Retirement Move from Newton, MA to PA (Philly Suburbs) (Philadelphia: 2015, homes)

[Tweb66]

Mushrooms grow in feces, so yeah...

[TLC1957]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

Mushrooms grow in feces, so yeah...

Yep and on a nice hot July day we’ll you know. U really need to look at an aerial map the farms go in Delaware and beyond. Open Google maps to the Kennett Square area and type in mushroom farm and see how many are listed.

[Avalon08]

Originally Posted by TLC1957

Biker

As per Wikipedia……Kennett Square is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World because mushroom farming in the region produces over 500 million pounds of mushrooms a year, totaling half of the United States mushroom crop.

My 2 cents….
You know how they grow mushrooms??.Google map aerial view where you are interested and make sure no mushroom farms are to the west of you ( prevailing wind). Look for long hut type buildings with large piles adjacent. The smell can be let’s say different……lol

I remember when I used to commute to work via Route 113 from Skippack through Collegeville. At that time, tons of new developments were going in. One of them was downwind of a pig farm. I could smell the stench even with my windows closed. Apparently, the residents of the new development complained. Uh, sorry, the pigs were there first! But wow, something you may not find out until it's too late.

[Tweb66]

On the flip side, I have fond memories of my grandmother's house, down the street was a factory that made breakfast sausages for McDonalds. It closed many years ago but what a glorious smell (not being sarcastic, think smelling bacon 24/7).

[Mayvenne]

Looking forward to your opinions on your trip.

[BikerForPaws]

Hi all, I just want to provide an update on our trip to PA. We left MA on a Monday and arrived to New Hope 287 miles later. We got to check out about 13 or so towns before heading up to see family on Wednesday. Here's a synopsis of our 1st impressions. Sandra took all the notes.

Day 1:
New Hope: Had lunch at Ferry Mkt food court. Adorable downtown on the Delaware River. Historic feeling.
Doylestown: Farmy/horses and nice new subdivisions on 20-minute ride over. Big beautiful downtown. Wow factor! Charming with a downtown movie theater. Lots of shops and restaurants. Liked area a lot.
Lansdale: We checked out a few homes for sale. Not cookie cutter homes. Sidewalks and people jogging. I waved at a few people/couples. Nothing in return lol. Downtown not that nice. Spread out but has bus system.
Ambler: Checked out a house. A big no for $565. Quiet area. Nice subdivisions. Cute downtown similar to Doylestown.
Blue Bell: Nice area/neighborhoods. Seems quiet. Did not find a downtown. Seems not much going on. Sandra liked it. People did not wave back argh.
Jenkinstown: Was getting dark. Went to a Giant to use restroom. Area seemed busy.....city like. High rise apartments. Didn't get a chance to check out neighborhoods so won't give opinion on area.
North Wales: Stayed at the Joseph Ambler Inn.
Day 2:
Phoenixville: Big but nice clean downtown. Big hospital. Older smaller homes but well kept. We checked out a few neighborhoods. Homes seemed close together. We drove through the town of Audubon which seems like a nice area.
Paoli: Upscale town. Lots of stuff around. Trauma Hospital. Amtrak Keystone line. We checked out a $780 home that had view of train tracks yikes!
Malvern: Beautiful quaint downtown. Cute homes. Crazy expensive (on the Main Line).
Downingtown: Many recreation areas. Has a downtown, some shopping. Flat.
Coatesville: Old area. Rowhouses. Factory town. Not nice from what we saw.
West Grove: Pretty to drive to. Lots of farm land. Too remote for us.
Kennett Square: Had lunch. Nice downtown with lots of restaurants. Funky vibe (good). Checked out a few homes. Kind of family based. Lots of kids. Some old homes.
West Chester: College town. Huge downtown. Busy. Beautiful homes. Well maintain. Not flat. Big hospital. Has possibilities.
Media: Stayed at Alpenhof B&B Inn. Funky and nice. Great owners. Went to a few townie bars to eat (by mistake) but left to go to DiFabio's. Food was great. Media seemed like a nice town. Owners of Inn says it's getting overcrowded and overpriced.
Day 3:
Concordville: Recommended by Inn owner's. West of Media. Nice area. Seems like it's getting built up with big family homes. Some upscale shopping. Would be an area that we would be interested in to get older home with a little land. Has that away from the city feel with shopping mixed with farmland.
Millville, PA: Sandra's sisters. Was around a 2.5 hr. drive. We headed back and took Rt476 since we were pressed for time. I really didn't like the ride much getting up to I-80. Was quick but heavy traffic once 3 lanes converged into 2.

