Which side surrounding Philly is nicer? (Philadelphia, Chester: crime, townhomes, school district)

[Andy1369]

I was wondering which side of Philly is nicer (the surrounding suburbs) - the west or east? From what I've seen on Google Street View, the east side of Philly, going northeast to Trenton, looks pretty much the same as downtown Philly, filled of townhomes, and doesn't look as nice... on the opposite side, the West side of Philly, extending into West Chester, looks way nicer - more trees, houses spread out, more of a country/rural feel, etc. Am wondering what your opinions are?

[sbhubbell]

Yes, I think you nailed it.

[frankgn87]

North of Philly is very nice too.. Bucks county

[eggtimer]

Heading northeast (North on I-95), Philadelphia county stretches pretty far. "The Northeast" is tons of row homes, twins, and small single homes. You won't get the more suburban feel till you get out into Bucks County. You still need to go even further out if you are looking for a rural feel.

The western suburbs get more tree lined and spread out a little closer to the city. Once you get past City Avenue there things start changing (including the price!).

[serpent_of_old]

bucks county gets my vote too, especially central bucks
major thumbs up for their school system too

[solibs]

basically everything along the river from Morrisville to Marcus Hook is old, industrial and often dumpy.

[bryson662001]

Originally Posted by solibs

basically everything along the river from Morrisville to Marcus Hook is old, industrial and often dumpy.

This is a good rule of thumb. The further away you are from the Delaware river, in any direction, the better the area.

[solibs]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

This is a good rule of thumb. The further away you are from the Delaware river, in any direction, the better the area.

It is a good rule but there are a few exceptions to the dumpy and industrial part. Old City, Society Hill and Queen Village in Philadelphia. Pennsport, Northern Liberties and Fishtown are coming along of not quite there yet.

Also places like Riverton, NJ are cutesy and non-industrial.

I didn't want to make it sound like the entire waterfront should be avoided.

[Synergy1]

My opinion is from my 45 years of living in what you are searching..I lived in Philly for 13 years and it does leave a lot to be desired...The northeast is just OK and the residents are mostly OK too. My favorite is as you say and it is West towards the West Chester area of Chester County...IF you want a good school district th en you want the Newtown Square and Broomall area where I lived for 24 years with verytle crime due to the exceptional Police force...Highest rated schools in the entire state but it didn't help us sell our home 4 years ago...$450,000 home in 2005 and I was forced to let it go for $355,000 while new homes in the Paoli area are going for $600K to $1.5Million during 2005....Nowadays homes are the on the market for a very long time due to the high asking prices....

Lots of historic areas North of Philly in Bucks county but I do prefer the Western areas such as Newtown Square, Broomall and going into Chester County which is great too..Brandywine area shows tremendous historic preferences due to the painters like Wyeth reside there along with the museum. Exton area is very nice too and close to a lot of regular shopping area such as Springfield PA mall and higher priced shopping areas such as King Of Prussia...

Drexel Hill area has a lot of homes of both singles and townhomes of all distinctions with nothing to worry about when it comes to crime.....

[bryson662001]

Originally Posted by solibs

It is a good rule but there are a few exceptions to the dumpy and industrial part. Old City, Society Hill and Queen Village in Philadelphia. Pennsport, Northern Liberties and Fishtown are coming along of not quite there yet.

Also places like Riverton, NJ are cutesy and non-industrial.

I didn't want to make it sound like the entire waterfront should be avoided.

Yes there are exceptions to everything but as a general rule of thumb it is exceptionaly acurate. I have even seen household income charts that show it low near the river and gradually increasing as you move east and west until it peaks in Chester county. Not sure why that is but it's true.