Horsham or Flourtown? (Philadelphia, Bethlehem, Easton: home, neighborhood, purchasing)

[ta_harvey]

Which would you rather live in--Horsham or Flourtown--and why? I'd love to hear from anyone, but especially people with kids.

Thanks!

[Angus215]

Horsham is a great area for a family. good schools and excellent park system. lots of community sports and events. good access to the PA Turnpike (better if you're closer to 309 than 611). i'm not familiar with flourtown, but from my experience once you go south of the PA Turnpike it is much older and more congested, which could be good or bad depending on preference.

[yesec9]

The Flourtown/Erdenheim/Wyndmoor area is pretty nice...solidly middle class...I go through there quite a bit (actually every day on my way to work)...it's Springfield school district I believe. There's a good deal of traffic. but it's not terrible.

I feel like Horsham traffic's just as bad. I know for a fact that it gets real congested on Easton Rd. near the T-pike. Bethlehem Pike isn't that bad, at least not when it goes through Erdenheim...

A few of my friends went to Springfield HS. They seemed to think it was just fine. I am not as familiar with people from Horsham, and I've been up there only enough times to count with my two hands, but from what I've heard and seen it's fairly affluent but somewhat McMansion-ish. I know a few people from Horsham and Warminster who do some serious drugs. Not my type of place, but then again, I grew up in west Germantown, moved to Elkins Park when I was 10, and live in Jenkintown now...

[BPP1999]

I'd recommend Flourtown. It has more of a sense of place, and is closer to the city. Horsham is more sprawl-y but is still a nice area. I just prefer Flourtown because to me it's closer to more of the region's more important areas, such as Center City (and the rest of the city), King of Prussia, and Plymouth Meeting. It's also only a 5-minute drive to Chestnut Hill. Flourtown will be more expensive, and you will get less for your money there than in Horsham. Schools are pretty good in both areas.

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by yesec9

The Flourtown/Erdenheim/Wyndmoor area is pretty nice...solidly middle class...I go through there quite a bit (actually every day on my way to work)...it's Springfield school district I believe. There's a good deal of traffic. but it's not terrible.

I feel like Horsham traffic's just as bad. I know for a fact that it gets real congested on Easton Rd. near the T-pike.

A few of my friends went to Springfield HS. They seemed to think it was just fine. I am not as familiar with people from Horsham, and I've been up there only enough times to count with my two hands, but from what I've heard and seen it's fairly affluent but somewhat McMansion-ish. I know a few people from Horsham and Warminster who do some serious heroin and coke. (It's boring out there!) Not my type of place, but then again, I grew up in west Germantown, moved to Elkins Park when I was 10, and live in Jenkintown now...

I'm only offering anecdotal evidence here...

Rt 611 is a horribly congested road that goes through the southeastern corner of horsham and up into bucks county. traffic in the rest of horsham is not bad. the northern part of the township has a lot of mcmansions, the southern part was built out longer ago, is more middle class, and has more typical housing from the 70s and 80s.

[ta_harvey]

Thanks for all the input! We're actually in the process of purchasing a home in Flourtown and will move there in just a few weeks. If any of you who are familiar with the area have any suggestions/recommendations on anything--from pre-k schools and doctors/dentistists, to recreation facilities, restaurants, ways to meet locals, or whatever--please let me know.

As a little background, we're a relatively young (well, I'm in my early 30s, husband in early 40s), highly educated, globally-minded, active couple with two young kids (ages 2 and almost 5). We're moving from Minnesota, which is where I'm originally from, but we've lived many places, including Spain, which is where my husband is from. We know only one family in the Philadelphia area, so are very interested in getting integrated into the community and developing friendships quickly. Any advice on how to best do so in this area is welcome!

Thanks!

[maf763]

Schiff Dental Group on Bethlehem Pike is a good practice. I prefer the Acme supermarket to the Genuardi's - it has better customer service and self-checkout lanes while the Genuardi's checkout seems to always be woefully understaffed. There are several restaurants along Bethlehem Pike, none of them are great but some are decent. Based on my most recent visits to places, scoogi's is probably the best of the bunch. You'll find better options in Ambler, about 5 minutes away. Halligan's is an OK neighborhood pub, just don't expect a sparkling interior. Fort Washington SP has a good linear biking/jogging trail, as well as the best sledding hill in the area and a good hawk-watching stand.

As far as meeting people, it's often best to pursue an interest, whatever it may be. For example, I play pick-up ultimate frisbee and my wife is in a book club, each of which provides us with an additional social circle as well. As your kids progress in school, you'll probably make a lot of contacts with school and activity families.