young couple moving from NJ to PA (King of Prussia, North Wales: best neighborhood, rent)

[bluehill]

Hi, would appreciate some advice here. We are a couple who just started a family and will move from NJ to PA in about 2 months. So, we are looking for a good place to buy a house now. This will be our first house (so glad that we could buy a much better house in PA than in NJ!). And we are really anxious about what to buy and where to buy. Would appreciate any input from folks here.

Here is our financial situation: ~$120k in savings and annual income about $130k. No car loans.

Here is what we are hoping for:

- single family house with 4 bdrm, what price range is for us?
- We have a 3-year-old and the second one is coming. So, would love excellent public schools. Actually schools are quite important to us. NJ people have been telling us that their schools are way better.
- low crime rate
- friendly neighborhood. Many NJ drivers are quite impatient... one of the reasons we are leaving NJ
- closer to work: employer is at North Wales (Upper Gwynedd)
- closer to shopping centers and malls
- easy access to highways: still feasible to drive to NJ and NYC
- not a must but would be a plus if neighborhood is in a relatively new development

Thanks a lot! We think we will love PA and could not wait to move...

[Duderino]

I definitely think you fit the demographic of the area in which you're looking to live perfectly:

- You'll find plenty of options with that income, as new development housing is pretty plentiful in the area. I'd say you're looking at a 250K-400K price tag, depending entirely on the exact location and how upscale the development.

- Since you desire to be close to your employer in Upper Gwynedd and want to be in a good school system, you may want to check out North Penn, Spring-Ford, and Upper Merion School Districts. I know Spring-Ford, for one, recently completed building a brand new high school to accomodate more students. This may also be a helpful website in determining the best neighborhood:

http://www.homes.com/Real_Estate/PA/County/MONTGOMERY

- NJ is no more than an hour away on route 76, and NYC, no more than 2 hours away, is very accessible via I-95.

- Shopping is no problem. Plenty of strip malls. King of Prussia is definitely THE mall of the surrounding area, but there are plenty of others, too.

- Just one note, though: PA drivers aren't necessarily patient, either. :-) I've found aggressive driving mostly on the major highways/routes.

[William shivers]

you have plenty of money saved, you make a good income. you will have no problem affording the house you are looking for. I'm just guessing but it seems you might be working for merck. worked there as a contractor for a few years and have many friends still there. My girlfriend also lives in north wales and I own a home here that I rent out. north penn school district is very good. and there a alot of choices for homes in this area. new and old. it's a very good buyers market so you will have a lot to choose from. Take a look at some of the new develpoments you can work some good deals there.

[bluehill]

Thanks a lot for the advice. Didn't want to get into a debate of Montgomery vs Bucks. But how does north penn SD compare with central bucks SD? Coming from NJ, still would like to be closer to Jersey...maybe it's just a psychological thing...

[William shivers]

based purely on numbers from www.schoolmatters.com
central bucks has a higher pct in reading and math than north penn. however north penn is a bit smaller in overall enrollment and less students per class. both are good but central bucks is a bit better.
The only added headache would be the commute to and from north wales 30-45 miinutes

[phase4]

North Penn schools are avg. Bucks is overpriced. Montco is pricey, but check out Upper Gynnedd just off of 309 near Spring House. Thats a great place to live!