King of Prussia vs Naperville (live, best, state, better)
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Which would you prefer? I'm looking for a polished and diverse suburb, somewhere where an Asian family won't stand out. There's just three of us, coming from Austin. We just want to blend in. I know both areas should fit the bill. The comp:
Location:
COL:
Weather:
Diversity:
Family friendly:
Open to other cultures:
Proximity to activity/entertainment:
Your thoughts on the above?
Not looking for liveliness though things like farmers markets and festivals would be fun. Prefer newer homes, for example, I was looking around KoP town center as well as Wagner Farms in Naperville. I'm also able to work from home so commute is not an issue.
Initial thoughts are, as a stand alone place, I think Naperville wins. But KoPs proximity to the East Coast and better weather tips the scale.
Which would you prefer? I'm looking for a polished and diverse suburb, somewhere where an Asian family won't stand out. There's just three of us, coming from Austin. We just want to blend in. I know both areas should fit the bill. The comp:
Location:
COL:
Weather:
Diversity:
Family friendly:
Open to other cultures:
Proximity to activity/entertainment:
Your thoughts on the above?
Not looking for liveliness though things like farmers markets and festivals would be fun. Prefer newer homes, for example, I was looking around KoP town center as well as Wagner Farms in Naperville. I'm also able to work from home so commute is not an issue.
Initial thoughts are, as a stand alone place, I think Naperville wins. But KoPs proximity to the East Coast and better weather tips the scale.
Grew up in the Chicago area, not super familiar with Naperville specifically but from what I do know, it'll fit your needs just fine.
KoP is much closer to downtown Philly than Naperville is to downtown Chicago, FWIW (I know you're working remotely, just for whenever you and the family want to do "city stuff").
However it looks like KoP doesn't have its own walkable downtown -- Naperville does, so it's likely better for farmer's market/festival type stuff.
I don't know anything about KoP's demographics but there are plenty of East and South Asians in Naperville (and nearby areas of east Aurora, Lisle, etc).
Naperville seems to have better sidewalk coverage. Not sure how much that matters but like if your kids want to walk somewhere, or for trick-or-treating, etc. A lot of the roads in KoP are just rural two-lane roads.
Which would you prefer? I'm looking for a polished and diverse suburb, somewhere where an Asian family won't stand out. There's just three of us, coming from Austin. We just want to blend in. I know both areas should fit the bill. The comp:
Location:
COL:
Weather:
Diversity:
Family friendly:
Open to other cultures:
Proximity to activity/entertainment:
Your thoughts on the above?
Not looking for liveliness though things like farmers markets and festivals would be fun. Prefer newer homes, for example, I was looking around KoP town center as well as Wagner Farms in Naperville. I'm also able to work from home so commute is not an issue.
Initial thoughts are, as a stand alone place, I think Naperville wins. But KoPs proximity to the East Coast and better weather tips the scale.
KoP will have a really hard time competing with Naperville outside of location given Napervilles large downtown, public amenities, and walkable suburban neighborhoods in-town. It’s about as active and family freindly of a suburb as you’re going to find.The housing stock is far nicer too. It’s truly operates like a planned village for 30k families.
Yes I do prefer Philadelphias location compared to Chicago. By a lot.
King of Prussia doesn't have a real downtown. It's a Town Center like the one in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Actually, the King of Prussia Town Center/Village at Valley Forge is a better "town center" than the one built on the Garden State Park racetrack site in Cherry Hill. The links between the housing and the shopping are better designed and the shopping more centrally sited.
I refer to developments like these as "Instant Urbanism," and as far as Instant Urbanism goes, KoP TC/VVF is one of the better examples I've run across. Even better is Carmel, Ind., a suburb of Indianapolis, but CamThomas isn't considering the Indy area as a place to live.
Carmel's town center actually looks like a traditional downtown along the lines of Philly's four suburban county seats (Doylestown, Norristown, Media, West Chester; of those four, West Chester's the best and Norristown's the most disappointing; Media and Doylestown are close to West Chester in quality).
In terms of ethnic/racial diversity and finding a place where Asians won't stand out, however, the Philly suburb that I would say comes in first is Upper Darby Township. The 69th Street Terminal shopping district has a good number of East Asian restaurants and businesses, including an H Mart supermarket (a Korean-American-owned chain based in the New Jersey suburbs of New York; it has an outstanding selection of Asian products and ingredients, and I call it "the Korean Culinary Embassy in America"). The Upper Darby school district isn't as highly ranked or regarded as the districts on the nearby Main Line (Lower Merion, Haverford Township, Radnor, Tredyffrin-Easttown), but Upper Darby High School is probably the most ethnically diverse high school in the Philadelphia suburbs. And the township has embraced its multiculti rep; it now refers to itself as "The World in One Place." The only thing the OP would want that UD lacks is new housing: it developed in the early 20th century along the trolley lines that extended from the 69th Street Terminal of Philly's first subway line and has been fully built out for some time. CamThomas: If you're willing to consider older housing, I would recommend you give Upper Darby a once-over, especially its Drexel Hill section. Edited to add: I'm not sure it would clear your "polished" bar, for it's not as affluent as either the Main Line or the two communities you mention in the topic line of this thread, but it's far from hardscrabble or gritty, and Drexel Hill is actually pretty polished. BTW, even though it's not a city, UD is the sixth-most-populous municipality in Pennsylvania.
Last edited by MarketStEl; 02-15-2024 at 01:19 AM..
People don't "live in King of Prussia". It's just an employment hub with a town center and gigantic mall around it. Live in Wayne, Radnor, Villanova, Devon, or any other number of towns around it.
People don't "live in King of Prussia". It's just an employment hub with a town center and gigantic mall around it. Live in Wayne, Radnor, Villanova, Devon, or any other number of towns around it.
There is housing in the KoP Town Center/Village at Valley Forge, but most of it is rental apartments managed by Hanover. Toll Brothers did build a townhouse community there, and Korman Communities has one of its AVE flexible-stay residences there as well.
But otherwise, yes, there is very little housing within the boundaries of the King of Prussia (business improvement) District.
However: I believe that Simon Properties' plans for the building at the KoP mall that last housed JCPenney and before it Gimbels call for replacing it with a mixed retail/office/residential structure. If my memory is correct, when it's done, one will be able to live at the King of Prussia mall.
Have you looked at Doylestown PA? Or Collingswood/Haddonfield NJ? There are some great Philly area suburbs that are better than KOP.
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