Best Philly Suburbs for Russian Jewish Family Moving From NY? (Philadelphia: sales, apartment)

[NYMama1975]

After reading these threads for a long time and realizing how genuinely helpful people are I decided to join and ask the question that relates directly to my family. We are a 30 something couple with 2 small boys (ages 5 and 3) and we currently live in Brooklyn NY. We are looking to relocate to the Philly suburbs for a much needed quality of life change.

My husband will either be working in the Center City area (he is in wholesale food sales so he can basically define his own territory-but since Center City probably has the most restaurants he will probably work there), or in the alternative, he may commute to NYC via Amtrak a few days a week (all depends which company he works for).

We are looking for a nice, safe, suburb with a Russian Jewish Community (the Russian part is not an absolute requirement but would be nice for cultural purposes). Although there seems to be a significant Russian population in the Feasterville area, we are not recent immigrants (we have both been in the US since age 3 and grew up here); and the Feasterville schools seem to be poorly rated. Also, we are secular Jews so I do not want to be in a very religious community, but I also don't want my boys to be the only Jewish kids in the class. A nice mix would be great.

Schools are of utmost importance. So far I have narrowed it down to:

Huntingdon Valley (Lower Moreland Schools)
Abington School District
Great Valley School District
Tredyffrin-Easttown (maybe this is too far?)

A little about us. We are urban dwellers so we are looking for a place that has a walkable downtown somewhere nearby. We are not looking to buy a condo (although we would rent an apartment for a while). I will give up living in a town where I can walk to town as long as it doesn't take more than 5-10 minutes to get to a town.

We are looking to rent first, for about a year, and then buy a home in one of these areas for under $350K. A little bit of a fixer upper is fine, as long as the house is not falling apart. No McMansions (we won't be able to afford it anyway).

I will be working from home so proximity to Center City is not really an issue for me, although I would like to be no more than 35-40 minutes away (I like to take my kids to shows/museums,etc.).

I appreciate any input/advice anyone could give. I have no idea about the areas surrounding Philadelphia and I need a lot of help so that we can make the right decision. I don't want to drag my kids from school to school, I would like to find a community where we can stay for years to come.

I know that was a mouthful but we really need help! I look forward to receiving great advice from all of you Philly experts! Thanks!

[MH Montrose]

Hi...welcome to the forum. Based on your choices, I would say TE and Great Valley, while great schools, are probably not good fits, based on lack of walkable towns, distance from CC and general price range of what you are looking for. Huntingdon Valley and Abington are probably much better fits in what you are looking for and have long time positive jewish influence. You might specifically look at the Jenkintown area...there is both Abington School District and Jenkintown SD(very small) interspersed in the town, but net it has some walkable areas, is 30-35 minutes to downtown, has Septa access, a jewish population and good Abington schools. Wish you lots of luck in your family move!

[solibs]

As long as you stay relatively close to the city your boys won't be the only Jewish kids in school and you'll still be close to the heart of the Russian-Jewish community in Northeast Philly.

Treddyfrin and Great Valley would put the commute to Center City at 1 hour or more.

Abington/Jenkintown is a good idea based on your requirements. About 20 minutes from Center City and really good train service - Jenkintown is served by the R1, R2, R3 and R5 trains so, even off-peak you have a train every 15 minutes.

I'd also look west of the city along the Main Line (basically Route 30) from City Ave. west to I-476 The area straddles two counties but for most of it you're in the Lower Merion school district. You have train service to Center City every 30 minutes via the R5 or the Route 100/Market-Frankford Line. Much of the area is pricey but you can still land in a good school district in your price range if you're not scared of a house that needs some TLC.

I'd also look into Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Westmont and Haddonfield in NJ. Cherry Hill and Voorhees both have large Jewish communities, excellent schools and, are anywhere from 10-30 minutes from Center City. Westmont and Haddonfield are the downtowns and both have good schools. PATCO is like the South Jersey version of the PATH train and it has stops in Westmont and Haddonfield and then hits the corners of Cherry Hill (Woodcrest Station) and Voorhees (Ashland Station). Haddonfield is pricey and parts of Voorhees are as well but you're by no means priced out of the market there.

[NYMama1975]

Thank you all so much for the great information. It is really helpful. I will definitely look into Abington/Jenkintown/HV.

Unfortunately NJ is pretty much out of the question for us since I am an attorney licensed in NY and NJ does not have reciprocity with NY (PA does). So I would have to take the NJ bar exam which I am not willing to do after so many years of practice. Unfortunately it is impossible to be a full time NY lawyer without sacrificing a lot of family time with my kids. So we are moving out of here and looking for a nice safe affordable community where we can live on one income if we have to, and any contract work that I get from home will just be bonus money. That's why great public schools are key.

With respect to Lower Merion, I have read that the schools are fantastic but I am hesitant about that area for two reasons: (1) the towns comprising the Lower Merion school district may be too religiously observant for us; and (2) since we will probably be living on one income for the most part, I am afraid of my kids living in the "smallest" house, etc. Although I could care less about this kind of stuff, we all know how mean kids can be at school. And it is hard to explain to a child that none of this stuff matters when they are being made fun of at school (I myself remember this phenomenon-I went to private school in NY but we lived in an apartment while others lived in very big homes with a pool-enough said-I don't want to even be in a town where peoples values are so screwed up).

Based upon this, are there any areas in Abington/Jenkintown/HV to avoid? Both for the snobbiness factor and from a safety standpoint? Thanks again for all the great advice.

[ooodsie]

Have you given any thought to Yardley PA? Pennsbury Schools which are great and there is a good amount of Jewish community, very easy commute to NYC if needed, and a nice cute walkable downtown area. PM me if you want more detailed info, I live and work in Yardley.

[Shino306]

Either NE Philly or the aforementioned Jenkintown/Abington/Huntigton Valley/Elkins Park area. Jenkintown actually has a beautiful synagogue (Beth Sholom) built by Frank Lloyd Wright, the area has a large Jewish population and the public schools are good. Good Luck!

[LibraGirl123]

There's a pretty large concentration of Russian Jews in the Far Northeast area of Philly. I would think that you'd find more of that population in Lower Bucks and MontCo (both counties adjacent to Northeast Philly) as opposed to the western suburbs, where Great Valley and Tredyffrin are located.

[NYMama1975]

You have all been so helpful I really can't thank you enough. I can't wait to move to PA it seems like everyone is so nice! It will a welcome change from where we live now! Just kidding I love Brooklyn and I love New York. It has just become impossible to live a normal life here. But people in PA are a lot nicer (I went to college in the Lehigh Valley so I can say this with some authority lol). I will definitely look into all of these areas. I haven't done too much research into Bucks County-any suggestions as to specific towns with great schools that would be a good fit for us? Thanks again to all I really can't express how helpful you all have been!!

[Lucario]

I have a few Russian Jewish, Georgian and other Russian-speaking friends in the Huntingdon Valley area, as well as Northeast Phila. I would also recommend Yardley/Makefield in Bucks County.

[bobsmith]

Consider Council Rock school District in Newtown, Pennsylvania. I graduated from Council Rock North in 2004, and I am not exaggerating when I say that Russian Jews made up a good 10%-25% of my graduating class.