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Old 11-14-2006, 07:14 AM
 
333 posts, read 1,949,859 times
Reputation: 136

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First off, I wanted to thank all the people on these boards. You have all been very very helpful. I really appreciate it!

I am now totally confused. I have received great info on the cities i might want to look in...but then I get a few private messages telling me they aren't so great<??> Plus there are so many..that I am getting everything confused.

I would like to name some towns..and if you guys could rank them in the order of what you think are the best school systems and nicest place for a family...that would be great!! That way I am just going to go down the list and I can get a gauge on where the schools compare.

For my background ..I have three little ones and am looking for safe area, great school system, I like the suburbs..if it is a little rural that is ok...but am looking for a neighborhood. I do like the "cookie cutter" houses as some call them. They tend to be in developments and that is important to me with kids. I would like conveniences nearby...like a Target, grocery store and shopping like Kohls.

Ok ..thanks you guys..
Havertown
Newtown
Newtown Square
West chester
Doylestown
Malvern
ardmore
Media
Broomall
Langhorne
Chester Springs
Yardley
Radnor

thanks !!
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Old 11-14-2006, 06:22 PM
 
Location: Villanova Pa.
4,927 posts, read 13,678,112 times
Reputation: 2696
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenne03 View Post

I would like to name some towns..and if you guys could rank them in the order of what you think are the best school systems and nicest place for a family...that would be great!! That way I am just going to go down the list and I can get a gauge on where the schools compare.

For my background ..I have three little ones and am looking for safe area, great school system, I like the suburbs..if it is a little rural that is ok...but am looking for a neighborhood. I do like the "cookie cutter" houses as some call them. They tend to be in developments and that is important to me with kids. I would like conveniences nearby...like a Target, grocery store and shopping like Kohls.

Ok ..thanks you guys..
Havertown
Newtown
Newtown Square
West chester
Doylestown
Malvern
ardmore
Media
Broomall
Langhorne
Chester Springs
Yardley
Radnor

thanks !!
Welcome I work in the education field and here is some info from my files.

All those areas are great. Some flat out filthy rich which comes along with better schools, higher taxes and ultra expensive homes. I'll try my best to sort them out from richest to poorest.Keep in mind even the bottom of those towns are still great places to live and there isn't a bad school district in the bunch. West Chester for example was t named one of the USA must see "distinctive destinations" by travel magazine in 2006 and thats at the bottom of your list.

Radnor-(Delaware County) Radnor school district.... Household income is $107,000 per year.

Chester Springs-(Chester County)Downingtown school district...$105,000

Newtown Square-(Delaware County) Marple Newtown school...$83,000

Malvern-(Chester County) Great Valley school district...$80,000

Newtown-(Bucks County) Council Rock schools...$78,000

Ardmore-(Montgomery+ Delaware Counties)..Lower merion schools $76,000

Langhorne-(Bucks County) Neshaminy Schools $75,000

Doylestown-(Bucks county) Central Bucks schools $72000

Yardley-(Bucks County) Pennsbury schools $71,000

Broomall-(Delaware County) Marple Newtown schools $64,000

Media- (Delaware County) Rosetree Media schools $58,000

West Chester-(Chester County) West Chester schools $51,000


The ironic part is that West Chester,Media and Doylestown have the 3 nicest town centers by far. They are more established,older,and a bit more diverse.The rest of the towns you mentioned are ultra suburban in nature.

Good luck

Last edited by rainrock; 11-14-2006 at 06:31 PM..
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Old 11-15-2006, 09:33 PM
 
Location: Newtown Square, PA
179 posts, read 1,032,140 times
Reputation: 62
OK
Radnor is the top of the heap, most money, most expensive place to live and highest taxes
Havertown is next great family place, moderate taxes
Malvern is next great valley school district housing is high as is the taxes
Chester springs comes next, this area is a bit more rural
newtown square, great area, lowest taxes in delaware county
media, nice area does have a weak section in it also and taxes are a bit high
ardmore and west chester have some "weak areas" to them and I wouldn't recommend them.
can't tell you much about doylestown, langhorne or yardley.
you can look up the school districts at www.schoolmatters.com
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Old 11-16-2006, 12:14 AM
 
Location: Villanova Pa.
4,927 posts, read 13,678,112 times
Reputation: 2696
Quote:
Originally Posted by William shivers View Post
OK
Radnor is the top of the heap, most money, most expensive place to live and highest taxes
Havertown is next great family place, moderate taxes
Malvern is next great valley school district housing is high as is the taxes
Chester springs comes next, this area is a bit more rural
newtown square, great area, lowest taxes in delaware county
media, nice area does have a weak section in it also and taxes are a bit high
ardmore and west chester have some "weak areas" to them and I wouldn't recommend them.
can't tell you much about doylestown, langhorne or yardley.
you can look up the school districts at www.schoolmatters.com

Could you define "weak areas" ?

