Best suburbs for easy commute (via train) + great schools?

[FrancesRW]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

You may have a long wait to get a monthly permit (even post-COVID), but daily parking isn’t that packed at most of the Paoli Thorndale stations. I haven’t parked at all of them, so your mileage may vary, but I recall pre-COVID if you got to Merion or Narberth by 8, you were usually fine. Overbook is tighter.

What’s your budget? What kind of house are you looking for?

Our budget is in the $600-800K range. We'd want a relatively updated house, would love if it had some interesting Victorian details but that's a nice to have...also want hardwood floors/no carpet, no ugly 50-shades-of-brown kitchens. 4 bedrooms, yard are a must. So we have our work cut out for us here, I don't think it will be easy in the current market.

[FrancesRW]

Originally Posted by banjozac

Please do consider Haddon Township and Haddonfield in Jersey. You won't find an easier commute than PATCO to Center City...it's better and more convenient than Regional Rail. Weirdly, this forum allows for posting about PA Philly suburbs in the Philly threads, but not the NJ Philly suburbs...

This sounds great - but the rest of my family already lives on the Main Line (they're all new to the Main Line and all moved within the past ~year. So they don't know a ton about the areas either). This would significantly extend the travel time to visit my family, who I see several times a month. The Main Line would be best for us given their locations.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by FrancesRW

This is an interesting perspective. However, I feel like a lot of this perspective is anecdotal, and sending my kids to a lower-rated school still feels like a "risk" to me. I wish I could shake that, but I can't! That's awesome that her son got into Masterman, but I feel like that's a very rare occurance and it's just not encouraging or reassuring enough for me. What gets me are the test scores at lower-ranking schools. I know test scores aren't everything, but they are a major factor in considering kids for magnet schools and beyond (logically so -- without them, how can schools compare thousands of kids for admission)? And also the quality of teachers. What if you kid just doesn't have a quality teacher? I feel quality teachers are more of a given in a highly-rated school. All in all, I feel a higher-rated school is a safer bet for their education, less of a "gamble" per-se. That's just my opinion, not truly based on facts or data.

Our school district is Robert Morris, which is ranked as low as it gets (1/10). We could apply to Bache, but there's no guarantee we'll get in (I know of a parent who applied and didn't make it - it happens. They had to move since they couldn't afford private school, and were incredibly unhappy at Robert Morris).

Interesting to hear that Bache-Martin has become a "school of choice" in Fairmount, judging from your testimony.

Colleges, including elite ones like the one I attended, are beginning to de-emphasize standardized test scores as yardsticks for admission for a number of reasons.

I'd still recommend you both read my article (I think I linked to it from this thread) and visit the Integrated Schools website (also linked) sometime. It's not that "everything you know is wrong," it's more that some of the things we perceive as risks are less risky than they appear.

One of the things I learned about Anna Lingelbach was that it had a very stable teaching staff: there were teachers there teaching the kids of former Lingelbach students. That to me is a sign that the school is well run and will do well by any child who wants to take advantage of it.

Something else I read in an article some years back concerned a metric most probably wouldn't consider important, but the person who mentioned it did: Do the floors sparkle? A school that takes pride in the appearance of its physical plant will probably also devote attention to how well it teaches its students.

Just curious: Have you watched any episodes of "Abbott Elementary"? Again, I'd recommend it if you haven't seen it.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by FrancesRW

This sounds great - but the rest of my family already lives on the Main Line (they're all new to the Main Line and all moved within the past ~year. So they don't know a ton about the areas either). This would significantly extend the travel time to visit my family, who I see several times a month. The Main Line would be best for us given their locations.

The good news is that all of the school districts that are located on the Main Line are among the most reputable in the region.

The bad news is that you may have a difficult time finding all of your preferred amenities in your preferred price range. So you may need to widen your radius.

