Want to avoid past relo mistakes!! Where to live?

[Hillrunner]

Mullica Hill is a dump. New Jersey is known as the armpit state. Enough said

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by MoorestownResident

Mullica Hill, NJ is your best option within 20 miles or so of New Castle. Great schools, great access to everything including great restaurants, etc. Plenty of homes in that price range though taxes are high. How anyone recommends West Chester to you is beyond me. It will take your husband 45 min+ to get there since the local roads in PA are horrible. Don't move to PA without looking in NJ. NJ's public schools rank tops in the nation, plus it has far better access to the NJ shore. There are far more recreational opportunities in NJ, plus being closer to the coast, the weather is sunnier and milder than PA. The stagnant, colder weather in PA is influenced by the mountain ranges to the west and the Delaware River to the east. It is known as a 'gray' state.

Interesting point coming from across the Delaware, since NJ was recently bestowed with this lovely honor:

Study: NJ roads worst in the country

Study: NJ roads worst in the country | 6abc.com - 9/04/09 - Philadelphia News - 6abc.com

"A lobbying group called Transportation for America used federal highway statistics to show that of the approximately 10,000 miles of roads in New Jersey, over 2,800 of them--or almost a third--are rated as poor."

At any rate, the 45 min. commute estimate from West Chester to New Castle is a little overblown -- 35 min. is much more accurate. Taking Route 202/322 to DE can get a bit trafficky, but it is a straight shot to New Castle with a very quick stint on 95. If you were to consider NJ, it's important to note the cost of tolls would start to add up. That's not a concern with a PA-DE commute.

As far as schools, West Chester SD ranks in the top 25 in the area, with the vast majority of the best districts in PA. Based on this ranking, only two school districts in NJ made the top 25 and none in the top 10 -- not exactly a stellar showing for South Jersey.

http://www.phillymag.com/files/images/Full_ranking.pdf

Weather in the Brandywine Valley is hardly "gray," as well. It's beautiful, bucolic countryside with temperate Mid-Atlantic weather.

If you're interested in local produce, Chester County -- and SEPA, in general -- has a great "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" program and website that maps all of the area's local farms, produce retailers, and restaurants that source their ingredients from local farms.

Southeastern Pennsylvania - Buy Fresh Buy Local

Good luck!

[Gerania]

Ugh. This post is not helpful; it is some sort of PA guy rant.

Mullica Hill and Swedesboro, NJ are nice towns, but they really don't have a "vibe", are kind of nice and quiet. OK, traffic can be a bit thick on the main roads, shopping centers are being built and there is a fair amount of new housing... in addition to the older town centers, historic farmsteads, etc. The thing that worries me most about those locations is reliance upon the Delaware River bridge. Traffic at bridges bottlenecks during rush hour. Add construction or an accident and the commute could easily become overwhelming.

West Chester and Media are both nice; you'd be happy in either. I'd still worry about the commute. *I have never lived in either place nor have had to suffer rush hour traffic during a commute.* I have been through the area many, many times. I've visited West Chester, Media/Rose Valley, Brandywine Valley, Kennett Square, have been all over. In most areas, rush hour and weekend traffic is quite busy, slow.

I can't offer a best place in which to live, best school district in the US. My words of advise are: live as close to the destination as possible. I assume that you'd like to see your spouse once in a while rather than calling the cell to find out when he might possibly be home.

I would do online mapping service, directions with Bing maps or Mapquest to find travel time from a prospective home to work...and then I would pad the travel time given to reflect real commute times; 30% is not unreasonable, 50% on bad days, 100% worst case like black Friday, big accident.

Originally Posted by Duderino

Interesting point coming from across the Delaware, since NJ was recently bestowed with this lovely honor:

Study: NJ roads worst in the country

Study: NJ roads worst in the country | 6abc.com - 9/04/09 - Philadelphia News - 6abc.com

"A lobbying group called Transportation for America used federal highway statistics to show that of the approximately 10,000 miles of roads in New Jersey, over 2,800 of them--or almost a third--are rated as poor."

At any rate, the 45 min. commute estimate from West Chester to New Castle is a little overblown -- 35 min. is much more accurate. Taking Route 202/322 to DE can get a bit trafficky, but it is a straight shot to New Castle with a very quick stint on 95. If you were to consider NJ, it's important to note the cost of tolls would start to add up. That's not a concern with a PA-DE commute.

