Westtown Township/Great Valley schools (Philadelphia, York: home, best school districts, living in)

[BodhiC]

We are relocating to the area this summer and will be living in Westtown Township (West Goshen? West Chester?) Our home has a West Chester address, but it's in the Great Valley school district and in Westtown Township, so I'm not really clear on that! We are off Rte 3, a few miles west of Ridley Creek park.

A few questions about the area:

1) My husband will be commuting to Bala Cynwyd --- probably taking Rte 3 to Rte 1. Is that the best option or is there a better way?

2) Anything I need to know about the schools? My son will be starting 7th grade at Great Valley middle and my daughter will be starting 5th at Sugartown Elem.

3) We will need a boarding facility or pet sitter for our dog. Poor thing -- we're moving him across the country in June and taking a 2-week vacation in July. I want to make it as easy as possible for him!

Any other tidbits anyone has about the area would be very much appreciated!!

Thanks!!

[rainrock]

Welcome.

From Westtown Rt #3 to Rt #1 is the best option to Bala Cynwd. There is almost no other option/route by vehicle. Since the options are limited traffic can be problematic especially at rush hour.

Now Its possible from Westtown to drive to the Malvern Station and jump on the train which would take you to Overbrook Station at Rt 1 maybe 20-25 minutes. There you could catch a bus to Bala Cynwd- 5 minutes or so.

That's interesting that Westtown is affiliated with Great Valley School District.I would have guessed they were in the West Chester School District or maybe even Garnet Valley. Sorry don't know anything about the schools other than Great Valley has a very good reputation and rank near the top of the regions schools.

Ridley Creek State Park is a great recreational asset. They have a 5 mile paved trail used only for biking,walking and jogging. 50 miles of wooded hiking trails, trout fishing, picnicking.

There are some nice small towns nearby. West Chester ,Media, Wayne.

Nearby shopping hubs would be Concordville,Exton,King of Prussia.

Good luck.

[BodhiC]

Thanks for the info!! Our home is in the VERY southwestern edge of the GV district. We're happy to be in a good district, but we're about 10 miles/20 minutes away from the middle and high schools, which is kind of a bummer!

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by BodhiC

Thanks for the info!! Our home is in the VERY southwestern edge of the GV district. We're happy to be in a good district, but we're about 10 miles/20 minutes away from the middle and high schools, which is kind of a bummer!

Yes some pretty good commutes to the schools but if it helps any you chose a very pleasant area and the commutes should be quite manageable in Chester County. Nice mix of suburban/rustic/country.

If you like culture and fine dining Center City is definitely worth a visit.


In the summer you are only 1 3/4 hour from the "shore" clean beaches and summertime fun. Ocean City,Sea Isle,Avalon,Stone Harbor,The Wildwoods include North Wildwood,Wildwood,Wildwood Crest. (Wildwood Crest probably the nicest most family oriented of that group). Cape May at the southern tip of NJ and is arguably the nicest shore town.


In the winter months the Pocono Mts are 2 hours north where you can ski,snowboard,tubing etc etc.

[souphil]

Westtown Township is in the West Chester SD not in Great Valley SD. The names of the town for your mailing address and your zip codes are irrelevant to determine what school you'll be in, it is the township. GVSD is Willistown, East Whiteland and Charlestown Townships. Willistown Township does extend all the way down to Rte 3, so maybe you are wrong that you are in Westtown Twsp? GVSD is one of the best school districts in the state. Your husband might want to experiment with taking back roads (Goshen Road to 320 to Darby Road maybe). Either way, there's going to be a lot of traffic and it will be at least 30 minutes, I'd guess. It's a nice area.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by rainrock

In the summer you are only 1 3/4 hour from the "shore" clean beaches and summertime fun. Ocean City,Sea Isle,Avalon,Stone Harbor,The Wildwoods include North Wildwood,Wildwood,Wildwood Crest. (Wildwood Crest probably the nicest most family oriented of that group). Cape May at the southern tip of NJ and is arguably the nicest shore town.

The fact you consistently omit Ventnor, Margate, and Longport from your de facto list of shore towns has always boggled my mind, especially since they're the easiest ones to get to.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

The fact you consistently omit Ventnor, Margate, and Longport from your de facto list of shore towns has always boggled my mind, especially since they're the easiest ones to get to.

The further I am from the AC and NY crowds the better I like it, the extra 30 minute drive is a small price to pay, nothing personal. Always have shown bias towards the far South Jersey resort towns. Cape May- Avalon tends to be a Philadelphia region stronghold although I have been seeing more and more of an influx of these dreaded NYers .

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by rainrock

The further I am from the AC and NY crowds the better I like it, the extra 30 minute drive is a small price to pay, nothing personal. Always have shown bias towards the far South Jersey resort towns. Cape May- Avalon tends to be a Philadelphia region stronghold although I have been seeing more and more of an influx of these dreaded NYers .

Margate, Longport, and the Southern half of Ventnor are worlds away from AC, and are most certainly Philadelphia strongholds. There are rather few "dreaded New Yorkers" to be found below AC. I grew up going to Margate and I don't think I ever even went to AC until high school.

And what about your dreaded French Canadians?

[Guitarguy73]

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