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Hey there, I know there are so many posts regarding the best suburb to move to but we have some unique requirements so I thought it may be worth posting to seek advice!
My husband and I are currently based in northern NJ and want to move back to a city, or the suburbs whilst still maintaining that town like feeling. We also need somewhere a lot cheaper than where we are now and more pedestrianized. We currently cant leave the house without driving anywhere and with one car between us one of us is always stranded! So we have been looking at moving to Philly to find somewhere more pedestrianized, in the a suburb of Philly with very good access to public transportation (preferably the train) to the city centre. To begin with my husband may still need to work in Northern NJ and continue his work as an adjunct lecturer. So we would be looking for a suburb where he could easily get a the train to South Orange station. I think this would require a suburb with direct line to 30th street where I think he would then take the train to Trenton and use regional trains to South Orange, although I think a second option is for him to get the Amtrak from 30th street directly to Penn station and go from there.
In the future he would be looking to find lecturing work in the Philly area so an area with a few uni's in the vicinity would be ideal, as his work often requires him to work at a few different unis at the same time. We are both from cities (I am originally from the UK) and really really miss living in a 'town' area where you can walk and have access to bars and enjoy the area without having to find a major city. I am a BCBA student specializing in autism so I would be looking for a suburb with either a few special education schools in the area, or again easy ride into the City Centre.
We are in in our early 30s and looking for a suburb which I guess has the best of both worlds - somewhere you can socialize and shop, with a town feel but at the same time take a train journey into the city of the weekend. At some point one of us may be without a car so ensuring one of us has access to the transportation system is important.
We have been looking at Mt Airy but from SEPTA it doesn't look as if there is a direct train to 30th street so I am wondering how difficult this will be for my husband to get to South Orange NJ. We are still in a 'young' mindset, we need things going on in the suburb and we are not ready to move to the outskirts or a rural area yet.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I am originally from the UK so although my street sense is spot on in my country I obviously cant trust myself to know the safe areas over here at this point, so any guidance would be great.
We really don't know where to start so we have been using the transport issue and proximity to unis as the main requirements - apart from that I would like to see civilization and socialize! In terms of rent we are looking at around $700 / $800 but could go slightly higher.
I hope you can help. We are looking to move after March and would like to take a trip to Philly maybe even tomorrow or just after Christmas.
We have been looking at Mt Airy but from SEPTA it doesn't look as if there is a direct train to 30th street so I am wondering how difficult this will be for my husband to get to South Orange NJ. We are still in a 'young' mindset, we need things going on in the suburb and we are not ready to move to the outskirts or a rural area yet.
I can't speak to the other issues you raised, but can correct your perception about Mt Airy's accessibility to 30th Street. There are actually two lines (Chestnut Hill East and Chestnut Hill West) that get you to 30th St and Center City in (depending where in Mt Airy you are, of course) about 20-25 minutes, max. And they do it directly - no transfers required. Getting to South Orange only by rail would be a schlep - when my wife and I go to NYC, we drive to Trenton or Hamilton (45-50 minutes), then take NJ Transit. I actually don't know where South Orange is (assuming near Newark), so am guessing that the drive to Trenton/Hamilton strategy would work, since everything's connected by NJ Transit.
Media seems like it would be a great fit for you since you want to live in an area with a nice downtown but still not a "city" feel. Also, the majority of Delaware County has places to shop and places to get food and things to do so you can easily drive around and find a lot to do without even going to the city. Just be careful in certain parts of Delaware County nearest Philly, especially the ones that border Southwest Philly because it's no joke in some of those places.
By the way, we don't have Special Ed schools here. We have Special Ed programs within the school district, and there is one for every school district.
Also, universities are all over so it really shouldn't be a problem for your husband to find a university nearby given that Swarthmore, Haverford, Widener, Villanova, Rosemont, PSU Brandywine, Neumann, Eastern, Cheyney, and Cabrini are all within Delaware County and there are plenty more throughout the area from Delaware to Southeastern PA to South Jersey.
I think it might be wise to determine how often you're husband will be going to South Orange to teach. If he'll be going there 2-3 times / week, you might think of living somewhere along the Trenton line somewhere in the NE section of Phila or burbs just beyond NE Phila.
If you take a look at this Phila map, you can look at the areas along the Trenton line. At the end of the Trenton line your husband can transfer to the NJ regional rails at the Trenton Transfer center. This is still going to be a haul, but may be quicker than living further away from this line.
I know very little about the areas along this line. My family used to live in Bridesburg, Phila. I haven't been there in years so haven't a clue how it is now.
As clevername mentioned, there are alot of PA universities that your husband could contact for adjuncting work. I'm not sure that schools such as Swarthmore or Haverford use adjuncts. But the state schools and community colleges for sure do.
Narberth, PA. Small town 7 miles from center city. Trains every half hour, 15 minutes to 30th Street Station. Great main street, big trees, surrounded by mucho dollars.
