Lost Canadians Moving from US to Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Lancaster: condo, credit)
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French-Canadians-Californians (FCC?) family with 3 kids moving to Pennsylvania.
When are you moving? Now. We are staying in Goldsboro and will be visiting homes. Where are you coming from? Eh. 35 years in Quebec, Canada. 5 years in California (Bay Area). 1 year AirBnb'ing all over the US with long periods in Texas (DFW) and Florida (Kissimmee). Why are you moving? We heard this is the best place for special needs kiddos (Autism) due to:
Highly paid teachers
Intermediate units
Medicaid legal protection for disability
Anecdotal forum posts we read.
Where will you be working? Remotely, forever ideally. I would appreciate being close to tech jobs though, which I know Philadelphia is not known for... Have you been here yet? Been in Hershey 10 years ago.
Will you buy or rent? Buy If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? House. How much we *want* to spend: 500k-800k.
Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, 3 children (12, 10, 5) Do you prefer public or private schools? Public; otherwise we wouldn't be moving to PA. Do you have pets? Not right now. We had cats, dogs and bunnies in the past. Do you want or need a yard? Yes. We would love to have simple animals (chickens, bunnies, etc.). This is a plus but not required. Bonus if we can make Maple Syrup! Are you keeping a car? Yes. Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Calm but not too rural. Think of 'Halloween' is doable by walking.
What do you want to be closest to? Work N/A. I was used to 90 minutes commute. Anything under is better. Shopping The further away, the less stuff we buy. Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.) Yes, also activities for kids, soccer, swimming, arts classes, martial arts, coding classes, etc. Nightlife We can drive. Train or subway stations These make the neighborhood better, especially if you can reach city center. I have used public transport all my life.
Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? Foreign born is a plus. Educated.
Phillies, Pirates or Mets? Flyers. Otherwise, Quebec Nordiques.
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This move is school motivated, otherwise I think we would move to DFW, Austin, Bay Area, Seattle or Vancouver (Canada).
The whole reason for this move is to find somewhere to live for the next 12 years, the time for the kids to grow up. Our kids have been home-schooled and we want to re-introduce them to the public school system. Snow is not a culture-shock; California made us softer, but Penn is warm compared to the big north. I am looking for schools where the kids won't get bullied. 10/10 schools are a negative, too much competition and pressure. 0/10 is negative as well. Feel like 6-8 is the sweet spot. Happy teachers and great teacher-student ratio is better.
We have identified a few places such as LeHigh Valley, Bucks County, Delaware County, Montgomery County and Lancaster County too. Pittsburg has been removed since it is too far out, so is State College. Downtown city is not our type.
You've chosen the right state for special Ed children and especially those on the autism spectrum. Special Ed is coordinated through the "Intermediate Unit" closest to where you will live. This eliminates the need for individual school districts to design and implement their own programs. Here as an example is the web page for the Bucks County I.U.
Urban centers in PA, that leaves Pittsburg, Philadelphia, Lehigh and Harrisburg/Lancaster. They are all good to me. Philadelphia just happens to have more resources since it is bigger. Pittsburg is too far out. LeHigh looks like a good option. Lancaster/Harrisburg as well.
Aside from schools, we appreciate diverse food, hiking and visiting various landmarks. Being "close" to NYC becomes interesting as well.
I am usually always welcoming to folks wanting to move to my hometown. But for some reason I'm annoyed with your comment that "foreign-born is a plus" and "educated". First of all, you're moving to the U.S. but you'd like your neighbors to be foreign-born? Plus you want your neighbors to be educated? So a guy that works, say, as a lineman for the electric company with a high school education is not good enough for you? Sorry, this sounds very elitist. Especially when the main reason you're coming to the area is to take advantage of the services of our public schools. Otherwise, you'd choose to live somewhere else. Not really a good start here, IMO.
I am usually always welcoming to folks wanting to move to my hometown. But for some reason I'm annoyed with your comment that "foreign-born is a plus" and "educated". First of all, you're moving to the U.S. but you'd like your neighbors to be foreign-born? Plus you want your neighbors to be educated? So a guy that works, say, as a lineman for the electric company with a high school education is not good enough for you? Sorry, this sounds very elitist. Especially when the main reason you're coming to the area is to take advantage of the services of our public schools. Otherwise, you'd choose to live somewhere else. Not really a good start here, IMO.
I'm sorry about the tone I used, it is hard to convey on the Internet. The US is still the #1 country in the world for immigration, and that makes it one of the best place to live because its nationalism is about being American and human. It brings new ideas and the best minds together.
Yes, you are correct, I've been told many time I can sound arrogant, this is a trait of character that I am still trying to fix.
I should have probably said "diversity" is a plus instead of foreign-born, open-minded. People that have immigrated usually went through some rough time, and have up-rooted their own family.
