love to see trains in Newtown again, as the line would also serve a much more developed part of Lower Bucks than was the case when the trains still ran, but Montgomery County remains indifferent at best and has converted its right-of-way into a trail.)
It is a good choice for those wanting to live in the Philadelphia area and commute to NYC, and Bucks County real estate agents were awash in New Yorkers seeking socially distant space when the pandemic hit. But given the OP's two-hour upper limit, even the Main Line qualifies if one takes Amtrak all the way.
Yeah, two hours is an artificial limit, but I want to stick to it. So from KoP, could I drive and park at a train station and then take it into the city? Could the process be less than 2 hours? Really like the looks of it.
Yeah, two hours is an artificial limit, but I want to stick to it. So from KoP, could I drive and park at a train station and then take it into the city? Could the process be less than 2 hours? Really like the looks of it.
It looks like Amtrak takes between 2:00 and 2:10 to get from New York to Paoli, the closest Amtrak stop to King of Prussia, and you have to add the driving time to that.
So if 2 hours is a hard-and-fast upper limit, KofP is beyond it.
As someone who has worked in the KOP area for the last 15 years, I would never consider living there. Don't get me wrong, I love the area, but traffic has gotten to the point of insanity and is only going to get worse as the pop continues to grow.
I'd almost rather drive in Philly at this point than KOP, that's how bad it has gotten on the daily. Just something to consider if you will be doing any kind of driving.
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