Visiting Philadelphia Before Making A Move There (Chester, West Chester: how much, schools)

[prettyteia523]

I am an Ohio native considering a possible move to Philadelphia, but am interested in visiting first. What are some things that a person who is visiting for the first time/considering a move to Philadelphia should know, what are some great or rather not so great things about the city that you have to be there to experience and understand ?

What are the people like there, & how is the education system there ? I’m currently looking into going to college, so I’m starting close to home, meaning Ohio and nearby states.

[TLC1957]

Did you check out the many colleges/universities in the Philadelphia area? Here a few

https://www.niche.com/colleges/searc...ia-metro-area/

Visit as a tourist is not the same as visiting as a student. What major are you interested in, how much can you spend, living on campus vs off campus , small school or big, etc. etc. all things to consider. Enjoy the process and hope you can visit a few schools in the area.

[Tweb66]

I'd advise against picking a city and then picking a school that you like, but that is up to you. Having said that, there are very few cities that can compete with the quality and variety of schools that we have. You need to establish your priorities.

[MarketStEl]

I'd second Tweb66's recommendation that you choose the college first, then the city. But I will allow that there are some cities whose colleges I would rule out because they are located in them.

This is not one of those cities. The city and its surrounding region abound in history, and the city center is a very lively place. Some of our best colleges and universities, however, are in a suburban area known as the Main Line (after the railroad along which it grew). The Main Line is studded with suburban downtowns that have some attractions that would appeal to students (Ardmore especially), but many more Main Line students make their way to Manayunk, on the Philadelphia side of the Schuylkill, to carouse.

[TLC1957]

Check out West Chester University in West Chester.

https://www.wcupa.edu/

My daughter graduated from WCU in 2010 and loved it. We looked at a lot of schools and she decided on WCU and only has good things to say about the school. It is one of the most popular PA state schools with many students both on campus about 6k and commuting to the school, about 15K total attend the school.

FYI a lot of freshmen change majors after the 1st year including my daughter from business to marketing. She did well now a director of marketing for a major corporation. So keep that in mind. WCU has a large nursing, education and music program.

West Chester has a great downtown with a lot going on, 75 restaurants and many stores. Here is a good overview of West Chester.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ylgsGKtvROY

[prettyteia523]

Just following up on my post, I decided to pursue my degree online at a PA college, due to being able to more freedom with my time. I am still trying to decide whether I want to live in Pennsylvania as while I visited, I didn’t have the most pleasant experience when interacting with some of the people here, as well as some other things that I noticed and had to deal with . I will give it another try and visit again, but in the meantime, I will still look into other states as a place to permanently reside.

[thedirtypirate]

Originally Posted by prettyteia523

Just following up on my post, I decided to pursue my degree online at a PA college, due to being able to more freedom with my time. I am still trying to decide whether I want to live in Pennsylvania as while I visited, I didn’t have the most pleasant experience when interacting with some of the people here, as well as some other things that I noticed and had to deal with . I will give it another try and visit again, but in the meantime, I will still look into other states as a place to permanently reside.

It probably would have added to the discussion if you said which colleges/universities you were looking at, but good luck with school none the less!

[Redddog]

Where in Ohio, may I ask?