Indian family moving to Philadelphia metro (Norristown, King of Prussia: apartments, houses, transfer to)

[Rasin]

Hi,

I am moving to the Philly metro as part of my new job. I would be shuttling between Philly downtown and Radnor, PA. Looking to find a place in an upscale suburb which is:

a) Close to Radnor, PA
b) Has a thriving Indian community
c) Has a good school district ( I have a 2 year old with me)
d) Has a good train connectivity to downtown Philly

Can the gurus in this group please advice on what are the suburbs I should look at ?

Thanks,
Rasin

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Rasin

Hi,

I am moving to the Philly metro as part of my new job. I would be shuttling between Philly downtown and Radnor, PA. Looking to find a place in an upscale suburb which is:

a) Close to Radnor, PA
b) Has a thriving Indian community
c) Has a good school district ( I have a 2 year old with me)
d) Has a good train connectivity to downtown Philly

Can the gurus in this group please advice on what are the suburbs I should look at ?

Thanks,
Rasin

Upper Merion (King of Prussia)

[Rasin]

Thank you ElijahAstin. Any apartments that you would recommend I check out at King of Prussia ?

Thanks.

[mphilly]

I second Upper Merion/KOP. It doesn't have everything you're looking for but it's a middle class area with pretty good schools, a sizable Indian population and is close to Radnor. The train situation isn't the best but supposedly SEPTA will be working on improving connections to the area soon.

[Rasin]

Thank you guys. KOP is surely on my shortlist. How do the following compare to KOP:

1) Plymouth meeting
2) Bryn mawr
3) Norristown

Are these posher/having better train connections/having bigger Indian communities ?

Thanks !

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by mphilly

I second Upper Merion/KOP. It doesn't have everything you're looking for but it's a middle class area with pretty good schools, a sizable Indian population and is close to Radnor. The train situation isn't the best but supposedly SEPTA will be working on improving connections to the area soon.

There is the high-speed line, which connects to Center City via the Market-Frankford El. It's not as convenient as taking the train (and parking + riding from a Main Line station may still be preferable for the OP), but it's an option.

Originally Posted by Rasin

Thank you guys. KOP is surely on my shortlist. How do the following compare to KOP:

1) Plymouth meeting
2) Bryn mawr
3) Norristown

Are these posher/having better train connections/having bigger Indian communities ?

Thanks !

1) equal/no/no
2) yes/yes/no
3) no/yes/no

[Rasin]

ElijahAstin - Thanks to your replies, I am getting more and more convinced that KOP is the way to go. I know you did this earlier, but would you elaborate a bit more on the train options I have from KOP to Philly Market Street. I could not completely follow your suggestions on the train routes above.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Rasin

Thank you guys. KOP is surely on my shortlist. How do the following compare to KOP:

1) Plymouth meeting
2) Bryn mawr
3) Norristown

Are these posher/having better train connections/having bigger Indian communities ?

Thanks !

There's no Indian community in Byrn Mawr that I know of. If that is really important to you take it off your list.

Forget Norristown altogether. Norristown has some well-cared for Victorian Era houses but doubt it would have anything you want. All the real amenities it had are long gone. All its, for example, shopping drifted to Plymouth Meeting and KOP malls over the years.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Rasin

Hi,

I am moving to the Philly metro as part of my new job. I would be shuttling between Philly downtown and Radnor, PA. Looking to find a place in an upscale suburb which is:

a) Close to Radnor, PA
b) Has a thriving Indian community
c) Has a good school district ( I have a 2 year old with me)
d) Has a good train connectivity to downtown Philly

Can the gurus in this group please advice on what are the suburbs I should look at ?

Thanks,
Rasin

Probably does not pertain to you but, FYI only, there is a huge Sikh community in Upper Darby which is just beyond Philadelphia's western border.

There are also a lot of Indians in New Jersey. I had an Indian work colleague who commuted from NJ to the Univ.of PA everyday. She seemed fine with it.

[Richard256]

Originally Posted by Rasin

ElijahAstin - Thanks to your replies, I am getting more and more convinced that KOP is the way to go. I know you did this earlier, but would you elaborate a bit more on the train options I have from KOP to Philly Market Street. I could not completely follow your suggestions on the train routes above.

There are two trains you can use. The R6 is a regional rail line, which has two stations in Norristown. The R6 line is the most direct and fastest way to get to Philly. There is a parking garage and a few parking lots at Norristown transportation center. The other route getting to center city involves 2 trains. First you have to get on the route 100 train, which has roughly 3-4 stops in the KOP area depending on where you live. You have to take the 100 train to Upper Darby then transfer to the Market-Frankford line. This train known as the EL, is an elevated train that rides over Market Street. They are planning a train line to connect to KOP more directly to the city, but from what heard it could be up to 10 years before it s complete.