Commute from Exton/Downingtown to Bryn Mawr (Paoli, Malvern: townhouses, to buy)

[silverneedle]

Hello,

We are looking to relocate to Bryn Mawr. We currently live in Yardley, PA and the commute to Bryn Mawr is a good hour without traffic (i.e. too much). We are looking at the Exton/Downingtown area because the housing prices are more reasonable than Mainline, which is out of our reach. But the commute worries me.

1. What is the average commute time from Exton/Downingtown area to Bryn Mawr?

2. How bad does it get during rush hours?

3. What is recommended route? Several options such as 30, 202 and 276.

Thanks for your help!

[thesixth]

If you don't need to buy a new, large house and would consider older homes (40+ yrs)...you might want to look at Delaware County areas like Newtown Square and Havertown. The housing will be cheaper than Main Line prices and the commute to Bryn Mawr will be a breeze!

[silverneedle]

Originally Posted by thesixth

If you don't need to buy a new, large house and would consider older homes (40+ yrs)...you might want to look at Delaware County areas like Newtown Square and Havertown. The housing will be cheaper than Main Line prices and the commute to Bryn Mawr will be a breeze!

We are definitely considering all options. We found Newtown Square expensive and does not have a lot of older housers (listings are mostly newer developments of large townhouses or very small lot-sized single family houses). Havertown is indeed more in line and has older houses. However, one complication I did not mention is that we'd like the flexibility to take the train (spouse does not drive), which puts us along the R5 line. Most of the other stops before Exton are quite expensive, including Paoli and Malvern. However, if the commute from Exton/Downington turns out to be nightmarish, we'll just have to give up the R5 idea and look in Havertown.