Philadelphia Neighborhoods - comparable to Hyde Park, Chicago?

[ytlh]

I grew up in the near Philadelphia suburbs and lived in Hyde Park for several years (I loved Hyde Park and still miss it!). I'm writing because someone mentioned Ardmore, which is also one of the "near Philadelphia suburbs" and where I went to high school. However, I don't think it has the atmosphere you are looking for. Although the region is getting better, there is a lot of de facto segregation in this area, and it is particularly pronounced between the African-American and Caucasian populations. My impressions are old, but I do visit periodically.

In particular, Ardmore has a section of town that is mainly an African American neighborhood with a long history as such. The boundaries used to be so distinct as to be noticeable between a few blocks. I think they are blurring a bit, but my impression is that it is still not the kind of integrated neighborhood that Hyde Park is. There also used to be a distinct income difference between the African American region of town and the rest of the surrounding suburbs, which are generally quite affluent.

On the up side, the public schools in the area are great, and I do notice that the region is getting more integrated every time I go to visit. But you shouldn't go in expecting a Hyde Park. My sense is that downtown Philly is a better bet for this, but I don't know enough to say where.