Wayne, PA (Philadelphia, York, Radnor Township: houses, buyers, theater)

[sbhubbell]

OMG why is it that a post about Wayne turns into a thread about NJ again?!!! OH YEAH I KNOW, cuz SOMEBODY has an attitude problem and insists on invading our mainline threads and spreading sh*t around. Shut up and go back to Jersey already.

[Tone509]

Let's get back to talking about Wayne, PA please...

[pennylove76]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

Wasn't T/E rated one of the top public districts in the country not too long ago?

It may have been. I have only read great things about TE when it comes to the overall quality of that school district. My husband likes to say it is like getting a private school education for free. On a side note, the local private schools around here are about $25k.

[orrmobl]

Conestoga High, along with Masterman, are in the top 100 in the country according to US News.

And I say the same thing all the time

[JHG722]

Originally Posted by orrmobl

Conestoga High, along with Masterman, are in the top 100 in the country according to US News.

And I say the same thing all the time

LM still got screwed IMO.

[orrmobl]

Originally Posted by JHG722

LM still got screwed IMO.

LM has been dropping in the state district rankings as well. Must be from all the transplants.

[JHG722]

Originally Posted by orrmobl

LM has been dropping in the state district rankings as well. Must be from all the transplants.

...or Ardmore is getting worse

But it's a total whatever. I don't really care, although putting us behind Radnor, Upper Dublin and Great Valley?

[orrmobl]

Not Great Valley, not anywhere I saw anyway...

[cosmopolitan]

I am an ultimate implant who has lived in, and traveled to, many different parts of the U.S. and the world and has lived in Wayne for the last two years.
"Moorestown"'s negative posts on Wayne appear to me gravely biased and one-sided. So much so, that I wondered if "Moorestown" had actually walked only the two or three straight blocks of the stretch between Wayne Train Station and the AT&T cell tower and had written the posts based on that tour along the train tracks.
I have never visited Moorestown, but love Morristown, NJ. If the first is a smaller version of the latter, I am sure that Moorestown would be as pretty and nice as "Moorestown" has asserted.
My point is not to compare Moorestown, N.J with Wayne, P.A. Rather, I would like to point out that Wayne, P.A. stands as its own beautiful and unique entity, albeit different from what "Moorestown" sees in his or her town. One would be able to appreciate the true unique beauty of neither New York City landscapes nor modern Paris if one wishes to compare them against the aestheticism of the 17th Century French Court.
One of the things that I, as an implant, still marble about Wayne is this; while successfully adapting to the needs for modernization and demographic changes over the last century, Wayne, at least within its core historic area, has retained relatively well the charms of the late 19th century specific to the Main Line country-home town that has been a suburb of Philadelphia (not Trenton, N.J.).
The core historic downtown area of Wayne is indeed small but still has the quaint atmosphere of a well-maintained old American village. There are no big and glitzy shopping malls common to many farmland-turned-MacMansion-filled suburban town centers around the country. There are many small and unassuming independent boutique-style shops. Not cheap, but I have also noticed that there is an old-fashioned Woman's Exchange Shop run by woman volunteers right across from a thrift store run by a church. As for a more serious shopping, people go to Spread Eagle Village Shopping Center (in Wayne near the farmer's market but not what I would call historic pedestrian Wayne), Gateway Shopping Mall (I think this one has Wayne address but is very near Valley Forge, or the other way around), King of Prussia Mall or Ardmore Mall--all of them within a short driving distance from downtown Wayne.
There are a good number of downtown restaurants to choose from depending on your mood. Among some of my favorites are: Restaurant Taquet (very acceptable French cuisine), Christopher's Restaurant, Teresa's cafe, Gryphon Cafe (an environmentally friendly, all day hang-out for all ages), Margaret Kuo's (Chinese) and Joe's (an old-timer's breakfast joint).
Also within a walking distance are: an old-fashioned movie theater, an independent book-store, a few antique stores, a middle school, a post office, the historic Fire House, a fabled gentle-women's club house called the Saturday Club and Radnor Memorial library (yes, we do have a good public library with a long history, well-trained and helpful librarians at the very center of downtown and the university libraries at Villanova University and Bryn Mawr University are open to Radnor Township residents for a small fee). School kids as well as young and old adults hang out at the center of the town on weekends.
There also is a farmer's market a little way off the historic downtown along with a small strip mall, a few chain restaurants, a car wash, garage and chain stores among others. I am actually wondering if "Moorestown" has mistakenly thought this area was the downtown Wayne because the farmer's market is right next to AT&T Complex.
Downtown Wayne is very safe, pleasant and pedestrian friendly. Thanks to the train, many people walk or drive to the station for commuting to various other suburban towns and Philadelphia. Teen-age kids can ride trains on their own, meet up with friends next town and may come home by train after an after-school activity or lessons in nearby town. On Fridays, some kids drop their bags off at the nearest friend's home and take off for a Friday afternoon stroll of Wayne (just a few days ago, Coldstone Creamery held free ice cream social for these kids) I can't think of many American suburbs, or cities for that matter, where I would feel comfortable with letting kids do the same. Philadelphia is also easily accessable with a short train or car ride.
The town also has excellent schools. Wayne belongs to Radnor Township School District--one of the best public school districts in the country. I have three children and have seen the school system's elementary through high schools and compared them with other places that I have lived in or visited in connection with our relocations. I have had children in both private and public schools at various times and places. Radnor school system has lived up to my parental expections for a world-class public education for the next generations of American leaders as well as average citizens (and incidentally for many promising foreign youngsters, too).
The historic residential areas, known as the historic North Wayne and South Wayne, are all within the walking distance to the town-center. Both parts of Wayne are filled with beautiful tree-lined homes and estates (of the 19th century Philadelphia riches) with the period's architectural charms. They are simply gorgeous and most of them feel very welcoming--unlike many urban or suburban historic town homes and estates, most of these homes don't have imposing metal fences. Nonetheless, it appears to me the "Moorestown" "messenger" have largely failed either to notice or to venture into these parts of Wayne.
About the train tracks. Most of people who have ever lived in any old city with old train stations would agree that the immediate vicinity of train tracks/stations are usually not the best part of the town unless there has been a systematic sprucing up and comeback efforts through a government intervention (like Washington. D.C.'s Union Station or New York's Grand Central). Whether "Moorestown" liked it or not, the very identity of Wayne as a Main-line town was very much linked to the Main Line trains and the fact that the vicinity of the train station has been maintained at the level Wayne currently has (people actually ride the commuter train and pedestrians--young and old--hang out at the shops and restaurants near the station without having to worry about the safety at nightfall) tells me much about the safety and vitality of Wayne. In my opinion, the benefit of having the train station with four rail-lines downtown outweighs whatever ugliness "Moorestown" saw in it. Furthermore, I feel that "Moorestown" would probably say the same or worse things about the fabled train and subway stations of London and Paris.
As for the brick cell tower, I agree with "Moorestown" that it is not pretty, but at the same time it is not much worse than the cell towers disguised as tall trees that one sees in NJ landscapes. Besides, the tower was probably once the town's trade-off for attracting the much needed jobs and tax bases of AT&T before Wayne became a hot Main-line town in recent years.

[JHG722]

Originally Posted by cosmopolitan

There are a good number of downtown restaurants to choose from depending on your mood. Among some of my favorites are: Restaurant Taquet (very acceptable French cuisine), Christopher's Restaurant, Teresa's cafe, Gryphon Cafe (an environmentally friendly, all day hang-out for all ages), Margaret Kuo's (Chinese) and Joe's (an old-timer's breakfast joint).

Margaret Kuo's is my favorite restaurant in the entire world.