Help me start our search please (Philadelphia, Indiana: condo, how much, houses)

[cfam6]

Hello!

We are considering a move to the Philadelphia area (a few other cities are in the running too). My husband would be starting a job at the university hospitals downtown.

Here's a little about our needs. I don't even know where to start looking -- town/suburb/neighborhood wise. So, while I explore this forum, I thought I'd start my own thread.


I see you have some standard Q's so I'll answer those:

When are you moving? 1-2 yrs, but need to make decision this fall/winter
Where are you coming from? Indianapolis
Why are you moving? Relocation
Where will you be working? University City / hospitals and 100% need to be within 30 minutes of this for my husband's work. he will take call from home and need to get back to the hospital (now this would be during the evening/weekends not during heavy commuting traffic if that helps)
Have you been here yet? only to visit. have relatives that live in Exton.
Will you buy or rent? Buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? House and $350-400K would be ideal, could go up to $450K. - we need a large (at least 4 BR) house
Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married w/ 4 kids (9, 6, and infant twins)
Do you prefer public or private schools? doesn't matter- we homeschool.
Do you have pets? not at the moment.
Do you want or need a yard? Yes, would love a large yard or even a few acres, but I don't know if that is even possible within our search range.
Are you keeping a car? Yes.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? .We are very open to city/busy, but I think our family and other needs are probably more suburb/calm/quiet friendly right?
What do you want to be closest to? As mentioned, within 30 minutes of downtown hospitals/medical campus.
Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? family friendly is good. open to diversity and would like a neighborhood with more character as opposed to a cookie-cutter subdivisiony type place.




Here was my original, it repeats alot of what I just said, but may give some other detail so I'll leave it too.

House needs - We need something somewhat large - 4 bedrooms is ideal. We have 4 children (9, 6, and infant twins) now. So, I'm assuming a suburb would be best? we're open to city though. We previously lived in LA and now live in Indiana -- so we can do pretty much anything! lol. Price range under $350K-$400K would be ideal, but we could go up to a bit more.

Location - Needs to be within 30 minutes of University City (hospitals) because my husband would be on call from home and need to get back to the city for emergencies.

Schools - not important - we homeschool.

Neighborhood - family friendly. We like diversity and houses with some character. I don't love subdivisions and cookie-cutter neighborhoods, but we live in one now, so I can deal. We'd love a big yard or even a few acres, but I don't know if that's possible w/ the 30 minute commute stipulation.

I think shopping, parks, and those type of amenities are a given-- suburbs always have those. If recommending a more city or downtown neighborhood, let me know if those are easily accessible. Thank you.


So...where should I look? Thanks in advance -- it's very hard to narrow down a huge metro area without more info.

[FindingZen]

Although it's still a little confusing as to where you might be working, the distance between University City and Center City, where the bulk of teaching hospitals are, is small enough not to make much difference.

My first thought is Media. It will satisfy the vast majority of your preferences. One exception will be with acreage as the your preferred budget and commute are not typical for such large lots.

[Wisertime]

You can get a house with a decent yard in the Elkins Park/Melrose park/Jenkintown area, but not a few acres in that price range. You could prob get .5-1 acre though with the rest of your needs. Its about 35 min to Ucity and 20-25 min to CC by train.

Diverse, friendly area with some walkability, but also the flexibility to have a car/transit etc. Lots of neat homes with character and mature trees.

[Angus215]

yeah, you're probably looking at a 4 BR on 1/2 acre for that price range. either a "cookie cutter" development from the 1960s - 1980s a little further out, or something older with more character, but probably less updated, a little closer in. southern montgomery county and delaware county are probably your best bet, as others have suggested. since you home school, maybe even chestnut hill in the city itself would be worth looking at.

