Leaving California, considering Pennsylvania (Chester, Northampton: apartments, foreclosures, for rent)

[andream77]

Just1Lion...I have to say that I have traveled and lived in many other places and am currently moving back to the Philly area (was born and raised there). Don't get me wrong the city and surrounding areas has its faults, but to be honest, you would probably miss it after a while. It took me 6 years to really appreciate it. I would say get out and see the world...Regret is definitely no good. It's not a nice feeling. What is it you do for work? Is there any way you could transfer somewhere else? hang in there and I hope it gets better for you. I have to say that living in LA has been eye opening for me.

[Avalon08]

i would love to do some travelling. by that i assum you mean move away for a while, or do you mean just vacationing? i really dont think i would miss it here. i have disliked it for so long. and im not sure what you guys here think is young but im 30. i dont consider that to be so young anymore.

Ah yes, 30 is still very young. You should definitely try moving to another state, or states...do it while you can. When I transferred to SoCal, there was a young 20-something guy in my office who had just relocated from Philly as well. He lived in Hermosa Beach, a perfect spot for young singles. He absolutely LOVED SoCal -- he went surfing every morning a block away from his apartment. He eventually met a young lady (a CA native) and married her. And guess what -- they moved back to Philly a few years later. He knew he wouldn't be able to get much house for his money out there, much less a house with a yard for the three kids he'd eventually have. He and I both miss SoCal, though, and wax nostalgic about all the fun we had there....to the point where we were both talking about moving back. However, when he went for a business trip this summer, he nixed that idea -- he said it had changed too much, particularly the traffic.

So my point being, he "got it out of his system" while he was young, and now appreciates what he has in Philly. I'd highly recommend that for you, especially since you're so discontented here. As far as this area's being "bland", well, you're just completely wrong there.

[algia]

GORGEOUS PHOTO, I'll trade with you any day!

Originally Posted by rainrock

The Main Line is a string of affluent old money towns west of Philadelphia that settled along what was The Pennsylvania Railroad Lines which connected Philadelphia with Pittsburgh.. These towns run through neighboring Montgomery,Delaware, and Chester Counties. The further west you go the more suburban and rural the towns become. If you take a look at a map of the Philadlephia area The Main Line towns traverse along RT 30(Lancaster Pike)

Here is a good sight that might give you an idea what your money can buy. Its a link to Chester County Farms that are for sale,they go from $200K to $15 M.

Be careful what you wish for concerning 4 seasons, we just got a foot of snow yesterday, last year we had nearly 7 feet. Mother nature has been hitting us pretty good the last few years.

A measuring guide to use is Route 202, its roughly 1 Hr from Center City Philly. 202 is the growing hub in the western suburbs, its very upscale and pleasant. The further N+W you go from 202 you begin to get into heavy rural areas. Immediately S+E of 202 is upscale suburbia.

Downingtown,Chester Springs,West Chester,Chadds Ford, Yellow Springs,Pickering Valley,Coventry are a few areas in Chester County that may be a good fit for you.

Good Luck.

Chester County Horse Farms for Sale | PA Horse Farms for Sale

Yesterdays storm Bucks County

[algia]

Duude!

We live in Tampa (FL) and cant WAIT to move to Philly!

I'm 37..... Age has nothing to do with where you live! don't like it? no biggie, save your tax return and move! That's what we're doing and we have 3 kids and my mom is living with us, I have enough of theme parks and beaches everywhere, don't get me wrong, THE BEACHES are gorgeous and all, but they don't pay my bills and ppl here SUCK royally, there is no history, no culture NOTHING...dumbness on every corner....living in Philly with the wonderful history and gorgeous buildings and on top of that being that close to NYC and other awesome cities within a short drive makes it an outstanding location for having something ELSE to do every weekend rain or shine......Public Transit ALONE.....is a HUGE draw, I'm European and used to have that, in FL there is no such thing, ppl are attached to their cars! which sucks your wallet dry having to drive everywhere......

Take a walk in Central Park, you're so close! I'm 19 hours away......I have something else planned for every weekend for two years now after we get there! I'll never be bored again!

We are moving for THE SAME reasons as the OP minus the live stock...we can't handle that....LOLOL

You have to remember something, which is VERY unfortunate for the US and it's "current history" and that is that ALL the spots in the country that have warm weather LACK tremendously and I mean tremendously in Culture of any sort, they have all been turned into major sprawls, have nothing personalized anymore, everything is a chain, all the buildings look the same and ugly, public transit is non existent DUE to the sprawl and people have become VERY ISOLATED! Nobody goes caroling on Christmas and people are rude and give you nasty looks if you hold the door for them instead of saying "Thank You"!