What is your rationale for not being able to recommend West Chester or Ardmore? There is virtually no crime in either town so do you have other ulterior issues? They are both amazing towns and for the life of me I seriously question if you have been to either town.
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Old 11-16-2006, 10:39 AM
 
Location: Newtown Square, PA
179 posts, read 1,032,140 times
Reputation: 62
well rainrock, I graduated from the university of west chester, so I know the town very well. it does have a great town center and there is no parking, it's setup like philadelphia. And your wrong about the crime rate in that area. It certainly isn't what you would consider bad. but it isn't no-exsistent. As for ardmore I grew-up in havertown and worked in wynnwood area as a teenager. Again this area has some really cool aspects to it. but drive down ardmore ave between lancaster ave and haverford and make a left or right. There areas aren't terrible but they are the "weakest" areas in the ardmore/havertown areas. I have lived in and around these areas for over 40 years!! My brother was a cop and my mother worked for Judge Liberace for 20 years. So I feel confident that I know what are the weaker areas.
Weak areas are areas more prone to have houses in disrepair, more break=ins and more drug activity. I'm not saying the areas are compareable to north philly.
did a quick search for crime rates
for a site not sure how reliable it is but it was www.sperlingsbestplaces.com
crime rate on a scale of 1-10 violent crime and property crimes
philly, 8 violent - 9 property
havertown 5 violent - 2 property
west chester 7 violent - 6 property
ardmore 2 violent - 2 property
newtown square 4 violent, 2 property
again not sure how they came up with those stats and my only answer for ardmore and havertown is that part of ardmore is in haverford township and thus haverford township gets a hit from the weaker area of ardmore that is still in delaware county, the part in lower merion well we all know about the old money and huge homes over there but they are not in haverford township.

Last edited by William shivers; 11-16-2006 at 11:23 AM..
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Old 11-16-2006, 12:00 PM
 
Location: Villanova Pa.
4,927 posts, read 13,678,112 times
Reputation: 2696
Quote:
Originally Posted by William shivers View Post
well rainrock, I graduated from the university of west chester, so I know the town very well. it does have a great town center and there is no parking, it's setup like philadelphia.
Sorry to get off track here but:

Did you just compare a fabulously quaint village of 17,000 people to a city of 1,500,000? Did you just compare a city of 135 sq. miles with a town of 2.5 sq. miles?


West Chester is not setup like Philadelphia. Its set up like the Rittenhouse and Soceity Hill neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Should I mention that Rittenhouse and Soceity Hill are the two ritziest wealthiest neighborhoods in the city?

You can't just haphazardly say West Chester is setup like Philadlephia, thats totally incorrect.

Quite frankly nad I'm not trying to be difficult but in the overall scheme of things there is no comparison between a truly great town like West Chester and a sterile, bland, homogenous, boring, ultra suburban, cookie cutter neighborhood like Havertown.

Havertown is a nice community but just because you were born there does not give it supremacy over every other town in the region. Its Ok but lets try and keep it real.
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Old 11-16-2006, 04:45 PM
 
Location: Newtown Square, PA
179 posts, read 1,032,140 times
Reputation: 62
never said west chester was a bad area!!! I went to school there, lived there and worked there at merrill lynch for 2 years. west chester has a great heart, shopping, eateries, bars, etc. most of the streets are 1 way there is little parking. schools are good but living in the heart of west chester can be a real pain. outside the town there are some great areas nice homes big lots a little more of a country feel. Wasn't comparing west chester to any area just showing the stats found on the internet. Not sure how accurate they are. I certainly have a bias to havertown, but I also like a lot of other areas to.
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Old 11-17-2006, 02:47 PM
 
333 posts, read 1,949,859 times
Reputation: 136
I went on greatschools.net to check on a bunch of schools..I am actually kind of exhausted! ha

According to the site and the reviews..Doylestown schools got good marks..as did the middle and elementaries...It also seems council rock N i think..that was rated very well andgood reviews..though i don't know where that is. Great valley and Conestoga<don't know where that is either> were also rated very well.

It also looks like West Chester East I think..was rated well..

I do like cookie cutter suburbia..just because I think i have a false sense of security that it is safe..and safety is very important..I just want to find the best town to raise my family in..

I have looked in the havertown area..and haven't seen much for sale except very old homes? I am more of a newer town kind of gal..
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Old 11-17-2006, 05:36 PM
 
Location: Newtown Square, PA
179 posts, read 1,032,140 times
Reputation: 62
i would look in the doyelstown and great valley school districts then because you will find more newer homes out that way also the west chester area. most of delaware county has been throughly developed some if you don't like the older style homes you won't like most of delaware county. Though the newer homes will be more expensive usually 400,000 or more.
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Old 11-17-2006, 07:29 PM
 
Location: Villanova Pa.
4,927 posts, read 13,678,112 times
Reputation: 2696
I agree with you William about Delaware County being maxed out except for Garnet Valley which is blowing up with new residents and brand new subdivisions, Tons of them.I believe the growth rate of Concord + Bethel which make up Garnet Valley School District is like 50% in the past 5 years. The school district is top notch and alot of the housing is very new. Worth a look for sure. Also Garnet Valley was named the safest area in the metro by Philadelphia magazine. GV is the western border of Delaware County.

jenne if new homes are what you are looking for you should probably look at a map of the area and concentrate on the area 3 miles east or west of route 202. Thats where the hot areas are. Mostly everything east of route 476 is at least 50 + years old.
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