Tredyffrin vs Radnor vs Lower Merion (Doylestown, Ambler: school district, commute, area)

[mls128]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

Fixed this for you, though again, I don't recommend a Lower Merion-North Wales commute.

Fair enough, I wouldn't say it's the majority but still more of them in LM than any other places I have lived. And, the ones in LM are pretty aggravating if you're forced to deal with them. Obviously there's plenty of nice people there and it doesn't take away from all the other great things I mentioned about the area. But, depending on where the OP is coming from, she may or may not be used to this.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by mls128

Fair enough, I wouldn't say it's the majority but still more of them in LM than any other places I have lived.

Not sure if this is the case, but if LM is significantly wealthier than any other places you have lived, that makes sense. More wealth = more wealth-based pretension.

Originally Posted by mls128

And, the ones in LM are pretty aggravating if you're forced to deal with them.

Many (though by no means all) of the worst offenders run in their own very tight little social circles (sending kids to the fanciest private schools, belonging to the most exclusive clubs, etc.), so that takes care of a lot of the problem. Working in a service- or retail-industry which caters to that lot would probably be the worst, though.

Originally Posted by mls128

Obviously there's plenty of nice people there and it doesn't take away from all the other great things I mentioned about the area. But, depending on where the OP is coming from, she may or may not be used to this.

Unless the OP suddenly hit the lottery (or is coming from California, where home prices are super-duper-duper expensive), since he/she is searching for homes in the $800k-$1.2mm range, it's probably nothing she hasn't seen before, though the particular variety of pretension may be somewhat different. That said, there's going to be similar levels of pretension in the other Main Line areas, along with the Northern suburban locations I/others have suggested, so it's really a "pick your poison" sort of deal.

[Angus215]

In terms of the culture, just depends what you want. Some people like to live around pretentious people, because they themselves are pretentious and they like that environment. Other factors to consider is that there are significant cultural concentrations in these areas - Lower Merion is extremely Jewish, Tredyffrin will be more waspy, etc. The other areas mentioned (Gwynedd, Blue Bell, Upper Dublin / Ft Washington) will have a much shorter commute time, similar socio-economic profile, and overall less pretention.

Point is, you can't just base your search on school ratings. In some cities, there are only a handful of areas with good school districts and some people moving from those areas think they have to limit themselves to the few "best" district in the Philadelphia area. The reality is that there are dozens of excellent school districts in the philly suburbs, including those mentioned above and many more.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Angus215

In terms of the culture, just depends what you want. Some people like to live around pretentious people, because they themselves are pretentious and they like that environment. Other factors to consider is that there are significant cultural concentrations in these areas - Lower Merion is extremely Jewish, Tredyffrin will be more waspy, etc. The other areas mentioned (Gwynedd, Blue Bell, Upper Dublin / Ft Washington) will have a much shorter commute time, similar socio-economic profile, and overall less pretention.

Point is, you can't just base your search on school ratings. In some cities, there are only a handful of areas with good school districts and some people moving from those areas think they have to limit themselves to the few "best" district in the Philadelphia area. The reality is that there are dozens of excellent school districts in the philly suburbs, including those mentioned above and many more.

Eh--modestly less, as those areas are a little less well-off--but beyond that, the pretension will simply tend to take on a somewhat different form--more blueblood/wannabe blueblood around the Main Line; more nouveau riche in the latter areas. Again, pick your poison, but keep in mind that commute time.

[BORD]

If your husband will be working in North Wales then I think you owe it to yourselves to check out Doylestown. Relatively easy commute (30-35 minutes in traffic), Central Bucks school district is rated top 10 in PA, and it's got a great walkable downtown area with train access.

[mls128]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

Not sure if this is the case, but if LM is significantly wealthier than any other places you have lived, that makes sense. More wealth = more wealth-based pretension.


Many (though by no means all) of the worst offenders run in their own very tight little social circles (sending kids to the fanciest private schools, belonging to the most exclusive clubs, etc.), so that takes care of a lot of the problem. Working in a service- or retail-industry which caters to that lot would probably be the worst, though.


Unless the OP suddenly hit the lottery (or is coming from California, where home prices are super-duper-duper expensive), since he/she is searching for homes in the $800k-$1.2mm range, it's probably nothing she hasn't seen before, though the particular variety of pretension may be somewhat different. That said, there's going to be similar levels of pretension in the other Main Line areas, along with the Northern suburban locations I/others have suggested, so it's really a "pick your poison" sort of deal.

The only area of comparable wealth i've lived in was in the south. People there were a lot more friendly but I think that may be more of a regional difference. I will admit though, I have worked in a retail store off the main line where a lot of those people frequent and had to put up with a lot of what you were just speaking of, so I am definitely biased from that. You're right though, the OP is probably coming from a similar area.

Edit: Also commenting on what Angus was saying. It's not really the pretentiousness that bothered me,although some of them are. You can be pretentious without treating people who are less than you like dirt. I'm more talking about the ones who are just flat out horrible.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by mls128

The only area of comparable wealth i've lived in was in the south. People there were a lot more friendly but I think that may be more of a regional difference. I will admit though, I have worked in a retail store off the main line where a lot of those people frequent and had to put up with a lot of what you were just speaking of, so I am definitely biased from that. You're right though, the OP is probably coming from a similar area.

Edit: Also commenting on what Angus was saying. It's not really the pretentiousness that bothered me,although some of them are. You can be pretentious without treating people who are less than you like dirt. I'm more talking about the ones who are just flat out horrible.

It's a sad fact of life that people from all walks of life think that because they're prospective/paying customers, they're entitled to treat retail/service workers like crap. I can definitely envisage people who are both rich and snobby being the worst by a considerable margin, though, since their maltreatment comes along with an extra-special superiority complex.

[JMBOLB]

Thank you all for your valuable inputs.
Should I quote all answers or reply to each poster
separately? New to citydata...

I appreciate your perspectives.
I saw all areas. Blue Bell, Ambler, Perkiomen school district, Upper Dublin, Lower Gwynedd,
Main Line, Central Bucks area...
Schools do not allow visit until you are registered at the district, meaning
you first buy a home and then tour the school you'll have to use anyway.
So the only information I can rely on is the ratings, reviews and approaching moms at pick up time. I mean, really!

I'm from Brazil, lived in Indiana and now in Los Angeles area. Coming from abroad, I don't get all this subtle feeling that Americans get in 2' about people in one area or even state. But because of that, I know there are communities that are open to people coming from different cultures and are eager to interact and there are communities that are not that easy to make friends as their circle of friendship is already settled, if you know what I mean.

Me and my husband grew up in an urban environment and we like it. I guess we're looking for the best of both worlds... Contemporary, urban... And safer, less polluted and noisy, with good public schools, after all we are paying "good" taxes and from our background, we've learnt the beauty and importance to be actively part of the community and work to improve its quality of service all the time. And the schools are a good opportunity to do it.

About commute... I know.. Not good..
We are trying to balance everything.
My husband has some colleagues that live in Philadelphia and take the one hour train (working meanwhile)..
But they don't have kids.

Tough decision ahead of us..

Thank you all!

[stuckinsj]

Go with ambler. diverse. close to north whales. great downtown. train to north whales and Philly.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by stuckinsj

Go with ambler. diverse. close to north whales. great downtown. train to north whales and Philly.

Agreed on Ambler.

And I prefer South Dolphins.