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Old 11-16-2017, 07:14 PM
 
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I would move to the philly suburbs also. But I will be in NEPA instead.
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Old 11-16-2017, 07:36 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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I've been to Chester and Montgomery Counties a few times and I think they are great with some very some towns/suburbs. I loved the occasional colonial architecture you can see when just driving in those areas which you just don't get to see here.
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Old 11-17-2017, 07:13 AM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rowhomecity View Post
Philadelphia suburbs are full of historic walkable towns for the most part, SEPTA also has a massive commuter rail network, that is very old, so many of the suburbs are built around the rail network, and therefore they do not feel 'sprawling'. Think of Sewickley. And that is the Philadelphia suburbs times 20.

There are some car oriented suburbs within the SEPA region, but they are not the dominant type. The suburbs are larger than Pittsburgh's but I would not say they are 'sprawling' because most are transit oriented and have tons of character.

With that I find Pittsburgh's suburbs to also be lovely. The topography adds so much character.
that makes sense. it is still sprawl though in the way people on here promote compact, urban areas.

it is interesting though that a few on here that are pretty pro-city have talked of moving out to the burbs for the right house.
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Old 11-17-2017, 07:39 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
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In general one of the big differences between the Philly suburbs and the Pittsburgh suburbs is the built condition of the older mini-urban cores. With the exception of Chester, Norristown, and a few of the portions of Delaware County closest to West/Southwest Philadelphia, all of the old 18th/19th century downtowns are at least decent places to live. Some of them were never really industrial centers to begin with - more just local trading centers due to being the county seat (Media, , West Chester, and Doylestown for example). Others had a gritty industrial history past but have since gentrified (Conshohocken and Phoenixville). Even somewhere which is pretty gritty still, like Bristol (where my aunt and her husband live) is in much better condition than would be the case in Western PA for an old mill town a bit down on its luck. Basically since the metro at large never lost population, there was no period of general abandonment. Even Norristown, which isn't a nice area at all, is like 95% intact. Really Chester is the only blighted area in SEPA outside of portions of Philly proper.

In addition, the Main Line is basically like a string of Mt. Lebanons, one after another. Tons of interwar suburbia with a walkable downtown every few miles. It's not really my jam, but as suburbia goes, Pittsburgh can't hold a candle to it.
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Old 11-17-2017, 07:40 AM
 
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Originally Posted by Paul2421 View Post
that makes sense. it is still sprawl though in the way people on here promote compact, urban areas.
I would disagree that the main line suburbs in Philadelphia are sprawl. They are reminiscent of Shadyside and Squirrel Hill to me. The exurban areas of Philadelphia (like King of Prussia or Collegeville, for example) are definitely sprawl in the way that people on here complain about Cranberry. Only they are like Cranberry on crack. Collegeville is a great example of that. A great old town that used to be surrounded by farmland. Now the farmland is filled with McMansions and the old Target shopping center sits empty because they built a new Target shopping center 3 miles down the road... That kind of thing. We really don't have anything comparable to that kind of sprawl in Pittsburgh because we don't have the population/growth.
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Old 11-17-2017, 07:46 AM
 
Location: Washington County, PA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rowhomecity View Post
Philadelphia suburbs are full of historic walkable towns for the most part, SEPTA also has a massive commuter rail network, that is very old, so many of the suburbs are built around the rail network, and therefore they do not feel 'sprawling'. Think of Sewickley. And that is the Philadelphia suburbs times 20.

There are some car oriented suburbs within the SEPA region, but they are not the dominant type. The suburbs are larger than Pittsburgh's but I would not say they are 'sprawling' because most are transit oriented and have tons of character.

With that I find Pittsburgh's suburbs to also be lovely. The topography adds so much character.
The distance between, say Hatboro and Doylestown, is FILLED with suburban sprawl. Like 5% of Phillys suburban population lives in the towns you are describing.

