Philadelphia/Pennsylvania Experts Needed (York, Chester: how much, lawyer, house)

[Tiffany3]

Hello! I am in the process of finishing a novel and need to narrow down some specifics regarding the layout and culture of the city of Philadelphia as my main character is from the city. I am a native Texan living in Arizona and I've travelled extensively, but I've never been to Philly. I am hoping to have the assistance of some experts.

My selection of neighborhoods that the character and his family must be from should be a possible location in reality.


1. I am looking for a neighborhood or county that would fit this profile: middle class residential area perhaps in a safe, but distant from the city, suburb, popular in the 70's or 80's for families. This neighborhood/county will only be featured during the few childhood flashbacks in the novel, so again the area should be a nice, middle class neighborhood that had new or improved developments, perhaps were once up and coming neighborhoods in the mid to late 70's or early 80's? The character is 26 and was born in this home in 1982. Essentially, the family moves from this house to the city for the father's law career.

2. The second neighborhood/county that would fit within what I am looking for would have the following: Upper middle class, but not extravagantly rich area for a socially mobile family would live in if the father were commuting between the New York and Philadelphia law scene.

The main character's father is essentially new money; a blue-collar born, self-educated hardworking lawyer, attempting some ways to climb Philadelphia society if that's plausible to paint it that way? I know nothing about Philadelphia, but I do want to maintain that angle if possible, because his pretentiousness and obsession with his law practice is a character conflict between father and son.

The house the parents live in should be large, beautiful property or home, but in a neighborhood that his parents would choose (again) for pretentious or social reasons.

The neighorhood must fit within these two areas as well:
The character attended a prestigous private school at the high school level, so the neighborhood/county that is suggested should have some of these schools in the area. If anyone knows of any schools that could be referenced, please suggest.

Secondly, the character is fascinated by American history and frequently found his own transportation to landmarks and historical sites for independent visit and exploration. Is this plausible with the Philadelphia public transit system if he were originating in his destination from the neighborhood above?

A main trait for this character is fierce independence, so please keep that in mind and consider if the young man were highly intelligent, fiercely independent and perhaps 13-16 years old, would a child that age successfully navigate through the system to these sites on his own? Even if dangerous? The location and the (hopefully suburb) that I can perhaps choose should have fairly reasonable access to public transportation.

3. I am looking for a final location: a neighborhood/county that would perhaps embody the blue collar, working class part of town in the 40’s-70’s. This would be a place his father originated from. Part of his pomp is that he started from nothing.

Dialect: Are there any phrases or turns of style in manner of speaking or communication in general that are indicative of upper middle class Philadelphians?

Thank you so much I always lurk here, but have never posted.
Tiffany

[MReiser]

This is a bit difficult to answer, but I think I have some ideas for you...the proximity to New York narrows your search to Bucks County. For the upscale neighborhood, I would suggest Yardley as a location. Good access to regional rail to Philadelphia as well as to Trenton for a quick commute to New York. The George School is a prestigious private school located in Newtown, which is adjacent to Yardley. For a working class suburb on the rise in the 1970s, I would look at Warminster, also in Bucks County. There are other location to consider if you want a town a little more distant from Yardley and/or Philadelphia. What's nice about Warminster is regional rail access - it's the terminus for the R2 SEPTA rail line.

One of the issues with your scenario is that Philadelphia's "hub" of society is the Main Line - as in the Mail Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Unfortunately commuting to New York from that area isn't as plausible a scenario. Not impossible, just not likely. I think Yardley gives you a decent social atmosphere, the appropriate upper-middle class setting, and the believability of regular commutes to New York.

Access to Philadelphia's historical sites is simple provided you have access to the SEPTA regional rail system. Both Yardley & Warminster fit the bill.

