Young family moving to Philadelphia (Chester, West Chester: to rent, low crime, house prices)

[georgepomeroy]

Hello - I am looking for some relocation help because we have never been to or know anyone that lives in Philadelphia. I have no idea about the taxes and difference between living in NJ or Penn. Is commuting by car insane and will I have to take trains everywhere? Our current commutes are at about 35 - 40 minutes by car and I would love to minimize it or keep it close for my sanity. We are a fairly young and diverse couple under 40's with young kids (1st and 4th grade) looking to move from San Diego, CA. We are a bit more city like then country, however, we are not the McMansion types but definitely enjoy family conveniences (grocery stores, coffee shops, restaurants, yoga, parking, and parks). My husband will be working for University of Pennsylvania and I will be looking for a position in academia with one of the local universities.

We are looking for:

really good public school district (elementary through high school)
under 40 minute commute by car or... train? Is that even possible?
3- 4 bedroom w/garage to rent...
look to purchase after 2 - 3 years; under $350k to purchase
rent $2,000 - $2600 a monthlow crime rate area
family friendly - can my kids play football or basketball outside without getting run over?
Is it possible to walk to Parks, see trees, go to local swimming pool, ride out of my garage for road cycling, see my kids playing soccer down, running....lacrosse?
Farmers market, Trader Joes, butcher, small local restaurants

Thanks,

[Tangled Threads]

In NJ, you may find what you want in the Haddon Township/Westmont, Collingswood, Audubon, Haddon Heights area. You may also want to check out Haddonfield but the $350K purchase price might be a little tough there. The Walt Whitman Bridge is nearby and allows easy access to UPenn. You would also be near the PATCO train line which takes you into Philadelphia (and if you transfer to the Market-Frankford line, you can get to the UPenn area.)

[PhillyPhan95]

Definitely look into the Pennsylvania suburbs. I couldn't tell you much about the tax differences because I'm still in high school. Generally speaking, school systems you find in the Pennsylvania burbs are very good, and, with this statement being based on my experiences and perception, are better than SNJ schools. Center City Philly is very accessible from NJ, which it does have that advantage over PA burbs, however, this is largely due to development patterns, as the PA burbs were settled by large numbers of people long before the NJ burbs were, which saw a lot of growth in the 50's and onward. This pattern has created, IMO, very dull and boring, cookie cutter NJ burbs of Philadelphia. In PA, there are a lot more "towns" that are walkable and charming than there are in NJ. I personally believe that the PA burbs have a lot more to offer but that's just me. I have not lived in NJ, but my experiences there have been "meh." NJ is just too flat for me. I like the rolling hills and valleys in the PA burbs.

Anyway as for recommendations, I would look into West Chester, as it seems to fit everything you are looking for, or Media. Price may be a factor but Wayne, or the Main Line area in general is good for everything you have mentioned.

[RightonWalnut]

Center City (and University City) will be more accessible by train from PA, and yes it is possible to commute by train to your place of employment in Philadelphia. PA will also have cheaper property taxes. Driving will take longer sometimes because of traffic but IDK why you're thinking you won't be able to drive anywhere. It's not so congested in the Northeast that you can't get anywhere. Everything you are looking for is doable... and yes your kids can play outside.

Most of the suburbs in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania will have great schools. The suburbs surrounding the city range from urban to rural and everything in between. Old beautiful towns and new mcmansion type developments. May I suggest Langhorne in Bucks County? Great area. The Jenkintown/Ambler area will be a good fit as well.

Here is the SEPTA map... any town along here will put you in your commute time.. Langhorne is near both the Langhorne and Woodbourne stations along the West Trenton Line. Ambler station is along the Doylestown line. Jenkintown station is serviced by three rail lines.


Here is SEPTAs website
SEPTA | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority

[missmovingfromca]

I might not be too much help, because I am still learning the area, but we just moved here from San Diego as well. We briefly checked out NJ and DE, and decided we liked the landscape of PA. Lots of rolling hills, trees, etc like others have mentioned. I made sure I was within radius of Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Anthropologie, malls, etc. Personally I just like those things within reach. I thought I had it pinned when we wanted to live in Garnet Valley or Chadds Ford, but both of those were out of our price range. Chadds seemed more old money/older houses, but very cute and historical. We looked just west of that, and ended up in Longwood, Kennett Square area. It does feel a tad more rural there, and has a cute downtown area where they do parades too. It's growing on me, and I am only about 10-15 minutes drive to some of the places I like in Garnet Valley or West Chester. People who I have talked to around Kennett have said the area has been changing in a good way. I'm hoping so! Anyway, it's really a trip changing from San Diego to PA!!! Christmas feels real

[templeu]

Take a look at Havertown, it would be an easy drive to UPENN and could offer much of what you're looking for in terms of good schools, house prices, town feel, access to parks, etc. Whole foods in located in Wynnewood - which is about 10ish minutes from Havertown.

