moving to Exton PA area

[getringer]

Hello all, we will be moving to the Exton PA area in the next few months, depending on when our house here in upstate NY sells.  I have a bunch of questions...

Names of:

Good school districts?

Good pediatricians?

Good Dentists?

Good Veterinarians?

Looking for mom's groups, breastfeeding groups.

Also interested in gardening and running groups, bookclubs, and ultimate frisbee groups.

Are there any good horse stables that focus on hunter/jumpers in the area?

Any and all info. would be appreciated as we know little about the area. 

Thanks a bunch

Gretchen

[WCMOM]

Hi Gretchen!

Great to hear you're coming to the area!

I am in West Chester, but right on the edge of Exton.  We moved here almost 3 years ago and LOVE it.  West Chester has a really cool downtown (lots of independant shops, festivals, great for walking, etc).  Exton is full of the more traditional shopping centers and mall.  Exton does have a great library (main branch for Chester County).   

We can pretty much head in any direction to find all sorts of art, culture, museums, zoos, parks, hiking, minor league baseball, farms, etc.  We are in easy driving distance of Wilmington DE, Philly, Reading, Lancaster. 

We are in WC school district and I hear very good things (they also get a very high "rating" on goodschools).  My daughter is starting kindergarten in the fall.  I'm pleased with all the communications we've had so far.  They just started a preschool parent's club that shares info, hosts free music classes and story times, as well as various speakers.  

The La Leche Groups in the area are great.  There are lots of different ones.  I think only the West Chester one has a daytime meeting though, I could be wrong.  There is also a Nursing Mothers group that meets locally during the day.  I know good people in both groups.  

We have had a great experience with the MOMS Club Intl.  Our group is West Chester West.  The groups are divided mostly by school district and zip code.  You could look up the International website (google it) and find which group you would be in.

There are also some newer groups.  There is an AP & Crunchy parent group that just started.  The moms are in various parts of Chester County but there seems to be lots of meetups in various parts of the county.  Lots have been local to us.  I found it at Meetup.com.  There is also a babywearing group, though they do not meet very regularly.  

We like our pediatrician.  We go to Dr. Daniel May, who is in Exton (at Eagleview).  He's not always the most AP, but he's also much more laid back than many doctors and has always seemed willing to respect my decisions.  He's in a solo practice, which is rare and the main reason we love it there (he just has 1 assistant, who is chatty but sweet).  He is often the one who answers the phone when you call, he'll call you personally to discuss things.  We've never had a problem scheduling appointments, and he takes his time with you.  We've never felt rushed.  And he's there when needed - he actually lives above the office, and is known to give out his home phone number when necessary!    

We go to a dentist in King of Prussia (about a 25 min drive).  Dr. Hollander of Rose and Hollander.  It's farther than some may be willing to drive, but we LOVE LOVE LOVE it there.  My daughter has ECC (early childhood caries, since she was 1 y.o.).  We lived in Lancaster County at the time and would drive all the way to King of Prussia to see this dentist.  He's not pediatric, but he is AMAZING with kids.  Much better than any pediatric dentist we've seen, and we've been to a few.  It's a long story, but we found him through a yahoo group for AP families of kids with ECC.  He uses Ozone, which very few dentists in this country know about/can do yet.  He basically saved us from having to put her under general anesthesia in the hospital and filling her mouth full of metal.  We've done this "alternative" therapy ever since and her teeth are doing great.  Dr. Hollander has been much more knowledgeable than any other dentist I've ever been to - he does a ton of continuing research and travels quite a bit to conferences.  The staff is so good with my daughter who to put it mildly, was not a willing participant!  With their patience and kindness, she's come a long way.  They always have let me sit in the chair and hold her for check ups and dental work, they also encourage her to come to my appointments so she can get used to seeing everything.  They are very used to working with people with a wide range of preferences (from traditional to alternative). 

I hope this doesn't overwhelm you with information.  It's a great area and we've been really happy here.  I'd be happy to chat more if you want and give more specifics.  Hope the selling of your house and moving goes smoothly!

Aimee

[amymaew]

I'm just south of Aimee in Chadds Ford/Glen Mills.  We're in Unionville Chadds Ford school district which is great.  Unionville (which is probably 1/2 hour from Exton? not too bad) probably has some good horse stables.