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idriveawhitecamry t1_j5ophqu wrote

Best area for a commute to Fort Washington?

I’m moving from the Midwest to PA for a job. I’ve never lived on the east coast before. I don’t have any contacts in PA so looking for somewhere I can make friends quickly.

Stats:

  • 24 YO Male
  • Engineer
  • likes going out to bars with friends
  • very physically active
  • have a dog
  • single
  • love to bike
  • love nature but also like a city feel
  • own a car

I’m also considering living in a suburb to avoid paying that atrocious wage tax. Looking for a commute under 30 min. What are your thoughts? Any input is appreciated.

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thefrozendivide t1_j5q9jz4 wrote

There's no way you're making it from Center City to fort Washington under 30 minutes during regular business hours. Ambler is a cute little town that you might like that should check all of your boxes. You're definitely going to want to check out every town in person first.

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That_Obligatior16 t1_j5rmvjj wrote

Agree that it's not really possible to commute from the city to fort Washington in 30min, and that Ambler is a very nice suburban town, and to visit in person before committing to anything.

I'd add that Conshohocken is another suburb that you could consider that is popular with your demographic. It has a slightly more (but not all that) urban feel compared to Ambler feeling more like a small town.

Another thing to consider with respect to the wage tax is that it's just one component of the cost of living, and it's worth looking at the whole picture before balking at the wage tax bill. Manayunk (another area you could consider) is a very similar area to Conshohocken in many ways, except Manayunk is in the Philadelphia city limits and Conchy is not. Rents for similar apartments in Manayunk happen to run $100-$200/month cheaper compared to Conchy. So if you're making around median income it's only a difference of whether you're paying that $100-200 to you landlord or to the municipality (and since property taxes are lower on average in Philly than most of the suburbs its really just taking a different route to the municipality in the end).

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