Job in Collegeville - where to live

[sbhubbell]

I personally wouldn't want to commute from Media or Wallingford to Collegeville, but if you want an hour long commute they are great towns. I grew up in Media. West Chester is better, but you'd still have a fair amount of traffic. Yes, rush hour all over can be bad. It's not really a 3 hour rush though. One BAD thing I can see about commuting to Wyeth is when that new Providence Town Center opens up it's going to add a ton of traffic right across the street from Wyeth. Granted most people won't be going shopping during the morning rush, but there are supposed to be offices and other stuff in there too. In the afternoon you will be pulling out of Wyeth onto 29 along with all the new shoppers. If it were me, I'd be all about Phoenixville, I love that town. Target is only five minutes away in Oaks, not sure exactly what Maestro was complaining about there. And it is a liberal town, they usually have the Democratic campaign headquarters open right on Bridge St. during election season and they campaigned hard for Obama there, there are often anti-war demonstrators on the corner. I LOVE the Phoenixville Farmer's Market on Saturdays for fantastic locally grown organic produce and delectable breads. And I also loved my yoga studio, Ocean Earth Wind and Fire on Bridge St. Then there's Steel City Coffee House, Iron Hill Brewery, the Artisans Cafe....oh you're making me really homesick!!

[orrmobl]

The problem with Phoenixville is that unless you live away from downtown in one of the new housing developments, you may rub elbows with the people who have been there since the bad 'ol days...there are shady sections and people as maestro said, and the schools are good but there are better options out there.

For young, single, or twinks, it's a great place, but I think there are better places for young families. Just my $.02

[maestro]

Originally Posted by sbhubbell

I personally wouldn't want to commute from Media or Wallingford to Collegeville, but if you want an hour long commute they are great towns. I grew up in Media. West Chester is better, but you'd still have a fair amount of traffic. Yes, rush hour all over can be bad. It's not really a 3 hour rush though. One BAD thing I can see about commuting to Wyeth is when that new Providence Town Center opens up it's going to add a ton of traffic right across the street from Wyeth. Granted most people won't be going shopping during the morning rush, but there are supposed to be offices and other stuff in there too. In the afternoon you will be pulling out of Wyeth onto 29 along with all the new shoppers. If it were me, I'd be all about Phoenixville, I love that town. Target is only five minutes away in Oaks, not sure exactly what Maestro was complaining about there. And it is a liberal town, they usually have the Democratic campaign headquarters open right on Bridge St. during election season and they campaigned hard for Obama there, there are often anti-war demonstrators on the corner. I LOVE the Phoenixville Farmer's Market on Saturdays for fantastic locally grown organic produce and delectable breads. And I also loved my yoga studio, Ocean Earth Wind and Fire on Bridge St. Then there's Steel City Coffee House, Iron Hill Brewery, the Artisans Cafe....oh you're making me really homesick!!

true, Target's not too far away. I miss some other closer chain stores from my old neighborhood. But hey, if that Providence Shopping Center opens up someday we'll be set.

[sbhubbell]

Originally Posted by maestro

true, Target's not too far away. I miss some other closer chain stores from my old neighborhood. But hey, if that Providence Shopping Center opens up someday we'll be set.

Since I moved away a few months ago I don't know what the current schedule for that place is, but it looked like it was well on it's way to opening at least the Wegmans in the near future. The store lineup there is phenomenal in my opinion, all my faves...PF Changs, Ann Taylor, Panera Bread, Barnes and Nobles...

As far as Phoenixville goes, I personally think you're exaggerating on the whole "shady elements" thing. It's not like you see bums hanging on the street corners or whatnot. There is so little crime there now it's amazing. I watched the police blotters pretty closely and it seemed like the whole white collar and domestic crime thing far outweighed any drug or prostitution problem the city may have had twenty years ago. Yeah there are better school districts but not with the same kind of charming downtown area within a close commute of Collegeville. Well, Wayne would qualify I guess but that would be pricey!

[orrmobl]

We were looking at P-ville 2 years ago...and some of the places we looked at were adjacent to dumps - yards full of junk or garbage, homes not maintained. Then we went down the hill from the house we were looking at...and there was an apt. complex with people just hanging out on the steps...in the middle of January! Then the other side of town gets a little deserted and dirty looking - reminds me when I drove down Bridge St. 13 yrs ago and got sketched out.

That's the kind of stuff that makes me not want to live somewhere.

[sbhubbell]

Hmm, I've never seen anything like what you're describing in Pville. Have you driven around there lately? A lot has changed even in two years, things are changing FAST there due to major efforts of the development group. I was shocked at the difference in the town from when we moved in (2004) to when we left in 2008. The new condos above Iron Hill and the renovated apartments above the storefronts all along Bridge have brought in a better element of people. The houses all along Starr St and around the main park (the name of the park escapes me at the moment) are charming and all well maintained. And then there are the high end townhomes being built on the North side of French Creek. I think if I were the OP, I might look into the townhomes along Egypt Rd in Oaks...Longford Crossing. They are very nice and zoned to Springford schools but still only a mile from Phoenixville town center and also only a mile from Wyeth. You wouldn't walk into town (you could but it's a bit of a hike) but you could park anywhere and walk around. Here's an example: 133 Hudson Dr, PHOENIXVILLE, PA, 19460 - MLS ID#5449755 - Rentals Real Estate - REALTOR.com® (http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=1&pg=3&srcnt=52&sid=c50b6e4 71506468bafdd7bfbcff76dc5&fhcnt=8&loc=phoenixville %2c+pa&usrloc=phoenixville%2c+pa&ml=1&bd=4&bor=2&t yp=40&fhpg=1&lid=1104853412&lsn=26 - broken link)

[maestro]

I live in Phoenixville now and I can tell you that some of the weird sightings that orrmobl is mentioning are still there. I'm not trying to start a fight here, and I'm not saying the shady stuff is all over Phoenixville. But there some areas right near Bridge St. that have random dudes just standing around, and some of the houses are rundown and the lawn hasn't been cut in 6 months. Granted, these places are often not too far from some nice, well-kept places but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

In 5-10 years, maybe they will be gone. But for now that lower class element is still there in pockets.

[moving_time]

Hello all!

Thank you for both the information and the discussion. We've talked about Phoenixville, along with many of the other areas you've mentioned and I think we'd explore each of them....assuming I actually end up moving forward with Wyeth (first things first!).