Need help in finding a house in Philadelphia Suburb area (Pittsburgh: apartment, renting)

[orckie]

Hi, All,
My husband and I have both found a job in Philadelphia . We are now considering buying a house in Philadelphia Suburb area. Could anyone please give us some advices on finding a suburb area? We hope to find a house that is within 50 mins' drive to philadelphia, and have good public school. We would like to spend $250,000 to $300,000 for a 3 bedroom house (or even 2 bedroom house). Thanks!


When are you moving?
This summer

Where are you coming from?
Pittsburgh

Why are you moving?
We will work in Philadelphia

Where will you be working? Upenn Campus
Have you been here yet? Only for a few days

Will you buy or rent?
Buy

If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo?
House

How much can you spend?
$250,000 to $300,000

If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend?
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up?
Are you married or single?
Married

Do you have children?
One newborn

Do you prefer public or private schools?
Public

Do you have pets?
no

Do you want or need a yard?
Yes, but a small is fine

Are you keeping a car?
Yes

Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet?
Quiet

What do you want to be closest to?
Work

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?
Either is fine.

[rainrock]

There are some great communities in Delaware County Pa that would make sense given your commute to University City. Delaware County is to the immediate west of Philadlephia County. Media ,Wallingford have direct rail access into University City.

All good choices. Best schools**

Media**
Nether Providence**
Wallingford**
Marple Township
Newtown Square
Springfield
Havertown

[ooodsie]

I suggest Yardley or Newtown. They are both directly off of 95 which will help with your commute to work, and less congested than the main line areas suggested above. They have amazing public schools (some of the top ranked in the state), and also have great community feel to them. You will also get a great value for your dollar in terms of home and land.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by ooodsie

I suggest Yardley or Newtown. They are both directly off of 95 which will help with your commute to work, and less congested than the main line areas suggested above. They have amazing public schools (some of the top ranked in the state), and also have great community feel to them. You will also get a great value for your dollar in terms of home and land.

Oodsie the towns I mentioned are not Main Line areas,nor are they that congested, and they are a much much easier commute to University City( in comparison to Yardley).

If orkie was working in NE Philly your suggestion is aces but orkie is working in West Philadlephia which abuts Delaware County.

Mapquest

University City to Media= 10 miles

University City to Yardley =35 miles

Bucks County is awesome with great schools but so is a good majority of Delaware County. Here is Ridley Creek State Park Media Pa.

[frankgn87]

Look at New Jersey. You can be 25 mins from U penn(which can be closer then most pa burbs) and you will get more house for your $$ in Jersey. We looked all over bucks and Mont counties and found this to be.. Prop taxes are the same as Bucks/Mont if you stay out of Cherry hill.. Jersey has less traffic and more open spaces and farms too. Look specifically here.. Riverton, Delran, Cinnaminson.
BUT.. Delaware county would be your closest burb, that is def true. rainrock is correct...

[LibraGirl123]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Oodsie the towns I mentioned are not Main Line areas,nor are they that congested, and they are a much much easier commute to University City( in comparison to Yardley).

If orkie was working in NE Philly your suggestion is aces but orkie is working in West Philadlephia which abuts Delaware County.

I totally agree with Rainrock. Am familiar with both Bucks County and the Western 'burbs, and have done the commute to the 30th St. area. My recommendation would be Western 'burbs, hands down.

[thesixth]

For a UPenn commute, as mentioned above, the western suburbs are the best - Delaware county & lower Montgomery County. NJ can be an option if you wish to live in that state.
Good luck.

[thekish]

Originally Posted by ooodsie

I suggest Yardley or Newtown. You will also get a great value for your dollar in terms of home and land.

I don't think so.

The average home in those areas is like 500k.

[Megan19]

Originally Posted by thekish

I don't think so.

The average home in those areas is like 500k.

thekish as in Mesopotamia and Kish Expedition?

[solibs]

The Penn campus is quite large and many of the train stations are on the periphery of the campus. So, if you were working near the hospital complex/Spruce St. I would say, go for the places that rainrock mentioned because you can take the R3 train right to University City Station and walk to work in 5 minutes. It's definitely the fastest/cheapest commute.

If you were working closer to 40th & Walnut I would say look into Haverford and Ardmore. The Route 100 light rail connects with the El and will take you right to 40th & Market or 34th & Market. You can also do the same thing on the Route 101 light rail which more or less parallels the R3.

North of the city the commutes get a little longer to University City but the Jenkintown/Abington area aren't that far and if you board at Jenkintown the trains (R1, R2, R3, R5) are so frequent it's almost like a suburban subway line.

There are also express buses like the 124/125 and the 27 which run from the northwest suburbs (King of Prussia and Plymouth Meeting, respectively) and stop at 30th St. Station. If you work for Penn you just flash your ID and you can ride the LUCY shuttle for free.

New Jersey isn't a bad idea either. The commute from Westmont, NJ, (as an example) would be about 30 minutes by train or about 45 minutes by car during rush hour. Comparable to Ardmore or Media.

It just really depends on how long you want to commute each day. Unless you work odd hours I would suggest taking the transit to work. The traffic in U. City is about as bad as it gets in Philly and the all-day parking is almost entirely in garages on the edge of campus so you're going to have to walk either way.

SEPTA | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
University City District: LUCY Loop Thru University City
Port Authority Transit Corporation