Moving to Philly, looking for old houses. (Girard: estate, area)

[MoorestownResident]

Suggest you be careful with very old homes in the Philly region. A number of them are believed to be haunted in some form or another....seriously.

[carolinajack]

if you believe in that stuff.

check out Chestnut Hill, a great old english village still in city limits

[MoorestownResident]

Not saying I believe it, just saying there is plenty of stuff on the internet about it. There are groups of people investigating homes doing taped recordings in the region, etc and posting them on the net. These 'ghost hunters' claim that the homeowners are reaching out to them to investigate strange noises or events in their home. I doubt these stories are made up though they might be exaggerating the incidences.

[Sassygirl18]

A home does not have to be old to have a ghost living in it. If you watch Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi Channel, you'll see they find ghosts in all kinds of places (including newer homes).

[04wahoo]

I agree with Jenkintown, Wyncote, Elkins Park for sure! I grew up in Wyncote, went through the public school system K-12, and am so glad my parents chose the area. Old Wyncote has a lot of Victorian homes that are really neat, but the whole area in general has a lot for you if that's what you're looking for. You can't beat being close to the train lines, the community feel, public schools and services, and location in general. My parents also were looking for an old house, redid it, and are still there 22 years later. The healthcare in the area is also good (Abington Memorial is close by).
Good luck!

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by Sassygirl18

You might want to look into Collingswood, NJ. Old town with nice old houses, a great main street with shops and restaurants, and an easy commute to Philadelphia (the PATCO high speedline has a stop in Collinswood and it's a 15 minute train ride to Center City).

I also highly recommend Collingswood. Its a great historic town with a strong community feel and the taxes are very reasonable for Camden County.

Collingswood | Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia

Collingswood, New Jersey | Collingswood, New Jersey

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Karmicdancer

This forum is so helpful, thank you for all the great information! I have a question about the suburbs of Philly. My husband is being transferred to the area in the coming months and we will be looking to buy a house (our price range is $250k-$300k). He is a systems engineer and will be traveling all over the city at various times of the day, so we would like to stay as close to the city as possible. We are looking for a neighborhood that has larger old homes with character and decent public schools for our 8 year old daughter. I have been doing some virtual walking on street view based on suggestions in previous posts and have seen some breathtaking homes in neighborhoods like Drexel Hill and Ardmore- that is the feel I am looking for . Our problem is, that the towns along the mainline seem to be out of our price range (at least after factoring in the taxes). Can anyone suggest any other areas within 20 or 30 minutes of downtown that have mature neighborhoods with that old world charm but are less expensive?
Thank you for your help!

Haddonfield

[lsb2323]

I would look at Havertown and would love to help.

Lynn

[Synergy1]

Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Havertown are very nice and the communities around them are stable. They are West of Philly about 35 minutes from center city by auto. Rush hour can add 20 minutes to the trip.

[chessimprov]

I wouldn't exclude the city necessarily. There's Parkside, Univ City around Powelton Ave., Locust and 43rd and around Clark Park are some historic houses. There are also historic houses you can visit- Orefeld (sp?), Lemon Hill, Laurel Hill, Sweetbriar, Woodford, Cedar Grove, and Mount Pleasant. Strawberry Mansion is not open and is under construction unless that has changed. Orefeld, not listed is off of Reservoir Dr. headed South toward southwest toward Mount Pleasant I think.

Mount Pleasant I think is the nicest house currently. Laurel HIll also has a summer series that is concerts by candlelight done through the women's society of Philadelphia I think.

Fairmount Park Houses