Commuting by car from Philly burbs to city center (Philadelphia: middle-class, best suburbs)

[Newphillygal]

Hi all,
I will be relocating to Philly suburbs this summer. Need to figure out where I can live that is within a one hour commute to city center by car. Looking for great elementary schools as well. Thoughts on best places to live?

When are you moving? This summer
Where are you coming from? Long Island NY
Where will you be working? city center Philadelphia
Have you been here yet? Yes a couple of times to city center but not the burbs

Will you buy or rent? Buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? House, 500-750k
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend?
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up?

Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb? PA
(If you answered NJ - post your answers here: //www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...-philadelphia/)

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married with 2 young children to enter elementary school
Do you prefer public or private schools? Public
Do you have pets? No
Do you want or need a yard? Yes
Are you keeping a car? Yes
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? A little of both

What do you want to be closest to? Flexible
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

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

[Patmcpsu]

Philadelphia has some of the best suburbs in the country. For your budget, you can afford to live in practically any of them, and the question comes down to how much house you want for the money.

The go-to answers that everyone provides is the Main Line and Media/Swarthmore. A big part of those answers is that there is train access into the city. If you specifically want to drive into the city, the trains are a moot point. If you want to consider the train, these are the first towns you should consider. The drawback is, being the most in-demand, these are also where your money won't go as far.

Towns to consider without train access include: Newtown Square, Blue Bell and Lafayette Hill (I'm sure there are more in the northern suburbs, which I'm not familiar with). Glen Mills is currently a hike for a daily-commute into Philly, but after the widening on Route 322 is completed (which will be a couple years), it will be more accessible, and currently makes it a savvy choice to buy-in before the new convenience inflates real estate values.

[FindingZen]

My first thought is that it would be easier to offer suggestions on where *not* to go than where *to* go. As Patmcspu said, Philadelphia's suburbs are generally good-to-great, especially when it comes to school district quality. Your housing budget would put you in the upper-middle-class/lower-upper-class range of neighborhoods here.

I'll put a plug in for the area where I grew up in Eastern Montgomery County: Abington/Cheltenham/Springfield/Upper Moreland/Hatboro/Horsham. These are older bedroom communities with solid schools and near walkable downtowns. Homes here are a relative value compared to the previous great suggestions; the flipside is that property taxes can be relatively high to support those schools, particularly in the Abington and Cheltenham school district. Nonetheless, you could easily get to Center City within 30-40, depending on if you drove down Old York Road until it transitions into Broad Street past the city line...or took the PA Turnpike over to I-76/Schuykill (SCHOOL-cull) Expressway.

Further out in Bucks County, you could consider Yardley and Newtown, two upscale towns. Schools are notable out there. Your budget and preferred commute time might be stretched to the limit.

[TownDweller]

As others have said, you really have a great selection of towns if a one hour commute to CC by car is the prerequisite. Good to great schools will be the norm, not the exception, at the price point you are looking in.

The Philadelphia metro is much less dense than NYC metro, as you would expect. If you like the expansiveness of Suffolk county, Bucks county around Newtown or Yardley would be a good bet. Also the western end of Delaware county around Newtown Square.

If you prefer more density, eastern Delaware and eastern Montgomery counties would match up better. There are many towns that could fit the bill there.