Relocating .. Please Give Input (Philadelphia, Chester: day care, home, job market)

[CrazyWithMyBoys]

Hello Everyone,
We are considering moving to the Philadelphia Area. We have two children ages 3 and 10 months. Sio we are definately looking for a nice clean and of course safe area with good schools and childcare. As for housing we are ideally looking for a 3 bedroom home preferably a single family within a short commute to work. I am a Certified Paralegal and my husband has recently finished his EMT training. How are the job markets for those Careers? My husband is also in College getting his A.S in Criminal Justice with an ultimate goal of being a police officer. Also are firms hiring paralegals with just the certificate or do they requires A.S degree? Any input and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in adavance.

[KMST1951]

I do not know about the job market, and your commute to work will depend on where you work. When I moved here, I aimed at having home, work, day care, and elementary school all within 15 minutes drive of each other. I started from the work I had found and looked around it. When I needed to change jobs, I found another job close to home.
For the last 20 years I have lived in West Chester which has West Chester University (WCU) and is right on Rt 202 and somewhat close to trains (Exton, Paoli). Living near Rt 202 is convenient and so is living near a commuter train line. WCU is affordable. Nearby is Delaware County Community College, which is also affordable, especially if you live in a "sponsoring district" (not West Chester). My oldest attended both colleges and liked them.
I found good affordable childcare in West Chester (we loved the local Kinder Care) and in nearby Malvern (then Magic Years school). There is a hospital in West Chester, and probably better hospitals nearby (Paoli, Riddle). There is an amazing nearby children's hospital in Wilmington Delaware (A. I. DuPont Children's Institute, off Rt 202). We love it. Two of my children needed it, and it was literally a lifesaver.
West Chester and Malvern are quaint old towns and now also Philadelphia suburbs. The schools in West Chester and Malvern seem to do a good job. Friends who live in Malvern rave about their (Great Valley school district) schools. I did not love West Chester schools (my 3 kids attended them), but they are probably better than many other districts. Malvern has a train station with commuter trains to Philly. The next station going towards Philly is Paoli. I believe the school district for Paoli is Tredyffrin-Easttown. Tredyffrin-Easttown and Radnor are nearby school districts (along the train route) with the best test scores.