Hi, first post here, but I live in the Philly burbs so I'm jumping in.
I guess part of my decision would take into account which suburbs you're looking at. I grew up in Delco, and I loved it. But today, there are only a couple areas there that I'd like to live. And even then, the traffic and taxes are ridiculous.
H and I chose to move farther out into Chesco because the taxes were lower, the schools were better (even though we don't have kids, and if we did, I'd prob go private since that's what I did growing up), and you could get so much more house for the money. We love where we live...it's family friendly, and there's a great "Main Street" atmosphere just about 5 min away with a bunch of bars/restaurants. Admittedly, we don't get into the city that often, but it's still under an hour to do so.
I know your friends are in the city, but I don't think you can place too much weight on that. You never know where their lives could take them in the next few years. You do do, and all that.
The older I get, the more I enjoy being away from the city life. Personally, I like space. I like having a big yard. And I'm ok with not being in the center of the action. I know that's not for everyone though. It's tough...I guess you need to figure out where you can compromise and what's non-negotiable. This answer may not have been helpful, I'm sorry! But good luck with whatever you choose! The hometown option sounds pretty appealing to me.
I really like Delco. Yes there are some undesirable parts, but it's cheaper than most burbs in the areas. We willed in Wallingford and loved it. Fabulous school district. We also loved Media and Swarthmore.
Post by bittybomb on Sept 20, 2014 10:45:50 GMT -5
Hometown.
babysitting is really important to us and as our kids get older, their activities are more time consuming so family time is more often spent on the soccer field rather than festivals that may be going on.
we also live about 40 min from NYC and we try to take the kids in once or twice a year.
Post by dexteroni on Sept 20, 2014 12:29:18 GMT -5
I would choose hometown, no question. It sounds like you'll have so much more freedom and flexibility. Honestly it sounds like the only real pro of the suburb is proximity to the city, and as your kids get older and have friends and sports and lessons, I doubt you'll get there that much anyway. Good luck with your choice!
We were in this exact position. I was born and raised in Philly but when I was starting high school we moved to the burbs. My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I went to college in the city, moved to Boston for a short time while I was in grad school and moved to Fairmont, which I loved, loved, loved!!! We got married and I started working in Doylestown and him in Warrington and commuting back and forth. We wanted to have a family and knew just the shear functionality of living in the city, driving around for what seemed like an hour to find a parking spot and commuting to the burbs while having young children was just not feasible.
We decided to move out to Bucks County near Doylestown. It was a hard transition at first as I am a city girl at heart but after buying a couple of houses, having our dd and then very unexpected twins, I am so glad we did. It is awesome to have a single family home, with a DRIVEWAY, an awesome back yard, parks and just feeling more 'safe.' I put that in quotes because I didn't feel unsafe growing up in the city but it is just different in the burbs, ya know.
I miss my city so incredibly much. I loved the vibe, being able to walk places, the people, sitting outside and having a drink, it can be tough at times. Our new home, though still in bucks, is nice as there are walking trails to a shopping center, several parks, my dd's school which I enjoy immensely, which is a strange thing to miss but when you live in a city that you are expected to walk to school, stores and to public transportation, you miss it.
Without being too specific where are you from originally? Lehigh Valley? And what burbs are you looking at?
Either way. Wherever you live, you will adjust, I promise. Being near family is always amazing especially with the help you can get with the kids especially in an emergency type situation. Sometimes you need to do what is in the best interest of you and the family for right now but doesn't mean you can never move back. It is a hard choice :(o
How far are the suburbs from hometown? If that's a 30 minute drive or so, I'd imagine you'd get all of the support with more access to the city.
Hometown and suburbs are also about 90 minutes apart.
I will say that it's not like there's nothing to do in my hometown. There's a bunch if stuff coming in and they just renovated a huge, out if commission steel mill and turned it into a really cool arts center with concerts and farmers markets, etc. That wouldn't be the town we'd live in, but it would be very close by.
And now anyone from this area knows where I'm from. Lol.
We actually go up to that area regularly and it has made a huge comeback and seems like a great place to live. We live exactly, well exactly, in the middle of Philly and that place. There a ton of gorgeous homes around here, come on over!!!!!! Lol. It is an adjustment but it becomes your new norm. And the schools are amazing!
Hi, first post here, but I live in the Philly burbs so I'm jumping in.
I guess part of my decision would take into account which suburbs you're looking at. I grew up in Delco, and I loved it. But today, there are only a couple areas there that I'd like to live. And even then, the traffic and taxes are ridiculous.
H and I chose to move farther out into Chesco because the taxes were lower, the schools were better (even though we don't have kids, and if we did, I'd prob go private since that's what I did growing up), and you could get so much more house for the money. We love where we live...it's family friendly, and there's a great "Main Street" atmosphere just about 5 min away with a bunch of bars/restaurants. Admittedly, we don't get into the city that often, but it's still under an hour to do so.
I know your friends are in the city, but I don't think you can place too much weight on that. You never know where their lives could take them in the next few years. You do do, and all that.
The older I get, the more I enjoy being away from the city life. Personally, I like space. I like having a big yard. And I'm ok with not being in the center of the action. I know that's not for everyone though. It's tough...I guess you need to figure out where you can compromise and what's non-negotiable. This answer may not have been helpful, I'm sorry! But good luck with whatever you choose! The hometown option sounds pretty appealing to me.
I really like Delco. Yes there are some undesirable parts, but it's cheaper than most burbs in the areas. We willed in Wallingford and loved it. Fabulous school district. We also loved Media and Swarthmore.
