Town Suggestions (Philadelphia, Scranton, Chester: apartment, lease, how much)

[ConfusingRotary]

Howdy. I'll be down in the area tomorrow (Saturday), and I just wanted to see what you all would recommend I check out. So far, we are planning on checking out West Chester, Exton and Downingtown. I'll fill out this little questionnaire so you can go off of that.


When are you moving? Mid-to-late September. Our lease is up by October 1st.
Where are you coming from? Northeastern PA (Scranton area), but more the NYC Metro. We've been in PA for the past 6 months or so, but we lived in Northern Jersey (Hackensack) prior to that.
Why are you moving? Job market and housing are both very reasonable.
Where will you be working? Same job for now. I telecommute, but go into NYC once every couple weeks.
Have you been here yet? Yes

Will you buy or rent? Rent.
Are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? Apartment or townhouse. I'm hoping to stay under $1700/month.
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? Hi-rise

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, 2 kids (both under 2)
Do you prefer public or private schools? Public, ideally, but I don't have to worry for 3 years.
Do you have pets? A black lab mix, she's about 45 lbs. She lived in our apt in Jersey with us (housebroken/litter trained)
Do you want or need a yard? No, as long as there is a dog park and playground nearby.
Are you keeping a car? Yes, just one.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Calm and quiet, by far.

What do you want to be closest to? Train, Basic Services and Shopping. Nightlife doesn't exist for me anymore. I wouldn't mind being in commuting distance to major Philly-area employers (whether that's center city or suburbs, I don't know)

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? Mid-to-late 20s would be good, family-oriented.

Coke or Pepsi? Coke!

[rainrock]

Thats a good start. Route 3 (West Chester Pike) has alot of apartment/townhouse communities, alot of them are east of WC in West Goshen. West Chester is a nice little town. Also while you are down West Chester way you might consider looking into Chadds Ford/Glen Mills/Concordville area.A couple miles south of West Chester via 202.

Here is one community that looks good from passing.I think this community is in Glen Mills.

Windsor Communities : Pennsylvania: Windsor at Brandywine ValleyHome Page

A couple other newer core areas is Plymouth Meeting/Norriton/Audobon/Lafayette Hill. This is close to the center of the profession suburban hub King of Prussia/Chesterbrooke/Valley Forge.

Downingtown/Exton/Chester Springs is the western edge of the region. Very nice,lots of elbow room and fresh air, a bit far out, but theres alot going on out there. Nice country setting.

Good luck.

[orrmobl]

Check out Chesterbrook for sure. Also places like Phoenixville, Plymouth Meeting, Conshohocken, maybe all the way over to Doylestown, Newtown, New Hope and the like.

Whatever will keep you close to the Amtrak Keystone line or other train you can catch to NYC easily and with a shorter commute.

Chesterbrook is a great place within a great school district.

[ConfusingRotary]

Hmm, I'm not sure how I missed updating this, but I figured an update would be nice for anyone who may feel like getting an update.

We ended up finding a townhouse in Sellersville, which is on the borderline of even being in the Philly metro, but it's really nice up here. The only problem is that my commute to NYC is still kind of long (almost 2 hours just to the park and ride) and the potential of getting a job in the Philly region isn't really realistic if we were to stay here.

We've been checking other areas out as we've lived here, though. I really liked Chestnut Hill, but I don't want to pay city taxes and I fear the traffic. Doylestown is really nice, but also kind of far out. We're going to keep checking it out for now and hopefully find something that works out nicely for us.

[FindingZen]

Thanks for the update, it is appreciated. Better late than never.

Actually, you're not too terribly far from King of Prussia which is the retail magnet/job engine of the area. So that would be an area to consider focusing in on for future employment.

[maestro]

Plymouth Meeting/Lafayette Hill/Ambler/Blue Bell may be a option for you. Nice towns that have a mix of both new townhouses + older housing stock. Plus they are close to the employment mecca of King of Prussia (not to mention plenty of other jobs in areas around Plymouth Meeting, Ft. Washington, etc) if you end of switching jobs.

[ConfusingRotary]

Blue Bell is nice, but I'm not too fond of Plymouth meeting (TRAFFIC). I'll have to check out the others. Thanks for the suggestions!

[ShannonMilligan]

We lived in Buck's county and often took the train into NYC for day trips. We would drive to Trenton (10-15 minutes from Newtown, which is where we lived) and then take the train which was about an hour.
Driving into Philly wasn't bad either-about 45 minutes.

Have you thought about that area?

[SD70]

Originally Posted by marchawg

Hmm, I'm not sure how I missed updating this, but I figured an update would be nice for anyone who may feel like getting an update.

We ended up finding a townhouse in Sellersville, which is on the borderline of even being in the Philly metro, but it's really nice up here. The only problem is that my commute to NYC is still kind of long (almost 2 hours just to the park and ride) and the potential of getting a job in the Philly region isn't really realistic if we were to stay here.

We've been checking other areas out as we've lived here, though. I really liked Chestnut Hill, but I don't want to pay city taxes and I fear the traffic. Doylestown is really nice, but also kind of far out. We're going to keep checking it out for now and hopefully find something that works out nicely for us.

Welcome neighbor

I'm originally from Philadelphia and currently reside in Sellersville. I've lived several places in the area in the last 15 years including Lansdale, Doylestown and now Sellersville.

Although your commute to NYC is tough, you made a great choice for a community. I live right in town and enjoy all that Sellersville and Perkasie have to offer. The park system is great and is probably my favorite feature of this area. Nice little community events are held every year. Great dining choices are also close by and many within walking distance depending on where you live. The Washington House, the Perk, and a new place called Maize are some of my favorites. I can walk to my barber, dentist, icecream, pizza place, etc. There are other interesting shops in the Olde Town section of Perkasie and on Main Street of Sellersville. The school system here is strong as well.

The Sellersville Theater is the gem of this community, offering great music and comedy from some pretty big names. Other entertainment and shopping is a short drive away in Montgomeryville and Quakertown.

Doylestown is nice and I enjoy spending time there. However, you get so much more bang for your buck where you are. In addition, property values in Sellersville are up about 5% this past year, when most other places continue to decline.

Again, welcome and good luck with wherever you decide to call home