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I could find more pictures, that would back up my comment. I've lived in two cities, and visited Minneapolis many times. It's the lakefront downtown, and other areas of Milwaukee that are reminiscent. The pics you chose could be anywhere in the Midwest.
While I do think there are unique advantages of living near or on Coastal Massachusetts, and having access to VT/NH/ME for the outdoor enthusiast…
The rest is absolutely true.
MarketStEl, as a Kansas City/MO native, I’d assume you are familiar with Clayton. What Philadelphia suburb would you recommend the OP dig into for post-residency? That is, close proximity the the metros medical hubs/city, good schools, walkability. Ardmore?
Yes, I am familiar with Clayton. As another St. Louisan pointed out to me on another thread, the relationship between Missouri's two big cities is not as strained as that between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; Kansas Citians and St. Louisans both often have friends or relatives in the other city — I had both in my teenage years.
Philadelphia doesn't really have a suburban downtown on the level of Clayton; Ardmore is about as close as it gets. Three of the four suburban county seats — Doylestown, Media, West Chester — are as urbane as Ardmore, and come to think of it, West Chester could be a smaller version of Clayton (and it's a college town, which in a St. Louis context would make it a cross between Clayton and University City).
West Chester also has a great school district (and I give it bonus points for naming its third and newest high school — usually rated among the 20 best in the state — for the openly gay Black West Chester native who was the power behind the throne in the Civil Rights Movement: Bayard Rustin, the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington), but it's pretty far out — it'd take a while to get to either the airport or University City (Philadelphia neighborhood) from it, and it no longer has its own Regional Rail station: the closest one is in Exton, about a 15-minute drive up Route 100 from the borough, and there's another one in Wawa, about an equal distance from West Chester to the southeast. (The line that ends in Wawa used to go all the way to West Chester, and some people there hope it will again someday.)
Ardmore, home to the Lower Merion township government and a great dining and entertainment scene, is a great choice; Narberth, surrounded by Lower Merion and also in the Lower Merion School District, is another.
Upper Darby's schools aren't that highly regarded, and the property taxes there are high, but Upper Darby High School is probably the most diverse public high school in the Philadelphia 'burbs, and a lot of research shows that the strongest correlating factor with student performance in school isn't the "quality of the school" but the household income of the student's household. (It was this insight that underlay the argument I made in that Schools Issue feature I linked upthread.) The Drexel Hill section of the township is quite lovely, and while it doesn't have much in the way of things to do or places to go in it, it's a short trolley ride away from the 69th Street shopping district, where the OP will find a little United Nations of restaurants.
Another option I'd consider is Jenkintown in the northern 'burbs. The commute to U-City takes you through Center City, but thanks to the Commuter Tunnel, you wouldn't have to change trains; just remember to board the right ones at Jenkintown-Wyncote, the busiest Regional Rail station outside the city. And its downtown is also chock-full of dining and entertainment options, the borough is compact and walkable, and the school district quite good.
Yes, I am familiar with Clayton. As another St. Louisan pointed out to me on another thread, the relationship between Missouri's two big cities is not as strained as that between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; Kansas Citians and St. Louisans both often have friends or relatives in the other city — I had both in my teenage years.
Philadelphia doesn't really have a suburban downtown on the level of Clayton
You name all these places and don't say Conshohocken, the edge city Clayton is actually most similar too lol
You name all these places and don't say Conshohocken, the edge city Clayton is actually most similar too lol
Touché.
Completely forgot about Conshy, which is an old industrial town that got an edge city grafted onto it when a major freeway interchange was completed just outside it.
I guess that, all those apartment buildings along the Schuylkill notwithstanding, I still don't think of Conshy as a place to live but rather a place to visit. Guess I need an attitude adjustment.
Shopping's weak in Conshohocken, but King of Prussia's just up the road from it, and it checks off all the other boxes (though commuting by rail from it to U-City takes you through Center City despite its location).
