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-   -   Relocating for a job near Gwynedd Valley, PA. Looking for best places to rent nearby. (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/relocating-for-a-job-near-gwynedd-valley-pa-looking-for-best-places-to-rent-nearby-996887/)

btal14 Nov 4th, 2013 05:43 AM

Relocating for a job near Gwynedd Valley, PA. Looking for best places to rent nearby.
 
As the title says my husband and I are relocating to the Gwynedd Valley, PA area (that is where he will be working). We are in our early 30's and want to be in an area that is affordable as well as close to grocery stores, shopping, restaurants, bars... typical things that interest young couples who do not have children. Any town/cities and apartment complex suggestions would be great. I don't mind the burbs but we don't want to feel like we are in the middle of nowhere considering Philadeplhia is right there. We also have a dog and I know that can always be a pain when looking for apartments.

Any suggestions would be great as neither of us have lived in PA at all.

elberko Nov 4th, 2013 06:38 AM

Don't have a specific recommendation, but you won't feel like you are in the middle of nowhere in that area. Easy access to just about anything.

I suspect your main issue will be the dog. It seems much harder to find rentals in PA that allow dogs than other parts of the country.

~Liz

btal14 Nov 4th, 2013 06:43 AM

Thanks. We live just outside of Boston now so we have grown attached to being near the city.

We did find a complex in North Wales thatallows dogs and is reasonably priced but the reviews are giving me mixed feelings. http://www.englishvillage.net/

elberko Nov 4th, 2013 07:00 AM

There are some Fodorites who live more up that way than I do...maybe they will know about that complex.

One thought--if you choose a place closer to Philly than the job, you'll be commuting against the majority, which could be a plus.

btal14 Nov 4th, 2013 07:11 AM

That would be a huge plus. Whereabouts do you live in relation to that area? Closer to Philly?

elberko Nov 4th, 2013 07:17 AM

Not closer, but west rather than north.

kona514 Nov 4th, 2013 05:09 PM

Hi,
I live in a town about 30 minutes away from where you are looking to live. The complex you are looking at is older, and I would say just ok. I have a friend that lives there and it a typical apartment complex.
The complex is near a few places to eat and shop- Trader Joe's, Iron Hill Brewery, a movie theater, Olive Garden, etc.
You are about 35 minutes away from Philadelphia, which will give you a lot of options.
Horsham is a suburb, plain and simple, strip malls, fast food, but also a lot of great restaurants and fun places to see.

Let me know if you need any more help.

K

schmerl Nov 4th, 2013 05:24 PM

Blue Bell is a nice area near your husband's job. Look into apartments in that area.

btal14 Nov 5th, 2013 04:42 AM

Thanks for suggesting Blue Bell. We also saw there are a lot of options in Lansdale.

persimmondeb Nov 5th, 2013 01:07 PM

There is some nice housing in Lansdale, but the area is kind of mixed and it's a little farther out from Philadelphia. English Village is fine. Older, and at one time a little tired, but they did a major overhaul five or six years ago. You should be able to do a fair amount better in the amount of apartment you get for the money than in Boston. Blue Bell is nice, more upscale, and on top of Ambler, which is interesting and had good restaurants, but is also a little mixed housing wise. You might find that renting a townhome/condo might be an option.

persimmondeb Nov 5th, 2013 01:08 PM

Sorry, has. They're still there.

btal14 Nov 6th, 2013 07:53 AM

Thanks for the info. When you say mixed housing, what do you mean? Some good, some bad?

Would you recommend Blue Bell over the other parts?

Basically we are looking at complexes because right now they seem the easiest with anything all amenities right there, a short term lease if possible and no requirement of first last and security all at once which might as well be a down payment on a house in some cases. Ideally we would love a condo or townhouse that had a small yard for our dog but I think we are living in a dreamworld with that.

schmerl Nov 6th, 2013 12:21 PM

I think Blue Bell is a nicer area than parts of Lansdale or some of the other areas mentioned. It is a newer area and has a lot to offer. There are apartments and townhomes to rent in Blue Bell.
https://www.google.com/#q=blue+bell+pa+apartments

anniemadden Nov 6th, 2013 01:24 PM

Check out Chestnut Hill. It is in Philadelphia but in the most northwestern corner. It has shopping on Germantown Avenue and Fairmount park is nearby.

btal14 Nov 6th, 2013 02:04 PM

Thanks Schmerl.

persimmondeb Nov 6th, 2013 04:05 PM

Chestnut Hill is lovely, but on the expensive side and you have the Philadelphia wage tax. If you don't mind my asking, what are you looking to pay per month? That'll make a big difference in the area/apartment equation. When I say mixed I mean lower/middle/upper income housing fairly close together. If that didn't bother me (and personally it doesn't) I'd take Ambler over Lansdale in a heartbeat.

btal14 Nov 7th, 2013 03:18 AM

We are hoping to pay no more than say $1300 to 1400 a month which would be amazing since we pay 1800 not including utilities for a 2 bedroom in Boston. We are looking at the complexes because they have washer and dryers right in the unit. And we would like a townhouse style.

We would also need to be close to public transportation in case I got a job in Philly.

I will have to look into Ambler more. One thing about Landsdake was that it seemed like it had everything there but if Amblet is just a short drive then that really doesn't matter.

But we certainly can't afford Philadelphia nor were we even looking at it as an option.

Thanks for all the help and info.

persimmondeb Nov 7th, 2013 04:10 AM

You might be surprised at what you can get in Philadelphia for that money BUT it would be inconvenient for you and there is that wage tax. That's a budget that should comfortably get you a very decent two, depending on neighborhood, and quite possibly "townhouse style". We pay substantially less than that, frankly, but a) we've been there a while, and b)it's a working-class neighborhood next to the train station in a fairly upscale suburb. I do think a place not too far from me just added some townhouse units. Let me see if I'm smart enough to find them.

persimmondeb Nov 7th, 2013 04:23 AM

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/32...10838235_zpid/

Wasn't smart enough to find them, and I feel stupid because we go past the complex all the time, but I ran into this and thought it worth passing on.

btal14 Nov 7th, 2013 04:35 AM

Thanks persimmondeb. Is Hatboro another area I should be looking at? Is that where you live?

I'm sure I sound like such a pain and have a huge must have list. :)


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