Best Big City Neighborhoods Mt Airy Money Mag 2013

[Clark Park]

I was always under the impression Mount Airy is actually two neighborhoods: East Mt. Airy and West Mt. Airy ... and the West neighborhood was more affluent and desirable - not to put down the East.

University City is a district, not a neighborhood. Neighborhoods within UC include Powelton Village, Spruce Hill, Walnut Hill, Woodland Terrace, Cedar Park, Garden Court, Squirrel Hill, etc.

[rotodome]

Mt Airy is one neighborhood, but there are different parts within it. Germantown also has several sub-sections.

[Aimewitue]

Originally Posted by 2e1m5a

Anything can be overrated to anyone. I assume you mean Olney, South Philly or maybe even the Lower Northeast when you say there are more diverse neighborhoods, but the big thing in Mt Airy is economic diversity. Multi-Million Dollar Mansions, Apartment buildings, rowhomes, twins, etc. People of all professions and means living and working together in one neighborhood.

And Mt. Airy may be overrated by many in recent years but when I was growing up people incorrectly assumed Mt. Airy was ghetto.

Originally Posted by mancat100

I used to ride the diversity train. Now I really don't care. I just want good neighbors. Good neighbors in 99% of cases = solidly working class or higher. I don't have the time nor inclination to deal with poverty and its attendant social pathology anymore. I know that sounds bad but it is what it is. No white nor black trash, please.

Originally Posted by 2e1m5a

These stats are for Mount Airy in entirety-East and West. Generally, when people talk about racial diversity in Mount Airy they mean WMA which is almost exactly 50/50 white/black and has been for a while. EMA above Gorgas Lane has also always been very diverse although EMA as a whole is about 80% AA. And the white population is actually pretty diverse, but yes maybe 40% Jewish if I had to guess.

But instead of talking about the racial diversity lets talk about the ECONOMIC DIVERSITY. because this is where america's cities and suburbs are right now split very sharply along economic lines.

Does any one have any economic diversity data for the mt.airy zip code 19119. Or even economic diversity data for the city of Philadelphia as a whole????

[FBJ]

Originally Posted by Clark Park

I was always under the impression Mount Airy is actually two neighborhoods: East Mt. Airy and West Mt. Airy ... and the West neighborhood was more affluent and desirable - not to put down the East.

University City is a district, not a neighborhood. Neighborhoods within UC include Powelton Village, Spruce Hill, Walnut Hill, Woodland Terrace, Cedar Park, Garden Court, Squirrel Hill, etc.

So what does the 40th and Chestnut area fall under?

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by Aimewitue

But instead of talking about the racial diversity lets talk about the ECONOMIC DIVERSITY. because this is where america's cities and suburbs are right now split very sharply along economic lines.

Does any one have any economic diversity data for the mt.airy zip code 19119. Or even economic diversity data for the city of Philadelphia as a whole????

Mapping America ? Census Bureau 2005-9 American Community Survey - NYTimes.com

You can view the census results by income. If you look around the area straddling Germantown Avenue say between Johnson and Allen, it's fairly economically diverse. Census tracts 233, 235, 255, and 251 being particularly so. I don't really know that any of these are any more economically diverse than other stable neighborhoods of Philadelphia. But hey, Mt. Airy residents made it a point back in the day to organize against blockbusting, it was successful, and it now has a reputation of being inclusive. Not a problem in my opinion.

I'm in 238, on the Germantown side, and although it's a plurality under 30k, it's pretty diverse here, with another 50% of households taking in between 30 and 100k, and 10% over 100k per year. My walking around impression has always been how greatly diverse the housing stock is in Germantown and Mt. Airy. Plenty of large apartment buildings, row home streets, twins, singles, and some really opulent mansions. One of my favorites is the differences between the successive blocks of Walnut Lane, Harvey Street, and Haines Street. You could go from janitor to CEO of a company, have every job in between, and find a house for yourself for every stage along the way without ever moving more than a couple hundred feet. That style of building communities got lost somewhere along the way.

[Clark Park]

Originally Posted by WestPhillyDude75

So what does the 40th and Chestnut area fall under?

Good question ... I guess it should be regarded at Walnut Hill.

[BR Valentine]

Originally Posted by Aimewitue

I guess the older folks are now moving back into center city??

or is it the younger childless couple that moves back into center city??

The older black folks are mostly remaining in their houses, in EMA especially, as long as they are physically able to do so. Mt. Airy has a lot of old people. Its median age is one of the highest for any neighborhood in the city. The aging of the neghborhood is why the population began steadily declining in the 1970s. What has compounded the situation is that the children of those older folks, at least the ones who have children themselves, haven't moved back into the neighborhood. I know of only two of my numerous black neighbors and friends from childhood who live in Mt. Airy currently and neither of them have children.

Beyond Mt. Airy specifically, black middle-class families with school age children are leaving the city, or choosing not to locate there in the first place, for the same reasons as white middle-class families. The big change is that thirty years ago housing discrimination forced many black families who could afford to live in the suburbs to remain in the city. However, that has changed dramatically in the ensuing years and black families have far more options than they did in the past.

[Aimewitue]

Originally Posted by BR Valentine

The older black folks are mostly remaining in their houses, in EMA especially, as long as they are physically able to do so. Mt. Airy has a lot of old people. Its median age is one of the highest for any neighborhood in the city. The aging of the neghborhood is why the population began steadily declining in the 1970s. What has compounded the situation is that the children of those older folks, at least the ones who have children themselves, haven't moved back into the neighborhood. I know of only two of my numerous black neighbors and friends from childhood who live in Mt. Airy currently and neither of them have children.

Beyond Mt. Airy specifically, black middle-class families with school age children are leaving the city, or choosing not to locate there in the first place, for the same reasons as white middle-class families. The big change is that thirty years ago housing discrimination forced many black families who could afford to live in the suburbs to remain in the city. However, that has changed dramatically in the ensuing years and black families have far more options than they did in the past.

Good point

But isn't West Mt.airy still majority white and isn't West Mt. airy seen as the more desirable side...supposedly.

Black middle class families seem to have more options now seems alot of them are moving into montgomery and delaware counties. Although there are some black middle class areas in the city like wynnefield,east oak lane and east mt airy.

[RightonWalnut]

Mt. Airy is fantastic and certainly better than most neighborhoods on that list... but best in Philly? No. Not in my opinion. Society Hill, Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, Washington Square West, Logan Square, Old City, Fairmount, Northern Liberties, Bella Vista, Queen Village, Graduate Hospital, University City, Spruce Hill, Chestnut Hill and Manayunk are all neighborhoods I would put above Mt. Airy.

[tintin19119]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Mt. Airy is fantastic and certainly better than most neighborhoods on that list... but best in Philly? No. Not in my opinion. Society Hill, Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, Washington Square West, Logan Square, Old City, Fairmount, Northern Liberties, Bella Vista, Queen Village, Graduate Hospital, University City, Spruce Hill, Chestnut Hill and Manayunk are all neighborhoods I would put above Mt. Airy.

I could see why you would put all those areas over Mt. Airy.People from Mt.Airy have a different mind set then you. We don`t blame the victim when something happens.