NYC to Chester, PA (Philadelphia, Drexel Hill: best town, apartments, to rent)

[washiNYC]

Hello All,
I might be working in Chester, PA from NYC. I was wondering what neighboring towns are closest to Philadelphia but not far from Chester, PA. I am looking for something quite in the middle.
Also, I am looking to rent for a while and then purchase either a townhome or a condo.
Any help/advice is appreciated.

Thanks!!

[rainrock]

Media Pa. would be your best bet. Its about 10 minutes north of Chester and about 20 minutes west of Center City Philadelphia. There are other options like Ridley Township,Aston,Brookhaven and Springfield but Media is the best town. The others mentioned are more typical middle class suburban auto oriented suburbs that began in the 50's 60's. Media is a nice quaint defined town.

Good luck.

[Mr. Opinion]

Friend!

Right Now, I agree with the comments above. Chester is a project that is still being rebuilt!

[tesser]

Does the crime in Chester extend to Media? I am thinking of moving to either Media or Doylestown, and am moving from an urban, fairly high-crime area. I don't want to worry anymore about being safe walking around...I have heard Media is great, so am wondering about safety, etc.

[solibs]

I used to work in Chester, for the city. There aren't many places in Chester to work so chances are you'll either be working at Widener or at the medical center. Or maybe for Kimberley-Clark. If you're coming from NYC is it safe to assume you don't have a car?

I used to take the R2 to work in the morning and to get home, because of a quirk in the train schedule, I usually took the 37 bus to South Philly. Since there's really nothing to do and not even many places to eat lunch in Chester I used to take the bus to Swarthmore or to the Springfield Mall for lunch. There is also a bus that goes to Media.

The towns along the R2 rail line are pretty dumpy, IMO. The towns along the R3, for the most part, are much nicer.

Originally Posted by tesser

Does the crime in Chester extend to Media? I am thinking of moving to either Media or Doylestown, and am moving from an urban, fairly high-crime area. I don't want to worry anymore about being safe walking around...I have heard Media is great, so am wondering about safety, etc.

It's probably a good idea to do some of your own demographic research on Chester and the towns that surround it. Wikipedia is pretty accurate in that regard (for Delaware Co. towns, anyway). Of course, the best source is straight from census.gov or the FBI uniform crime reports.

The opinions you get here, including my own, should never substitute for your own best judgement.

That said, the worst part of Chester is the western end of town around 9th & Highland back in the subdivision that's just south of I-95. I was told not to go there without a police escort. I walked around the rest of the city (in business casual attire) everyday as part of my job with no problems whatsover.

Generally, the "bad" part of Chester is south of I-95. North of 95 is dominated by Widener and the hospital and is a much different experience. Chester Township even decided to stick their projects on a tiny patch of land that's south of 95 but happens to be in the Township and not in the city. You can't get to them from Chester Township without going through Chester City. Those projects just so happen to be right next to that really dangerous subdivision. It's all fully visible as you drive past on 95.

[sbhubbell]

Short answer is no, the crime from chester does not extend into media proper. Some neighborhoods with Media post office addresses that are really in Middletown Township but close to Brookhaven do have a history of breakins, but I don't know what the real stats are.

[orrmobl]

Ridley Park is a decent place to live and close to work. As is Norwood, Prospect Park. Blue collar areas but close to work and the city...Much closer to the city would be Westbrook Park in Clifton Heights (rowhomes with good resale), Talleyville in Drexel Hill (big rowhomes, low price, mostly nice neighborhood) or Drexel Park Gardens in Drexel Hill (better resale rowhomes)...

[MoorestownResident]

Ridley park is a dump. Sorry, might sound harsh but at least give him a decent place to live.

[orrmobl]

You think the Mainline is a dump, everything outside of Jersey is a dump, and that paying more for the same things is a sign of superiority...your opinions need to be taken with a pound of salt...

Here's an opinion from someone who actually lives there:
"I moved to Ridley Park about 8 years ago...I lived in Ridley Park Court Apartments for several years. Nancy eventually married her boyfriend and they built a log home in Delaware. Not long after Nan moved out, I began thinking about buying a home. I decided to stay in Ridley Park. I'd grown very fond of the town. It reminds me of the town in New Hampshire where I grew up."

Sounds just awful doesn't it?

www.riddlelake.com/community/

[MoorestownResident]

Don't be so touchy, Ridley Park is garbage. Generally a lower form of life. New Hampshire?

That's a gross mistatement.