Issues for transplants in Philly suburbs (esp MontCo) (Philadelphia, Lansdale: fit in, house)

[athensvaasi]

Assume I have a job in the Philadelphia metro (or I can take my current job there), and can buy a 300-400K house in Montgomery County.

-- I am assuming MontCo has good public safety, and good schools in most areas. Am I correct? I am looking at N. Wales / Lansdale / Montgomeryville type area.

-- I would like to know what are some of the other subtle challenges. Specifically, how easy or difficult would it be to make new aquaintances there? My kids will be in elementary school, and for instance I would want them to have good social interaction with class mates outside of school. I have heard that Philadelphia locals might have lived in the region for generations. What would this mean to a transplant?

-- Any other issues that you can think of that a transplant would have to think about, if moving to Philadelphia suburbs (esp MontCo)?

Thanks for your input.

[Angus215]

You will not have any issues with relocating to that area. It is not at all the kind of place that is dominated by locals who have been there forever. other than the actual towns of lansdale and north wales, it is a suburban area that people generally move to when they have kids. it's a nice area and you should be able to find something in your price range.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Angus215

You will not have any issues with relocating to that area. It is not at all the kind of place that is dominated by locals who have been there forever. other than the actual towns of lansdale and north wales, it is a suburban area that people generally move to when they have kids. it's a nice area and you should be able to find something in your price range.

Agree. You will not have problems like that. Montgomery County is full of transplants who come to the area for jobs. Plus, you are only about 30 or so miles outside of Philadelphia so it is not the type of area that has remained unchanged for decades.

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

Agree. You will not have problems like that. Montgomery County is full of transplants who come to the area for jobs. Plus, you are only about 30 or so miles outside of Philadelphia so it is not the type of area that has remained unchanged for decades.

Good point. 20 or 30 years ago, most of it was farmland.

[BPP1999]

This region has a reputation as being so local. I don't get it. It's certainly not as international as NYC or DC, but in my 3 jobs in 11 years since college I have worked with countless people from other parts of the country (NYC, Boston, California, Florida, Ohio, etc.) and other parts of the world (India, Korea, UK, Ukraine, Ghana - yes, Ghana). Most stay hear and raise their kids there. Our next-door neighbors are Vietnamese (her) and Filipino (him), originally from other US states, and they have lived in this area longer than any other place, and they are happy, their kids have tons of friends, and are huge Philly sports fans. I just don't understand why everyone says "people who live around Philadelphia are either black or white and have lived there for 5 generations". It might have been like this 40 years ago, but most of the country was more like that 40 years ago. The Philadelphia region is also home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the country (most are concentrated in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties) . If anything, I think what is lacking in this area from a diversity standpoint is that there is not a huge percentage of Hispanics everywhere, and people translate that into "the area is not diverse."

The North Wales/Lansdale area is easily 15% Asian (Indian/Korean), but I don't have the numbers to prove it. There's even an Assi Market on PA-63 in Montgomeryville, and Asian-owned businesses and markets are around in that area and others nearby. The Philadelphia area's Korean business book is about 200 pages - I know because it's in a co-worker's office.

[kidphilly]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

This region has a reputation as being so local. I don't get it. It's certainly not as international as NYC or DC, but in my 3 jobs in 11 years since college I have worked with countless people from other parts of the country (NYC, Boston, California, Florida, Ohio, etc.) and other parts of the world (India, Korea, UK, Ukraine, Ghana - yes, Ghana). Most stay hear and raise their kids there. Our next-door neighbors are Vietnamese (her) and Filipino (him), originally from other US states, and they have lived in this area longer than any other place, and they are happy, their kids have tons of friends, and are huge Philly sports fans. I just don't understand why everyone says "people who live around Philadelphia are either black or white and have lived there for 5 generations". It might have been like this 40 years ago, but most of the country was more like that 40 years ago. The Philadelphia region is also home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the country (most are concentrated in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties) . If anything, I think what is lacking in this area from a diversity standpoint is that there is not a huge percentage of Hispanics everywhere, and people translate that into "the area is not diverse."

The North Wales/Lansdale area is easily 15% Asian (Indian/Korean), but I don't have the numbers to prove it. There's even an Assi Market on PA-63 in Montgomeryville, and Asian-owned businesses and markets are around in that area and others nearby. The Philadelphia area's Korean business book is about 200 pages - I know because it's in a co-worker's office.

A very large Korean population in this general area but think just about anyone could fit in. I will say that it seems that a few neighborhoods have become increasingly Korean so that may be either a good/bad/indifferent thing to the OP but overall I would not get the sense that there would be ANY issues that owuld not exist in any metro burbs.

[athensvaasi]

Just to provide some more info, I am Asian Indian. Looking for a good social mix, not Asian Indian only. Any Asian Indian perspective would be great info.

[Angus215]

there are a lot of Indians moving into that area. as mentioned above, the area is about 15% asian (not sure of split between indian and eastern asian).

[maestro]

I do understand where the concern comes from a bit. We moved to Montco from out of the Philly/South Jersey metro, and it took us a little while to find people that weren't from the immediate area. It seemed like most folks grew up within 30 miles of where they lived now, so it took a little more time to find people that were open to "making new friends", so to speak. Everyone is very nice to you, don't get me wrong, but it's harder trying to make friends when most people already had their set of friends, a set social calendar/life, etc.

Slowly but sure though, we're started building up a decent group. With kids in school, it's almost inevitable that you'll start meeting people and making friends through the school activities and whatnot.

If you make the effort, the relationships will come.

[athensvaasi]

Originally Posted by maestro

I do understand where the concern comes from a bit. We moved to Montco from out of the Philly/South Jersey metro, and it took us a little while to find people that weren't from the immediate area. It seemed like most folks grew up within 30 miles of where they lived now, so it took a little more time to find people that were open to "making new friends", so to speak. Everyone is very nice to you, don't get me wrong, but it's harder trying to make friends when most people already had their set of friends, a set social calendar/life, etc.

Slowly but sure though, we're started building up a decent group. With kids in school, it's almost inevitable that you'll start meeting people and making friends through the school activities and whatnot.

If you make the effort, the relationships will come.

maestro, At this time, would you say that your social relationships are heavily skewed towards transplant families. Or would you say that your family's social relationships are more or less evenly split between transplant families and local families.

I would like to know your current thoughts on this knowing that -- I think you live in Ambler that is a little more close in than the area I am considering. And the area I am considering has more Asian population (which I suppose means more transplants).

Thanks.