Now, the boyhood neighborhood for the dad? I would strongly suggest the Lower Northeast Philadelphia neighborhood called Kensington, alternately known as Port Richmond or Fishtown in certain spots. Kensington was the center of industrial activity in the city up through the 1950s, when the factories all started to disappear. It's a natural spot.

Dialect is a tough one...we have a strongly identified accent around here, but it's difficult for me to provide any decent examples of manners of speech or terminology. When you think of upper-middle class Philadlephia dialect, are you thinking of the dad's blue-collar background coming through in his speech, or are you trying to identify a distance from his roots? It matters, trust me.

One thing you might need to know about a character from Philadelphia; he'll have an inferiority complex about New York, and he'll have a crazy amount of civic pride about his neighborhood roots and his city in general. Our food is sacred, and we believe our way of life is different (and better) than any other place on earth.

[orrmobl]

Upper Middle Class has to be the Main Line so as long as your character isnt commuting to NYC on daily/weekly basis it might work. Depending on how much money youre talking it could be Lower Merion/Merion Station, Rosemont, Radnor(obvious choice for the nouveau riche), Villanova, Wayne, Devon, Berwyn.
Media is the county seat and the courthouse is there, as is West Chester. You could easily locate a lawyer and his family in a nice home in one of these areas - Media is another obvious choice.

Working class neighborhood should be somewhere like Port Richmond or different sections of South Philly - your character's nationality would help narrow down the neighborhood as the further you go back, the more segregated places were - Germans, Poles and Irish in Port Richmond, Jews and Italians in South Philly.

Drexel Hill would be a great choice for the flashback sequence but it was more established by then. For newer development, try Edgemont, Broomall, Newtown Square, East or West Goshen/West Chester, Exton.

Navigating public transportation is no problem. There are trains (R3) and trolleys and buses that cover Southeast Delco (Media, Wallingford, Springfield, Drexel Hill) and just trains and buses for the Main Line R5 and the Norristown High Speed Line 100 to be exact.

Trolleys, buses and the 100 end at 69th st terminal for the Blue Line (Market-Frankford line) into the city. We just call it 69th St.

As for language the distinguishing factor would be that someone from the city would have a distinct Philly accent (check wikipedia) while their children may or may not depending on what the rest of the family and neighbors and teachers speak like. Private school education and upper middle class neighbors = no Philly accent. Definitely more of a midwestern neutral with some words pronounciations and choices sprinkled in (maybe not wooder, but words like crick (creek), pavement, dungarees, outfit, sneakers, spigot, trolley) these are South Philly examples, other sections have other examples obviously.

[JHG722]

Originally Posted by MReiser

One thing you might need to know about a character from Philadelphia; he'll have an inferiority complex about New York

Ummmm definitely not...

[MReiser]

Originally Posted by JHG722

Ummmm definitely not...

Umm, yes indeed...they just have trouble admitting it.

[newmarlig]

Amtrak has a train from Ardmore to NYC. So that would resolve the living on the Main Line issue. And the Philly sports teams have to be a part of this. (In the mid-70's to the early 80's they were actually winning).

[JHG722]

Originally Posted by MReiser

Umm, yes indeed...they just have trouble admitting it.

Sorry, but that's absurd. New York isn't even a topic of conversation.

[Hillrunner]

One place came to mind that embodies what I think your looking for. Flourtown, Montgomery County PA

[orrmobl]

Originally Posted by MReiser

Umm, yes indeed...they just have trouble admitting it.

How can people feel inferior to a city they don't even think about? We have a SUPERIORITY complex here; we think we're better than everybody else. Dysfunctional? Maybe. Effective? Definitely.

[john_starks]

i don't know about inferiority complexes, but in center city, people always talk about new york (whether its a weekend trip, mets games, talking about friends, a bar or lounge, a restaurant). i see quite a few people wear ny yankees hats too.

i'm not sure where some of you hang out...

even pizza

KYW Newsradio 1060 Philadelphia - Stephen Starr Creating a Pizza Restaurant for Headhouse Square