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What about Yeadon, Aldan, East Lansdowne and Colwyn? With that said, Cheltenham was the first area I thought of too. Maybe Boothwyn could work(Chichester SD?). This might be stretching it, but perhaps Drexel Hill or Glenolden.
OMG, Yeadon's a mess. My Mom's family has a burial plot in the cemetery there (Holy Cross? can't remember) but anyway, I drove there because I wanted to check out the plot. Well, I think the cemetery was the nicest place I saw in the area.
No to the first 4. Don't get me wrong. I know there are plenty of great kids from every part of Delco and that Lansdowne and Yeadon both have a lot to offer but they are not places to recommend for people from outside the area to be moving to unless they're from certain areas.
To the person above this guy: Lansdowne is in a very ... school system which enrolls kids from some very rough areas. Those areas happen to include Yeadon, East Lansdowne, Colwyn out of the list in the above quote and also Darby, which is without a doubt one of the most declining boroughs in the area. St. Charles is closed.
I'd say no to the last 2 also.
To the OP:
The William Penn school district is comparable in many ways to many of PG County's school districts- the student body is largely black, largely middle-class, and largely underperforming. The sociocultural factors that cause black students to underperform even in a stable suburban milieu are complex, unfortunate, and not relevant to this forum.
On the brighter side, like many of PG County's schools, the district has many bright and talented students amongst the uninspriring masses, and they're doing just fine. I have a few friends who went to William Penn HS and give it a ho-hum assessment, giving it neither accolades nor condemnation, but I'm glad to say that these friends themselves are doing just fine.
Finally, like PG schools, William Penn is vastly superior and a breath of fresh air compared to the neighboring Philadelphia local high schools- Bartram, West, and Sayre bring shivers to most Philadelphia public school students. It's all about your frame of reference. If arson and stabbings and teacher assaults were your norm, like they are at those West Philly schools, then William Penn's tame atmosphere makes it seem like Harvard; the worst that might happen there are fights in gym class or girl smack-downs, which to be fair, can happen anywhere.
Now, of the towns within William Penn, there is also a decent amount of socioeconomic diversity. Colwyn and Darby borough are solidly working-class. Darby Twp, Yeadon, and East Lansdowne are more middle-class. But Lansdowne takes the crown, qualifying as affluent by most indicators. Now, considering Lansdowne shares a school district with poorer towns, many parents opt for private school; that is virtually all of Lansdowne's white population has decided on. Buying a house in Lansdowne is not as expensive as buying a house in, say, Lower Merion, because of the district, so on the upside, the money you save can be the private school money. There is an integrated, acclaimed Quaker school (Lansdowne Friends) right in downtown Lansdowne:
Now, Lansdowne friends is only k-6, so what many parents opt to do is once their kids get to 7th grade, they let them ride the regional rail from its downtown Lansdowne stop to CC Philadelphia, where they go to Friends Select for 7-12. It's a half-hours train ride, with the CC stop less than 3 blocks from select. Many private school kids take regional rail to get to school and back across the region- it's not unusual to see kids reverse commuting from Center City to East Falls to go to William Penn, or see kids from the Northeast take the Fox Chase line into CC to go to Roman or Callahan.
But Lansdowne takes the crown, qualifying as affluent by most indicators. Now, considering Lansdowne shares a school district with poorer towns, many parents opt for private school; that is virtually all of Lansdowne's white population has decided on. Buying a house in Lansdowne is not as expensive as buying a house in, say, Lower Merion, because of the district, so on the upside, the money you save can be the private school money.
As per the MLS, the most expensive house for sale in Lansdowne is reduced to 399,000. There are two others over 300,000 and 35 between 200,000 and 300,000. There are 33 houses listed at less then 100,000. Affluent ?
As per the MLS, the most expensive house for sale in Lansdowne is reduced to 399,000. There are two others over 300,000 and 35 between 200,000 and 300,000. There are 33 houses listed at less then 100,000. Affluent ?
As per the MLS, the most expensive house for sale in Lansdowne is reduced to 399,000. There are two others over 300,000 and 35 between 200,000 and 300,000. There are 33 houses listed at less then 100,000. Affluent ?
You had better have a cheap house, in order to pay the $14,000 to $25,000 per year per kid fee to those Friends schools!