Just travel around Philly, there is so much to do....I can't wait for us to move there....we can always Vacation in FL...drive down for a week then go back to a REAL CITY again!

Originally Posted by Just1Lion

i would love to do some traveling. by that i assum you mean move away for a while, or do you mean just vacationing? i really dont think i would miss it here. i have disliked it for so long. and im not sure what you guys here think is young but im 30. i dont consider that to be so young anymore.

[Just1Lion]

Originally Posted by rainrock

You cant swing a cat in this region without hitting some form of historic building or house
that alone makes the region atypical and unbland.

uhh sure pal. your right. its very unbland. clearly your offended because im not as much of a supporter of your hometown as you are. and BTW i never said the WHOLE area was bland and typical. ive been around enough to see several different suburban areas in the country. and this is NO different. ticky tacky ticky tacky....as the song goes.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by Just1Lion

]I personally find this area to be extremely bland and typical (not philly proper, the city is badass, im talking about the burbs and rural outskirts.

Progress. You went from this area being extremely bland and typical, to I didnt say THE WHOLE are is bland and typical.


There are 3200 counties in the USA. Chester County is the 19th wealthiest,Montgomery County 40th wealthiest, Bucks County the 55th wealthiest. In the 10 suburban counties surrounding Philadlephia 7 of them are amont the top 150 wealthiest in the USA.

Bland and typical it's anything but. Perhaps in your particular neighborhood but not the area as a whole. Flat areas in the middle of the country with stagnant economies are bland and typical.

The NW suburbs are in the piedmont of rolling hills and valleys filled with a combination of historic towns, corporate parks,nature reserves, farms. 50 miles to the east are the relaxing beaches of South jersey.

Chestnut HIll,Doylestown,Main Line,Media,Swarthmore,West Chester,New Hope,Newtown,Yardley,Valley Forge,Pickering Valley,Chadds Ford,Montchanin,Brandwine Valley,and dozens of others that remain nameless. These towns, these towns are not typical towns.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by Just1Lion

uhh sure pal. your right. its very unbland. clearly your offended because im not as much of a supporter of your hometown as you are. and BTW i never said the WHOLE area was bland and typical. ive been around enough to see several different suburban areas in the country. and this is NO different. ticky tacky ticky tacky....as the song goes.

Offended? Not in the least.

You made a statement that I obviously disagreed with. I provided photos, information,stats that refuted your claim.

Its perfectly understandable that you dont like this area. Its your perogative to go on a little mini rant about why you dont like the area. And its my right to try and disprove what I believe is an erroneous statement.

[chipmunk226]

I was born and raised in Philly - and moved to Western MD about 7 years ago. While I love the small town feel of where I am now - I hate hate hate that there is no culture and the arts are just that, small town. The only restaurants are mainly major chains and most ethnic ones close within 6 months. There aren't many 'local' business because growth and big box stores have pushed them out.

I lived in Philly proper and will NEVER live within the city limits again. But since my in-laws live in New Hanover its opened my eyes to the areas around Philly proper.

Our family is also looking to relocate to Chester Co. and I second that we have found plenty of properties with 2+ acres in Chester Co that are less then $1M. You are looking for a property very similar to what we are looking for. There's one we are scoping now that has about 6400 sqft and 22 acres for $650K!! Granted, it maybe too good to be true, but even if the house needs some work it will be well worth the investment.

Good luck!

[Just1Lion]

Originally Posted by andream77

Just1Lion...I have to say that I have traveled and lived in many other places and am currently moving back to the Philly area (was born and raised there). Don't get me wrong the city and surrounding areas has its faults, but to be honest, you would probably miss it after a while. It took me 6 years to really appreciate it. I would say get out and see the world...Regret is definitely no good. It's not a nice feeling. What is it you do for work? Is there any way you could transfer somewhere else? hang in there and I hope it gets better for you. I have to say that living in LA has been eye opening for me.

thank you for the kind words. i should also note that i did not grow up in the philly area. grew up in north jersey so i dont have that inner love for the region. my regret is my own fault. i had a chance to move to san diego about 5 years ago. i let the chance go by thinking that i could do it at a later time. then i got married, bought a house, and got a full time job. i work for the state gov't. i always look at gov't jobs in socal to see whats hiring. they have openings but my wife is not all for the move either.

[Just1Lion]

Originally Posted by algia

Duude!

We live in Tampa (FL) and cant WAIT to move to Philly!

I'm 37..... Age has nothing to do with where you live! don't like it? no biggie, save your tax return and move! That's what we're doing and we have 3 kids and my mom is living with us,

i dig your positive outlook. that is something that i have longed for, for a long time. grrrr im such a negative...sometimes. good luck with your move.