Relocating to Philadelphia? (Chester, King of Prussia, West Chester: insurance, condos, crime rate)

[kmb11]

Hello Everyone,

My husband and I are considering relocating to the suburbs of Philly from Long Island. He is looking for a job in the IT field and we're finding the job market on LI is challenging. I work in the training field, currently in the healthcare industry. So we would both be looking at the job market to start. We plan on visiting the area to get an idea of the various towns. (We would consider either NJ or PA).

We would like to live in a small town in an upscale condo or townhouse community. We would be looking in the $400K - $500K range. We do not have kids, so there are no school district issues to consider.

At this point, we are investigating all of our options and would like to have some ideas for areas to visit and recommendations for both employment opportunties and housing. I realize that this seems rather broad, but we are very flexible on timing and really want to do our homework.

We would appreciate any suggestions you might have. Thanks!

[William shivers]

well in this area 400-500 will get you a great place!! either live in the mainline where you can find an absolutely beautiful home or townhouse. Or look in the surrounding areas at some great single homes. Your best choice for work is either, center city philly, but you have a wage tax to consider there and the commute back and forth which is a bit heavy in traffic. Or look around in the phila inquirer for some jobs, IT jobs are everywhere but the mainline, King of prussia and great valley are the strong areas for IT and healthcare companies. Living in jersey is good if you work in center city, however again there is the wage tax of philly to consider, plus taxes and insurance in jersey are higher than PA.

[rainrock]

Excellent info from William.

Check the Philadelphia Inquirer classifieds and of course Monster.com.

Comcast is expanding heavily as they are building a new HQ in Center City Philly, its probably worth getting in touch with their HR department concerning IT jobs. Also in regards to Center City Philadelphia is probably your best bet for the healthcare field. University of Penn Hospital is quite an operation who can never seem to have enough help, along with 4 or 5 other healthcare institutions in center city.

As William mentioned the other tech hub is in the NW suburbs along the Rt.202 corridor from Princeton all the way down to Wilmington De.

SAP one of the biggest software outfits in the world has their US HQ's is in Newtown Square. Pharmacuetical and financial institutions are always looking for I.T. help and the suburbs are filled with these types of companies.

A few Tech areas include

King of Prussia
Great Valley
Chesterbrooke
Newtown Square
West Chester
Exton
Fort Washington
Horsham
Wilmington

As far as townhouse communities. I have friends that lives in Eagleview which they absolutely love. Its in Chester Springs Pa., a fast growing area but very beautiful,spacious and laid back. Its about 25 miles west of Philly and 15-20 minutes to the job centers in the suburbs. Eagleview is a self contained towncenter with its own corporate office space,retail, restaurants,parks, and housing- single homes,condos,townhomes.


good luck

[kmb11]

Thank you William and Rainrock for all the helpful information. I was able to do a lot of research over the weekend and we are well on our way to planning some trips to the area to look at condos. There seem to be quite a number of very nice condo communities in the towns you recommended.

I have a question about a potential employer for me. I saw an interesting job at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ. I know that in the past, I've heard some not so positive things about the crime rate in Camden.

The hospital itself sounds like a good organization. (it's ironic that I had never heard of the hospital before but it's been getting a lot of press because the Governor is now being treated there.) It is the size and type of hospital that I am interested in as a potential employer. Are you familiar with Camden and the hospital and if so, what would you say about this opportunity?

Thanks so much for all of your help...this is such a great way to learn about a new area from the pros!

[newmarlig]

Cooper happens to be an excellent hospital (probably the only good one in South Jersey). You certainly don't want to live in Camden, however. You should look in Cherry Hill, Moorestown, Mt. Laurel, Marlton and Haddonfield in New Jersey. Also, you might want to consider Center City Philly. The NJ High Speed line from Center City takes you to the hospital.

[William shivers]

Camden is probably still consider the most dangerous place to live. Cooper is a well respect hospital. I believe they have private parking for employees and plenty of cameras. Most of the crime you here about over there is in the local neighborhoods usually over drugs.