Most Walkable City-like Areas Right Outside of Philly (Philadelphia, Chester: apartment, insuring)

[narberthster]

What are the most walkable city-like areas right outside of Philly? On the Main Line, we are familiar with Ardmore, Wynnewood, Narberth, Bryn Mawr and surrounding areas. On the Jersey side, we have heard about Haddonfield and Collingswood. Anywhere else, especially with good public schools?

[TLC1957]

Media a little further out West Chester.

[FrankInPhilly]

Close: Media, Ambler, Jenkintown
Farther: West Chester, Phoenixville
Talking here about walkability - I don't know about quality of public schools.

[AJNEOA]

Doylestown

[BPP1999]

Ambler is a good suggestion. That's in the Wissahickon School District, which is well-regarded.

Media and Swarthmore are also good places to check out, but Swarthmore doesn't have a whole lot of "town." Schools are very good.

Doylestown is further out (I'm not sure what you mean by "right outside of Philly") but still has train access to Center City. I think that's in Central Bucks East or West School District, which are also both well-regarded.

West Chester is another one to check out, as is Phoenixville, but neither currently has train access to the city (although you didn't say that mattered in your OP). Both of these areas have good schools too, but they are a little further out.

There are plenty of other places that have walkability but these are some of the more well-known ones.

You can also check out this link:

Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia

[1ondoner]

What's the definition of walkable?

Does it mean walk to amenities (supermarket, park, shopping mall, restaurants, bars, hospital, movies, etc) or walk around for leisure? Or is it both. Or is it simply, live without a car?

If it's walking to amenities, I think the US is a far away compared to Europe. Living without a car is a pain unless you have nothing else to do with your time.

Media keeps coming up because it has a train to CC but I think Media downtown is overrated. There's nothing other than a few stores. Unless there is another part of media that I missed.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

What's the definition of walkable?

Does it mean walk to amenities (supermarket, park, shopping mall, restaurants, bars, hospital, movies, etc) or walk around for leisure? Or is it both. Or is it simply, live without a car?

If it's walking to amenities, I think the US is a far away compared to Europe. Living without a car is a pain unless you have nothing else to do with your time.

Media keeps coming up because it has a train to CC but I think Media downtown is overrated. There's nothing other than a few stores. Unless there is another part of media that I missed.

"Walkable" in the Phila area, overall, means, imo, the combination of the first two points you cite. It does not, necessarily mean living without a car.

Some of us living in Philadelphia(meaning actually living in parts of the city)live quite well without cars, thank you.

Media is charming. Ambler and Wayne are too. You do not understand that in a Philly context.

[1ondoner]

You ditched your car after you retired. I doubt you could have said the same at the prime of your life.

Originally Posted by kyb01

Some of us living in Philadelphia(meaning actually living in parts of the city)live quite well without cars, thank you.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

You ditched your car after you retired. I doubt you could have said the same at the prime of your life.

No, I could have ditched it before. At least ten or more years ago, in fact. My commute to Penn was 15minutes by pub trans and about 20 minutes walking the 3 miles from my home. I never drove to work and all the shopping I care about now I can get to on pub trans or uber.

I finally wised up and realized the money I was throwing away on storing/parking, insuring, getting state inspections/ maintenance, I could invest, or travel more, or just generally enjoy more of what I like like concerts or shows.

We have wildly different lifestyles, I think. I'm single right now and I never had kids.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

What's the definition of walkable?

Does it mean walk to amenities (supermarket, park, shopping mall, restaurants, bars, hospital, movies, etc) or walk around for leisure? Or is it both. Or is it simply, live without a car?

If it's walking to amenities, I think the US is a far away compared to Europe. Living without a car is a pain unless you have nothing else to do with your time.

Media keeps coming up because it has a train to CC but I think Media downtown is overrated. There's nothing other than a few stores. Unless there is another part of media that I missed.

I actually think it has been underrated/a hidden gem for a while, now all of a sudden the borough is booming. Several large apartment buildings and townhouses going up, new hotel, new wawa, new restaurants coming every month, and the potential demolition of the former Town House restaurant and its parking lot is a huge development opportunity.

Media is by no means exciting to me, but I think its just about as charming and active as a suburban downtown can get, and after West Chester and KoP (if u want to county KoP) it seems to have the brightest future for growth and development.

And the public schools in Media and Swarthmore are on-par with Main Line schools.