Consider areas between Swarthmore and Elwyn (as closer-in school districts on the route aren't that good) along the Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line, anywhere out to Ambler/Gwynedd Valley (for commuting purposes) on the Lansdale/Doylestown line, or out to Willow Grove (again for commuting on the Warminster line (although Ardsley, Roslyn and Crestmont may not necessarily have the feel you are looking for). These would allow you to prioritize a reasonable daily train commute to work while still being reasonably close to visiting family on weekends along the Main Line.

[FrancesRW]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Interesting to hear that Bache-Martin has become a "school of choice" in Fairmount, judging from your testimony.

Colleges, including elite ones like the one I attended, are beginning to de-emphasize standardized test scores as yardsticks for admission for a number of reasons.

I'd still recommend you both read my article (I think I linked to it from this thread) and visit the Integrated Schools website (also linked) sometime. It's not that "everything you know is wrong," it's more that some of the things we perceive as risks are less risky than they appear.

One of the things I learned about Anna Lingelbach was that it had a very stable teaching staff: there were teachers there teaching the kids of former Lingelbach students. That to me is a sign that the school is well run and will do well by any child who wants to take advantage of it.

Something else I read in an article some years back concerned a metric most probably wouldn't consider important, but the person who mentioned it did: Do the floors sparkle? A school that takes pride in the appearance of its physical plant will probably also devote attention to how well it teaches its students.

Just curious: Have you watched any episodes of "Abbott Elementary"? Again, I'd recommend it if you haven't seen it.

All good points! I do want to read that article and visit Integrated schools to educate myself more. My husband works for the Philadelphia school district (administration) and also tells me that standardized tests may not have the "power" they currently do in the future, and is a big proponent of "ratings aren't everything". I'm trying to see more of that perspective but it's tough for me given my pre-conceived notions and a life-time of biases - I grew up attending "top" school district, so it's just all I'm used to and know. And I can very well say the opposite is true - a top school district doesn't guarantee success, a love of learning and education, attendance to a top college or a fruitful career. It's just my comfort zone.

Another factor - I think I would have a very difficult time getting a good, accurate feel for a school just by visiting and talking to a few teachers and/or parents. I'm sure they sell you on the high points and don't elaborate on the drawbacks. I especially notice this in parents - they want to feel good about the choices they've made, and will try to convince others the same. I'm also not sure I'd be able to tell a good teacher from bad, or have a sense for whether or not my kids could flourish if they are deeply motivated to learn. Also, what if my kids have learning disabilities and need extra support - will all schools have the means to provide the support they need? These are things I don't know, that I assume are easier to come by in better-resourced and higher-ranking schools.

I think exploring a school that deeply requires time and resources that we don't necessarily have if we don't live in the area (for instance, if we were interested in moving to another area outside of Fairmount area with a "lower" ranking school). I guess that's another reason "top schools" appeal to me - there's less to figure out/investigate, it's pretty much all spelled out for you.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by FrancesRW

Our budget is in the $600-800K range. We'd want a relatively updated house, would love if it had some interesting Victorian details but that's a nice to have...also want hardwood floors/no carpet, no ugly 50-shades-of-brown kitchens. 4 bedrooms, yard are a must. So we have our work cut out for us here, I don't think it will be easy in the current market.

You should be able to find something toward the high end of your range, but you definitely have to pounce and be prepared to make an offer above asking price.

[AstronomicalTofu]

We achieved most of the things you are looking for last year in Jenkintown / Abington area.

- Loving the access to the train and the walkable shopping, restaurants, coffee, public schools are great, some big beautiful parks nearby.
- The Main Line target makes it less than ideal, of course. You can certainly get there from here if you transfer trains, otherwise about a 30 minute drive depending on traffic.
- Regional rail to center city from here is 20-30 mins, which has been excellent for us.
- Price range definitely achievable here, though the bigger houses are generally more competitive in Jenkintown. Noble area on northeast side of Jenkintown is still walkable, has larger twins and single family. Keswick Village's also an awesome little area, Glenside too.