A bit further out is Media, which seems to match your wish list well, also. A train can get you to UPENN, from Media, in about 35 minutes.

Places like West Chester, Chadds Ford etc - would be a hike to UPENN and there isn't a good public transportation option.

[PhillyViaBoston]

Commuting by car isn't insane; it's finding parking once you get into the city (or onto Penn's campus) that is usually trouble. This is probably why commuting into Philadelphia by train is popular and convenient.

I suggest you look along the Media/Elwyn SEPTA regional rail train line (formerly the R3) in Delaware County. This line has a stop at University City (31st & South Streets), which is on the Penn campus.

Specifically, this rail line has stops in Swarthmore, Wallingford, Moylan/RoseValley and Media, all of which are very nice areas with highly regarded public schools (the Wallingford-Swarthmore or RoseTree-Media school districts). It would take less than a half hour from these stops to the University City stop. Here's the schedule: http://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/pdf/elw.pdf

Of these Media borough has the best, most walkable "downtown" area (along State Street). It's full of restaurants, bars, cute coffee shops, shopping, and a Trader Joe's. Welcome to Visit Media Pa | Visit Media Pa

It's a great area to raise kids, with a lot of resources for sports, camps, swim clubs, etc. Also Ridley Creek State Park is nearby and a great place to hike, bike, fish, ride a horse, picnic, etc. PA*DCNR*-*Ridley Creek State Park

[drive carephilly]

PhillyviaBoston gives good advice. Commuting to University City is going to be easiest along the Media/Elwyn rail line. After that I'd say look along the Paoli/Thorndale line or the NHSL. This is where you're most likely to find the house you're looking for and a good school district.

This is also the part of the region that has the largest concentration of universities so you're more likely to find a job for yourself closer to home.

Philly is a big city - especially compared to San Diego - but the suburbs are the suburbs no matter you are in the country. The only difference between suburban SD and suburban Philly is the architecture and the flora.

[PhillyViaBoston]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Here is the SEPTA map... any town along here will put you in your commute time.. Langhorne is near both the Langhorne and Woodbourne stations along the West Trenton Line. Ambler station is along the Doylestown line. Jenkintown station is serviced by three rail lines.

Here is SEPTAs website
SEPTA | Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority

I think the SEPTA map would be more helpful with a bit of additional commentary. At least I have found it difficult to interpret. The scale is so off it's hard to tell what is "near" and what is "far" between points.

Anyway, to hit the Penn campus using public transportation, you likely want one of these stops:

- University City stop on the Media/Elwyn regional rail line. It's is directly on Penn campus, on the southeast side. For this option, consider Swarthmore, Wallingford, Rose Valley or Media as I mentioned in a previous post, which are less than a half hour on the regional rail.

- 30th St Station stop on four+ different regional rail lines. From here it's about a 7 min walk to the northeast side of campus. There are a lot of nice suburbs that have regional rail access to 30th Street Station: The Paoli/Thorndale Line is "The Main Line," (at least until about Paoli) with some of the more expensive housing in the area, but great schools. Jenkintown is about a half hour from 30th St on either the Warminster, West Trenton or Lansdale/Doylestown regional rail lines. It takes about an hour from Langhorne (West Trenton line), and 40 minutes from Ambler (Lansdale/Doylestown line).

- 34th St stop on the Market-Frankfort (blue) subway line. For this option, you're probably looking at either connecting from PATCO in South Jersey (Collingswood, Haddonfield, etc.) or taking the longer-but-less-expensive" public transportation route from the Media area (route 101 trolley with a change at the 69th St terminal).

- 33rd, 36th, or 37th St stops on the trolley (green). I don't think this would be particularly useful unless you're living in Center City.

I also noticed Penn has info on how to get a parking permit, if you decide to drive:
Permit Information
And here's more information from them on commuting options:
Faculty and Staff

Good luck!

[BPP1999]

Here is a "to scale" SEPTA map:

File:Philadelphia Transit and Commuter Rail System.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia