Good and Bad things about North Wales, PA or Media, PA (Philadelphia: crime, homes)

[philzz]

Which town in pennsylvania would you prefer, Media or North Wales? The population of media has increased to 6,000. Its still a small town. I heard there are certain parts of media that arent so good in terms of crime rate. But overall its ok. But from what i have been searching on the web it seems that media is not an upper middle class or upper class area. I have been to various sites such as city-data and various other places.They all seem to list median average income for family as different. If you know any other places besides these please let me know. Tell me some good and bad things about north wales pa and media,pa?

[cpomp]

To start with Media. Ill clarify that the Media borough 19063 zip is actually just a small part of the surrounding area. The neighboring towns Middletown and Upper Providence are still 19063 zip but different towns with different demographics. I dont know where you heard that parts of Media arent safe? I have never heard of any serious crime that would deter someone from considering Media. Also this is up for debate, but I would consider the Media area, 19063 and neighboring towns or newtown square edgemont, and Rose Valley and Glenn Milles to be upper middle class to upper class. The farther north and west you go the nicer it tends to get. Again I dont understand where you heard that Media is not upper middleclass. The area does have diversity, but it also has some of the wealthiest enclaves in the entire area.
If you travel to far east toward Philadelphia the area will go downhill, but that doesnt really have any correlation with Media and the surrounding towns.

I dont know much about North Wales, but I know it is cheaper, but still a nice area, similar to Media, but I would say more middle class than the media area.

So it depends on what your looking for. Of course Im going with media, because like I said, you can be a millionaire living in the area, or average, there is that slight mix, plus the schools are top notch, Rose Tree Media School District is higher performing than north Penn school district (North Wales)and a lot of great recreational areas near media too.

[UDResident]

There's really nothing bad about Media. Also, anybody who thinks Media has any part that's bad should never ever go anywhere near any of the places in the metro with real crime. The person probably got Media confused with Chester.

Personally, I'd rather live in Media. There aren't too many places that are as nice as Media where you can still live in a West Philly rowhouse. That's something I really like about that borough.

[Angus215]

It's a bit of a strange comparison, considering how far apart they are. Media has the benefit of being closer to center city and PHL. North Wales has the benefit of better highway access and not being dependent upon the horrible Blue Route. I would describe the greater North Wales / North Penn area as a mix of middle and upper middle class which is reasonably priced (although not exactly cheap) and has reasonable property taxes. I'm not as familiar with Media, although i'm sure the borough has some areas that are not as great like any other relatively large town. In terms of schools, i did a quick search on the Pittsburgh Business Journal site that compares districts by PSSA scores - Rose Tree Media was #21 and North Penn was #36 out of the approx 500 school district in the state of PA.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by Angus215

It's a bit of a strange comparison, considering how far apart they are. Media has the benefit of being closer to center city and PHL. North Wales has the benefit of better highway access and not being dependent upon the horrible Blue Route. I would describe the greater North Wales / North Penn area as a mix of middle and upper middle class which is reasonably priced (although not exactly cheap) and has reasonable property taxes. I'm not as familiar with Media, although i'm sure the borough has some areas that are not as great like any other relatively large town. In terms of schools, i did a quick search on the Pittsburgh Business Journal site that compares districts by PSSA scores - Rose Tree Media was #21 and North Penn was #36 out of the approx 500 school district in the state of PA.

Media isnt a large town. Its only 2 main streets of commercial and dining, and then half a dozen to a dozen or so blocks in each direction. There are a few blocks made up of older rowhomes, some of which need updating, but I still wouldnt even classify them as not great. Its a very safe completely family oriented community.

And PSSA exams are useless, but Rose Tree Media is a higher performing school district than North Penn.

[bryson662001]

Media is way too far from Abington Penn State to commute. You almost can't get there from there.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

Media is way too far from Abington Penn State to commute. You almost can't get there from there.

This, for certain.

[Truth11]

I like North Wales slightly better than Media,which is a bit more crowded. Also prefer Montgomery County over Delaware County. The crime factor of course means nothing to me since I currently live in Philly

[s1oozne]

I really don't even see how they compare. North Wales seems like just another suburb to me, like most of Montgomery County is.

[Angus215]

Originally Posted by s1oozne

I really don't even see how they compare. North Wales seems like just another suburb to me, like most of Montgomery County is.

North Wales is an actual town. Like Media, and every other town in the area, it is surrounded by suburban areas.