Walkable pedestrian-friendly suburbs of Philadelphia (with reasonable cost)? (Chester, Drexel Hill: college, taxes)

[Duderino]

There are tons of relatively urban, walkable suburbs of Philadelphia -- like many cities, they tend to be the older, "inner-ring" suburbs that were built before the advent of the automobile. Here's a great website that lists many of them with some interesting background:

Explore Classic Towns | Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia

Other than those listed, I'd include (not in any particular order):

-Norristown
-Bridgeport
-Lansdale
-North Wales
-Downingtown
-Coatesville
-Perkasie
-Pottstown
-Royersford
-Malvern
-Paoli
-Berwyn
-Collegeville/Trappe
-Swarthmore
-Quakertown
-Newtown
-Hatfield
-Jenkintown
-Upper Darby
-Narberth
-Conshohocken
-Kennett Square
-Glenside
-Bryn Mawr

I'm know I'm missing many of them, but all of these suburban communities have some sort of traditional "main street." Being one of the oldest urban areas in the country, there is definitely no shortage of walkable communities in and around Philadelphia.

[frankgn87]

Id add Haddenfield and Moorestown NJ for list of quaint walkable towns...

[orrmobl]

Strike Norristown, Bridgeport, Coatesville, Upper Darby, and Pottstown from that list above. Portions of these places (same Post Office) are fine, the walkable city parts are bad to just ok at best...

[GraysFerryB4]

I'd second Collingswood (since I live there now). The schools are very good and the commute to Philly is under 13 minutes on the PATCO or by car. You are also close to the Cherry Hill area for shops, dining, etc. The Philly suburbs in PA are much further out. Going to school in the "city like burbs" of East Falls, Mt. Airy, etc. still mean Philly public schools which are horrible. You want the better burbs for the schools which also mean affluent homes=higher housing prices. "Amazing neighborhoods" in the city limits mean private schools and that means $$$

[MovingSouthGal]

Right, that's why I'm leaving the Philly burbs asap. This and lack of safe public transportation is at least partly why I've been unemployed for a long time. Going where it's warmer.

[orrmobl]

Sorry but the Philly burbs are more affluent, lower taxes, better schools, better housing stock and the public transportation is very safe...Please don't drink the Haterade - this area has its issues like everywhere else but the suburbs aren't really one of them....

[MovingSouthGal]

A few years ago I did overhear someone say that there's a lot of pressure on drivers to stop for peds. It's a rich town (expensive) with lots of nice little shops. To get to a supermarket you have to cross a busy road. I think it's depends on what you mean by pedestrian-friendly. If you just want to walk around without getting killed/honked at, the towns listed may be fine. If you want to walk to a supermarket, the only area I know of is Ambler. Most of the supermarkets truly accessible by peds are older, smaller, run-down stores (as is the case in Ambler) and when they move to a nicer building, the building is across a busy road. Apparently, the USA is riddled with this problem, it's not limited to metro areas.

[MovingSouthGal]

Sorry, having some trouble with this site. The rich town is Newtown, in Bucks County, not Newtown Square, which is in a different part of the metro area.

[MovingSouthGal]

I don't want anyone to think it's safe to wait for a bus along a road like 611 north of the city -- Somewhere between Abington and Warrington there is no curb or sidewalk and you basically stand on the road shoulder. I know there is no curb or sidewalk along 611 in much of Warrington. Mom and I wonder how anyone uses the bus there because they must also cross a busy, wide road to get to the other side of the road. In Philly, sometimes you can get on and off at the same place, such as the terminals or "car barns" sort of the end of the route, where the bus turns around, like the ones in Fox Chase/Rockledge area. I don't know if the car barns are still available. As time passes, the car culture gets stronger and in turn, the ped situation gets weaker. I don't know much about safety on the busses however but if you can't safely get on one, what does it matte?. The train is good, but unless you happen to live very close to it, it's not walkable.

[doubledownmom]

I would suggest Collingswood, Haddon Heights and Haddonfield, NJ....commute to center city is MUCH easier than a lot of the Pennsylvania suburbs..and they are adorable towns