Moving to DE/PA, need advise.

Let me be among the first to welcome you, and wish you the best on your upcoming relocation to our area.

While I can't be of much help regarding your inquiries about living in Delaware or southeast Pennsylvania, I can encourage you to participate in our West Chester C&C meets, which take place all year round. Great bunch of guys, and great bunch of cars as you've no doubt seen from the many postings on this FerrariChat thread.

As for where to live, perhaps consideration could also be given to southwestern New Jersey, which is very much a rural area, if that's your preference. Good luck in your search!

 

Hi Dan,
Welcome to the area! There are a couple of us in Delaware and in Southeastern PA. Make sure you scope out the commuting routes between home and office though. As for the mushroom smell, it is extremely potent depending on the season. I'm not sure that $350K to $400K will get you 1-3 acres...it depends on what area really, it would not in Northern Delaware.

 

I live about a mile North of the PA/DE border. If you want 1 - 3 acres you'll end up in PA, but you may have a pretty long commute. The Landenberg schools are very good, but the property tax pays for that (ouch). Working in DE and living in PA complicates taxes. You will end up paying more in total than if you lived and worked in DE, but you would be hard pressed to find multi-acre property for the price quoted in DE. As far as the mushroom smell, you get pretty used it and really only notice it a few days a month at the most. Unless you have a very sensitive nose, I wouldn't sweat that too much.
Best of all neither state requires ruining the beauty of your car with a crappy front plate.
To cover all bases, I should mention cheap land and low property taxes are available "below the cannal" in DE in the Middletown, Odessa area. Suspect the schools suck, but don't know for sure.

 

If schools are a concern, consider the PA tax similar to having to send your children to private school in DE. If you stay towards Chadds Ford, Glen Mills, on the PA side, there will be no mushroom smell. The further west you go, the closer you get to Kennett Square, the more you will be hit with the mushroom smell.

However Chadds Ford is a further drive to Newark (Totally doable though) the schools are top notch.....but you get into the size of property for your price point.

Considering Landenburg and maybe even Avondale, you will get good schools, decent proximity to Delaware for work, good value for your money, but you may deal with the mushroom smells at certain times of the year.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

In PA don't forget about Unionville (which I guess is technically Chadds Ford), and in Delaware, Hockessin/Pike Creek.

 

Correct, the further east you go away from Kennett Square smell dissipates. Outside of the general area of Kennett, there is no smell. And, its not a big deal to most people, as its not all year round, and not all the time.

Traffic heading towards DE is not bad at all from the western PA burbs (Chester and Delaware counties)

 

Stop on by C&C!

 

Garnet Valley area is very nice and has excellent schools if you have children.

We look forward to seeing you at the WC C&C.

There is also a VERY nice ranch house for sale in my neighborhood for low 300's that has an awesome 2 1/2 car detached garage. MLS# 6250669.

The split level house across the street from me is also going up soon but it only has a 1 car and is in need of a lot of updating.

 

Very, Google maps has it as a 35 min commute. I am about 3 minutes from the Pa/Del border.

It would be nice to have another car guy in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is very quiet and nice. Everybody is very friendly and keep their properties nice etc...

 

Just FYI....

I do not know what age your children are but the private schools in DE (Friends/Tatnall/Tower Hill) are somewhere in the $15,000/year for elementary school and about $20,000/year for high school.

See you at C&C....

Doug

 

Unionville-Chadds Ford school district has been consistently ranked in the top 5 in the entire state of PA for at least 10 years. Last year I think we were number 2. That's out of 435 school districts in PA. I have sent all 4 of my kids through the UCF school district from K-12. Last of my kids graduated in 2011. Home buyers regularly insist on buying in the district. It's a common demand.

In DE, to get good schools, the vast majority of parents sent their kids to private schools, which are quite expensive. Your commute could be a real cost saver in the long run, to send your kids to good public schools.

 

Dan,

I sent you an email and a PM that might be of assistance to you in evaluating your home search. I'm sure it will help.

 

Your 348 is over 15 yo. Title it as a classic in PA and no emission inspection is required. You will still need the safety inspection, but should pass as is.

 

If you are under 5000 miles a year, then you are emissions exempt in emissions counties in PA (of which we are). However, you still need it to pass the FIRST time you title and register it in PA (don't ask me how I know).

However, Michael is correct: if you title it as a classic in the first place, you won't even need to do it the first time.

 

PA State inspection is fairly rigourous, yes. However, it varies WIDELY by where and with whom is doing the inspection.

 

It's also silly. My daily driver, which I put 10,000 miles a year, needs to get inspected annually. Makes sense. However, my Viper, which I put 2000 miles a year on, also needs inspected annually. Go figure. So, it is inspected 5 times, in the same mileage period the my daily gets inspected once. Yeah, it's a racket!

 

You are moving less than three miles from my house. I am just four houses across the Delaware State line near White Clay Creek State Park. When you get settled send me a PM. I will introduce you to the Gang of enthusiasts that call this area home. And BTW you are on the edge of some of the best unencumbered driving roads East of the Mississippi!! Also you literally step out your back door for miles and miles of fantastic single track Mountain Biking!! Jon in Delaware.

 

Technically, if your car left the factory with cats, a state inspector should fail you, and then rat you out to the EPA.

Messing with the emissions system i.e. removing the cats, is a federal violation, and should fail you 100% of the time.

Now, will it? I guess that depends on who does the inspection, but even with a classic plate, the federal law still applies.

Hope that helps.

D
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