Exploring area around West Chester (Philadelphia, Coatesville: apartment, neighborhoods, universities)

[bicoastal12]

I'm a single apartment dweller with an ideal budget around $700-$1000/mo. People here seem to think highly of WC. The reason I'm considering it is Boeing Helicopters; I'm considering a technical writing business and especially if there are a lot of satellite small businesses in aerospace/defense, that could help a lot. I'm not sure if that's true there, as I haven't been there to see for myself.

If anyone has any thoughts on what local towns/neighborhoods are NOT safe to live in, I'd appreciate it. Right now I'm Hampton Roads, Virginia, and you can go from a relatively safe block to a blue-light district in a heartbeat; there are no "clear" divisions. I've heard gunshots on my block three times this year so far.

Another thing is what folks do in their off-time. Here they have no sports teams (except the TB Lightning affiliate Admirals that just won a hockey championship), and religion is central. I'm not particularly religious, so I feel pretty left out, because locals identify themselves largely by the church they attend. It's not Cali, and it's not Boston-area either, where there are plenty of churches but people worship the Red Sox equally.

Many thanks, Chris

[scosm]

WC is very nice. I grew up one town over and WC used to have a little bit of a seedy element, but that seems to be gone entirely. It has a little bit of an old colonial feel (lots of brick buildings), a little yuppie-ish feel, a big state university and a lot of bars and restaurants, some of which are very nice. There are several big events, like a chili cookoff in the fall that takes over the main strip. Most of the area surrounding WC is nice as well. Lots of corporate business parks, lots of suburban tract housing. The only rough town nearby that I can think of is Coatesville. Maybe WC has a shady couple of blocks, but a very small bit and not like where you live now. Your budget seems reasonable for the area.

WC is the county seat of Chester County, which is part suburban Philadelphia (including some fancy areas on the western edge of the Main Line area) and part rural farmland. The county is very beautiful and there are several parks, gardens and nature preserves in the area (Valley Forge and Longwood Gardens are two amazing closeby places). WC is far enough from Philadelphia that it takes awhile to get to the city - at least 45 minutes with no traffic and a lot longer with. All the amenities of a big metropolitan area are close by though (malls, airport, etc).

People are not very into church compared to the south. You would not feel left out by not being a religious person. The area is 100% behind the Philadelphia sports teams. The only team that lags a bit in popularity is the Sixers, I would say, since they've generally sucked in recent years. College sports are not as big as in some areas of the country, but still pretty big. The Philly universities are popular for college basketball and Penn State is the most popular college football team.

WC is a great choice - good luck!

[bicoastal12]

Well, Bostonians forgot about the Bruins until they actually won the Cup two years ago; even I'd written them off. All fan bases can get a little fickle. It sounds like West Chester is different than "East" Chester and the place overall's pretty good. I checked some apt. prices - most were a wee high for me but some would have made it; I just don't want to end up in a cheap mold mansion. 'Sounds like a decent place to park oneself, though, just close enough to enjoy the parts of the big city life you'd want to. Thanks!