This is where we were looking- it's beautiful, but we can't afford the taxes : /
Where I live is 1/2 way between Philly and hometown, has a cute downtown with tons of family events and things to do, is in the middle of a revitalization, and has a fairly LCOL for the area. Plus good schools.
So, come be my neighbor.
Yup! Beagles and I live 10 minutes apart. It really is an amazing area. And easily accessible to the city but car, train or bus.
Post by daisybuchannan on Sept 20, 2014 13:13:12 GMT -5
It would totally depend on which suburbs for me, but I also don't know where you're from. 90 mins really isn't conducive to getting downtown much, if at all. We live a lot closer than that and still don't go into the city as much as I thought we would.
I know you've said you really want to buy, but what about renting something bigger, saving more for a down payment, and thinking about where you'd like to move more? One of my bffs is trying to sell right now in qv/society hill and hasn't had any offers, they're thinking about renting it out and renting something bigger in the city.
Personally, I would be bored in my hometown. I love my parents, and it has fantastic schools, but I just could not deal with there being four bars to go to and a couple cultural events to choose from on the weekends. Yeah, we could get a huge, beautiful house, but do I need a big house? No. I need to be where the creatives are.
You can make friends anywhere and you can find school solutions almost anywhere. So I think you need to imagine how you would like to live your life for the next 20 years (in other words, while your kids are around). Which place fits best with your ideal?
Where I live is 1/2 way between Philly and hometown, has a cute downtown with tons of family events and things to do, is in the middle of a revitalization, and has a fairly LCOL for the area. Plus good schools.
So, come be my neighbor.
Yup! Beagles and I live 10 minutes apart. It really is an amazing area. And easily accessible to the city but car, train or bus.
Besides having your parents for babysitters, it doesn't seem like your hometown has that many advantages. While I agree that having family for a babysitter is definitely helpful, you can find regular reliable babysitters in the Philly suburb if you decide to stay. While I don't think you can replace the easy access to the city and the better school district if you decide to move to your hometown.
Obviously, you could always move back to closer to the city once your kids get older and don't need babysitters, but that's something else to consider, babysitting isn't going to be a need for the next 18 years, while good schools and more access to things to do is something you'll want for the next 18+ years.
But I'm partially biased since I really like Philly and am going to be traumatized if I even have to move out of center city I had to live with my dad for 2 months, which is about 1-1.5 hours outside of DC and I was going crazy with lack of quick access to a walkable city.
I would have voted suburb if your hometown was more in the middle of the state. As it is, though, there is a lot to do in the LV area. I think you could be really happy there and wouldn't feel too isolated.
I moved from center city to the burbs when I got married, and I'm not gonna lie, I miss it sometimes. But overall I think we have a better quality of life for being close to both our families.
Also, honestly, you prob wouldn't get to Philly as often as you think, even in the closer burb. At least in your hometown it would be easier to arrange babysitting if you want to go to the city for the night.
Post by penguingrrl on Sept 20, 2014 17:13:47 GMT -5
Lurker chiming in. I recently moved to your "hometown" area and have to say am pleasantly surprised by how much I love living here. Prior to this I was in NJ and Manhattan and this is the place I've liked living best. Having your family around will be very helpful too (we just moved away from family and it has made some things really hard). We have been to Philly a few times since moving here as it's not a bad drive at all.
I'd have a hard time with that decision too. On the one hand, I am all about having family nearby; it's probably the main reason we would never move anywhere else. On the other hand, I would have a hard time leaving behind the life we've built and the friends we've made in the city.
I think, whether you move close or far away, you will never get back into the city as often as you'd like. In the suburbs, you'll still be able to pop in spontaneously with or without the kids (assuming you find a babysitter which I am sure you will), but of course that doesn't necessarily mean you will. You will probably still find other friends and favorite spots closer to home, though. In the hometown, any trips to the city will probably require more planning and probably overnights, though like others said, at least you will have family to help with babysitting.
I agree that renting in the suburbs might be a good test to see if it's worth it. If you find you like it there (I sure do – suck it ProfessorArtNerd!) and manage to get enough of your city fix, then the suburbs might be right for you. If you hate it, or if you find you never make time to get into the city, then maybe your hometown is the right place after all.
Really, whatever you choose, I would not jump into buying a home. Either move would be a big change for you, and buying might leave you stuck somewhere you later realize isn't what you want after all.
Post by juliagoulia on Sept 20, 2014 22:04:09 GMT -5
Hometown! That's a nice area.
We go to Philly pretty regularly and we live in Harrisburg. But then when you live here you are used to driving substantial distances for stuff, lol. H has an hour & 15 minute commute each way just to work.
Hometown. I live in Chesco and my parents live near your hometown. They're not too far away, but I'd love to be closer to them. There is almost as much to do up there as there is here and the cost of living there is so much lower. I'm not a city person so I don't care much about being close to Philly.
I think renting in the suburbs for a couple of years might be a nice options. You can really get a feel for the area and if it meets your needs. Plus, it gives your H a while to find out if his current job is going to work out long term. If he decides to move on to something else, you have a lot more flexibility to move again.
How often did your family go to the city growing up? That might be a good indication of how often you'll go as a family if you pick your hometown.
I really like Delco. Yes there are some undesirable parts, but it's cheaper than most burbs in the areas. We willed in Wallingford and loved it. Fabulous school district. We also loved Media and Swarthmore.
This is where we were looking- it's beautiful, but we can't afford the taxes : /
Taxes are high, but it was worth it for the promise of outstanding schools. We just didn't go overboard with the size and price of our house and taxes were rolled into our mortgage payments, so it was fine.
I can't say enough good things about Wallingford.
Also the commute into Philly was like 20 mins to 30 mins. Never too bad.