where does the upper middle class tend to exist? (Philadelphia: middle-class, apartment complexes)

[serpent_of_old]

whether it be in the city or burbs, i would like to know

i am asking this to those who are able to see beyond the surface of my posts and are able to respond to the content, not to those who are sensitive to the surface of what i ask and react like animals

more times that not, i find when people talk about different classes on city data, they are way off. i.e. the idea that the upper middle class is defined by income. nothing could be further from the truth. that said, i will clarify on the upper middle class, only for the purpose of aiding the discovery of the information i seek

-education is a high priority, whereas parents take a highly active role starting early on in aiding their children to reach peak performance
-children are procreated upon casual review and selection of prolonging good genetics, not based upon "getting knocked up" nor being ok with the idea of "the stork". also having children is planned, whereas its decided when it will happen
-european cars are owned NOT for the purpose of status, but for both the likelyhood of being able to protect ones family at the most optimum from a crash and for a feeling of deservingness of good things
-when one thinks grocery shopping, only trader joes and whole foods comes to mind, and living near them important
-competitiveness when it comes to a career and preparing for one via high end education is highly valued
-high end results in life are valued, as opposed to the belief that we all must stick together, have hard times, struggle, and get average results as our identity
-more of a lean towards the arts, doing things that are constructive, expansive, and intellectual, as opposed to inherently destructive and careless
-an openness to others, change, and things different from ourselves
-religion and other fear based institutions take a back seat to reason, understanding, and a high praise for leisure and getting the most out of an experience, especially interpersonal
-getting the desired results always wins over excuses
-private day schools and boarding prep being what is typical for ones lifetime

i could go on and on
my understanding is that philly is known for its working class, and thats cool
i plan on moving there and i need to know where my people are at
where does the the upper middle class live in philly and the surrounding burbs?
thanks
i am very invested in learning as much as i can about your beautiful city

[RightonWalnut]

All over the metro really. It's hards to pinpoint one exact location but in the city they would tend to be in Center City (specifically Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, SOciety Hill, Logan Square, Old City and Wash West), Lower North Philadelphia like Fairmount or Northern Liberties... South Philadelphia like Graduate Hospital, Queen Village or Bella Vista, West Philadelphia specifically the areas around University City like Spruce Hill, or Northwest Philadelphia like Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy. You could even probably find Upper Middle classers in parts of Northeast Philadelphia and sections of West Philadelphia that border City Avenue like Wynnfield Heights and Overbrook Park.

In the suburbs... man... where do I begin? They are really all over. Specific areas would be Yardley or Newtown in Bucks County, The Main Line, Jenkintown, Ambler, Abington in Montgomery County, CHerry Hill in South Jersey, etc. etc... the list goes on and on. They are really all over the place and not concentrated in one specific area.

You say Philadelphia is "known for it's working class"... that really is a statement specific to the city and the city proper ONLY. Philadelphia suburbs are some of the wealthiest in the country. There is A LOT of old money in Philadelphia and after World War II, most of it moved to the suburbs, specifically the Main Line... but there is a lot of New Money now-a-days in other sections, like Bucks County.

[serpent_of_old]

thank you so much

[mancat100]

Don't many of your people own Lexus, Infiniti and Acura cars? They're not European.

[LHM]

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//www.city-data.com/forum/chica...ss-reside.html

[serpent_of_old]

...
a few people from chicago requested that i repost this here
i am from philly
...

[serpent_of_old]

it was to prove a point...the chicago people do not think what i was asking is based in reality, bc its not THEIR REALITY?
thats all
they think that these people do not exist, whereas i described the main line
and i was even intending a debrief
thats all
[waves]

...

[Lookout Kid]

Ha, I'm the one who told him to post in Philly to see if he got a different reaction. But I guess the cat's out of the bag.

[loveautumn]

From my research I would consider Main Line, New Town, those types of places more wealthy rather than upper middle class....no???

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

From my research I would consider Main Line, New Town, those types of places more wealthy rather than upper middle class....no???

Depends on where. The Main Line stretches from Merion to Paoli, plus a few miles pushing out to either side of the train stations. The plurality of the Main Line is upper middle class and new money these days, but it's still home to the metro area's highest concentration of old money (though they've been pushing toward the western end as we Jews have "ruined" Lower Merion) as well as wealth (of both the old and new money varieties). The Chicago North Shore, Bethesda/Chevy Chase/Potomac, and Brookline/Newton offer a similar dynamic.

Much of Belmont Hills, Narberth, Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, (the sections toward Lancaster Avenue--not Rosemont, which covers most of the rest of the 19010 zip code), Garrett Hill, and Paoli were (and to a significant extent, still are) upper working/lower middle class in culture and attitude, though rising housing prices have made the incomes required to live there objectively middle class for the most part. Think a lot of multi-generational blue collar professionals. Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, and Paoli have had sizeable African American presences since the Great Migration. Belmont Hills, Narberth, and Garrett Hill are very (non-Jewish) white ethnic.

Bala-Cynwyd, Merion Station, and Penn Wynne range from rowhomes, townhouses, and apartment complexes closest to City Avenue to large houses and estates at the outer edges. Most homes, however, are, in addition to being older (think pre- or immediately post-war) are medium-sized in both square footage and lot acreage. These are homes that would otherwise cost $300k in a place like Abington or Havertown, but sell in/around the $500s due in part to the area's extra charm, better convenience to Philadelphia, and most definitely the "bragging rights" that come along with the Main Line name. These areas have been home to sizeable (think 25%+) Jewish communities since the 1950s onward, and in more recent years, as more religious Jews have fled areas like Overbrook Park, has seen a surge in its Orthodox Jewish population, joining their less adherent neighbors. Income-wise, families here are mostly upper middle class, with a lot of middle and lower upper class people at the edges.

Penn Valley and Wynnewood were patchworks of farmland and estates before WWII. After the War, these places were (and still very much are) the places to be for the Main Line's new money. These areas are the most predominantly Jewish (somewhere in the 40% vicinity) but there are plenty of non-Jewish white ethnics as well (mostly Irish and Italians). The housing stock here ranges from splits and ranches in the $500s to custom estate homes (both old and new) over the $2 million mark. Here, I'd say there's a fairly even split between upper middle and lower upper class families, although there are some mega wealthy families as well.

Haverford, Rosemont, Gladwyne, and Villanova are the pinnacle of the Eastern Main Line and are where most of the area's old money resides to this day, although the Jews made their way in by the '70s and '80s (they comprise about 15-25% of the area today). Think quiet, leafy streets with upper mid-sized to gargantuan houses. Mostly lower upper class and the mega-wealthy live here, although there are some "more modest" sections as well, like the Gladwyne and Haverford Village Centers.

The Main Line is also home to a fast-growing Asian/Indian population as well. As of now, they are fairly evenly spread out among the upper middle class on up areas, with a significant concentration of "those just starting out" in the less affluent edges.

Other than Paoli and Garrett Hill, I'm a lot less familiar with the intricacies of Radnor on out, though this should be plenty sufficient in answering your question.