The William Penn school district is comparable in many ways to many of PG County's school districts- the student body is largely black, largely middle-class, and largely underperforming. The sociocultural factors that cause black students to underperform even in a stable suburban milieu are complex, unfortunate, and not relevant to this forum.
On the brighter side, like many of PG County's schools, the district has many bright and talented students amongst the uninspriring masses, and they're doing just fine. I have a few friends who went to William Penn HS and give it a ho-hum assessment, giving it neither accolades nor condemnation, but I'm glad to say that these friends themselves are doing just fine.
Finally, like PG schools, William Penn is vastly superior and a breath of fresh air compared to the neighboring Philadelphia local high schools- Bartram, West, and Sayre bring shivers to most Philadelphia public school students. It's all about your frame of reference. If arson and stabbings and teacher assaults were your norm, like they are at those West Philly schools, then William Penn's tame atmosphere makes it seem like Harvard; the worst that might happen there are fights in gym class or girl smack-downs, which to be fair, can happen anywhere.
Now, of the towns within William Penn, there is also a decent amount of socioeconomic diversity. Colwyn and Darby borough are solidly working-class. Darby Twp, Yeadon, and East Lansdowne are more middle-class. But Lansdowne takes the crown, qualifying as affluent by most indicators. Now, considering Lansdowne shares a school district with poorer towns, many parents opt for private school; that is virtually all of Lansdowne's white population has decided on. Buying a house in Lansdowne is not as expensive as buying a house in, say, Lower Merion, because of the district, so on the upside, the money you save can be the private school money. There is an integrated, acclaimed Quaker school (Lansdowne Friends) right in downtown Lansdowne:
Now, Lansdowne friends is only k-6, so what many parents opt to do is once their kids get to 7th grade, they let them ride the regional rail from its downtown Lansdowne stop to CC Philadelphia, where they go to Friends Select for 7-12. It's a half-hours train ride, with the CC stop less than 3 blocks from select. Many private school kids take regional rail to get to school and back across the region- it's not unusual to see kids reverse commuting from Center City to East Falls to go to William Penn, or see kids from the Northeast take the Fox Chase line into CC to go to Roman or Callahan.
I wish the OPs well, if they choose Delco. Enjoy your time in the region.
No. The majority of the people in William Penn are not middle class. It's one of the worst school districts in the area. The school district has kids from every ethnicity in it, plenty of them white. I know more than a few of them. Uhh.. no. The worst that can happen is ending up getting shot or stabbed over some bull. A kid got his ...damn meatball sub jacked in Yeadon the other week!
No. They aren't. Seriously, are you kidding me? Darby is the worst place in Delco outside of Chester. They had a state of emergency two years ago due to the amount of shootings in a single weekend during the summer. A kid from Darby fired shots near Upper Darby High School the other month. People get shot/shot at in Darby and there is major crime and drugs.
East Lansdowne is middle class? Since when? Yeadon is middle class? Since when?
Lansdowne is definitely not affluent. I love Lansdowne, as well as the rest of the inner-ring (it's my area. I know the entirety of it like the back of my hand and have been in it often throughout my life.. and recently might I add). Lansdowne is diverse in every way. It's affluent (for inner-ring standards) in parts, middle class in others, working class in others, and very not nice in the worst parts of it.
You want middle class? Drexel Hill outside of the areas that border UD and Lansdowne/Clifton Heights, Westbrook Park, Primos... those are middle class, at MOST.
These are NOT people from West Philly. They're outsiders. You're going to get them into a situation they might not be able to handle with this advice and you might get them robbed or worse.
Those are not safe, nice African American suburbs outside of Philadelphia. I know this for a fact.
Last edited by Tone509; 12-05-2011 at 06:45 PM..
Reason: watch the self-edited language
No. The majority of the people in William Penn are not middle class. It's one of the worst school districts in the area. The school district has kids from every ethnicity in it, plenty of them white. I know more than a few of them. Uhh.. no. The worst that can happen is ending up getting shot or stabbed over some bullsh*t. A kid got his g*d damn meatball sub jacked in Yeadon the other week!
East Lansdowne is middle class? Since when? Yeadon is middle class? Since when?
Lansdowne is definitely not affluent. I love Lansdowne, as well as the rest of the inner-ring (it's my area. I know the entirety of it like the back of my hand and have been in it often throughout my life.. and recently might I add). Lansdowne is diverse in every way. It's affluent (for inner-ring standards) in parts, middle class in others, working class in others, and very not nice in the worst parts of it.
