possible relocation to philly area (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh: renting, houses, buying)

[psugirl2000]

my husband, infant daughter and i may be relocating to the philly area within the next few months. i am looking for advice about where to live in the suburbs. we are interested in the main line area and would like to hear pros/cons about this section of PA. thanks in advance!

[Nouvelle Villa]

Hi. My wife and I just bought a house in West Chester (a little north of the borough). From what we researched, I can share the following.

For one, this area of Pennsylvania is known for its great schools. Overall, if you live in the Philly suburbs, especially mainline, you can expect to be in a very good school district, excluding the Coatesville School Disctrict (outside of Downingtown). From what I understand, Coatesville is working very hard to improve the schools. However, that is still a work in progress and unfortunately, this means very high taxes for homeowners.

Furthermore, by moving I will be able to use the train to commute to work. If that is something you can do, you should look into it. Traffic can be problematic sometimes, so that can save you headaches.

Once you began a home search, wether it is buying or renting, you will notice that the prices are a little high. Generally, the further west you go on the mainline, the more affordable housing gets to be. If you have a big budget, then it's not something to worry about.

Hope this little bit of information helps! Good luck!

[thesixth]

Pros: very nice, walkable (to some extent) towns along the Main Line with excellent schools, very convenient to Philadelphia

Cons: very expensive housing costs and most housing is older existing houses - not very much new construction.

[orrmobl]

Ditto the above.

Lower Merion has the richest of the rich but also a diverse population. The schools are in the top 10 or so but seem to be slipping a tad, at least according to a recent ranking by the Pittsburgh Business Times of all school districts in PA.

Radnor is ranked higher school wise but from what I've read and heard, it is nouveau riche bratty kid entitlement "mine is better than yours" central. The kids skip school to do breakfast and the parents don't care, so the school doesn't even bother to let them know their kids are not in school! Then there was a grade fixing scandal or something. I just wouldn't live there or raise my kids there, too spoiled.

Tredyffrin schools rank 2nd in the state. Conestoga high school is in the top 100 in the country. There is a mix of rich and middle class and you are further down the main line so there is more green space and a tad less congestion. Wayne, parts of Devon and Malvern, and Berwyn and Paoli cover this area and its my favorite part of the Main Line, just because of its location, the schools and the green space.

Great Valley schools covers Malvern and they are also in the top 15 in the state.

Heading south, Unionville Chadds Ford are ranked 6th in the state right after Radnor, there are trees aplenty, it seems to be a great locale, but you must like housing developments and being further from all the conveniences of the city or King of Prussia. I would live there if the commute would be bearable for my wife.

Downingtown schools cover Downingtown and Chester Springs.

Chester Springs is like 90210 - the people who live there are fake and just want to add another label to their collection. Its the land of the McMansion and taxes are through the roof. I've heard the area is gorgeous but these Main Line wannabes (they actually call it the "New Main Line") make me never want to step foot there.

Downingtown on the other hand has a good location next to Exton (which I really like), shopping, a Wegmans, the downtown area is nothing to write home about but you should be able to find a house in pretty much any category to suit you. And the people out this way are unbelievably friendly...we visited Media yesterday and were stunned by the rudeness at the McDonald's drive through - that rudeness is a way of life around the city, but out here in the country, everyone is friendly, smiles, makes small talk, tells you to have a nice day and actually means it...I really love it out here.

West Chester schools are right after Downingtown's but it is also becoming yuppified. It's great for families, walkable downtown, interestesting architecture but the restaurants are becoming chi-chi and I'm fearing the people who like that sorta thing will become the norm there. It also butts up against Delaware county, where rudeness in service is the norm.

I'm currently renting just past Downingtown in Caln Township, Coatesville is my post office. And we absolutely love it - nice people, beautiful trees, quiet, wildlife, you can see the stars at night. But the schools aren't good so we will be moving in the next year. Its a real bummer too because if the schools weren't so bad and the taxes weren't so high here we would surely stay.