As far as schools, West Chester SD ranks in the top 25 in the area, with the vast majority of the best districts in PA. Based on this ranking, only two school districts in NJ made the top 25 and none in the top 10 -- not exactly a stellar showing for South Jersey.

http://www.phillymag.com/files/images/Full_ranking.pdf

Weather in the Brandywine Valley is hardly "gray," as well. It's beautiful, bucolic countryside with temperate Mid-Atlantic weather.

If you're interested in local produce, Chester County -- and SEPA, in general -- has a great "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" program and website that maps all of the area's local farms, produce retailers, and restaurants that source their ingredients from local farms.

Southeastern Pennsylvania - Buy Fresh Buy Local

Good luck!

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by Gerania

Ugh. This post is not helpful; it is some sort of PA guy rant.

Its actually a PA guys response to a misinformed instigating S.J. guys rant.

Originally Posted by MoorestownResident

plus being closer to the coast, the weather is sunnier and milder than PA. The stagnant, colder weather in PA is influenced by the mountain ranges to the west and the Delaware River to the east. It is known as a 'gray' state.

As if Mullica Hill and West Chester had different climates and were 200 miles apart. Im not sure you have a firm grasp of geography.What a piece of work.

[DailyJournalist]

Media, PA would be your best choice.

Media | Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia

[HappyRider]

Originally Posted by windycitygirl

We are relocating from the southeastern VA area. My husband will be working in Newcastle, DE and it seems like PA would be the best option for our family.

And why is that? Why not live closer to work? I think you might be making yet another mistake in this move, albeit of a different kind.

[Boompa]

Why would you want to live in PA and work in Delaware. The only place I've lived in Delaware was near the University of Delaware, and I think it might interest you. It has a real college town flavor. I lived in a LARGE Townhouse near the Maryland border but a good walk to town.

Google any address in the 300 block of Chickory Way, 19711 and see if you like it

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by Gerania

Ugh. This post is not helpful; it is some sort of PA guy rant.

...or it was a follow-up to the blatant misinformation of an anti-PA rant. I honestly try to remain as objective as possible and in no way try to actively depreciate Southern NJ. In fact, I think there are plenty of great living options in NJ and would gladly suggest them to posters when they seem more appropriate. However, I don't believe that was the case here, and when there is blatant lies being tossed around about allegations of:

1.) PA's roads being terrible in comparison to NJ's;

2.) misleading information as far as commute times;

3.) claiming that the entire educational system of NJ is superior to all of PA, contrary to objective rankings of individual school districts in each state;

then I should have every right to follow-up with a counter-post to balance out what is sometimes disgusting bias for Southern NJ from a particular poster without it being labeled a "rant."

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Boompa

Why would you want to live in PA and work in Delaware. The only place I've lived in Delaware was near the University of Delaware, and I think it might interest you. It has a real college town flavor. I lived in a LARGE Townhouse near the Maryland border but a good walk to town.

Google any address in the 300 block of Chickory Way, 19711 and see if you like it

I too would recommend Newark. Why in the world are people dancing around recommending living AND working in the same area? Go green, clean environment, less carbon footprint, the year 2009....ever heard of it?

Newark is a college town. It offers great cultural amenities, a good stable economy, lots of homegrown businesses, an above average intellect of residents, college towns always have better than average schools...the list goes on. Check it out!

Newark, Delaware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Newark, DE - Official Website

[windycitygirl]

So far we looked in Kennett Square, Chadds Ford, and a bit in West Chester. I don't think our realtor knows Media too well, but it's worth a look.

We decided to stick to PA for a few reasons. Public schools don't seem to have a stellar reputation in DE (the unofficial poll my husband and I are conducting really emphasizes this point). Taxes might be lower, but 20K+ a year tuition for elementary aged kids is high if I can move to an area with great public schools. Plus, I would prefer they find friends in the area they live in rather than across several counties (public schools can help this situation). I hear NJ has very high taxes and the daily commute can really add up.

As far a Newark goes, I agree with the vibe there! We visited the area and loved the restaurants and fun, but public schools are still an issue.

My husband is working there now and we feel pretty positive about the move so far. I have visited a few times and think that this relo will be a much better "fit" than our last one. Thanks for all your advice! Keep it coming, I appreciate it!