NOTES: Liked most areas along Rt 202. Has that away from the city feel but has everything around it. I would say Doylestown, West Chester and west of Media gets the most thumbs up for us. Not sure if the ride from the Philly area to family would justify the move. However, tax savings may. We may check out some other areas but being far away from an International airport seems to be an issue. Hope this helps. Off to watch the Pat's game.

[TLC1957]

Biker,

Thanks for the informative review of your trip, you really fit a lot into trip. If you ever need more information on West Chester let me know. No I am not a realtor I just love West Chester…lol

Unfortunately the Christmas parade in West Chester has been canceled because of Covid. Planning for the parade started in January of 2021, we were in a much different place in January hence the cancellation. This is what they are doing instead

https://greaterwestchester.com/event...-west-chester/

[MarketStEl]

BikerForPaws: What locations further from PHL might you be considering?

Doylestown IMO is probably near the limit of your one-hour-from-the-airport radius. Locations beyond that circle in Pennsylvania that are closer to Bloomsburg include the Lehigh Valley, which has its own airport (even though it's called Lehigh Valley International, I don't believe ABE has any scheduled international flights).

Lancaster County has several nice places, including its very happening county seat. But I think it falls outside your criteria for both airport access and travel to your wife's fam.

Berks County (seat: Reading) isn't as nice as Lancaster County IMO, but I think there are some communities in it that you might want to explore. Again, it's outside the one-hour-to-the-airport bubble, and Reading Municipal Airport has no scheduled commercial flights at all, but it is closer to Bloomsburg.

There are also some communities in Southern New Jersey that check off most of the boxes you want and are close to the airport — Merchantville, Collingswood, Burlington and Haddonfield all come to my mind — but getting to Bloomsburg from these adds time and tolls to your journey, not to mention New Jersey's higher property and state income taxes.

[Tweb66]

When it comes to airports, if you are considering Doylestown, don't forget Trenton-Mercer! Its even smaller than LVIA but you can connect to a few hubs.

[greenjuice]

Biker - you covered a great deal of territory during your visit, and I'm in agreement w/your assessments.

You just missed the Doylestown annual Christmas Tree Lighting this past Friday evening. Here's a link to a FB group video if you'd like to take a peek. It's a private group, so you may not be able to view the video if you aren't a member, but it's a Doylestown connection all the same if you're interested in joining.

Doylestown FB group video - Christmas Tree Lighting 2021

As a Doylestown resident for the past 22 years, my personal preference for home ownership in this region lies with Bucks County over both Montgomery and Delaware Counties. (No offense meant to anyone!) I grew up in DelCo, and I lived in MontCo for a good many years prior to settling in Bucks. If I had to serve on a jury, I'd much rather go to Bucks County Courthouse than any of the others, and I'll just leave it at that.

The Trenton/Mercer airport is close by as another poster mentioned, but you won't find the same number of flight options and destinations that you'd find by departing from PHL or EWR. I actually prefer flying out of Newark over Philadelphia. The ride is perhaps 15 mins. longer to EWR, but the commute through NJ is much better traffic-wise, and Newark airport is a major hub where you'll find great flight options for international destinations.

Another poster mentioned that you might want to consider looking in NJ. If you are a concealed firearm carrier, or just someone who enjoys the sport of shooting - stay FAR away from NJ! The gun laws and restrictions are night & day between PA & NJ.

Wishing you the best of luck, Biker!