Such a thing as a Jewish Neighborhood in Philly anymore?

[PennKid]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

I missed this before, but I thought it would be worth addressing. I know most of the Jews in Overbrook Park (and their synagogues) have crossed City Avenue into Penn Wynne in the past 10-15 years. Have some of them moved into Overbrook Farms as well, or does this community you speak of hail from a different core (or no particular core at all)?

First of all, I wanted to congratulate you for knowing there is a difference between the Overbrooks (Park, Farms, and Proper). This is admirable, especially for an out-of-towner (tell me if I'm wrong).

So here's the scoop. Yes, most of the Jews in Overbrook Park, the garden rowhomes ('airlites') to the west of Morris Park, have left for Penn Wynne, starting around 1990. The community was largely secular/Reform/Conservative, the descendants of working-class Jews who once upon a time lived closer to 52nd Street. To give you an idea of just how secular, the community's most well-known product is Seth Green.

But to the east of Morris Park, there is Overbrook Farms, which is a upscale single-family-home neighborhood that was traditionally WASPy, and is considered to be the beginning of the Main Line; its Pennsylvania Classic Towns designation, awarded in the mid-2000s, has gone a long way towards maintaining that upscale reputation. However, it's still on the Philadelphia side of the border, meaning that prices here are lower than you can fetch on the other side of City Ave.

Now, you see, the Jewish community in Lower Merion has increasingly bifurcated, from a middle-of-the-road community into a heavily secularized vs. heavily Orthodox division, with the latter growing quickly due both due proselytization efforts, as well as natural growth. With large families that don't go to public schools, increasingly, some Orthodox decide to buy a first house on the cheaper Philadelphia side of City Line (thus not paying the Lower Merion SD premium). This is visible in the entire stretch of single family houses on the Philly side, including further east in Wynnefield. It's a similar situation as you find in some places in the NY Metro Area, where former liberal Jewish enclaves became heavily minority enclaves, and are now seeing a return of Jews of a much more Orthodox persuasion.

Sorry if this is too detailed, but I hope this clears up any confusion.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by PennKid

First of all, I wanted to congratulate you for knowing there is a difference between the Overbrooks (Park, Farms, and Proper). This is admirable, especially for an out-of-towner (tell me if I'm wrong).

So here's the scoop. Yes, most of the Jews in Overbrook Park, the garden rowhomes ('airlites') to the west of Morris Park, have left for Penn Wynne, starting around 1990. The community was largely secular/Reform/Conservative, the descendants of working-class Jews who once upon a time lived closer to 52nd Street. To give you an idea of just how secular, the community's most well-known product is Seth Green.

But to the east of Morris Park, there is Overbrook Farms, which is a upscale single-family-home neighborhood that was traditionally WASPy, and is considered to be the beginning of the Main Line; its Pennsylvania Classic Towns designation, awarded in the mid-2000s, has gone a long way towards maintaining that upscale reputation. However, it's still on the Philadelphia side of the border, meaning that prices here are lower than you can fetch on the other side of City Ave.

Now, you see, the Jewish community in Lower Merion has increasingly bifurcated, from a middle-of-the-road community into a heavily secularized vs. heavily Orthodox division, with the latter growing quickly due both due proselytization efforts, as well as natural growth. With large families that don't go to public schools, increasingly, some Orthodox decide to buy a first house on the cheaper Philadelphia side of City Line (thus not paying the Lower Merion SD premium). This is visible in the entire stretch of single family houses on the Philly side, including further east in Wynnefield. It's a similar situation as you find in some places in the NY Metro Area, where former liberal Jewish enclaves became heavily minority enclaves, and are now seeing a return of Jews of a much more Orthodox persuasion.

Sorry if this is too detailed, but I hope this clears up any confusion.

I'm not an out-of-towner (I'm born and raised in Lower Merion actually ). I just went to school in Pittsburgh. Thanks for the additional info though. That was very interesting/informative.