Where is a safe/family neighborhood w/ excellent schools within a 20 minutes of Chester, PA?

Question

We are moving to the area and I don't know NJ, PA, or Deleware. Can someone tell me where I can find really good schools, safe, quiet neighborhoods (yeah I'm the soccer mom type.) and afford a 3000 sq. foot house for about $400,000? Any helpful information is Fabulous. There is too much area to just ask a realtor. What is trendy? Too pricey? Getting run down? Etc. We can't afford over $450,000 and don't want to pay anywhere near that much. So, anything you can tell me about the surrounding areas helps a lot! I don't even know if there are other ways to commute ( train or metro)?

Thanks for anything you can tell me.

Answer 1

http://www.city-data.com/city/Nether-Providence-Township-Pennsylvania.html
the latter probably your best match, certainly NOT:
http://www.city-data.com/city/Chester-Pennsylvania.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester,_Pennsylvania
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEPTA

Answer 2

Hi! I used to go to live about 5 - 10 minutes away from Chester, so I went to Ridley high school. It was not the best school, but I took advantage of AP courses and got into a really good college. So I know a lot about Ridley township, PA. If I had to pick a place in Ridley twp. to move to, it would probably be Ridley Park, a cute smallish town that claims to be historic and has a small downtown shopping area. It's close to I - 95 and has a train station that serves both Amtrak and SEPTA's R2 line. You sound like you could definitely afford to live there - it's actually probably below your price range.

From your description, though, you sound like you'd be more interested in a place like Swarthmore, PA. It's a beautiful college town, close to major highways and accessible by SEPTA's R3 regional rail and bus lines. I don't know how much the average house costs (definitely more than Ridley would be), but it's worth a look.

Another place to check out would be Media, PA. It's ridiculously accessible by public transportation and has an even better downtown shopping area than the two other places I suggested.

Good luck moving!

Answer 3

Swarthmore would be the best place, but home prices are high.
Wallingford is a good compromise.
Springfield is good.
Media is good.
Ridley Park is alright.


3,000sq feet for $400,000 is tough to find around Chester.

Answer 4

I don't think you're going to find the size you're lookng for with that price in that area. You might need to move way far south into Delaware...perhaps out by Yorklyn or Hockessin. That puts you pretty far out, but costwise, that might be your best bet. Taxes in Delaware are FAR cheaper anyway, so that might make up for the distance.