Media to Horsham commute? (Philadelphia, Chester: best neighborhood, real estate, house)

[renlouis]

I am wondering about commute time from Media to Horsham and back - googlemaps says 37 minutes, but I'm guessing it could be significantly longer at rush hour? The reason I'm wondering is that my husband is looking at a job in Horsham and we were very high on Doylestown, but it looks like he will be traveling quite a bit (by air) and the drive from D-town to the airport looks bad! I saw that Media is alot like D-town and is much closer to the airport, but that would put us much farther from Horsham. Any thoughts on this?? D-town vs. Media considering job in Horsham and using airport at least once a week. Thanks so much for any advice. If you have any suggestions re: walkable towns (similar to Media and D-town) that are in between, that would be great too!

[thesixth]

This is tough.. I would maybe recommend you look at living in the Jenkintown area, due north of Philadelphia and a bit south on Rt. 611 from Horsham. It is a compromise. The drive to the airport from Jenkintown would not be too bad, & you have train lines there, so an alternative is to train to CC and then take the airport line.
My guess for drive time from Media to Horsham would be 45 minutes + during rush hours.

[sbhubbell]

Media to Horsham would be an hour, I'd bet, at rush. It's just not an easy/direct route. As far as walkable towns closer to the airport...hmm...honestly the drive from Horsham to the airport is not THAT bad.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by sbhubbell

Media to Horsham would be an hour, I'd bet, at rush. It's just not an easy/direct route. As far as walkable towns closer to the airport...hmm...honestly the drive from Horsham to the airport is not THAT bad.

Agree 100%. You are better off staying closer to Horsham the drive to the airport isnt that bad. Sounds like you are partial to walkable quaint small towns so I would suggest taking a look at Chestnut Hill, best neighborhood in the area imo, its tucked away in NW Philadlephia. The only problem is that if you live in Philadelphia you have to pay a 4% wage tax. The wage tax must be taken into consideration, jst thought I d throw that out there because Chestnut HIll is such a great neighborhood.

Another set of older quaint towns are the Main Line towns-Wayne,Radnor,Bryn Mawr,Ardmore,Narberth,Wynnewood. All these towns are north of Media and make more sense for a daily Horsham commute.All are Close to 476 which is a straight shot to the airport.

Good luck.

[renlouis]

Great suggestions rainrock! I will look at those towns. I didn't know about the 4% wage tax - that is a huge deal!! Are the property taxes any lower if you are in Philadelphia? is there anything to offset the wage tax or is it just additional?? We live in TX now and have no state taxes, wage taxes, etc. so even the state tax is going to be a bummer. I can't imagine adding an additional 4% burden to that!

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by renlouis

Great suggestions rainrock! I will look at those towns. I didn't know about the 4% wage tax - that is a huge deal!! Are the property taxes any lower if you are in Philadelphia? is there anything to offset the wage tax or is it just additional?? We live in TX now and have no state taxes, wage taxes, etc. so even the state tax is going to be a bummer. I can't imagine adding an additional 4% burden to that!

Yes I should have mentioned that. Philadlephia property taxes will be much lower than a comparable house in the suburban counties as much as 50%-75% lower. The price of the house will most likely be lower as well. That is the tradeoff for the 4% Philadephia city wage tax. Chestnut Hill and West Mount Airy and the Center City neighborhoods would be well worth a look especially if you Do Not have school age kids. If school age kids are involved you are better off staying in the suburbs, thats just my opinion.The quallity of public schools between suburbs and Philadlephia are drastic.

Check into Prudential Fox website and you will get an idea what housing prices are and get a feel of different housing styles.

The Main Line towns are in:

Montgomery County

Lower Merion Township(Bala Cynwd,Wynnewood,Penn Valley,Ardmore,Narberth,Haverford,Bryn Mawr,Rosemont,Villanova,Gladwyne)

Main Line towns

Delaware County

Radnor
Ithan
Haverford

Main Line towns

Chester County
Wayne
Paoli
St Davids
Berwyn
Chesterbrooke
Tredyffrin
Malvern

Philadlephia County neighborhoods recommend

Chestnut Hill
West Mount Airy
East Falls
Center City

Good luck

[renlouis]

Oh my gosh Rainrock - thank you so much for all of the info. I will check out all of those towns/neighborhoods and see which one is right for us. I do have school age kids so we'll probably end up in the 'burbs for the better schools. I love the older stone homes, so I need to get on a real estate site and find the neighborhoods where we can find one in our price range that works for the commute. Thanks so much again. You are awesome!