These are NOT people from West Philly. They're outsiders. You're going to get them into a situation they might not be able to handle with this advice and you might get them robbed or worse.
Those are not safe, nice African American suburbs outside of Philadelphia. I know this for a fact.
Pennsylvania's median houshold income in 2009 was $49,520 per household. Yeadon's median household income that year was $47,865. East Lansdowne's was median household income that year was $59,037. That makes both statistically middle-class. Lansdowne proper's median household income was $87,017, putting it among the top 17% of all municipalities in Pennsylvania. While PA's median income grew 3.25% from 2000 to 2009, Yeadon's grew by 5.08%, East Lansdowne's grew by 29.63%, and Lansdowne proper's grew 29.11%. During that time period, all gained significant new populations of African-Americans.
William Penn school district was 91% black and 7% white in 2010. Most of the white kids come from the majority-white Aldan borough.
Here is a mention of Lansdowne in the notorious gangbanger lifestyle publication known as Money Magazine:
Pennsylvania's median houshold income in 2009 was $49,520 per household. Yeadon's median household income that year was $47,865. East Lansdowne's was median household income that year was $59,037. That makes both statistically middle-class. Lansdowne proper's median household income was $87,017, putting it among the top 17% of all municipalities in Pennsylvania. While PA's median income grew 3.25% from 2000 to 2009, Yeadon's grew by 5.08%, East Lansdowne's grew by 29.63%, and Lansdowne proper's grew 29.11%. During that time period, all gained significant new populations of African-Americans.
William Penn school district was 91% black and 7% white in 2010. Most of the white kids come from the majority-white Aldan borough.
Here is a mention of Lansdowne in the notorious gangbanger lifestyle publication known as Money Magazine:
EDIT: I see you got those figures from the wikipedia page (which were altered as a joke, I suppose... there's NO WAY Lansdowne has a per capita income of $70k+).
According to the 2009 census estimates (which I'm almost 100% positive has the latest scientific income estimates), Lansdowne has a median household income of $59,973, East Lansdowne's is $56,587, and Yeadon's is $47,267.
Anyway, it's a waste of time to argue which income bands exactly correspond to which socioeconomic classes. It's all relative to one's surroundings.
Last edited by HeavenWood; 12-05-2011 at 02:03 PM..
No. The majority of the people in William Penn are not middle class. It's one of the worst school districts in the area. The school district has kids from every ethnicity in it, plenty of them white. I know more than a few of them. Uhh.. no. The worst that can happen is ending up getting shot or stabbed over some bullsh*t. A kid got his g*d damn meatball sub jacked in Yeadon the other week!
No. They aren't. Seriously, are you kidding me? Darby is the worst place in Delco outside of Chester. They had a state of emergency two years ago due to the amount of shootings in a single weekend during the summer. A kid from Darby fired shots near Upper Darby High School the other month. People get shot/shot at in Darby and there is major crime and drugs.
East Lansdowne is middle class? Since when? Yeadon is middle class? Since when?
Lansdowne is definitely not affluent. I love Lansdowne, as well as the rest of the inner-ring (it's my area. I know the entirety of it like the back of my hand and have been in it often throughout my life.. and recently might I add). Lansdowne is diverse in every way. It's affluent (for inner-ring standards) in parts, middle class in others, working class in others, and very not nice in the worst parts of it.
You want middle class? Drexel Hill outside of the areas that border UD and Lansdowne/Clifton Heights, Westbrook Park, Primos... those are middle class, at MOST.
These are NOT people from West Philly. They're outsiders. You're going to get them into a situation they might not be able to handle with this advice and you might get them robbed or worse.
Those are not safe, nice African American suburbs outside of Philadelphia. I know this for a fact.
I know, I thought perhaps I was going crazy, reading that Darby is a nice middle-class suburb and Lansdowne is affluent. My cousins just moved from Darby after the third incident of the SWAT team descending on their block. My other cousin just moved out of Clifton Heights because her neighborhood is very much declining (crime). I really hate to see the OPs mis-led like this.
It's the fascist Nazi-esque police that have destroyed this country. If they just legalized drugs we wouldn't have such senseless violence and murder in Philadelphia and the suburbs.
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