Relocating: Need reform jewish area with very good school districts within 35 minutes from West Chester, PA (Philadelphia: fit in, homes)

[HeatherNY]

I was hoping someone that really knows the surrounding area of West Chester, PA, school districts and jewish life can help answer my question:

My family is considering moving from Westchester, NY to PA. We are raising our children Jewish in a reform temple. We are considering moving quite frankly because we are having difficulty purchasing a home for under 700k in our area and my husbands family all live in West Chester, PA.

I have been reading many of your blogs already. The three biggest concerns I have are:
1. Finding a neighborhood with a good reform jewish population so my kids are not the only jewish ones at school. (15-20% perhaps?)
2. Excellent public schools elementary-high school (my kids are currently in pre-K and first grade)
3. Purchasing an affordable home within 30-40 minutes from my in-laws (West Chester, PA) for less then 700k and with a decent amount of acreage (.5).

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I have heard Montgomery County has the biggest jewish population but most areas seem to be more then 40minutes form West Chester which is a bit too far.
I have also hear of Radnor. Though not clear if its in Delaware County or Chester County. Thoughts? Swarthmore? But not sure about school district. Haverford? And closest I believe would be Malvern, but I've been there and I don't get the feeling there is a fair amount of jewish kids in the school districts. Help...

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by HeatherNY

I was hoping someone that really knows the surrounding area of West Chester, PA, school districts and jewish life can help answer my question:

My family is considering moving from Westchester, NY to PA. We are raising our children Jewish in a reform temple. We are considering moving quite frankly because we are having difficulty purchasing a home for under 700k in our area and my husbands family all live in West Chester, PA.

I have been reading many of your blogs already. The three biggest concerns I have are:
1. Finding a neighborhood with a good reform jewish population so my kids are not the only jewish ones at school. (15-20% perhaps?)
2. Excellent public schools elementary-high school (my kids are currently in pre-K and first grade)
3. Purchasing an affordable home within 30-40 minutes from my in-laws (West Chester, PA) for less then 700k and with a decent amount of acreage (.5).

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I have heard Montgomery County has the biggest jewish population but most areas seem to be more then 40minutes form West Chester which is a bit too far.
I have also hear of Radnor. Though not clear if its in Delaware County or Chester County. Thoughts? Swarthmore? But not sure about school district. Haverford? And closest I believe would be Malvern, but I've been there and I don't get the feeling there is a fair amount of jewish kids in the school districts. Help...

Lower Merion--the Township is 25-30% Jewish and the school district is well over 1/3. There are no other school districts within 35 minutes of West Chester that fit your qualifications. For ease of commute, aim for the western half (Gladwyne, Villanova, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr/Rosemont).

If you want to live closer, you'll have to settle for a significantly lower Jewish presence, though Jewish kids wouldn't experience much issue at any of the districts you've named, save for perhaps Haverford Township, which has seen a bit of an uptick in anti-Semitism in recent years.

[BPP1999]

Three in Montgomery County that come to mind are:

Upper Dublin School District (~45 minutes from WC, ~15% Jewish maybe?) - Look for homes in "Fort Washington"
Colonial School District (~35-40 minutes from WC, ~10% Jewish) - Look for homes in "Lafayette Hill" or "Plymouth Meeting"
Wissahickon School District (~40 minutes from WC, ~10% Jewish) - Look for homes in "Ambler" or "Blue Bell"

Two others are Abington (~10-15% Jewish) and Cheltenham (~ 15%-20%) School Districts but they are too far from WC (~1 hr).

Heavenwood is more accurate with the % of populations that are Jewish so these are my estimates. However, I graduated from the Colonial School District so my estimate of ~10% is fairly accurate.

I assume your husband's family in WC are Jewish? Ask them for suggestions.

Where will you and your husband be working? That is important to this discussion as well.

Also, see here: https://www.jewishphilly.org/

[HeatherNY]

Thank you both for your quick response. To answer one question, my in-laws are not Jewish, which is the reason I am seeking advice since they do not know the answers to my questions. They have lived in West Chester for many years and agree that there are not many Jewish families around that area. Nor are there hardly any reform temples.
Another good question:employment. My husband is fairly employable since he works in healthcare and will likely seek emoyment at a large hospital. However, he prefers NOT to have to work in Philadelphia but rather one of the better hospitals in the suburbs (Bryn Mawr, Lankenau).
@BPP1999, the places you mention, I've read, have good Jewish populations, but I'm hoping to be no more then 30 min or less from our family in West Chester. Any other suggestions?

[ElijahAstin]

BPP is about right on the percentages (UD is 15-20%; PW these days is a combination of 15-20% [Whitemarsh], 5-7% [Plymouth], and <2% [Conshohocken], averaging a little over 10%). What sounds over-optimistic are those commute estimates. Even Western LM, which is closer than any of those three by a not insignificant margin, is pushing 35 minutes in peak traffic conditions.

If you want to reliably be within a half hour from WC, you're going to have to settle for a smaller Jewish population.

You could try throwing Radnor in the mix, which is ~10% and growing.

[HeatherNY]

Thank you HeavenWood, I'm going to visit Radnor. Your input is appreciated!

[JEO]

Hi there - I also responded to another post, but I highly recommend Radnor. It's a much smaller community/school district than Lower Merion and does have a sizable Jewish population. Most of the Jewish families reside on the east side of the township (Bryn Mawr area) and I would say Ithan Elementary has more Jewish families than Radnor and Wayne; however many Jewish families are moving into Wayne. Radnor is wonderful - excellent schools and a strong sense of community. I would estimate the Jewish population in public schools at 10% at a minimum. I really don't think you could go wrong buying in Radnor Good luck!

[mls128]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

Lower Merion--the Township is 25-30% Jewish and the school district is well over 1/3. There are no other school districts within 35 minutes of West Chester that fit your qualifications. For ease of commute, aim for the western half (Gladwyne, Villanova, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr/Rosemont).

If you want to live closer, you'll have to settle for a significantly lower Jewish presence, though Jewish kids wouldn't experience much issue at any of the districts you've named, save for perhaps Haverford Township, which has seen a bit of an uptick in anti-Semitism in recent years.

When has there been anti-semitism in haverford township? I'm not saying your wrong, but I previously lived there, and am still there sometimes and never noticed that at all, so I'm curious .

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by mls128

When has there been anti-semitism in haverford township? I'm not saying your wrong, but I previously lived there, and am still there sometimes and never noticed that at all, so I'm curious .

For starters, when my mother and uncle were growing up there in the '60s and '70s, there was a lot of animosity between the Jewish and Gentile kids--probably more so than other areas (Abington, Springfield MontCo, Marple, etc.) where Jews formed a noticeable presence but were still in the definite minority. Jewish kids had to deal with being called k*kes and Christ-killers, not to mention pennies being thrown at them. The western part of the Township toward Lawrence Road, where the "rich" Jews lived, was popularly known as k*ke's peak. My mother, a "poor" Earlington Road Jew who didn't fit in with the "rich" set was lauded as being a "good" Jew by her mostly Gentile friends.

I'm not saying all (or even most) non-Jews were guilty of these offenses, and anti-Semitic teasing in general certainly isn't as bad today as it was 30-40 years ago (Haverford Township or otherwise). But even today, I've heard from multiple sources that anti-Semitic incidences are again on the rise in Haverford Township's public schools. Is it rampant? Probably not. Still, it wouldn't be a prime choice for a Jewish family looking to utilize the public schools.

If you're not Jewish, anti-Semitism can be easy to miss. It, like all other forms of prejudice, comes in a spectrum, and these days especially, it often comes out in its most subtle forms.

[jf3971]

well said