Ridley Park, Prospect Park, Woodlyn, Norwood,... (Philadelphia, Chester: low income, apartments, rent)

[njnomore]

Folcroft, Glenolden, and the rest of the towns - how are those towns in that region? EXCEPT for Darby, Upper Darby, and Chester (I already know about the crime there). Are they safe? Do they have anything to offer? Do they have a center of town like some sought of main street? Public transportation access? Stores? Rent prices? Don't have a job secured yet but I won't be working in Philadelphia county but most likely around the KOP area and vicinity.

Seriously if I can get an idea so that when I eventually which will be very soon (maybe by the end of this week) when I take a daytrip to the Philly burbs, I'll know where to drive to and see.

Thanks so much!

[William shivers]

all those areas are decent areas, good blue collar neighborhoods. the further west you go up 476 "the blue route" the better it gets. Also there are some really nice parts of upper darby, like the drexel hill area, just outside havertown, and springfield. Lots of retail stores in all those areas and public trans rent prices around 700 for a 1 bedroom but you can certainly spend more. Check out rose tree apts off 476 by route 1, it's just outside media which is a real nice area and has that main street feel to it!!

[enviroman]

I grew up in Prospect Park, which is right next to Ridley Park. Norwood is in the same school district as Prospect Park, Glenolden, and Tinicum.

Good towns: Prospect Park, Norwood, Glenolden, Ridley Park, Folsom, Secane, Rutledge, Springfield, Media, Swarthmore.

Not so good: Folcroft, Woodlyn, Crum Lynne, Eddystone, Tinicum, Clifton Heights (ok in parts), Sharon Hill.

All of the "good towns" I listed are very safe, suburban areas. The "not so good" ones are also suburban but they are lower income areas. Taxes are higher in the "good towns," but the school districts are better than the "not so good" towns, of course.

None of the towns, outside of Media, has a "main street," per se. Most of the towns listed are pretty much identical to each other, with only arbitrary boundaries separating them. Springfield, Media, and Swarthmore are wealthier. Prospect, Norwood, Ridley, Folsom, and Glenolden are more middle class. The "not so good" towns are middle-to-lower middle class.

They are all within like a 5 mile radius, so if a Wal-Mart is close to Ridley Park, it's also close to Prospect, Glenolden, etc.

All of these towns are roughly 30-40 minutes from KOP (depending on traffic). It's a quick shot up the blue route (476) and then a short trip on route 76.

Public transportation is available, but I've never really used the bus system. I've known some people that have had to use it, but they complained about it a lot. I take the SEPTA train into work every day. It's very convenient for getting into Philadelphia and every town listed has very easy access to a train station.

Rent will run you in the $700-800/month range for a 1 bedroom in most cases. However, you'll see some "OK" apartments in the $600 range.

Does this help?

[enviroman]

Originally Posted by William shivers

all those areas are decent areas, good blue collar neighborhoods. the further west you go up 476 "the blue route" the better it gets. Also there are some really nice parts of upper darby, like the drexel hill area, just outside havertown, and springfield. Lots of retail stores in all those areas and public trans rent prices around 700 for a 1 bedroom but you can certainly spend more. Check out rose tree apts off 476 by route 1, it's just outside media which is a real nice area and has that main street feel to it!!

Parts of Drexel Hill are also pretty low income...

[SXMGirl]

Like Enviroman, I also grew up in Prospect Park. Also lived in Ridley Park , Glenolden, Norwood, Springfield, Collingdale. Prospect Park is very safe. I have walked my dog at all hours of the day and night and never had a problem. Local police are usually around. There is a small shopping district but most of it is on State Route 420 and not amenable to parking. However, there is a great bakers, Traub's, that draws people from all over. There is also a Dunkin' Donuts, Wawa, locksmith, window place, optician, nail salon, and a few other small businesses, including a very nice antique shop. Ridley Park also has a small shopping district. I think The Gaslight, a restaurant, is still there. It probably is not as safe as Prospect Park, but it's okay. I remember the days of the Pagens and their Wednesday night parties at the local bar. Those times have changed. One note about Prospect Park: a friend of mine worked for a bank and told me that Prospect has one of the largest number of college graduates. Many people chose to live below their means and it is possible to do that in Prospect Park. There are many victorian homes in that area, along with Ridley Park, and they have been made into apartments. The history of that area is interesting. Many of the wealthy mainliners during the depression had summer homes in the Prospect Park/Ridley Park areas, which are on the train line. During the depression, when they lost their fortunes, many of the homes were turned into apartment houses and many remain that way today. You can find some great apartments there in walking distance to the train, which is probably the best way to get into Philly.