Should really consider Center City. 180,000 people can't be wrong. See Center City District site. [url=http://www.centercityphila.org/]Center City District / Central Philadelphia Development Corporation Of Philadelphia[/url] Suggest Fairmount/Art Museum area. Great neighborhood 10 minutes by bike to 30th Street.
Wow thank you all so much for your replies. That's great news about the direct line from Mt Airy and there are some great tips for some other towns to look at. I can see Manayunk, Bryn MawrThank you also for the tip about Southwest....for some reason I was thinking it was the North east we should stay away from (I think a friend mentioned something about this) so that is definitely good to know. Is there a line that we should venture under in terms of the south west e.g particular suburbs we shouldn't go south of?
I haven't heard of Media so I will most definitely be looking into that. We have been looking at Manayunk, Bryn Mawr Bala, Germantown and wondering what these may be like, again keeping the area people seem to be suggesting towns in. Yes my husbands travel is going to be a bit much until he finds something Philly based. The chances are he will be going down on a Sunday night and staying up in northern NJ with his family for a few days to teach before coming back. I agree though Trenton will be the 'main' station he will be launching from although I am going to look at the Amtrak from 30th street.
In terms of budget we are currently paying $1220 in rent which is so expensive its unbelievable. I actually feel silly as this was the first flat we rented since we came over here and so I had assumed it was this price everywhere. To see the cost in Philly which is more commensurate to the city I am from I was very relieved to see we could get something much cheaper! Ideally we are looking at $700/$800 but again we could go over a little.
The centre city is a definite possibility asb oth my husband and I hate driving! I really cant wait to visit and start checking out some of the places suggested I think we may start in Philly city and then start looking at some of the suburbs everybody has mentioned.
Last edited by miamia078; 12-17-2011 at 04:45 AM..
One thing to keep in mind if you do decide to live within Philadelphia (you may already know this) is the wage tax. Philadelphia has a wage tax on residents. I believe it is 3.9%.
Here's a thread I started about Delaware County: Delaware County
And here is a link to a post I made going into detail about the inner-ring of it, which is the part that directly borders Philadelphia and is south of the Main Line: http://www.city-data.com/forum/21912702-post3.html
The parts that directly border Southwest Philly are the absolute worst parts of Delaware County not named Chester. When it comes to the easternmost parts of Delaware County, stay north of Baltimore Avenue. Also, everywhere east of Lansdowne borough that is above Baltimore Ave. but below Township Line is somewhere you want to at most visit and definitely not live.
The only part of the inner-ring I would suggest for you is Lansdowne because of the young professionals moving there but it's somewhere that you need street smarts since it is an extension of the city and borders or shares a school district with some rough areas. Still, it's on the same train route as Media is (and it's closer to Philadelphia than Media by a lot) and has a nice little downtown area while being very close to plenty of places to get food or do things, and of course is connected by bus to various parts of the area. It's a "dry town" though, and I really would not suggest going to the bars in the places it surrounds because as I mentioned they can be pretty rough areas at night.
What I'd suggest is to drive around the areas you're thinking about living in at different times of day/night/different times of the week/etc to get a better "feel" for those places.
Wow thank you all so much for your replies. That's great news about the direct line from Mt Airy and there are some great tips for some other towns to look at. I can see Manayunk, Bryn MawrThank you also for the tip about Southwest....for some reason I was thinking it was the North east we should stay away from (I think a friend mentioned something about this) so that is definitely good to know. Is there a line that we should venture under in terms of the south west e.g particular suburbs we shouldn't go south of?
I haven't heard of Media so I will most definitely be looking into that. We have been looking at Manayunk, Bryn Mawr Bala, Germantown and wondering what these may be like, again keeping the area people seem to be suggesting towns in. Yes my husbands travel is going to be a bit much until he finds something Philly based. The chances are he will be going down on a Sunday night and staying up in northern NJ with his family for a few days to teach before coming back. I agree though Trenton will be the 'main' station he will be launching from although I am going to look at the Amtrak from 30th street.
In terms of budget we are currently paying $1220 in rent which is so expensive its unbelievable. I actually feel silly as this was the first flat we rented since we came over here and so I had assumed it was this price everywhere. To see the cost in Philly which is more commensurate to the city I am from I was very relieved to see we could get something much cheaper! Ideally we are looking at $700/$800 but again we could go over a little.
The centre city is a definite possibility asb oth my husband and I hate driving! I really cant wait to visit and start checking out some of the places suggested I think we may start in Philly city and then start looking at some of the suburbs everybody has mentioned.
Bryn Mawr is quite different than the other areas you mentioned. You wont be able to find anything to rent in Bryn Mawr for 700-800 a month, that is essentially the heart of the main line.
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Mt Airy accessibility from SEPTA
