Relocating from Dublin, Ireland. (Philadelphia, Lancaster: apartment, rental, how much)

[bat_lezerby]

I have recently been given a job offer to relocate to Philly. I will be mainly working from home with a trip to Manhattan every two weeks at most to check in with our office up there.

I have two kids, a wife and a dog that will be moving with me. I have spent some time in Philly so was thinking of moving to Ardmore or potentially Wayne (these were the places that stuck out to me). I drove through east falls and really liked it but I have heard the schools aren't the best. Is this true?

While I have spent time there, I am wondering about cost of living, best areas for schools and if my salary will be okay as the sole earner in the house.

So, my question to you fine people of Philly are:

- What type of standard of living should I expect to have with 108k a year and is it sufficient as a sole earner?
- Where would be best to live for schools / community etc? (we have a seven year old and an infant and like to go to restaurants and bars occasionally (when the kids allow us)


When are you moving? May-June
Where are you coming from? Dublin
Why are you moving? Company relocation
Where will you be working? From home mainly.
Have you been here yet? Yes a few times, i have lived in Malvern / Paoli for 5 weeks at a time twice

Will you buy or rent? I will rent in the beginning

If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? In general looking for a house. I can spend up to 2k





Are you married or single? Do you have children? I am married and have two kids

Do you prefer public or private schools? I am not sure, are public schools terrible??
Do you have pets? Yes, a labradoodle.
Do you want or need a yard? Yes
Are you keeping a car? Yes we will have 1 car.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Activity if possible but a nice place that my son can play out but is close to a nice town would be good


What do you want to be closest to? Not really important. I will have to go to NY once every two weeks so I suppose a train station would be useful.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? Diverse.

[lpranger467]

Nice thing about Ardmore (or Wayne) is the Amtrak train runs from Ardmore to Manhattan so you could get back and forth easily and not have to use a car at all. Most of the cities along whats called "The Mainline" which is Lancaster Avenue are nice and safe, but a bit expensive.

Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Haverford and Wayne would all be nice choices.

[lpranger467]

Also Amtrak trains do run from Paoli as well. There are regional trains that wil get you to Paoli or Ardmore but I think the convenience of having a station close to home would be nice.

I work in NYC and commute to the suburbs just south of Philly and I'll tell you the trains are cheaper than gas and tolls in a car.

[Avalon08]

Former Philadelphian here. I am not going to diss the Phila. school system, but the school systems on the Main Line towns that you've mentioned have a better reputation -- much better. Assuming you are sending the kids to public schools and not Catholic or private?

I haven't lived there in a few years, so have you checked the rental prices in those areas? For a nice house with yard that will accept a large dog, not sure if you can do that <$2K on the Main Line. As for the salary, $108K sounds OK, I'm sure a lot of families of four get by on much less.

You won't get much diversity in those towns. You would get diversity in East Falls, Mount Airy sections of Philly. I love love love the homes in West Mount Airy.

Hope that helps somewhat. And welcome to the U.S. if you do come!

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by lpranger467

Nice thing about Ardmore (or Wayne) is the Amtrak train runs from Ardmore to Manhattan so you could get back and forth easily and not have to use a car at all. Most of the cities along whats called "The Mainline" which is Lancaster Avenue are nice and safe, but a bit expensive.

Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Haverford and Wayne would all be nice choices.

Agree. All of those. All are in excellent public school districts. Additionally you can travel to Center City Philadelphia by train too.
I would also look at Wynnewood which is just east of Ardmore.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Avalon08

Former Philadelphian here. I am not going to diss the Phila. school system, but the school systems on the Main Line towns that you've mentioned have a better reputation -- much better. Assuming you are sending the kids to public schools and not Catholic or private?

I haven't lived there in a few years, so have you checked the rental prices in those areas? For a nice house with yard that will accept a large dog, not sure if you can do that <$2K on the Main Line. As for the salary, $108K sounds OK, I'm sure a lot of families of four get by on much less.

You won't get much diversity in those towns. You would get diversity in East Falls, Mount Airy sections of Philly. I love love love the homes in West Mount Airy.

Hope that helps somewhat. And welcome to the U.S. if you do come!

Of them all, Ardmore is the most diverse imo.

Yeah, it's too bad that the public school situation in the city is spotty(there are some good public schools however) because there's more diversity in many city neighborhoods and lots of fabulous houses.

[bat_lezerby]

Thanks for the input so far guys. I really appreciate it.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by bat_lezerby

Thanks for the input so far guys. I really appreciate it.

If you are indeed Irish ethnically, there are lots of Irish people in Phila. and many of the cultural things. St. Patrick Day bar/pub crawls and parade. Step dancing groups. There is also an immigrant's memorial in the city for those who came here in the 19th century.

[bat_lezerby]

Yeah I am born and bred Irish.

Have any of you got an opinion on Media? Also, where do the city tax limits start and end?

[Avalon08]

Media's nice and has a nice little downtown area. Good schools. Not much diversity. Maybe a little less expensive than Main Line towns. It is located in Delaware County, outside the Philadelphia city limits. The wage tax is only within the city limits. There are four counties outside the city that are considered the Philly metro area -- Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Bucks. Others here can tell you how it works if you live outside but work in the city.

And yes, Philly is a great city for Irish culture!