West Chester.. good place to retire? (Philadelphia, Bradford: how much, houses, schools)

[seeriously]

We're in our early 60s, active, tired of living in Florida and looking for some urban living. We'll need reasonably priced housing, proximity to good shopping and good restaurants. Any comments?

[FindingZen]

Depending on how you define "urban', West Chester either has an interesting enough downtown area for a suburb or its too far from the "real" downtown in Center City Philadelphia.

The downtown area does have a variety of things to do for people of all ages. You may already know that West Chester University is nearby. I suppose that could cut both ways: the possibility of dealing with moderately rowdy students on weekend nights or the access to interesting academic, athletic and cultural pursuits.

Overall, I consider West Chester to be one of the more appealing suburban towns if you're looking for an authentic town center. You're also less than an hour away from downtown Philly for even more urban choices. Good luck!

EDIT: West Chester is reasonably priced by Philadelphia-area standards but may be higher than SW Florida. What is your preferred price range? RE: Shopping, you won't be far at all from your usual supermarket and big box conveniences. For high-end retail, the twin malls The Plaza and The Court in King Prussia are about a half hour away. I'll let others more knowledgeable talk about the restaurants in the area, although downtown West Chester has its share.

[Avalon08]

Yes, I agree you may be shocked at the price of houses here. My mother, 87 and recently visiting from FL, was appalled at the prices here and kept saying how much more you could get in FL. I said, "Well, yeah, if you don't mind living in Florida!" As far as West Chester goes, I wouldn't consider it urban and, although the area is very nice and quite beautiful, there are many nice areas closer to the city, if that's what you're looking for.

[seeriously]

Price-wise, looking for something in the $300,000s. Tone, it sounds perfect. Close enough to the action yet far enough away. Thanks.

[LibraGirl123]

You can find more info on West Chester here:

West Chester | Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia

and here:

Downtown West Chester PA - The Perfect Town, Downtown West Chester Pennsylvania and West Chester BID

Restaurant info here:

Restaurants and Dining in West Chester, PA - WC Dish

If you want urban living in a walkable environment, then the borough of West Chester is for you. A number of the townships that surround the borough (e.g. East Bradford, West Goshen, East Goshen, etc.) are often referred to as West Chester, but would be categorized as suburban.

[seeriously]

Thank you so much, Libragirl, and if it were up to me, I'd be there!!! First I have to convince husband that he has to go back to cold winters. Just how cold does it get in the winter and how much snow? Thank you again. I loved looking at the virtual tour of Gay St.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by verobeach

Just how cold does it get in the winter and how much snow?

Not as much snow as Buffalo or Boston but more than Richmond or Raleigh. Unscientifically speaking, three to six inches is normal. More than six inches will close schools. More than a foot -which could happen once a year on average - may close some businesses. The twin two-foot storms that hit the Mid-Atlantic this past winter were an aberration. The last storm that big happened way back in '96.

40-degree highs are normal for that time of year as are 20-degree lows. Below-zero temps are rare but you will have below-zero wind chills from time to time.

The Philly area has all four seasons fairly evenly distributed. Summers are a bit more humid than other Northeastern cities but may turn out to be refreshing in your case. West Chester will be cooler than downtown Philly, for better or worse, by about five degrees.

[pman]

west chester is a nice large town (~18k people plus students). you may also want to consider phoenixville whose downtown has experienced a rebirth in recent years, it's right on the schuylkill river. it's an old steel town (phoenix steel).

[Avalon08]

Vero, I don't consider the winters here unduly harsh. As Tone mentioned, the multiple blizzards we had this past winter were definitely out of the norm. We usually only get one big snowfall, or maybe none, and a few lighter ones. I have no scientific data but the winter days are usually in the 30's...sometimes dropping to the 20's or even teens, but that's usually not sustained. By March, we're sick of cold weather and really appreciate it when spring finally arrives. Summers can be humid but you're used to that! And of course, autumns are gorgeous. Good luck with hubby!