Military family relocating to Horsham (Philadelphia, Willow Grove: 2009, house, safe neighborhood)

[Yankeewife]

I'm new to this forum. My husband is in the Navy, currently stationed at Dobbins ARB in Georgia. We will be relocating to the Navy Air Station in Horsham in May 2009. I am originally from the Gettysburg area of PA but am not familiar with the suburbs of Philadelphia.
We are looking for good towns to look for housing. Our priorities are: good schools for our two daughters (one will be going into 7th grade, the other will be going into 4th grade), safe neighborhood, easy commute for him to the base.
I have been looking at some of the school web sites but all the information is overwhelming.
Our older daughter is currently in private school here in GA due to learning disabilities(paid partially by the state)and ADHD(I am getting her tested for Asperger's). I have looked at private schools in PA but the tuitions are double what they are here. Is there a way to get assistance or make them affordable?
I'd appreciate any help.

[kelb]

We moved to Horsham when our kids were the same age as yours. It's a great area for families, and the Hatboro Horsham school district is top notch. They do a decent job with support for learning disabilities.
Commutes are tricky in the area, so living in Horsham close to the base will be a big convenience for your husband.
Good luck with your move.

[Tone509]

You can't really go wrong with any of the communities near Willow Grove AFB: e.g. Hatboro, Horsham, Warminster, Willow Grove, Abington, etc. I'm not knowledgeable about how their schools work with special needs kids, however, so contacting the school districts may be in order.

[BeenAroundTheBlock]

I agree, live right in Horsham. It's a great community and the schools are Blue Ribbon schools. All three of my kids went though the HH school system. Horsham is pretty small though so if you can't find what you're looking for a lot of people who work in Horsham live in Chalfont, Warrington and Doylestown. All excellent schools as well.

[PhotoMatt]

Warminster is a nice place to live. There's a large naval community there.. lots of shopping, good schools and close to the base.. My brother is in the reserves and lives in Warminster. my niece and nephew are deaf and they are well taken care of in the schools. PA healthcare for children is excellent.

like Tone509 and everyone else says... Hatboro, Horsham, Warminster, Willow Grove and Abington are all great places to live and raise kids.

[andreaspercheron]

Hello and Welcome! I actually live in Horsham and I work at the base you are speaking about. Please feel free to send me a private message. I have lived in Horsham for several years and it's a wonderful community to raise kids in (I have raised two) and can tell you about the schools, neighborhood, surrounding areas, etc... You know, Horsham was rated 15th best place in America to live recently and my one friend jokes and calls this area "Pleasantville".
I love living here as do my kids. I have mostly Navy friends as I work at the Naval clinic on base but I myself am not military. Everyone here on base is very nice and they are big on getting together after work to help each other out and just hang out. It's a very tight-knit community.
I think you will really enjoy it and the town / surrounding areas.

Again, please feel free to send me a private message if you have any specific questions.

[Yankeewife]

Thanks everyone for your help! Does anyone know if Willow Grove offers base housing (either on or off)? My husband has also said that we could live on McGuire AFB. Any thoughts on that?

[Gerania]

I'd be surprised if you'd get base housing at McGuire right now. There was a guy, Army, asking about neighborhoods, towns in Burlington County over on the New Jersey board. He said that the wait for base housing was a year. All you can do is ask.

Do you mean that your husband would be working at Willow Grove commuting from McGuire? That wouldn't be my first choice or my second. His drive to work would be 40 miles along mostly congested highway. You'd add two tolls and a bridge crossing.

[digi21]

McGuire would be a good hour or so commute. I know they had housing at Willow Grove years ago when my father was stationed out of there but I don't know if they still have it. We never lived in base housing but our hair stylist did and we went to her house for our hair cuts.

[GMonkey]

Willow Grove still has housing. I'm not sure what the wait is, though. Living at McGuire and commuting would suck. Also, the area around McGuire isn't really an area I'd prefer to live, personally--unless I had a ton of money and had one of the horse farms around there.

Warminster is nice, especially if you aren't commuting any great distance frequently as the traffic is pretty horrendous.