Kim and Mark Breiland lived near the Pennsylvania border in Chesterfield, N.J. They loved crossing the Delaware River to New Hope.
“If it’s a beautiful fall day, yes, it’s busy,” Ms. Breiland said of the borough’s popular Main Street. “But that’s what I love about it.”
So it’s not surprising that Ms. Breiland, a business coach and self-described Jersey girl, and Mr. Breiland, a TV executive who works in New York, eventually bought a house nearby. The couple, both 43, paid $745,000 in July 2021 for a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath house on half an acre west of downtown. Their weekend favorite activity is to park at the northern end of town and walk two miles along the river (and a channel) with their three kids. Then they find a bench on which to enjoy pastries from the French bakery.
Ms. Breiland stated that the New Hope-Solebury School district is highly rated. She explained their reasons for moving and how they have been able to maintain this rating. “an extremely supportive and proactive approach to special education.” The couple pays about $7,000 annually in property taxes, as they live in Pennsylvania rather than New Jersey. That’s a significant drop from $18,000.
They are also within easy reach of big cities — Philadelphia is about 40 miles southwest, and Manhattan is about 70 miles northeast — but “you don’t have to drive to Philly or New York to access big events,” Ms. Breiland spoke.
New Hope housing tends to be pricey — even outside town, where homes on spacious lots sell quickly. However, life moves slower.
Ruth Grannis (55), a registered nurse, paid $620,000 to purchase a three-bedroom colonial in 1996 with three bathrooms. She said that she frequently finds herself driving on rural roads not recommended by GPS. She moved from Staten Island to be with her 13-year old daughter and her 80-year old mother after Michael Grannis, her retired police officer, passed away in 2020.
Mrs. Grannis wanted more space and safety — and less noise and congestion. She said that she had a vivid dream one night in which she received a message from God: “Move to New Hope.” “I got up and Googled ‘New Hope’ and said, ‘Oh, this is a nice place.’”
She hadn’t realized that she was also her…
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