Thinking of moving to Newtown Pa (Newtown Grant: houses, neighborhoods, new construction)

[janetgro]

My husband works in Princeton and we are thinking of moving to Newtown. It looks like the highschools have very large class sizes. My son is 12. What are the highschools like? My son plays sports in a large school district now and it's very competitive because there are so many kids. Also, any suggestions for neighborhoods would be appreciated. We would love a newer house in the $600 range. Thanks

[bobsmith]

How new is "newer"? Newtown's main construction boom was in the 80s and there are plenty of decent houses in the $600 range. I went to high school in Newtown (Council Rock North, same as your son if you move here) and have generally positive memories of the experience, all things considered. I highly recommend it--the schools generally have very good teachers (or at least they did in the early 00s, some of the best are retired but many are still there) and the sports programs are great.

[janetgro]

Thanks for your response. Did you find the large highschool class sizes to be a disadvantage? We realize there isn't much new construction but would like a really nice development with access to town and other kids. My son plays LAX and soccer. Are the sports programs really competitive with the large number of kids? Thanks

[bobsmith]

I never felt the large class sizes to be a disadvantage, but then again 25-30 in a class never felt large to me. They seem smaller because the students are pretty well behaved as compared to some other districts in the area. Actually, the class sizes are much smaller than they were after Council Rock High School split into two schools in 2002, when I was a junior. I didn't do sports myself but tons of people I knew were involved, and I think there was a healthy amount of competition.

Now as far as neighborhoods, I would personally recommend being closer to Newtown boro to be within walking distance of the downtown, which in my opinion is one of the nicest downtowns in the area. Look at some of the housing developments that spread out from Lower Dolington Rd, you'll find a pretty good range of housing there, many built in the 80s and 90s and some built in the 00s. I would also highly recommend Newtown Grant, it is a great development for kids (it even has a public pool and tennis courts), but it's a little out of walking distance to Newtown. Newtown Gate is also worth looking into. Newtown Crossing is okay, but it's on the other side of the bypass making it pretty much separated from the town, however it has great access to Tyler State Park, which is a great place to go for walks and bike rides. Further out you will find developments like Newtown Meadows which was built around 2000, but I've always found it a little isolated for my tastes (but the houses have big yards).

I hope this is helpful to you. Newtown really is a very nice place to live. Growing up, my classmates and I thought Newtown was boring, but that was before we got out and found out the grass really wasn't greener on the other side and we came to appreciate Newtown. It has good schools and a good atmosphere, shopping, and jobs. If only SEPTA re-opened the rail connection it would be just about perfect.

[janetgro]

Thank you so much. That was very helpful!