[cfam6]

Thank you for the replies so far. I realize that all of our wants won't be met and the big yard is something we can definitely give up in favor of a better location/easier access to the city for my husband. Or, we might get more information about the call schedule and find out the 30 minutes away is not that set in stone. I guess for now, the proximity to the city is the first priority. (Which is positive for me, because I'm the city lover. Hubby would rather stick with the suburbs or even country/rural)

I got some clarity about exactly where he'd be working: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Childrens Hospital, and Penn Presbyterian. From the map, it looks like those are int eh area called "University City."


So, besides Chestnut Hill, are there other areas of the city that would work for us? It seems many of the medical trainees live right in the city near the university campus. What are homes like there? Are there families living there? Parks?

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by cfam6

So, besides Chestnut Hill, are there other areas of the city that would work for us? It seems many of the medical trainees live right in the city near the university campus. What are homes like there? Are there families living there? Parks?

My only pertinent piece of advice - only because you mentioned parks often - is that this city has great parkland within the limits of the city. There are small squares within Center City (downtown) that are extremely popular, there are neighborhood parks, there is the massive Wissahickon Park in northwest Philly (near Chestnut Hill, among other neighborhoods), a huge landscaped park which is Fairmount Park proper, and pretty much everything in between. Clark Park is a rather large neighborhood park near the University of Pennsylvania.

I don't really know much of anything about the suburbs - but as someone who likes parks and will often make a day out of going to a park, it has never occurred to me to go to the suburbs, because of the vast amount of parkland in the city. I'm sure they have nice parks in the suburbs too - but it's definitely not something that would necessarily be a reason to live there over the city. According to Wikipedia, the Fairmount Park Commission (meaning the Philadelphia Park system) consists of 9,200 acres.

Fairmount Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fairmount Park

As for the other things you're asking, I'll leave it to other people for good advice. Except to say that there are plenty of families that live in University City, as well as Center City, and especially in places like Chestnut Hill. Schooling is a big factor why parents choose the suburbs over the city - as in general the schools in the city aren't great. Since that doesn't matter in your case, that gives you a lot of freedom to take advantage of the other great things the city has to offer, if that's what you're interested in.

[cpomp]

If you increase your budget, the media/newtown square area is a great choice.

[maf763]

You can try Upper Roxborough/Andorra, which would have some singles in your range, though you won't get acres of yard. It's within the city limits and considering that schools aren't an issue, you'll get better value for your money than in close-in burbs like Gladwyne.

[MsChelle]

Since you home-school, I think it would be good to try and find a place within the city. For a larger house, look in Powelton Village which is close to hospitals in University City. Areas with large houses that are reasonably close to Center City include Overbrook Farms and areas along Baltimore Ave.

[MsChelle]

I totally agree with FamousBlueRaincoat. Philly's parks are second to none.

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

My only pertinent piece of advice - only because you mentioned parks often - is that this city has great parkland within the limits of the city. There are small squares within Center City (downtown) that are extremely popular, there are neighborhood parks, there is the massive Wissahickon Park in northwest Philly (near Chestnut Hill, among other neighborhoods), a huge landscaped park which is Fairmount Park proper, and pretty much everything in between. Clark Park is a rather large neighborhood park near the University of Pennsylvania.

I don't really know much of anything about the suburbs - but as someone who likes parks and will often make a day out of going to a park, it has never occurred to me to go to the suburbs, because of the vast amount of parkland in the city. I'm sure they have nice parks in the suburbs too - but it's definitely not something that would necessarily be a reason to live there over the city. According to Wikipedia, the Fairmount Park Commission (meaning the Philadelphia Park system) consists of 9,200 acres.

Fairmount Park - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fairmount Park

As for the other things you're asking, I'll leave it to other people for good advice. Except to say that there are plenty of families that live in University City, as well as Center City, and especially in places like Chestnut Hill. Schooling is a big factor why parents choose the suburbs over the city - as in general the schools in the city aren't great. Since that doesn't matter in your case, that gives you a lot of freedom to take advantage of the other great things the city has to offer, if that's what you're interested in.