Please Help Me Find a Philly Suburb (Philadelphia, Drexel Hill: house, neighborhood)

[juliet1225]

We are considering "getting out of dodge." We live in Northern NJ and are tired of the congestion and high taxes. Looking for more space and a higher quality of living. My husband's job is "in transition" so this might be a good opportunity to make a real change.

I have 3 kids (ages 10, 7 and 5) so looking for a family-friendly area with excellent public schools. I'm currently a stay at home mom so I'm looking for an open, friendly community where I can make new friends as well as my kids. Having town rec facilities (swimming pools, tennis courts, etc.) is a plus)

We currently live in a hip, urban area with a lot going on. We enjoy all the restaurants and cultural activity and would like to find an area that still has an element of that. A walking community would be lovely as I'm accustomed to that now, although I don't mind driving for major shopping, etc.

Job situation is a little uncertain at this time so easy access into Philly as well as highways heading north to CT and NYC would be helpful. We also need reasonable access to an international airport.

We live in a crowded, urban area now, so more space to me is 1/2 an acre. Not looking for a huge property. I want my neighbors close enough that I actually get to meet them. In terms of neighborhood feel, we are pretty laid back and aren't interested in a competitive, keeping up with the Joneses scene. A politically/socially mixed to liberal community would be nice. We are not looking for Gingrich country.

In terms of budget, our tiny little house here can probably buy us a fair amount there so paying $1 - 1.5 million is doable (although not necessary!).

In reading these boards I've seen places like Meida, the Main Line towns and places like Doylestown mentioned but I'm having a hard time differentiating them enough to know where's the best place to start my search. Any guidance you can provide is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

[ElijahAstin]

Definitely Lower Merion. If you want a lot of land, look to the less crowded parts of Penn Valley, Gladwyne, Villanova, Bryn Mawr, and Rosemont.

If you want access to a more pedestrian-friendly community, look to parts of Wynnewood, Bala-Cynwyd, Merion, Narberth, Penn Wynne, and Ardmore. It'll be a bit tougher to find 1/2 acre+ of land (but there are certainly homes/lots that fit those specifications).

Radnor/Tredyffrin-Easttown could work as well, but they're a bit less accessible to the city. Also, if you're not averse to staying on the NJ side of the river, Haddonfield/Moorestown could do the trick.

[Angus215]

if you want better access to NYC, you may want to look at Yardley, Newtown, and Upper Makefield in Bucks County, which are close to I-95. that would be the most convenient area to NYC in the PA suburbs. Doylestown and Main Line would be considerably further away.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

Definitely Lower Merion. If you want a lot of land, look to the less crowded parts of Penn Valley, Gladwyne, Villanova, Bryn Mawr, and Rosemont.

If you want access to a more pedestrian-friendly community, look to parts of Wynnewood, Bala-Cynwyd, Merion, Narberth, Penn Wynne, and Ardmore. It'll be a bit tougher to find 1/2 acre+ of land (but there are certainly homes/lots that fit those specifications).

Radnor/Tredyffrin-Easttown could work as well, but they're a bit less accessible to the city. Also, if you're not averse to staying on the NJ side of the river, Haddonfield/Moorestown could do the trick.

The problem with these areas is that all of them (the ones in PA and in NJ) are full of people trying to keep up with the Jones's. Not everyone is like that in these areas but they have lots of that. Also, home prices in these areas are expensive, and these areas are somewhat congested. Perhaps not as much as in North Jersey but they are still congested. They do offer great school systems, a fair amount of activities/shopping/restaurants, and decent or even very good access to Philadelphia.

In your situation I'd second the mention of Upper Bucks County from another poster. That can be expensive but probably not as bad as North Jersey. One great area to consider, not as far north as Yardley in Bucks County, might be Newtown Borough, or the areas immediately outside, or perhaps Langhorne Borough as well. Close to 95 which gets up up to the NY area quicker, it has a great little downtown, and it's within a 10-15 drive to a train station to get you to the city in about 35-40 minutes (someone correct me here if my estimates are incorrect).

I'm not sure that Newtown could be classified as "hip" and it's definitely not "urban" but it's a cool town (it's not a township, it's a small town) and a great place to raise kids. Interestingly enough, Wikipedia just informed me that Newtown was just listed in a September 2011 publication which called it the 7th coolest small town or something like that, so take that for what it's worth. Langhorne is less "nice" and less "cool" but it's still has a nice little town. Also, less keeping up with the Jones's.

Welcome to Newtown Borough, Bucks County, PA

Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langhorne,_Pennsylvania

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Angus215

if you want better access to NYC, you may want to look at Yardley, Newtown, and Upper Makefield in Bucks County, which are close to I-95. that would be the most convenient area to NYC in the PA suburbs. Doylestown and Main Line would be considerably further away.

I missed the part about proximity to NYC. Good catch.