My parents have no formal education. My father has a lumberjack diploma, worked on a dam and taught me math when I was kid. I have high respect for the lineman at the electric company. I was just stating some of the preferences for the move; we are being picky after-all.
I've paid more taxes to the IRS than I ever did in Canada. I will continue to pay taxes in the US and contribute to the community.
I don't know why Upper Darby Township popped into my head after reading the posts so far here, but it did, and here's why:
One, the state's most populous township also has one of its most diversas suburban school districts. Parts of Upper Darby are a little United Nations of sorts, with migrants from several Asian and Latin American countries, Ireland (ISTR reading that the most authentic Irish eatery in the region is located in UD), making homes (and opening and supporting businesses) here. This is also reflected in the retail and restaurant mix in the township's main commercial district, the area around 69th Street Terminal^WTransportation Center, the interchange point for SEPTA's city and western suburban transportation networks. When I lived in Center City Philadelphia and worked at Widener University in Chester, I often routed my commute home via 69th Street so I could pick up groceries at the H Mart (Korean-American-owned supermarket chain specializing in Korean and other Asian foods that also carries items for Western shoppers) there.
Upper Darby's school district has only one high school for a community of 82,000. That means everyone rubs shoulders together in the same facility. And since not only ethnicities but incomes in Upper Darby span the spectrum — the only socioeconomic groups missing are the very poorest and the very richest — your children should be exposed to a great deal of diversity attending school there.
Upper Darby's public schools get middling ratings on the school rating sites; on Niche.com, the district gets an overall grade of B-, and GreatSchools.org gives a majority of the district's schools "below average" (which I think means below 4 out of 10 on their system) rankings. But Niche rates the district the fourth most diverse in the Greater Philadelphia region (above it: Pottstown, Bensalem and Coatesville — something all four districts share is that they don't serve very affluent communities; UD is probably the most affluent of the four), and besides, I'm also a believer that some things the rankings don't catch matter too, as I explained to readers of the magazine I write for in this past September's Schools Issue. (The article is partly autobiographical.)
If you're looking for big yards and maple trees, however, this might not be the place for you; Drexel Hill and other parts of the township's western reaches have some very nice housing stock, but even there, most of the houses are modest in size on equally modest lots. This, however, does make much of the township more walkable than many similar suburban communities.
It's my impression that the Delaware County Intermediate Unit is one of the best in the region, though. This does give you a wide range of communities to consider; the county includes within it both the poorest municipality in the metropolitan area (Chester City) and one of its 10 wealthiest (Radnor Township). Generally speaking, the further away from the Delaware River you are, the more affluent the community gets; ditto for distance from the Philadelphia city line. Radnor Township sits at the county's northern tip. You might, for instance, find the more academically-oriented communities of Swarthmore and Wallingford (the two share a school district), near the center of the county, more your liking, and something tells me that you might find the house lots in boho Rose Valley, just southwest fo Wallingford, appealing as well. You might have some problem finding a $500k house in these communities, but the upper end of your price range shoucl be doable in all of them.
Oh, btw: Right in the center of the county is its seat, Media. This is hands down the coolest of the four suburban county seats and the one that best retains that classic American Small Town feel, but with a Bobo (bourgeois bohemian) twist. A trolley runs down the main street of "Everybody's Hometown," and it has what is probably the best restaurant scene in the 'burbs, with more than 60 eateries lining State Street or just off it. The Rose Tree Media School District is highly regarded (I think Rose Valley also lies within it but am not certain of this), and if you want to get into the city every now and then, you have both Regional Rail and local transit (said trolley runs to 69th Street, where you can catch the Market-Frankford rapid transit line into Center City) to choose from. You probably won't find what you want in the borough itself, but surrounding Upper and Nether Providence Townships and nearby Middletown Township (this last municipality is the least densely built of all those I've mentioned so far, if that matters) will probably have houses more up your alley. Marple Newtown, she district above Rose Tree Media, covers much of Upper Providence and is also highly rated.
I can't offer anything in terms of special needs info but I wanted to say that if you're considering Lehigh Valley then there is a sub-forum focused on that area. Questions about Lancaster can often be answered in the general Pennsylvania forum.
MarketStEl gave a lot of credit to Upper Darby, a town which is often overlooked if not also discouraged in efforts to recommend the "best" places for families to live. Yet there are indeed a lot of families who live there contently. One thing MSE didn't mention is that property taxes are relatively high in Upper Darby; however, the home prices are moderate for what you get, somewhat balancing out the taxes. But since special needs education is important for your family, you may feel you're getting the most out of the property taxes you'll be paying to support the school district.
Thank you all for your comments. We are looking at Horsham right now, we especially like the green space around the area.
I just read this about the water quality: https://www.horshamwater-sewer.com/pfas-summary and I am confused. It looks like there is a good plan to fix the issue, but is the water OK to drink?
Thanks!
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