Philadelphia Metro Suburban Showdown (sales, home, good schools)

[ASJackson814]

Now that I have done the New York City Metro suburbs, lets try it with the Philadelphia Metro suburbs.

Delaware(Kent & New Castle Counties) vs
Southeast Pennsylvania(Bucks, Chester, Delaware, & Montgomery Counties) vs
South Jersey(Burlington, Camden, & Gloucester Counties) vs
Outer Delaware Valley/Partially Connected to Philly New Jersey(Mercer & Atlantic Counties)

Which counties:
-Are more tied/integrated with Philly(culturally, economically, etc.)?
-Most Independent/Least reliant on Philly?
-Amenities/Recreation
-Education(K-12)
-Education(University)
-Growth
-Park System
-Scenery
-Transportation
-Cost of living
-Quality of Life
-Better suburbs
-Better small cities/large towns
-Most Urban/Least Urban
-Faster/Slower Paced

[svvansea]

-Are more tied/integrated with Philly(culturally, economically, etc.)? Southeast PA>North Delaware>South Jersey>Outer counties
-Most Independent/Least reliant on Philly? same as above
-Amenities/Recreation Southeast PA>South Jersey>Outer Counties>North Delaware
-Education(K-12) same as above, but outer and north are tied
-Education(University) Southeast PA (Too many to list)>Outer Counties (it depends what you mean for this category but I guess you could include Monmouth, UD, maybe Princeton?)>South Jersey (Rutgers Camden and not much else)>Delaware (just Wilmington U)
-Growth I would imagine they are all similar in this regard
-Park System All are good, but I would say Southeast PA and South Jersey are the best
-Scenery All are good, but I would go Southeast PA (the foliage/the Delaware River)>Outer Counties (the beach)>Delaware>South Jersey
-Transportation SEPTA and NJ Transit serve most areas pretty well, but best connected are South Jersey and Southeast PA
-Cost of living Delaware is much cheaper than PA or NJ
-Quality of Life PA>NJ>DE
-Better suburbs I would say Southeast PA, but this is hard to judge
-Better small cities/large towns Southeast PA>South Jersey>Outer Counties>Delaware
-Most Urban/Least Urban South Jersey>Southeast PA>Outer Counties>Delaware
-Faster/Slower Paced None are very fast-paced, but Southeast PA and South Jersey are closest to Philly, so they have more of a city feel than the others

[Turnerbro]

S.E PA wins most of these categories. It has great scenery good schools, and many historic old communities. Many of its suburbs feel like small towns. South Jersey has better planned communities and is closer to the shore. I might give South Jersey the edge in amenities and COL, but just about every other category S.E PA wins hands down.

[oobanks]

May be I'm a little Bias because it's my old home, but for me its Delaware (New Castle and Kent Counties). You are close enough to get to the Big City within 30 to 45 min, while keeping it's individuality. Wilmington being a City of it's own with it's own suburbs while also being a Satellite City of Philly. Not to mention Dover near by if you are looking for a little slower pace. Delaware Beaches and no sales tax adds icing to the Cake for me...Delaware will always be my favorite and home to me!

[qworldorder]

Objectively, S.E. PA >Delaware>South Jersey> Outer Counties. S.E. PA clearly wins in all categories accept for least reliant on Philly, growth and CoL. Since you're separating the beach counties from South Jersey, I'd say Delaware takes the number two slot, as it does everything South Jersey does at a lower CoL and with a stronger identity/economy. South Jersey's wealth is purely suburban, as its true cities (Camden, Vineland, Trenton if being included) leave a lot to be desired when compared to Wilmington. While Burlington, Gloucester and Camden counties have very wealthy suburbs/townships/office parks, the real draw of South Jersey from an economic and cultural standpoint is the Shore (Atlantic and Cape May counties). Include those and I might give the nod over Delaware, since Delaware's best beaches are in Sussex County, which is technically not in the Philly metro, though obviously well trafficked by those from Philly.