Help narrowing down housing search for garden-friendly home <1hr from NW Philly (Philadelphia: condo)

[cr0]

My fiance and I are looking for a home within an hour from Lower Merion Township to be near family. We value community and mass transit but also care about having nearby forest to visit regularly and a decent lot size to garden – ideally a lot with woods we can interact with. I have a small tree nursery and we both want forests and wood products to be a big part of our lives.

Our search is focusing in on two general areas that seem to offer opportunities for recreation, wooded lots, and <1hr-drive proximity to NW Philly:
- Horsham-Ambler-Schwenksville-Landsale area
- Downingtown-Honeybrook-Pottstown-Phoenixville area (maybe up to French Creek)

I saw a questionnaire in other posts seeking house search advice, so here’s our answers! We appreciate any suggestions on where to look for houses, or what features to look for in an area when we find houses we like. Thanks for the helpful posts I’ve seen on this community already.

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When are you moving? ASAP, ideally before June 2022
Where are you coming from? West Reading, PA
Why are you moving? Settling down to grow a huge garden, raise a family, be closer to work and family in Philadelphia's NW outskirts

Where will you be working? Norristown, and from home
Have you been here yet? We’ve lived in West Reading since early 2021. One of us grew up in Lower Merion.
Will you buy or rent? Buy

If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? House, 400K or a little more. Ideally 3-4 bedroom.
Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb? PA, homing in on Montgomery or Chester County, maybe southern/southeast Berks

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Engaged and getting married this summer, no children yet but plan on 1 or 2

Do you prefer public or private schools? We want the option of a decent public school
Do you have pets? Cat, plan to have chickens and bees
Do you want or need a yard? Yes, at least half an acre in size
Are you keeping a car? 2 cars
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? We are flexible. Our ideal is a quiet area we can walk on streets and in the woods, but a short (<30min) drive or long bike ride to a cultural/town center.
What do you want to be closest to? Forests, parks. Cultural center and/or mass transit is next priority. (Not easy to find wooded lots a short drive from a train station!)

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? We are flexible but prefer a diverse area or at least one that welcomes diversity.

Favorite beverage? Hickory nut milk homemade from PA forests

[smt1111]

Hi OP, I'm not familiar with Downingtown-Honeybrook-Pottstown-Phoenixville areas but am more familiar with Horsham, Ambler and Lansdale areas enough to say that these areas are not known for having wooded lots over 1/2 acre in your price range. These are built up areas. Horsham has developments with big tract homes and has some parks but no town center. Ambler and Lansdale have town centers but are built up. I don't know of any woods in these areas. Personally I wouldn't ride my bike on any of the main roads in these areas.

What you are looking for is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There might be such a house but it would likely be difficult to find and out of your price range (such as Gwynedd, Harleysville, Lederach areas). My recommendation is to go out and scout around some areas and meet a couple of realtors and start looking at various houses to see what's available. Also make a few practice runs to your work. These are all very congested areas and it may take you an hour or more to get to Norristown in rush area. The main arteries are 476, 202, and 309 and these get very congested with frequent accidents and backups due to volume. The further out you are, the longer the commute of course.

The other comment I have is that some of these areas may not allow homeowners to have chickens and bees. They might allow a few chickens if the lot is a certain size but they might not allow bees. You have to check the ordinances.

[smt1111]

Also, just to let you know, most people will interpret "NW Philly" as Northwest Philadelphia (city). Norristown is not considered NW Philly, it's in the suburbs and northwest of the city but I wouldn't call it NW Philly or you might be getting some responses that think you are commuting into the city (which is a brutal commute from the suburbs).

[1ondoner]

Sounds like you are looking for something rural. For a Norristown commute, your best bet may be along US 422 from Reading southwards.

[Mayvenne]

I can't comment on the commute but I think your second option of
Downingtown-Honeybrook-Pottstown-Phoenixville area
would in fact really work. Again, not sure about travel times and such but the housing you are asking about would be there.

[smt1111]

Also, since you're coming from Reading, you might or might not be aware that Philly area can get hit with severe storms. Trees go down and topple on people's houses. I live in a suburb of Philly where it looks like a war zone every time we get a severe storm such as Superstorm Sandy, Tropical storm Irene, and many other storms. I would be cautious buying a house surrounded by trees around here. Most of my neighbors are getting their trees removed around here due to the risk of house damage. Tree removal is big business. Even a small limb crashing down on a power line can be a problem. Trees are nice if you live in an area where you don't get severe storms and where the trees are not up against a power line.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by smt1111

Also, since you're coming from Reading, you might or might not be aware that Philly area can get hit with severe storms. Trees go down and topple on people's houses. I live in a suburb of Philly where it looks like a war zone every time we get a severe storm such as Superstorm Sandy, Tropical storm Irene, and many other storms. I would be cautious buying a house surrounded by trees around here. Most of my neighbors are getting their trees removed around here due to the risk of house damage. Tree removal is big business. Even a small limb crashing down on a power line can be a problem. Trees are nice if you live in an area where you don't get severe storms and where the trees are not up against a power line.

Reading has the same weather patterns as the western suburbs. It’s only an hour from Center City, after all.

[smt1111]

Ok.

Well, OP wants a wooded lot. We just had a storm this past weekend when trees went down on a power line around here.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by smt1111

Ok.

Well, OP wants a wooded lot. We just had a storm this past weekend when trees went down on a power line around here.

That’s fine. I’m just clarifying that having a wooded lot in a suburban Philadelphia county does not carry different risks in comparison with a wooded lot in Berks County.