J.R.
H. -
First of all, congratulations on this exciting opportunity for your husband and your family! We have moved around ALOT, so I completely sympathize with your anxious and nervous feelings. Rest assured, you guys will be fine!! It may take as little as a couple months, or it may take up to two years....but you WILL find a whole new life and support system in your new hometown.
We moved to West Chester, the west part of town, near Downingtown, four years ago. We really love it here. It is so family oriented w/ numerous festivals (eg. Turks Head Music Festival, Chester County Restaurant Festival, Octoberfest, Strawberry Festivals, family fun days and movie nites at most local parks, etc.) There are more township parks than you can shake a stick at!! Seriously! And they are all well maintained. There are always special events for the holidays, eg. Easter Egg hunts, Halloween parades, Christmas events, etc.
Chester County is a sports hotbed. My husband is continually amazed at how many different sports programs and facilities there are around here. The local townships offer different leagues, as do the private clubs (eg USTC in Downingtown). My seven year old son played football for the Downingtown Young Whippets the past two years, and this year we switched to the Marsh Creek Eagles. Both have their distinct personalities and advantages. You can easily find swimming, diving, lacrosse, ice hockey, inline hockey, field hockey, soccer, baseball, basketball, martial arts.......the list is endless, and all readily accessible around here.
If you want to be closer to Bryn Mawr, and or the city of Philadelphia, I would look on the eastern side of West Chester. Some people have suggested the Main Line to you, and it has ALOT to offer - very beautiful, well established, fantastic schools (Connestoga High School in the Tredyffrin-Easttown school district has been rated the number one high school in all of Pennsylvania, besting all public and private schools). It is close to the city, and offers many ammenities. My husband and I have considered moving there before.....the only reason we decided it against it is that living there does come with its share of - how do I say it nicely? - "haughtiness", I suppose. There are alot of kids who are overindulged (think BMW for your 16th birthday), and alot of egocentric grown-ups. It wasn't the kind of environment in which we wanted to raise our children. My friend's mom is a child psychologist in the area, and she has terrible stories of kids under ridiculous pressure, getting in trouble, not respecting others, etc. Before any moms fire back to me......I'm sure there are lovely people there.....and I know not everyone on the Main Line fits that mold to a T....but it is absolutely more prevalent. I guess you might compare it to Highland Park, but on a much bigger scale.
Chester Springs is also lovely, very picturesque, but a drive to get to restaurants, shopping, etc very easily. It is a growing area though, with beautiful homes and wonderful people. We just felt it was too far from the city, and other ammenities.
We are in the Downingtown School District, which is by most accounts, a great district. When we looked at houses, we considered Downingtown, West Chester, and Garnet Valley to be similar in rating. TE, Great Valley, and Unionville-Chadds Ford were a step up. Again, they all have pros and cons. Taxes are high on newer homes anywhere around here.
FYI, we live near Tattersall Golf course - lots of resales out here if you decide to pursue this area. Best of luck to you!!!