On the flip-side, those areas would be a lot further away from Philadelphia itself. Yardley, Newtown, and Upper Makefield are great so long as you don't mind a 45-minute drive into Center City (without traffic).

[Hillrunner]

Originally Posted by juliet1225

We are considering "getting out of dodge." We live in Northern NJ and are tired of the congestion and high taxes. Looking for more space and a higher quality of living. My husband's job is "in transition" so this might be a good opportunity to make a real change.

I have 3 kids (ages 10, 7 and 5) so looking for a family-friendly area with excellent public schools. I'm currently a stay at home mom so I'm looking for an open, friendly community where I can make new friends as well as my kids. Having town rec facilities (swimming pools, tennis courts, etc.) is a plus)

We currently live in a hip, urban area with a lot going on. We enjoy all the restaurants and cultural activity and would like to find an area that still has an element of that. A walking community would be lovely as I'm accustomed to that now, although I don't mind driving for major shopping, etc.

Job situation is a little uncertain at this time so easy access into Philly as well as highways heading north to CT and NYC would be helpful. We also need reasonable access to an international airport.

We live in a crowded, urban area now, so more space to me is 1/2 an acre. Not looking for a huge property. I want my neighbors close enough that I actually get to meet them. In terms of neighborhood feel, we are pretty laid back and aren't interested in a competitive, keeping up with the Joneses scene. A politically/socially mixed to liberal community would be nice. We are not looking for Gingrich country.

In terms of budget, our tiny little house here can probably buy us a fair amount there so paying $1 - 1.5 million is doable (although not necessary!).

In reading these boards I've seen places like Meida, the Main Line towns and places like Doylestown mentioned but I'm having a hard time differentiating them enough to know where's the best place to start my search. Any guidance you can provide is greatly appreciated! Thanks.

It sounds like Philly would really fit your needs considering its not Gingrich country. Its more Obama country.

[couldntthinkofaclevername]

I'd suggest the non-Main Line but still great (and I do mean great) parts of Delaware County.

Staying out of the inner-ring, you can find Havertown, Springfield, Marple-Newtown Square, Media, to start off. It sounds like exactly what you are looking for. It's basically the Main Line without the Old Money pretense/bullsh*t.

As far as just strictly areas without taking into account an entire school district, the Aronimink section of Drexel Hill is exactly what you are looking for, and even has a very nice swim club within it. The only problem is that kids go to Upper Darby High School and Drexel Hill Middle School, which have kids from the working class parts of Upper Darby going there (Drexel Hill Middle School) and the worst parts of Upper Darby (kids who go to Beverly Hills MS and then to Upper Darby High) and the parts of Upper Darby that go to Beverly Hills MS is an extension of the city, while the parts of Upper Darby outside of the Aronimink section of Drexel Hill is an extension of the inner-ring (which is itself an extension of the city).

The area I'm referring to(including the Aronimink section of Drexel Hill) is basically the center of Delaware County. Kids who grow up there grow up getting to know people from every part of Delaware County, and with a combination of some of the good things of each part of Delaware County(inner-ring, Main Line, etc). It is the perfect middle ground for anybody who doesn't want to live in either the inner-ring or the Main Line. It's got plenty of everything and is connected to everywhere you'd want to go (including Philadelphia) by public transit as well as through major routes Oh, and the best part? A great home in a great area(and I do mean great on both counts) will definitely cost you much less than 1.1 million there.

What I would suggest you do is go to the area for a day and drive through the entirety of the area from Havertown west to Newtown Square south to Upper Providence and Media and Nether Providence Township, west to Springfield where it borders Upper Darby(with Swarthmore, Rutledge, and Morton being the furthest south you go) north to the Pilgrim Gardens/Aronimink section of Drexel Hill, and then finally along Township Line and up Lansdowne Ave./Darby Road to Manoa/Havertown from there(Township Line is basically the border between Upper Darby and Manoa/Havertown) and not just the major routes but the smaller ones too.

I guarantee that you'll fall in love with it (and your kids will love growing up there), and if not then you can easily drive to the inner-ring, to the Main Line, to Western and Northern Delaware County, to Philadelphia, as well as to Montgomery and Bucks counties.

[tom_567]

If you don't mind staying in NJ, Haddonfield could work for you.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by couldntthinkofaclevername

Staying out of the inner-ring, you can find Havertown, Springfield, Marple-Newtown Square, Media, to start off. It sounds like exactly what you are looking for. It's basically the Main Line without the Old Money pretense/bullsh*t.

Not saying that the OP should necessarily restrict her search to the Main Line, but the Old money pretense/bullsh*t only applies to a minority of people--a persistently annoying minority, but a minority all the same. Most of the people I know from the Main Line fit the OP's description.

[Angus215]

by the way, for the OP, interesting article in the Inquirer today which talks about all the people moving from NJ to PA. I'm one of them myself.

Goodbye, New Jersey; hello, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/06/2011