Job offer in West Chester, PA? (Philadelphia, York: appointed, apartment complex, rental)

[maverick_72]

I am living in Phoenix, AZ and just got my CDL license. I have been applying all over the country for a beer/soda driver position. I have no desire to go OTR.

Anyway, I applied to Pepsi and got an interview as a soda driver for 50k a year in West Chester, Pa. Should I buy a plane ticket and go to the interview in West Chester? I have never been to Pennsylvania and would love to see green grass and 4 seasons again.
There is no guarantee of employment just a job interview that is halfway across the country. If I don't get the job I am out $650 round plane ticket. If I do get the job it would be the best $650 ever spent.

I need to get out of Phoenix, AZ because there are no jobs here.
How far will 50k go in West Chester, PA? Is cost of living high like New York City?

Is their anybody who lives there that could tell me about the city?

Thanks.

[Natural510]

I don't live there but have done some relocation research in the area, and West Chester tends to be a bit pricier than other suburbs/townships of Philadelphia due to being a university town and a bit more eclectic/liberal culture for that reason, making it a more desirable town compared to other parts of Chester County. Still nothing like the NYC metro though; the Philadelphia metro area as a whole is a bargain compared to Boston, NY, DC etc in that regard.
$50k should keep you comfortable as a single person, though may be more iffy if you're supporting an entire family (you didn't say). There are also more affordable options in Chester County, which are still nice: Exton is pretty suburban (lots of shopping/restaurants in strip-mall fashion) and Downington is a quaint town with a nice walkable downtown (and home of Victory Brewery!) You can check Craigslist to get an idea of rental prices in the area.

Can't advise you whether it will be worth it to pay your own way across the country for one interview, but you're right it will be worth it if you land the position. Just come with enthusiasm, a nice resume, and give a good interview...flying across the country will either look impressive or desperate depending how you play it. Chester County is a really nice area, so I would play that up. Either way, good luck

[cpomp]

Adding to the first post, the actual downtown part of West Chester is actually more affordable than the surrounding townships. So a single person making 50k in downtown West Chester would be fine, that would not really go far anywhere else near West Chester because that area is primarily made up of larger more expensive homes, but still definitely cheaper than New York, however significantly more than Phoenix.

The area in general is fantastic, tons to do, great shops and restaurants, beautiful scenery nearby, and Philadelphia and beach points are not that far away either, so I would say go for it if your interested.

[pman]

exton is the polar opposite of west chester. west chester is an old, walkable town with tree lined streets full of shops, cafes, even a market, etc. exton is all subdivisions, a struggling mall, and few sidewalks. the homes in west chester are expensive because few towns offer what it does along with a good school district and low crime. downingtown is much smaller but an old town (and yes, victory brewing)

[Natural510]

Exton does have some great Indian food, though

[LibraGirl123]

When people say "West Chester", they're often referring to the actual borough of West Chester (1.8 square miles) and the immediate surrounding, suburban townships.

The actual borough of West Chester is a charming, historic, walkable little town...which seems to get better every year!

http://www.classictowns.org/west-chester/

[avg12]

It's a tough call IMO. Do you have any relatives or close friends in the area?

If you were to come, make it a trip that includes not just the interview but other plans. Suppose you don't get the job- you'll be disappointed that you spent all the money and you'll get a bad impression of the region just by one interview, but if you had other plans, you'd think it was just a trip out.

For airfares, look at flights into BWI or EWR. If it's significantly cheaper, like $120 less each way, it's not a bad idea to fly into BWI and rent a car and you'll save money overall. Keep in mind there are tolls coming up from BWI. Do you have frequent flyer points to use?

For a place to stay, there is apartment complex in Malvern that's decent with rents at about $1000/month. I don't know if you could go lower and still be at a decent place.

[thunderkat59]

There are apartment complexes all over that are close to where you would be working from.
Rt. 3, Rt. 202 etc . . . Lots of inexpensive(relatively speaking) stuff close by. Downingtowns even cheaper, and an easy commute the the Pepsi warehouse.

As others have mentioned, I would prefer to be in the boro because there is so much to do and it is walkable. The other places like exton for instance, you really need a car to get to anything. I lived in West chester and walked to the building cross the street/highway from the Pepsi warehouse for years.

[bluespeed]

did you end up going for the interview and gettting the job?

i lived in phoenix for seven years but was born and raised in west chester, highly recommend the place, big change from AZ