Going to settle in Philly area. Where to? (Springfield, Lansdowne: fit in, rent)

[Zedmor]

We are currently live in rent in University City (19104) and are definitely would love to live in countryside.

So I filled questionnaire and would be really grateful if someone would recommend something.

When are you moving?
Anytime this spring/summer. We live in apt rent in condo now and don't like price and we would love to have something secluded.

Where are you coming from?
University City, we used to live in Europe and moving to US.

Why are you moving?
We really do not like condos and do really love to have single-family house with yard and all this stuff.

Where will you be working?
my wife is researcher in CHOP (upenn) and I operate small web company from home.

Will you buy or rent?
It really depends. We don't have anything against purchasing because we saved some money and if we will encounter something really good we would buy it.

If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend?
House. We are looking about $200k but we can wait some time and allow $250-280k

Are you married or single? Do you have children?
We are married and going to have children. I am 29 and my wife is 31.

Do you prefer public or private schools?
Private

Do you have pets?
No, but we used to and would love to have some

Do you want or need a yard?
Definitely

Are you keeping a car?
obv

Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet?
Calm and quiet. River of lake would be really beautiful. I don't know why but we with my wife really like nature more than people.

What do you want to be closest to?
Work
The only concern is commute time for my wife

Shopping
Only place where we shop is a target and a shop rite. We are very modest in our demands.

Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
y

Nightlife
no

Train or subway stations
not necessarily

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?
We are definately middle class (120k/year per household), my wife is PhD so we would love to live with similar people in safe and quiet community (but not too adult community

Thank you for advices. I would personally visit all neighborhoods you will recomend before contacting any real-estate agents so please advise that you think really worth a visit/thoughts.

Thank you!

[maf763]

You'll really have to indicate how long of a commute your wife is willing to tolerate. To find really quiet areas might entail a long ride for her.

[Zedmor]

Originally Posted by maf763

You'll really have to indicate how long of a commute your wife is willing to tolerate. To find really quiet areas might entail a long ride for her.

About 30-45 min to Upenn. Up to hour-hour20 in rush hour... And we are not taliking about really quiet areas, we understand that there should be compromise, I've just outlined what we want, not what we should have

Have any ideas? Thank you for answer!

[maf763]

Most of the suburban areas within that time frame from Penn are either going to run more than $280 or be more urban-like. You might try Rockledge, which is a boro outside of NE Philly, but parts of it are close to Pennypack parkland. I don't know much about the western suburbs so maybe somebody else can help you with choices out there.

[Zedmor]

Had been in Springfield toady. Really nice town, lot of friendly faces
What you guys think about? pros/cons

[sbhubbell]

I like Springfield, great town. Not bad commute to Penn, very family friendly, decent schools. Only cons might be you'll find older houses there and I wouldn't consider it very quiet or natural, but it's nice.

[rainrock]

Springfield Delaware County or Montgomery County?

I would add Media and Middletown Township to the list of areas to check out. Right outside of Media (Upper Providence) is Ridley Creek State Park which has 50 miles worth of hiking/biking trails,Ridley Creek and Springton Lake. Very nice area.

Good luck.The further west you go the nicer the landscape gets though it gets a little pricey.

[orrmobl]

Springfield is very nice but not really country and Baltimore Pike traffic is horrible and the neighboring towns on the one side are definitely on the way down.

Your price for a home doesn't really match your income (you are upper middle class).

You just need to rank your constraints - is it price, commute, locale, people or some other order?

I know there is beautiful green space in Ridley Park - East Lake Park and I think that Ridley Park would fit most of your criteria quite nicely. Also places like Lansdowne might work but they are a tad rougher and the future of that area is unknown.

As far as where you would best fit in with people, check out Wallingford (Nether Providence). Green space, highly educated higher income folks, down to earth, accepting, liberal, friendly, pretty much great everything save home prices are a tad higher and taxes are really high and you would have to go to Media for a walkable downtown...

[kyle19125]

Given all of your factors (especially commute time for your wife), I'd recommend Collingswood, NJ.
A great location, just 15 minutes to Center City via the PATCO trains which run 24 hours a day. It's close to the city but feels rather far, as it's pretty quiet and has a small town feel to it. Most of the town is walking distance (or a short drive) to the PATCO station. There are some nice shopping options also. It's very friendly and overall has younger/liberal/well educated residents. The town has been recently "discovered" and there have been a lot of home renovations. It's definitely in your price range as you'll see with some examples below.

[frankgn87]

+1.

Originally Posted by kyle19125

given all of your factors (especially commute time for your wife), i'd recommend collingswood, nj.
A great location, just 15 minutes to center city via the patco trains which run 24 hours a day. It's close to the city but feels rather far, as it's pretty quiet and has a small town feel to it. Most of the town is walking distance (or a short drive) to the patco station. There are some nice shopping options also. It's very friendly and overall has younger/liberal/well educated residents. The town has been recently "discovered" and there have been a lot of home renovations. It's definitely in your price range as you'll see with some examples below.