Phoenixville vs. West Chester! (Philadelphia, Ardmore: apartment, rental, to buy)

[JonnyNYC90]

Hey fellow Brandywine Valley-ers,

I'm curious as to your thoughts about these two towns.
Being a West Chester native, I've gotten accustomed to the borough and all that it offers. I think it's a pretty decent town that's very walkable. I'm not a big nightlife person (don't drink, but do enjoy live music), so a lot of West Chester's bar appeal is lost on me.
However, now that I am out in the workforce on my own and looking for an apartment, I find WC rents to be pretty darn absurd compared to Phoenixville or other nearby areas.
So, I pose this question:

With an eye toward affordability, budget, and things to do (other than bars...live music, shopping, other events), which town do you think is better? Do you see Phoenixville surpassing West Chester in any regard, either now or in the near future (less than 5 years, let's say)?

Please share your thoughts and experiences, and I'll share more of mine!

Thanks,
Jonny

[mancat100]

They are both great areas, but I'd vote for Phoenixville just to be away from drunken college kids. That being said I'd put Ardmore and Media ahead of both of them. Downingtown is okay, but too vanilla.

[JonnyNYC90]

Thanks mancat!

Yes, West Chester's downtown can flood with college kids, especially those first weekends once the semesters begin. I haven't lived close enough to the bars to have any noise problems, but I assume it's pretty difficult to sleep if you live on Gay St.

What's the appeal of Media? Is it walkable and similar to WC? I'm ashamed to say I've only been there once, about 10 years ago, and don't remember much.

[mancat100]

Media is your quintessential all-American town. It's got a great main street (State Street)with stuff to do, but a more mature scene than WC. It's located within a nice, well-established area. It's closer to the city, which is a huge plus for me. Also, I really like the trolley line down State Street - which connects into Philly.

Media just feels to be more within the "metro" to me, which I like, but far enough away that the negative aspects of that aren't a problem.

[pman]

yes, decent service to Philadelphia in both ardmore and media set them apart from west chester and pville. ardmore really doesn't compare though in terms of nice walkable towns. 30 is a highway bisecting it and something is just missing, it's not nearly as attractive as west chester, media, or pville. of those three, pville is the most recent addition to that list. I don't know that it will eclipse west chester (unless it gets a train line) but certainly it could continue to evolve. there's more to west chester than college kids, the coffee at fennochio's (sp?) is actually excellent, there are some decent dining options, a market (carlino's) downtown, and a good amount of shopping. Phoenixville is very much a work in progress, dining has exploded (the new pizza place is excellent), there's a great mix of old and new housing, a riverfront, and a coffee shop with live music but still has a ways to go in terms of common amenities. media might be a nice compromise and is certainly worth a look.downingtown has potential but I'd say it's a step down from those three towns.

[maestro]

I rented in Phoenixville a few years back, and eyed West Chester to buy a house. Both towns are good, but in my opinion West Chester is light years ahead of P'ville at this time. Phoenixville is mostly bars and some restaurants at this point, though it seems to inch more and more upward. West Chester is bigger and just seems to be a lot more complete and self-sufficient.

Your negatives of West Chester (college kids, in particular) are also the reason why the town is so vibrant. I would imagine that seeing live music, while possible in P'ville, is more prevalent in West Chester.

[JonnyNYC90]

Wow, thanks for all the replies everyone!

mancat, I'll have to check out Media one of these weekends. Although it would be a further commute to Malvern than my current location outside of WC, I'm willing to deal with that for a better quality of life. I'm stuck in a place where I must drive to do anything, and I'm tiring of it.

pman and maestro, thank you for your input! West Chester has definitely improved over the last two decades. Having a market in town and all of the dining options is nice. I'm really curious to see how Media compares, and where Phoenixville will be in the next 5-10 years.

[scosm]

I would pick Phoenixville over West Chester, partly because it is not as bourgouis and student-y. Phoenixville definitely has farther to go and is more working class/poor, but it seems to have a good vibe overall and is a long way from the collapsed steel town it was.

[maestro]

Originally Posted by JonnyNYC90

I'm really curious to see how Media compares, and where Phoenixville will be in the next 5-10 years.

It's funny you said "where Phoenixville will be in the next 5-10 years", because that as a decision point for me as well. I think somewhere in the future P'ville could be somewhat similar to Conshohocken or Ambler or a small-scale West Chester. I just didn't want to wait the 10-15 years I think it will take for it to get to that level.

You'll definitely get cheaper rental costs in P'ville. Negatives are transportation to places east, assuming you'd like to do some shopping or nightlife in Philly every now and again: 422 stinks, and I-76 is the only way to downtown Philly.

[JonnyNYC90]

Thanks for the input scosm! I think I'll take a drive up to Phoenixville in a week or so to check it out and spend a day around town.

Maestro, I think that's probably the reality of it then...P'ville definitely has potential, but it is going to take a while for it to capitalize on that. Good point about the transportation by the way...I do like to go to Philly sometimes. I usually hop on 95 southeast of West Chester. I guess I-76 can be much worse when it gets busy.