"Worthington" in Malvern is under construction, plenty of shopping and apartments, still 1+ years away from completion. There was another in Newtown Square but not sure of the name nor status.

There really isn't anything as far as a walkable town with shops other than West Chester itself in Chester County.

My experience - Media, Pheonixville - too many cars going too fast, and really not that much in the towns. Not much as far as shops and whatnot.

We did the same search when we left the city, I was from West Chester (grew up on Miner, which is a very nice street) and my husband is from Lititz (a wonderful, walkable town in Lancaster County). We loved growing up in a town where we could walk/bike everywhere, including school.

Doylestown and West Chester were the only two towns that fit the bill, and Doylestown is VERY EXPENSIVE! So we're in WC and we love it. Library, schools, church, Mad Platter (music/CDs), lots (maybe too many?) of dining options . . . plus great houses, great parks (I can think of FIVE in the boro that we've walked to!).

People who are saying WC is too quiet haven't been here recently - trust me, I grew up here, I know it used to be dullsville. But it isn't anymore!

The only things we lack are food shopping (other than Tony's and some other small groceries) and a movie theater - we used to have both when I was little. But they're supposedly getting both in here.

Hillsdale is a great elementary school, as is Starkweather. Anyway, if you're working in West Chester, you may as well live here!

Those fake towns never live up to the hype, either. Main Street at Exton was supposed to have housing but they (West Whiteland) nixed it at the last minute. The only "new urbanism" thing around here is Eagleville, and that's pretty lame. Also Eagle is hellish as far as traffic nowadays!

good luck! come to town this Saturday for the Block Party and Bike Race!

http://www.ironhilltwilightcriterium.com/

I would have to say this is less than accurate. State Street in Media has a ton of bars and restaurants and shops of all different types, including an Iron Hill Brewery, a Trader Joe's (so you can actually walk to do food shopping) and trolley tracks running down it - how much fast paced traffic can there be on it and side streets when you have Baltimore Pike a few blocks over taking the heavy traffic?

And Phoenixville's main drag is simliar to State Street as being 2 lanes, relatively low speed limit. They are working on turning it into a robust downtown but its not there yet.

And what about downtown Wayne? Yes, Lancaster Ave is busy but people still can walk from their homes downtown to the movies and upscale, if snobby, shopping and places to eat.

It's great you love West Chester but there is no need to give other areas a black eye, especially when your facts are incorrect.

The original post didn't say where the job was located. Would Jenkintown be an option for you? They have great shops, great dining, lots of walking around and a good school district. It's small, so the kids can actually walk to school from this Borough Location. Ditto for Glenside and Hatboro, but these places are all on the other side of the river. Would that work for you?

sorry to offend!

I live out here and spend a lot of time in Media, Wayne and Phoenixville as well - and West Chester is a better town to live in, more affordable, more walkable, more pleasant in general. It's also a lot bigger, and has more varied residential options that are still within walking distance of the center of town.

Since the OP will be working IN WEST CHESTER it would make more sense to look hard at West Chester over those other towns, no?

Actually, I'm stupid. I should stop talking up West Chester and just keep it under wraps!

West Chester sucks! The streets are dead and the people are snobs! You'll hate it! (j/k!)

Honestly I'm not offended. If you'd said the above in the first place, prefaced by "In my opinion" I wouldn't have even questioned it.

I personally find West Chester too upscale for me, Wayne as well. And West Chester has no Regional Rail lines, but plenty of yuppies.

Tredyffrin, Radnor, Lower Merion, Swarthmore, Garnet Valley, Rose Tree Media all have better public schools than West Chester, not that West Chester's are bad by any stretch.

Media just feels more "real" to me - very Norman Rockwell. West Chester feels too big and is beginning to feel too new and upscale for my humble tastes.

Someone from the city may find it not gritty enough, but of course they won't know unless they check it out.

Job is where Rt 3 and 202 meet; so Jenkintown is a no-go as that commute would be as bad as coming from Fairmount

I kind of agree with orrmobl. West Chester is a bit bigger than Media, and (IMO) the college is a detriment. It's definitely nice if you want walkable (though Media is better). But, since it's so close to the job, West Chester would be my choice if I needed a downtown (frankly, I'm looking for privacy from people, not nearer to them

Media also wins if you want a more "urban" feel since it has a Philly Car Share car, a train station and a trolley that runs down State Street that will take you to the mall or the big grocery store, etc. You can actually go car free in Media (though you'd still need it for commuting to your job).

I'm not really sure what kid-friendly means. So, I can't address it. They seem to have lots of them in both places.