Philadelphia area Aggies out there?

2,335 Views | 14 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by Whoop04
The Catfish
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My wife, 7 month old, and 2 dogs just relocated to the Philadelphia area (Media, PA to be exact). Any Aggies in the area that get together for games, happy hours, etc.?

I saw some stuff for the Delaware Valley club, but can't tell how active it is.
Maximus_Meridius
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There are usually watch parties in Philly that they organize. I think they also do Happy Hours. I'm not terribly active because I live a couple hours away, but we usually come down for Muster.
The Catfish
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Is there an email distribution or anything? I'd like to get involved / included on the communications.
Maximus_Meridius
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Sorry, forgot to respond to this. Got an email I can forward the contact to?
The Catfish
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Maximus_Meridius
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Got it. You can remove it if you want. I'll forward it on to the communications guy.
Quailmeezy
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I'm considering accepting a job offer that would relocate the wife and I (and soon to be born baby girl) to the Philly area (from Houston) in about 6 months. Any recommendations on places that I should consider living (the job would be in Collegeville)?

Also, any thoughts on what you love/hate about the area in general would be much appreciated.
Maximus_Meridius
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Quailmeezy said:

I'm considering accepting a job offer that would relocate the wife and I (and soon to be born baby girl) to the Philly area (from Houston) in about 6 months. Any recommendations on places that I should consider living (the job would be in Collegeville)?

Also, any thoughts on what you love/hate about the area in general would be much appreciated.
Well, again, I'm not terribly close to that area, but I've been through it a few times. It's a pretty nice region, just north of King of Prussia and Norristown. There's an absolutely massive mall in KoP, and the good news is you'll be close by for Muster (it's always been near the mall since I've been going for 4 years now). There's a lot of newer developments and stuff happening there. What neighborhoods are best and such...can't help, I would recommend you drive up and see for yourself. Things also start to transition from being urban to more rural, though you've still got to go a bit farther north before you're "in the country".

I would caution you that you need to try and plan, if at all possible, to avoid 476 and 276 like the plague. They're toll roads (and not cheap ones, either), and traffic sucks royal eggs. As much grief as I've given TXDoT over the years, PennDOT makes them look absolutely brilliant. If anyone has a wreck...you're in for a long (2+ hour) wait due to the fact that there is no frontage road, and exits are about 10 miles apart. In fact...driving in general just isn't a lot of fun up here. The roads are crap thanks to the ice and salt and plows, and they never get fixed. As if that's not enough, people up here can't drive. At all. Merging is something they really cannot comprehend. Also, I doubt you'd be too far in that direction, but Reading isn't a great place to live. Crime rate starts to rise the closer you get.

I live north of Collegeville by about an hour and a half (Lehigh Valley), so my experiences are probably a little different than you'd get, but my wife and I love it up here. You get 4 full seasons, we're close to Philly and NYC if you want to enjoy the big city life, and I think Collegeville is far enough out from Philly you can probably find a neighborhood with small-town feel if you prefer that. There's also a lot of outdoors stuff, too. The Poconos are probably 2-3 hours of driving for you, you're not too far away from Amish country, there's good bike riding and hiking if you go just a bit farther out, and looks like you've probably got some fishing possibilities near you as well. But make sure you look into comparing the cost of living. Housing up here is MUCH more expensive than what we were enjoying in SE TX. You're also going to be dealing with income tax on the state and township level, so get ready for that screwjob. Property taxes will also make you pee yourself a little. When you search for housing up here, make sure you look at what school district you're in and the related tax rates, because I've found that the school taxes are extremely variable...and ridiculously high. But if the compensation takes that into account...go for it.

I'll try and answer any other questions I can if you'd like. Hope this helps.
The Catfish
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What did you end up doing? I just returned to this thread (I am the OP). 3 full months up here for us and we're liking it so far. Ready for the cold to move out so we can do more outdoor stuff, but overall not bad. We're down in Media, PA which is a bit southeast from the area you referenced, but happy to chat more if you like.

Quailmeezy
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Short answer: Haven't ended up doing anything yet

Longer answer:
I ruptured my Achilles tendon while playing soccer a few weeks ago, so with surgery and being on crutches for the forseeable future, the decision got pushed back a bit.

GSK is going to pay for my wife and I to come out on a pre-decision trip, so we are going to be in the Collegeville/Phoenixville area April 7-9. I'm probably going to end up taking the job, but my wife (understandably) isn't going to sign off on moving somewhere where she has never been. The company set us up with a realtor who is going to take us around the area and show us houses/apartments and such on the 7th.

Looking forward to the trip, and thankful for all of the advice on this thread. We should be making a decision shortly after the trip.
Bradley.Kohr.II
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My family is from that area - if it works for you, I'd try to find a place on the main line and take the train in.

Traffic is just nuts there. If at all possible, try to find a way to take a train to work
The Catfish
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Sorry to hear about the injury. You should check out West Chester as well. I think it's commutable to that area where you'll work. We really liked West Chester when we came up for our home search, it was just a little far for my commute over into Jersey for work.
Quailmeezy
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As of yesterday I have officially accepted the job. So I will be moving from Houston to Collegeville sometime before my September 18 start date along with my wife and newborn daughter. We have our eye on an apartment complex that would be within 5 min of my office. We will probably rent for the first year and then decide from there if we want to buy. Thanks for all of the advice, and maybe I will see some of you at the Philadelphia area meet ups.
Whoop04
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I moved to Harrisburg PA in February. Always good to hear of other Aggies in the (general) area.
anthroAg
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Looks about 99% certain that my family (wife, kindergartner, & 3 year old) will be relocating to the Harrisburg/Hershey area this summer for work. Any recommendations on areas to look for housing? Areas to avoid? We'll be renting and would love a house. Good to hear there are some Ags in the neighborhood!
Whoop04
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Shoot me an email. jmelear at gmail.com
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