More details, esp. West Mt. Airy please... (Philadelphia, Washington: condo, crime)

[NorthByNortheast]

Hi all,

After talking with some people and reading up on these boards, we were in Philly this past weekend looking at potential neighborhoods and towns, since it's one of the top contenders for a possible relocation. In the suburbs, we saw Narbeth, Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Swarthmore, and Media. In the city, we saw Fairmount/Art Museum, Northern Liberties, Germantown, East Mt. Airy, West Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill.

We liked West Mt. Airy a lot. It felt areas we've lived/spent time in (Jamaica Plain, Davis Square, the greener parts of Cambridge, the town of Arlington - all in/near Boston) and seems like a good cultural fit (crunchy, progressive, GBLT friendly, good coffee shops, co-op, near the park, etc.) and still affordable. We'd be looking to buy in the 300-500k range. (300k would be a deal, 500k would be a stretch). Upon first (although brief) impression, we also liked Media, but didn't get to find out much about it. I think we'd prefer not to do the suburb thing yet, but we're still open to the idea.

Is there anywhere else we should look that we haven't? We wanted to see Glenside and Jenkintown but didn't get there. We also wanted to see some additional areas in the city itself. Fairmount/Art Museum seemed OK, but the parking situation seemed disastrous...no paid parking available and not much public transport out that way. In the city, people had recommended areas closer to Center City or University City, but I'm not sure I'm up for downtown living, although the demographic may be a closer match?

We are late 20s, no kids but probably in the next few years. Are we too young for West Mt. Airy? I've heard it's great for kids, but I didn't get a sense on whether or not young-ish couples without kids live there. It seemed fairly dead at night (on a Saturday). We're not partiers, but we like quiet bars, good cafes, acoustic music. I'm especially interested in plugging in to a casual local music community, since one of my main hobbies is playing various instruments (fiddle, mandolin - lots of irish and french-canadian tunes). Finally, can anyone tell me about the specific neighborhoods within W. Mt. Airy? Which elementary schools are good? What's convenient for commuting to Penn and Center City, or potentially out to Conshohocken?

Thanks.

P.S. What direction out of the city would we go if we wanted to be in the midst of farms and what not...not to live, but to visit, take day trips, etc.?

[FindingZen]

If you prefer laid-back and crunchy progressiveness, West Mount Airy is pretty much it for Philly. The elementary schools there - whose names I tend to forget - have been well-regarded on this forum. You can take the train down to Center City and University City (i.e. Penn). It wouldn't be a bad commute out to Conshohocken.

South Philly may be a viable alternative for you, particularly the neighborhoods of Queen Village and Pennsport as well as the Passyunk Square corridor. I have to admit I'm not particularly knowledgeable about home prices or the schools there (although others here have said Meredith - near QV - is one of the better elementary schools in town).

If you're open to living without a backyard, your price range should get you a comfortable 2-3BR condo in much of Center City. Families tend to use Rittenhouse Square and Washington Square as their community backyards.

Glenside and Jenkintown are fine. They are one of many older suburbs in what I nickname the "V" between NW and NE Philly. You might like the Keswick Avenue area for a music spot. Jenkintown acts as "the" walkable downtown for the Abington area. You're more likely to find something in your price range in Glenside.

To find like-minded musicians, check out the classifieds section of Philadelphia Weekly.com and City Paper.net, our two free alternative weeklies.

[maf763]

A couple of music outlets around Mount Airy are the Mermaid Inn which has music every night including some open sessions and the Commodore Barry Club (aka the Irish Center) which has regular sessions as well.

Another neighborhood you can try which is between Mt. Airy and Fairmount is East Falls.

[newmarlig]

Henry and Houston are two well regarded public schools that serve West Mt. Airy.

Home

Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[G Goo]

2/3 of East Mt Airy is comparable to WMA in every single way.....except home prices are relatively less. And "Upper" East Mt Airy is closer, by foot, to the shops of Chestnut Hill.

[pman]

Originally Posted by G Goo

2/3 of East Mt Airy is comparable to WMA in every single way.....except home prices are relatively less. And "Upper" East Mt Airy is closer, by foot, to the shops of Chestnut Hill.

wma is closer to the park (which, if I remember, was important to the OP from another thread). It also sounds like wma might be a better fit for hi politically and, well, his price range. OTOH, I agree with you that ema often gets short shrift despite being a good place to live.
to the OP-you'll want to drive to conshy, probably going out to 476. the Chestnut Hillwest line is good for ucity and center city..alternately, you could take the 53 bus to the subway to get to center city if you live near wayne ave. it's cheaper and runs more often.

[NorthByNortheast]

Originally Posted by G Goo

2/3 of East Mt Airy is comparable to WMA in every single way.....except home prices are relatively less. And "Upper" East Mt Airy is closer, by foot, to the shops of Chestnut Hill.

We would be open to East Mt. Airy as well...which 2/3 would you recommend? I don't mean to sound naive - we really don't know much about the area in terms of specifics, like specific streets or neighborhoods within east or west Mt. Airy. All else equal we'd rather be closer to the park, etc., but price does play a role and we'd be fine considering either.

[pman]

Originally Posted by NorthByNortheast

We would be open to East Mt. Airy as well...which 2/3 would you recommend? I don't mean to sound naive - we really don't know much about the area in terms of specifics, like specific streets or neighborhoods within east or west Mt. Airy. All else equal we'd rather be closer to the park, etc., but price does play a role and we'd be fine considering either.

sedgwick farms moreso than beggarstown.
generally speaking, the further west, the more desirable (note that east mt airy could practically be considered north mt. airy since it's due north of germantown ave from west mount airy but local geography is based off germantown...specifically, whether you are east or west of germantown ave).

[G Goo]

Originally Posted by NorthByNortheast

We would be open to East Mt. Airy as well...which 2/3 would you recommend? I don't mean to sound naive - we really don't know much about the area in terms of specifics, like specific streets or neighborhoods within east or west Mt. Airy. All else equal we'd rather be closer to the park, etc., but price does play a role and we'd be fine considering either.

The area that is bordered by Chew on the East (or more accurately the SEPTA Regional Rail tracks), Germantown on the West, roughly Gorgas on the north and Johnson on the south is the most troubled, is the far west of EMA and borders WMA as well. This is roughly the "Chew Ave corridor" and it is the center of most of the crime and blight in EMA. You can't go wrong with the area bordered by Gorgas St and Cresheim Valley Road (south to north) and Stenton Ave and Germantown Ave (east to west). Roughly the neighborhood served by the Mt Airy and Sedgwick train stations.

Proximity to Forbidden Drive and Cerpenter's Woods is certainly an added benefit to living in WMA, but it is still only a 5min bike ride from EMA. Or a nice looooong summer walk!

Good luck with your search!

[Hillrunner]

One other difference between ema, and wma is crime.