Is it possible; 4 bed, 2 bath, > $250k house, top notch public schools, commutable to Philly? (Philadelphia: real estate)

[jfbd6805]

Thanks for the replies and interesting discussion of SJ v. PA suburbs! I lived in NJ from 1999 - 2000 and worked there in 2004-5 and have no real desire to live there again. Taxes can be outrageous and we are only on one income now.

If we are moving to work in Philadelphia both DH and I want to live in Pennsylvania. We love the countryside there (have visited Lancaster County and Poconos and Jim Thorpe) so ideally would like to live in a rural type of suburb but close enough so my DH could commute to Philly for his work.

From the discussion I take it I should start to look in Montgomery County and Chester County and the Lehigh Valley? Are there particular towns that I should focus on? Also, these two school districts were mentioned: council rock and neshaminy, are there any other great school districts we should look into?

Thanks again for all the responses!

[MoorestownResident]

No problem, good luck!

[orrmobl]

Central Bucks East and West, Methacton, Tredyffrin, Chadds Ford, Great Valley, Downingtown, West Chester, Phoenixville, Spring Ford, Perkiomen, Lower Merion

I personally don't care for the Lehigh Valley - too blue collar/redneck/let's kill something while drunk for me...of course I'm generalizing...

[toobusytoday]

Geez, you're generalizing WRONG! The average price for homes sold this year in my school district is about $339,000. Now, I wouldn't want to live in the city of Allentown and just like Philadelphia, the schools in our big cities leave alot to be desired, but our small towns surrounding the cities are very good. And instead of the sprawl that ate Delaware and Chester counties, we do still have small towns that are vibrant.

I have no idea where you got the blue collar/redneck etc. thing. Bethlehem Steel is long gone. We've lived here for eleven years (after having lived in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties) and I'm not really sure what you are talking about. BTW, we paid exactly the same amount for our house up here that we sold our old house for in Garnet Valley and found the housing prices overall no different.

[orrmobl]

From the guy my cousin married and the people I've encountered up that way. I didn't say they were bad people, just not my cup of tea.

They don't call it Pennsyltucky for nothing! A lot of that applies to the rest of the state not in the T zone - and I happen to love central PA. But western PA and the Lehigh Valley do nothing for me, sorry!

And as far as schools and city amenities go, its not even a contest...

[toobusytoday]

I've never heard the Lehigh Valley called that but then I'm not the PA expert that you are. I've met weird people in every county I've lived in, including where you live, but I would not paint a whole region based on my experiences. I would not dream of comparing the Lehigh Valley with the Philadelphia suburbs because I know how wonderfully high the schools are ranked there and goodness knows that is SOOO important. I lived in those suburbs for 10 years and that was long enough, good for you for sticking it out! Please, let's not let our own prejudices get in the way of a poster trying to figure out what they want to do.

To jfbd6805, For us, figuring out our priorities really helped us narrow down our area. We did not want to live in another suburban area where there were just houses, we really wanted good schools but not a huge school district, etc. The more we figured out what we wanted, the easier the search became.

[orrmobl]

It's not so much weird as it is world view. I loathe guns, I am a slightly left of center liberal. I have no religious affiliation to speak of. I believe in women's right to choose and that the government can and should help people get their lives back on track. I would never vote for Hillary Clinton or Ronald Reagan. I hate the smell of fertlizer in the morning.

If none of this applies to you, then the Lehigh Valley may be a good choice!

[ajb842]

I can barely follow the above comments! But as a young married couple looking for houses, my husband and I are surprised(in a good way) at what we have been able to find for 250K or less in montgomery county. Don't be afraid, there are plenty of homes that have been for sale at this point for almost a year! I can think of at least 10 off the top of my head that are for sale now, some less than 225K, and they are NOT "fixer uppers!" Check out Abington, Willow Grove, Cheltenham, Elkins Park, Glenside, Jenkintown(this is unlikely here but just look, you never know), Warminster(bucks county), Hatboro,Oreland, Wyndmoor, Horsham, huntingdon valley(unlikely again, but every once in awhile...). The taxes in Cheltenham and Elkins Park(and parts of glenside) are higher so take that into consideration. Also, beware of some parts of glenside and abington as well as willow grove and hatboro as there can be some less desirable neighborhoods/streets. If bucks county is what you want, check out langhorne, south hampton, feasterville. You'll be close to everything and for the most part, you get a nice yard in a cute safe neighborhood. The schools in all the areas mentioned are pretty good, so don't worry. I have friends that have graduated from council rock(a very good district) and cheltenham and abington and they have all done well. I come from Cheltenham and I loved it.

[toobusytoday]

orrmobl,
I would ignore your comments if I wasn't afraid they would influence someone to get the wrong idea of the Lehigh Valley. I actually canvassed for Obama yesterday (the majority of the people we talked to were also Obama supporters), have never voted for a Republican President in my life, was a vegetarian for 16 years. I'm not thought of as strange or different. I don't know where you have been up here but honest, the people are pretty much the same. I really am scratching my head at your comments.

Sorry for the major hi-jack. I promise this is my last post defending the whole of the Lehigh Valley. I also want to apologize for anything rude I may have said against the Philadelphia area suburbs. While I don't miss the traffic and busyness, the closeness to the city of Philadelphia was great and so were the people.

[silverspringer]

As someone quite familiar with the Lehigh Valley, I will step in as ref and say: YOU'RE BOTH RIGHT! The Lehigh Valley has changed enormously in the past twenty years. It has gotten more built-up, more diverse, more politically liberal. It used to be a conservative stronghold but is now the battleground area which will likely determine which way PA goes in the election (and PA has gone to the Dems in each presidential election beginning in '92). A lot of the change came about as a result of the completion of I-78, which gave the area, formerly isolated, a good commuting route into NJ. The Lehigh Valley of today (parts of it) is hip and cute and retro-villagey and (parts of it) full of brand-new subdivisions that have replaced the corn fields and (parts of it) people who go to church and like hunting and have lived in the same houses since forever.

I will venture to say that the best school districts in the Philly area are probably better than the best school districts in the Lehigh Valley. The best Lehigh Valley schools are pretty good, though. And the worst are no worse than the Philly city schools. Not much better, though.