FYI, my in laws live in northeast Philadelphia, and wife is from there, so I'm quite familiar with the area. There is minimal hate on Philadelphia here, outside the pens and flyers rivalry. I've found more disdain from Negadelphians disliking Pittsburgh - anything beyond Exton is redneck country.
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Old 11-17-2017, 08:00 AM
 
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Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
In general one of the big differences between the Philly suburbs and the Pittsburgh suburbs is the built condition of the older mini-urban cores. With the exception of Chester, Norristown, and a few of the portions of Delaware County closest to West/Southwest Philadelphia, all of the old 18th/19th century downtowns are at least decent places to live. Some of them were never really industrial centers to begin with - more just local trading centers due to being the county seat (Media, , West Chester, and Doylestown for example). Others had a gritty industrial history past but have since gentrified (Conshohocken and Phoenixville). Even somewhere which is pretty gritty still, like Bristol (where my aunt and her husband live) is in much better condition than would be the case in Western PA for an old mill town a bit down on its luck. Basically since the metro at large never lost population, there was no period of general abandonment. Even Norristown, which isn't a nice area at all, is like 95% intact. Really Chester is the only blighted area in SEPA outside of portions of Philly proper.

In addition, the Main Line is basically like a string of Mt. Lebanons, one after another. Tons of interwar suburbia with a walkable downtown every few miles. It's not really my jam, but as suburbia goes, Pittsburgh can't hold a candle to it.
that makes sense. the lowest house price in those towns is 450k. so as much as i would say that would be perfect for me, i couldn't afford it haha.
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Old 11-17-2017, 08:00 AM
 
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Originally Posted by speagles84 View Post
. I've found more disdain from Negadelphians disliking Pittsburgh - anything beyond Exton is redneck country.
They're not necessarily wrong about that, it just goes back to the OP's point that they don't realize (because most have never been here to realize) that what they'd consider "civilization" picks up west of the mountains, albeit on a smaller scale and slower pace.
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Old 11-17-2017, 08:01 AM
 
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Originally Posted by speagles84 View Post
The distance between, say Hatboro and Doylestown, is FILLED with suburban sprawl. Like 5% of Phillys suburban population lives in the towns you are describing.
I totally agree. The south (Atlanta area where I used to live, etc) may have perfected sprawl, but it certainly looks like CT/NY/NJ/PA invented and have mastered it!

The SEPTA regional rail to the suburbs is still sparse, with no last mile connectivity. Or east-west connectivity. But yes, people commuting to Philly for work can live car independent lifestyle, if they really want to do that. And the rail system seems to be fairly well used.
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Old 11-17-2017, 11:19 AM
 
Location: North by Northwest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eschaton View Post
Yeah. If I had the choice (e.g., if job wasn't here, and my wife's parents weren't here) I would move to Philly in a heartbeat. Not sure where I'd live exactly - wherever I could find a reasonably affordable family-sized rowhouse in a walkable neighborhood.
Among other places, I could see you enjoying the greater Clark Park area. Real estate values are quickly appreciating, but there are still some deals to be had on the outer fringes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul2421 View Post
it is interesting how the suburbs in philly are praised while the pittsburgh suburbs are demonized. from the looks of it, philedelphia is even more sprawling. what am i missing here?
It isn’t. Sure, there’s suburban sprawl, but Philadelphia has a larger ring of intact and desirable pre-war suburbia and more charming walkable boroughs and village centers in the second ring and beyond.

Quote:
Originally Posted by speagles84 View Post
The distance between, say Hatboro and Doylestown, is FILLED with suburban sprawl. Like 5% of Phillys suburban population lives in the towns you are describing.

FYI, my in laws live in northeast Philadelphia, and wife is from there, so I'm quite familiar with the area. There is minimal hate on Philadelphia here, outside the pens and flyers rivalry. I've found more disdain from Negadelphians disliking Pittsburgh - anything beyond Exton is redneck country.
Hatboro is well into the second ring, though, and Doylestown isn’t far from the end of the (census-defined) urban area as a whole.

And going west from the city, “redneck country” doesn’t really begin until Thorndale. Downington proper is getting hot and the surrounding townships are experiencing a lot of new upscale development.
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