Being right on the coast in the city is different, but I'm going push back on the notion that being 4hrs from Burlington and being 6 1/2hrs is that big of a difference. You are only going to do that a few times a season anyway even if you are really into skiing. Acadia is easily one of my favorite places, but really how much more often are people going up from Boston to the National Park? It's all a half days drive in any case. IMO the Jersey Shore also offers more variety up and down than the beaches within an hour or two of Boston.
Idk how/why you jump to Burlington or Acadia, while disregarding places like Newport, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Portsmouth, Portland, Kennebunkport, the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, Lake Winnipesaukee, the Berkshires, the best skiing east of Colorado. All of which are closer than either Burlington VT or Acadia?. Never mind the diversity of the commuter towns within Greater Boston - from Newburyport to Salem to Marblehead to Hingham to Plymouth.
And this is what a lot of folks don’t seem to understand. It’s not a few weekends a year, for huge swaths of Massachusetts folks. People own ski homes and condos. Lake and mountains houses. Coastal homes across New England. Just like people from Philly own homes on the Shore or in Dewey or maybe even in the Poconos.
You can prefer Jersey’s uniform beaches. But to say it offers more variety is laughable.
I mean, even most of New York’s great natural offerings - Gore Mountain, Lake George, Lake Placid - are closer to Boston than they are Philadelphia.
Completely forgot about Conshy, which is an old industrial town that got an edge city grafted onto it when a major freeway interchange was completed just outside it.
I guess that, all those apartment buildings along the Schuylkill notwithstanding, I still don't think of Conshy as a place to live but rather a place to visit. Guess I need an attitude adjustment.
Shopping's weak in Conshohocken, but King of Prussia's just up the road from it, and it checks off all the other boxes (though commuting by rail from it to U-City takes you through Center City despite its location).
Is it incorrect to associate Conshohocken as a younger, more lively little area? Or maybe a “stepping stone” fringe area for young families unwilling to give up on city-like convenience? Not necessarily a destination suburb for most families?
That’s how I’ve viewed it, but only because that was the case for two Philadelphia friends that have lived there.
Is it incorrect to associate Conshohocken as a younger, more lively little area? Or maybe a “stepping stone” fringe area for young families unwilling to give up on city-like convenience? Not necessarily a destination suburb for most families?
That’s how I’ve viewed it, but only because that was the case for two Philadelphia friends that have lived there.
Conshy definitely fell pretty solidly into the younger, DINK, close-to-the-city demographic as recent as 5 years ago, but lately I think its appeal has really broadened to more established families (especially as adjacent Main Line towns have more exclusively attracted 1%-ers, making the market there as unaffordable as ever--very similar to the Boston Metrowest towns now pushing more established/higher-earning families into more formerly blue-collar nabes like Waltham or Watertown).
It's built up an impressive corporate presence over the past few decades, so a good employment base has been there for a while, but much more recently there's been more development catering, I believe, to established family households.
I mean, even most of New York’s great natural offerings - Gore Mountain, Lake George, Lake Placid - are closer to Boston than they are Philadelphia.
The Finger Lakes and the Hudson Valley are closer to the Philadelphia area, so that comment really isn't accurate.
Also important to consider that Philadelphia also has access to boatload of activities and natural destinations to its west and south, like the Laurel Highlands, Amish Country (which easily offers the best farmland in the Northeast), the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia Wine Country, Deep Creek Lake, etc.
Variety is absolutely not lacking in the Mid-Atlantic by any stretch, and Philadelphia is at the center of it.
Imho, Boston is unarguably the best city and region on this list. However, its not worth the price.
Id go with Philadelphia and the surrounding area. You get the best bang for your buck and great amenities in the metro.
I live near Philly and theres so much to do and there are great towns around here for absolutely killer prices. The quality you get in Philly area seems sus for the rent... even the nicer burbs have some of the best schools on the country.
My second choice would be Pittsburgh.
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