Looking for affordable area & good school district in south eastern PA (Philadelphia: transplants)

[GetMeNorth]

I currently live in VA and we are looking to move back North to be closer to family. (Our families live in DE) We are thinking of PA as a possibility.
We can afford housing in the $200,000 - $230,000 range. We are both teachers and have a young son, so a good school district (takes care of its employees, student-centered) is important.
We would not like to be further away than about an hour from Wilmington, DE. And closer would be better. We prefer a suburban or even rural area.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Just saw the sticky with questions to answer...

When are you moving? This summer
Where are you coming from? central VA, wine country
Why are you moving? want to be closer to family (DE), tired of the southern attitude
Where will you be working? we are both teachers
Have you been here yet? no

Will you buy or rent? buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? house, $240,000 is probably the top of our price range
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? Do you have children? Married with a 2 yo son
Do you prefer public or private schools? hmmm...we are so disenchanted with the school system we work for, we're not really sure right now
Do you have pets? a dog
Do you want or need a yard? YES
Are you keeping a car? 2
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? calm and quiet with easy access to bustling activity

What do you want to be closest to?
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

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

Phillies, Pirates or Mets?

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I would say you are looking at rural areas if you want to stay in the areas where schools are good and prices are still affordable. The web has made it so much easier to look at schools and area pricing then ever.

I also tell everyone that owning a home is like a prison sentence, what are you in for, 1 to 5, 5 to 10 or 15 to life? As crass as this sounds how long you plan on living somewhere is just one of the many things to look at.
I recommend a few trips up that include talking to a local realtor. I spend at least an hour with a potential buyer to review what they are looking for and if I am the right person to work with them. Life is too short to work with people that you don’t like or you can’t connect with.
Most of all good luck in your search!

[LibraGirl123]

I think you'd get more answers if your post was moved to the Philadelphia forum.

[GetMeNorth]

I agree. We definitely plan to come up soon and talk with a Realtor. We're just not sure where to start. I mean, what town should we go to to find a Realtor and begin our search?

LibraGirl - Thanks. I'll try there too.

[toobusytoday]

My suggestion is to find jobs and then move. Teaching jobs are extremely hard to get in Pennsylvania, certification is not a quick thing and the places where you say you want to teach are where everyone wants to teach - competition is fierce. You will quickly find that even though there are postings for jobs, it's often just for the legality of it - the school has someone in mind already in the system but they have to post it. Also, your housing price is low for Philadelphia suburbs. I wish you good luck. I would suggest trying for Delaware schools.

[GetMeNorth]

TooBusy - Yes, we know teaching jobs are hard to come by. Many of our friends here are PA transplants b/c they couldn't find jobs there. And I figured we probably couldn't afford to live in that area. But we just wanted to explore all of our options.

Thanks everyone for your help.

[goto10]

I live in Nottingham, PA in southern chester county I am about 50 min to 1 hour from Wilmington and I live in a rural area. I can't really speak much about school districts but same places I can list for you to look in between where I live and Wilmington are Oxford, PA(rural), Rising Sun, MD(rural), Elkton, MD(suburban/rural), Landenberg, PA(rural), Kennett Square, PA(suburban). Prices are lower in the rural areas but some of the towns I mentioned are far from amenities including the one where I live. You could also look in parts of Northern DE but it tends to be pretty expensive since it is pretty much a philly suburb.

[GetMeNorth]

Thank you! I did a search and found some homes in our price range in Oxford. I can add that to our list of possibilities. Thank you so much!

[newfsrus]

Originally Posted by goto10

I live in Nottingham, PA in southern chester county I am about 50 min to 1 hour from Wilmington and I live in a rural area. I can't really speak much about school districts but same places I can list for you to look in between where I live and Wilmington are Oxford, PA(rural), Rising Sun, MD(rural), Elkton, MD(suburban/rural), Landenberg, PA(rural), Kennett Square, PA(suburban). Prices are lower in the rural areas but some of the towns I mentioned are far from amenities including the one where I live. You could also look in parts of Northern DE but it tends to be pretty expensive since it is pretty much a philly suburb.

That information is helpful. New job is taking us to swedesboro NJ and I hear chester PA is close by? Everything I have seen on line so far seems to be housing close together, I like a little land as I have many dogs and like a bit of space between neighbors. Any realtor recomendations or other towns mentioned would be nice to hear./ I am coming from North Central Area, Bloomsburg /Danville area, Looking for a smaller house, kids moved out, 2 bed, 2 bath for company now and then that's it.

[toobusytoday]

newfsrus - Swedesboro IS close to Chester, PA but trust me, you don't want to live in Chester, PA. Chester County, yes, Chester the town, no. Chester county is NOT that close to Swedesboro.