PA Town w/ Good Schools & Water / Outdoor Activities (Philadelphia: real estate, to rent)

[RollingStone1521]

Hello all,

We’re thinking of moving to PA from Queens, NYC (no planned date for this).

If anyone has ideas for potential towns/neighborhoods, that would be much appreciated.

Looking to move primarily for lower cost of living, being able to afford a larger house, and living where it’s more rural / spread out.

We’re familiar with (as tourists) Lancaster County and the Hershey/Hummelstown areas, but not sure they meet everything we’re looking for. We have two kids under 10.

Below is what we're looking for. Hopefully, there are options out there, and this list isn't a pipe dream!

- Most important – good schools & safety / low crime
- Driving distance from NYC (within ~3.5-hours) so, for example, the Pittsburgh area would be too far.
- Outdoors and water activities – swimming in lakes, fishing, mountains, etc. Swimming being the most important.
- Many other young families nearby
- Home prices below $450K would be nice, preferably lower. Newer home. Large yard.
- Someplace where the houses are more spread out
- I’m in accounting/finance so am hoping I wouldn’t have too much trouble finding a job. Would want a decent commute (at most 1/2 hour each way).
- Would want to buy a single-family house, but would probably be a good idea to rent at first to make sure the area is a good fit.
- Prefer calm and quiet where we would live, but would want to be reasonably close to stores and activities (driving distance).
- Catholic church nearby

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide!

[Wells5]

If your line of work is in accounting and finance, you're best bet for a high paying job in that field is living in a Philadelphia suburb and commuting to central Philly. Also many high schools in PA have regulation 25 meter swimming pools with diving areas. Many suburban areas have private tennis and swim clubs- tennis inside and swimming outside. The only area in PA with lots of lakes is the Pocono Northeast. Jobs are scarce there.


The Lehigh Valley is also a place to consider. I'd avoid central and south central PA.

[JakeinChina]

Originally Posted by RollingStone1521

Hello all,

We’re thinking of moving to PA from Queens, NYC (no planned date for this).

If anyone has ideas for potential towns/neighborhoods, that would be much appreciated.

Looking to move primarily for lower cost of living, being able to afford a larger house, and living where it’s more rural / spread out.

We’re familiar with (as tourists) Lancaster County and the Hershey/Hummelstown areas, but not sure they meet everything we’re looking for. We have two kids under 10.

Below is what we're looking for. Hopefully, there are options out there, and this list isn't a pipe dream!

- Most important – good schools & safety / low crime
- Driving distance from NYC (within ~3.5-hours) so, for example, the Pittsburgh area would be too far.
- Outdoors and water activities – swimming in lakes, fishing, mountains, etc. Swimming being the most important.
- Many other young families nearby
- Home prices below $450K would be nice, preferably lower. Newer home. Large yard.
- Someplace where the houses are more spread out
- I’m in accounting/finance so am hoping I wouldn’t have too much trouble finding a job. Would want a decent commute (at most 1/2 hour each way).
- Would want to buy a single-family house, but would probably be a good idea to rent at first to make sure the area is a good fit.
- Prefer calm and quiet where we would live, but would want to be reasonably close to stores and activities (driving distance).
- Catholic church nearby

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide!

So basically you want what every NY/NJ person wants when relocating to PA...HA.

I'm from North Jersey and moved out to the Lancaster area this year with my family. Lancaster and Hershey are excellent areas in South Central PA, and Lancaster has a train that goes into Manhattan. That being said, there are little to none finance jobs out here. Those areas meet all your criteria's except for the job thing.

I think you should look into the Philly suburbs if you need a finance or accounting office job. 450K would just be enough to find a home, but don't expect a big beautiful new home in a good Philly suburb for that price. You may need to live a little further out. Look at towns like Downingtown or Phoenixville. Some of the really nice suburbs that are closer to Philly might be out of your price range I believe, unless you want to buy a townhouse.

Real estate is very expensive right now due to Covid and the little to none inventory. I suggest renting for a year, even if its a townhouse, and give yourself some time to make sure the town or neighborhood is right for your family. Plus, we might have a housing correction on prices and you would be in a prime spot to buy a new home for a much better price then what's being offered now. Best of luck!

[RollingStone1521]

Thank you both for your responses! They were very helpful.