Chicago to Phili (Philadelphia, Lancaster, Chester: mortgage, buying a home, neighborhood)

[movinglady1214]

Hi~
We may be relocating from downtown Chicago. Primary work locations would be in Radnor and Philadelphia. House price range from $400,000 - $600,000.

We are a in our late 20's early 30's, no kids (but would like to in the near future), looking for a young, fun and safe community with plenty of restaurants and things to do (similar to chicago) and good school systems/ minus a heavy daily commute into phili every day. Any suggestions?

**One caveat - my husband would like land to hunt on as well -- is there a happy medium location that fits all of these criteria!

Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions!

movinglady1214

[Synergy1]

I have not found the dreamland you mention but there are several communities that may come close to what you require. Radnor is good along with communities along Rte 30 Main Line to Exton PA (Rte30, AKA Lancaster Ave). Not sure but you may find homes in Newtown Square in your price range. Our PA home was large and along the Main Line and worth around $785k but RE is taking a big hit and nowadays because we sold our home 2 years ago for only $600k. Yes our home was big. We lived in a 4,500 SF, 5bd, 4bth along witha 3CG and just two of us...hahahaha

There are some very nice pockets of homes along Bryn Mawr Ave in Newtown Sq. Newtown Square has been rated as a fantastic school district for those with children.

Hunting, of course, will require the hunter to travel and North West PA is known for a great variety of hunting and fishing. Our family is geared more towards fishing in fresh water I take my weapons to an outdoors range.

We are now retired in our early 50's and living in Florida... Good luck in searching for your new home.

[newmarlig]

I hope you find what you want, but point of reference, It's Philly (not Phili)

[orrmobl]

For proximity to the city, which is the only real way to get a Chicago flavor, check out Lower Merion/Merion Station and Narberth or other Main Line towns, especially Wayne as it has a downtown. Best Schools in the Main Line area:

Tredyffrin-Easttown SD (Wayne, Devon, Berwyn, Paoli, parts of Malvern)
Radnor SD (parts of Wayne, Devon, Radnor and Villanova)
Lower Merion SD

There are pretty good size farms etc in Malvern and by Valley Forge - we are buying a home on 2.2 acres on Valley Forge Mountain which is half Tredyffrin Schools and half Phoenixville schools so there is a good mix of classes and people in the homeowners social association.

West Chester and Media are suburbs that have walkable downtowns with bars and restaurants, West Chester being bigger than Media by far, but also fruther out so you're looking at an hour commute to the city.

I believe Ridley Creek State Park conducts a yearly deer hunt but for most other hunting your hubby will have to drive to the Lehigh Valley or Poconos or Central PA.

[pman]

Originally Posted by movinglady1214

Hi~
We may be relocating from downtown Chicago. Primary work locations would be in Radnor and Philadelphia. House price range from $400,000 - $600,000.

We are a in our late 20's early 30's, no kids (but would like to in the near future), looking for a young, fun and safe community with plenty of restaurants and things to do (similar to chicago) and good school systems/ minus a heavy daily commute into phili every day. Any suggestions?

**One caveat - my husband would like land to hunt on as well -- is there a happy medium location that fits all of these criteria!

Thanks in advance for all of your suggestions!

movinglady1214

you want your own hunting lands within commuting distance of Philadelphia for $400-600k? I've never heard of such a thing. most people just drive to hunting grounds on the weekend if they wish to hunt.

RE schools, check out the Philadelphia Inquirer's School Report Card. i can't remember when it comes out exactly, but sometime during the summer. Also note that Philadelphia neighborhood schools are, by and large, not that great BUT there are numerous charter options that do provide good school options within the city (and a couple of excellent magnets).

that said, I'd recommend Wayne though be aware half of wayne is in montoc and part in chester county. both offer good districts but I believe the tax burden can be significantly different. In Philadelphia itself, the Sady Alexander catchment of West Philly. the school is run by Penn and the area has been transformed, largely by a mortgage grant program from penn that encouraged people to buy homes in this area. A lot of grand old victorian homes with quite a few homes built in the 1920's with rear garages.

I'd also recomend considering Chestnut Hill and West Mt. Airy. Lastly, another neighborhood outside the city is ARdmore.