Bucks or Reading....Please Help!!!! (Philadelphia, Allentown: leasing, car insurance, credit)

[Laatreividaa]

Hi

My husband and I are moving from Orlando Florida. We have a 19 year old daughter who will be attending the community college Majoring in Psychology. I would also like to go back to school to take up Diagnostic Ultrasound. Hubby is a truck driver and he would like to work close to home. Could someone please advice, which is the best place to start over Bucks county or Reading?


Thanks

La

[FindingZen]

Which community college will your daughter be attending?

Bucks County and Berks County (which includes Reading) are two different places. Berks in general will provide a lower cost of living, largely due to it being its own smaller metro removed from all but the outermost Philadelphia suburbs. In fact, for more info on Reading/Berks County, it may be better to re-post on the general Pennsylvania forum.

In the meantime, it would be helpful to know info such as your preferred budget and where your husband's company will be based. The "Questions for Future and Potential Residents" form at the top of the Philly page provides a survey of sorts which you can copy and paste. That will help us help you.

[Jeanie Beanie]

Coming north from Orlando you will notice one big difference (other than SNOW in winter) and that is the cost of livig will be higher, especially housing. Bucks County is a bedroom community between New York metro and Philadelphia metro and the prices are high. Berks County, where Reading is the county seat, is MUCH cheaper. Housing, car insurance, groceries even.

Your husband wants to work close to home and there are lots of trucking companies that are in Berks, and many independent drivers base out of Berks County. I78 crosses the top of the county and I76 crossed the bottom and you can get east to 95 or west to 81 easily. Penske Truck Leasing is based here and they are here because here's where the action is.

If you want a fine Community College, Reading Area Community College in downtown Reading gets high marks. After getting an Associate Degree at RACC you can seamlessly transfer to a 4-year college in county: Alvernia, Albright, Kutztown or Penn State Berks Campus. RACC has a fine nursing program, but if your major requires 4-years I understand Alvernia's nursing program is top notch.

The Reading Hospital also has a fine nursing program and just built a large training facility next to the hospital. Medical is a large employer in the county: The Reading Hospital was either the #1 or #2 employer in the county last year.

Also, Berks County is a nice place to live. The city of Reading is about 1/2 hispanic (Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, not too many Cubans), but coming from Florida, I don't think you'd have a problem with that. The city of Reading is a work in progress, but many places with Reading addresses are actually boroughs or townships outside the actual city and are quite sedate.

Good luck with your move. As Tone said, fill out the sticky form and we'll be able to give you better suggestions as to where you should focus. BTW, I LOVE Bucks County, too, but Berks wins this one.

[Angus215]

If i were in your situation, i would probably want to live somewhere with a lower cost of living. given that your husband is in trucking, Reading, Allentown/Lehigh Valley, and Harrisburg/Carlisle are all big transportation hubs. the positive about Bucks (or the philadelphia area in general) is that it is closer to major cities, there are more cultural offerings, and there is a larger job base. but you pay the price for that.

[Marius Pontmercy]

Reading is a cute city I think. I grew up in that area and while people will mention parts of the city aren't all that nice, it has come a long way the last couple of decades and has some nice small city sized resources that are convenient to nearby communities. Bucks is a bit more spread out and nothing is really centrally located as it is in Reading, but still has many good larger towns, but then you must be comfortable with "town" living which is certainly different than having a city nearby, even a small one like Reading.

[katnip kid]

The cost of housing in Bucks county and in Doylestown (which is in central Bucks county, and is the county seat) is high. The local community college is good, although I cannot speak for the nursing program. Doylestown, or D'town, has commuter rail access into Philly, if that matters to your family. D'town is safe, well-off community. Lots to do in central Bucks. The community college also has (last I knew) a social studies (?) club that sponsored all sorts of bus trips into Philly and also NYC to explore the diverse neighborhoods,history, museums and such. Some wonderful places to eat in Bucks county. Several inns, many great restaurants, something for every price range and taste.

Cost of housing is somewhat better in upper Bucks county and the Quakertown area, and is about 20? minutes north of D'town. Lower Bucks is more congested, not as nice. Folks I know speak badly of Bensalem, but I can't speak from experience regarding Bensalem.

Bucks County Community College has an upper and lower county campus. They have some sort of agreement with other colleges to accept BCCC credits. You have to go to their transfer page to read it, that would be best. Public schools are very good here. Quality of life is good.