[enviroman]

Originally Posted by SXMGirl

Like Enviroman, I also grew up in Prospect Park. Also lived in Ridley Park , Glenolden, Norwood, Springfield, Collingdale. Prospect Park is very safe. I have walked my dog at all hours of the day and night and never had a problem. Local police are usually around. There is a small shopping district but most of it is on State Route 420 and not amenable to parking. However, there is a great bakers, Traub's, that draws people from all over. There is also a Dunkin' Donuts, Wawa, locksmith, window place, optician, nail salon, and a few other small businesses, including a very nice antique shop. Ridley Park also has a small shopping district. I think The Gaslight, a restaurant, is still there. It probably is not as safe as Prospect Park, but it's okay. I remember the days of the Pagens and their Wednesday night parties at the local bar. Those times have changed. One note about Prospect Park: a friend of mine worked for a bank and told me that Prospect has one of the largest number of college graduates. Many people chose to live below their means and it is possible to do that in Prospect Park. There are many victorian homes in that area, along with Ridley Park, and they have been made into apartments. The history of that area is interesting. Many of the wealthy mainliners during the depression had summer homes in the Prospect Park/Ridley Park areas, which are on the train line. During the depression, when they lost their fortunes, many of the homes were turned into apartment houses and many remain that way today. You can find some great apartments there in walking distance to the train, which is probably the best way to get into Philly.

The Gas Light is still there.

While I share much of the same nostalgic fondness for Prospect Park as SXM does, I do have a few words of caution.

The area high school is Interboro High. One note about Interboro: it is not the best high school...in fact, it ranks as one of the lesser high schools in Delco. I went to Prospect Park Elementary and I actually thought it was a very nice elementary/middle school. It ranks well in terms of PSSA scores (well, it's at least average). However, Interboro does not. In fact, it ranks just above Chester and Academy Park, two very poor schools according to greatschools.net.

Also, Prospect Park is sort of divided into two areas. The first is the Interboro High School side of Chester Pike. I consider this to be the nicer part of Prospect. The other side is the side closer to I95 and Tinicum...I'd say this is the "lesser" part of Prospect, with the lower income people (no offense SXM if you lived on that side!!).

[SXMGirl]

Enviroman is right. Both Prospect and Ridley are better areas on the Interboro side of these towns. I guess I did grow up on the better side. Rutledge is a nice quiet town near the train line, with shopping in nearby Morton and Springfield. It is also a fairly safe area. Swarthmore is a college town and has a nice shopping district--not sure how it is today but is probably ok with the college there.

You might want to check out Oaks, PA. I haven't been there in quite a while, but it is developing and I am sure that it or a nearby town would have everything you would want if you are working in the KP area.

Just a note to Enviroman: I graduated from Interboro and felt that I received a quality education. Interboro teachers are the second highest paid in Delco and the Philadelphia Inquirer rated the schools last year and Interboro was fairly high up on the scale.

[enviroman]

Originally Posted by SXMGirl

Enviroman is right. Both Prospect and Ridley are better areas on the Interboro side of these towns. I guess I did grow up on the better side. Rutledge is a nice quiet town near the train line, with shopping in nearby Morton and Springfield. It is also a fairly safe area. Swarthmore is a college town and has a nice shopping district--not sure how it is today but is probably ok with the college there.

You might want to check out Oaks, PA. I haven't been there in quite a while, but it is developing and I am sure that it or a nearby town would have everything you would want if you are working in the KP area.

Just a note to Enviroman: I graduated from Interboro and felt that I received a quality education. Interboro teachers are the second highest paid in Delco and the Philadelphia Inquirer rated the schools last year and Interboro was fairly high up on the scale.

Oaks is a nice area. As is Phoenixville (it has a really nice "main street" now). The only caveat is that Rt 422 is constantly backed up...every single morning. It's like an hour ride from Phoenixville/Oaks to Philly.

[Firecat]

Interboro is actually an AWARD winning school district. You need to check your facts SXMgirl because according to your source - greatschools.net - Chester HS is rated 1 out of 10 and Interboro is 6 out of 10, big difference. Interboro is rated above average in PA. It also got 4 out of 5 stars for the Parent Rating. The faculty are some of the best and highest paid in the area.

[tat2doc]

Both my girlfriend and I grew up in Delaware County and we never had any problems. I was from Interboro and Ridley, she was from Tinicum and we both went to Interboro till I moved. My father grew up in Glenolden and his brother was the magistrate during the late 60's, 70's and 80's. Dad was the postman during that time too. I went to the old Logan Ave/Boone grade schools before they became the police station and apartments.

I was all over the Delaware County area and am still in touch with friends there. Some going back almost 45 years, including the unofficial county historian (Keith Lockhart). Although I haven't lived there for 35+ years, I still know my way around and feel it's a great place to live. I never had any problems, and still don't. But I grew up with the riff raff in the area so maybe that attitude saved me a few times.

The area brings back fond memories for me but things were simpler then.