Moving from London to Philadelphia (King of Prussia, Paoli: buying a house, buying, elementary school)

[Hobokenkitchen]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

Why would you want to move here? My neighbor in Philly is actually hoping to move back to England someday soon.

OMG - you just can't help yourself can you. People talk very negatively about London too you know - so maybe the OP doesn't have standards which are as high as yours.

OP; I'm kidding - I love London, and so far really like Philly too.

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by Hobokenkitchen

OMG - you just can't help yourself can you. People talk very negatively about London too you know - so maybe the OP doesn't have standards which are as high as yours.

This wasn't me talking,it's right from my neighbor who by the way is a Philly native. Maybe he's finally gotten tired of it and is seeking greener pastures...well actually most anything else is greener But his wife is from London and he's been there as well,so apparently to him it is better.

[rainrock]

Forbes magazine just came out with a list of the USA's 20 best counties to raise a family. 2 of them are suburbs of Philadlephia. #9 Montgomery County and its neighbor Chester County came in at #10.

http://www.forbes.com/2008/06/27/sch...thisSpeed=3000

Don't pay Stuck any mind. Theres 5,000 sq miles of metro Philly, 4950 of those sq. miles are decent to fabulous places to live. I think Stuck is caught in the 50 sq miles this isnt so great.

Good luck

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Don't pay Stuck any mind. Theres 5,000 sq miles of metro Philly, 4950 of those sq. miles are decent to fabulous places to live. I think Stuck is caught in the 50 sq miles this isnt so great.

So what precisely are the other 4950 sq miles you speak of?

[bryson662001]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

Why would you want to move here? My neighbor in Philly is actually hoping to move back to England someday soon.

As for the school situation, any neighborhood inside the city limits, even a high income one, will probably require a private school since the Philadelphia public schools are not well regarded. Almost any suburban town outside the city limits will have good to excellent public schools.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

So what precisely are the other 4950 sq miles you speak of?

Have you been outside of the city?

Chester Springs,Chester County


West Chester, Chester County


Brandywine, Chester County
http://www.joangoloskov.com/images/Longwood_Fountains.jpg (broken link)

Washingtons Crossing, Bucks County


Center City Philadelphia


Chestnut HIll Philadlephia


Granted there are parts of the city that havent stood the test of time too well but to hear people say Philadelphia has nothing going for it is absolutely ludicrous. The suburbs are flawless except for rare occassions(Chester-West Philly border towns-lower bucks-.

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Have you been outside of the city?

Granted there are parts of the city that havent stood the test of time too well but to hear people say Philadelphia has nothing going for it is absolutely ludicrous. The suburbs are flawless except for rare occassions(Chester-West Philly border towns-lower bucks-.

Of course I've been outside the city,I do it every chance I get. Have you been inside the city?

I never said Philadelphia has nothing going for it.

As for o.p. I'm sure they're not going to want to travel over an hour sitting in traffic from Chester/Montgomery Counties to the actual city.

Now,I hope my post didn't offend your mod friend this time.

[Hobokenkitchen]

Originally Posted by StuckPA

This wasn't me talking,it's right from my neighbor who by the way is a Philly native. Maybe he's finally gotten tired of it and is seeking greener pastures...well actually most anything else is greener But his wife is from London and he's been there as well,so apparently to him it is better.

Don't get me wrong - I love London. Thinks it's one of the best big cities in the world. I like it better than New York, but I must admit that Sydney beats almost anywhere!

BUT people are just as vicous about London as you are about Philly. I guess negativity rules the world over sadly. You only have to go on the UK forum to see how negative people are on that forum too. Gets really annoying after a while seeing somewhere you love be constantly trashed by people with nothing better to do.

[vizanje]

First off, welcome to Philly. As you can see, some people are extremely down on the area. I'll try to help with an objective review if possible. We have lived in London and the burbs in the UK,and are now in Philly, so I might be able to help in your questions.

OK, if you are looking for a more suburban life, the Mainline is an ideal place. Excellent schools, short commute, beautiful houses, parks everywhere, activities for the kids and family. Other areas people mentioned are also nice. It depends on where you are working in the city and the best commute. You have to decide if you want city life or suburban life.
As far as living, your rent sounds really cheap for the UK, but then again the size of properties there are quite small. I lived in London and the rent was exorbitant, and the space was smaller than a NYC apartment. We also lived about 40 miles away in Hertfordshire, and the price of our 3 bdrm house was $420K US for a house of approx 900 sq ft.. with no basement. It was tiny. For $400K in Philly you get allot more.

There are many excellent public schools in the Philly area. Lower Merion, Wissahickon, Conestoga High have all been recognized for their programs nationally. There are of course others in the area, plus some magnet schools which are amazing. As a whole the area is very solid for education. There are of course areas where the educational system has collapsed within the city.

As far as taxes and cost of living. We found the UK extremely tax heavy, not just on income, but one seemed to get hit in all directions. The cost of living is higher than here. The gotcha here is property/school taxes, which in the UK are relatively low from my experience. But since you have kids, paying high taxes for excellent schools isn't so bad.

Like everything, there are positives and negatives to every place. We lived in NYC for years and loved it. But then we had kids, and Manhattan isn't the most kid friendly area. We found Philly a good balance. There is the city life, and a short drive away is rolling hills, country, with the mountains to the north, the Jersey shore to the east, close to many interesting areas to visit, plenty of outdoor activities, biking, kayaking, etc...

I can go on in more detail. If you would like, send me a direct message and I'll try to give you more specific info and assistance in your relocation. We might be able to smooth your transition since we've been down the same path.

[StuckPA]

Originally Posted by Hobokenkitchen

Gets really annoying after a while seeing somewhere you love be constantly trashed by people with nothing better to do.

Nothing better to do than what? Just trying to live peacefully?