Stay or Leave Lower Merion? Home options..... (Philadelphia, Lancaster: renting, new home)

[kashley]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

The Borough of Media and the surrounding autocentric suburbs pose the same problems for the OP as the Main Line's village centers and post-war suburban infill. "Greater" Wayne--particularly St. David's--is the only other Wynnewood-like area that comes to mind. The problem is that most neighborhoods that are just outside of and easily accessible to greater Philadelphia's Boroughs and village centers--like Rydal to Jenkintown, South Media to Media, Merion Station to Narberth, etc.--are nearly as dense, which is a no-no for the OP. Elwyn and Lima, while perfectly nice, have the same drawbacks for the OP as Penn Valley.

Now, Saint Davids sounds very intriguing. I'll check that out. It looks like it's right next to Wayne which is a ways out. I'll check it out though. Thanks so much for the suggestion!

[Flyers Girl]

Originally Posted by kashley

I actually live a stones throw away from Havertown. It's a nice town; if only the schools were better. Thanks for the suggestion!!

HTSD is ranked 24th out of 585 Pennsylvania school districts. What exactly are you looking for?

[Droop]

LOL, you like the diversity of Lower Merion. That was a joke, right? That's where people move to avoid diversity.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Flyers Girl

HTSD is ranked 24th out of 585 Pennsylvania school districts. What exactly are you looking for?

Considering what its neighboring townships seem to be doing that's nothing to crow about. And it does bother me that HTSD is so much lower than Radnor or Lower Merion.

I went to HTSD schools(HHS class of '67). My mother, older sister, one niece, two aunts and 4 cousins are all "products" of Haverford Twp schools. We all went to college so academically those schools served us pretty well.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Droop

LOL, you like the diversity of Lower Merion. That was a joke, right? That's where people move to avoid diversity.

Lower Merion isn't a bastion of diversity, but it's never been lily white (at least since the '20s, when African Americans began settling in Ardmore in significant numbers). Today, it's among the region's more diverse desirable suburbs and will become steadily more diverse in the years to come. People really looking to avoid diversity aren't gung ho for a place that's ~20% people of color (and 30% Jewish, to boot).

OP: prioritize your pros and cons and accept that no place is going to satisfy all of your wants, unless you're willing to wait for the right house to come on the market in the section of Wynnewood between Narberth and Ardmore. Even then, you probably won't get everything you're looking for.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

Lower Merion isn't a bastion of diversity, but it's never been lily white (at least since the '20s, when African Americans began settling in Ardmore in significant numbers). Today, it's among the region's more diverse desirable suburbs and will become steadily more diverse in the years to come. People really looking to avoid diversity aren't gung ho for a place that's ~20% people of color (and 30% Jewish, to boot).

OP: prioritize your pros and cons and accept that no place is going to satisfy all of your wants, unless you're willing to wait for the right house to come on the market in the section of Wynnewood between Narberth and Ardmore. Even then, you probably won't get everything you're looking for.

Just to flesh this out a bit, black people have been on the Main Line for over 100 years in Ardmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr. My maternal grandparents migrated to the Phila. area(first to Ardmore then Haverford)in 1915 from New Orleans. My mother was born the next year. There were blacks in those towns before they arrived. Many were in domestic service for rich Main Line families.

[Droop]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

Lower Merion isn't a bastion of diversity, but it's never been lily white (at least since the '20s, when African Americans began settling in Ardmore in significant numbers). Today, it's among the region's more diverse desirable suburbs and will become steadily more diverse in the years to come. People really looking to avoid diversity aren't gung ho for a place that's ~20% people of color (and 30% Jewish, to boot).

OP: prioritize your pros and cons and accept that no place is going to satisfy all of your wants, unless you're willing to wait for the right house to come on the market in the section of Wynnewood between Narberth and Ardmore. Even then, you probably won't get everything you're looking for.

Lower Merion is not 20 percent black. Lower Merion is 5 percent black. The overrepresentation of white Jews is the opposite of diversity. Wynnwood is 93 percent white.

Again, Lower Merion is a place where white (especially Jewish) people move to avoid minorities. I think it is funny that the OP would tout Wynnewood/Lower Merion for its diversity.

[Droop]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Just to flesh this out a bit, black people have been on the Main Line for over 100 years in Ardmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr. My maternal grandparents migrated to the Phila. area(first to Ardmore then Haverford)in 1915 from New Orleans. My mother was born the next year. There were blacks in those towns before they arrived. Many were in domestic service for rich Main Line families.

The main line is a big area. Haverford is in Hverford Township Delaware County. Bryan Mawr is mostly in Radnor Township in Deleware County. The OP said that she likes the diversity of Lower Merion, an area that is 5 percent black. The largest number of these black people are concentrated in a small area of Ardmore.

The is really no need to debate this since the demographic information is readily available. Wynnewood, her home town is 93 percent white. It's late or I would look up Gladwyn, Merion Station, Bala, etc. These are some of the least racially diverse areas in the Philadelphia region. The OP could not be more wrong.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Droop

Lower Merion is not 20 percent black. Lower Merion is 5 percent black. The overrepresentation of white Jews is the opposite of diversity. Wynnwood is 93 percent white.

Again, Lower Merion is a place where white (especially Jewish) people move to avoid minorities. I think it is funny that the OP would tout Wynnewood/Lower Merion for its diversity.

This may come as a shock to you, but African Americans are not the only people of color. When you include Asians, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, and persons of mixed race, it totals 20%. The overrepresentation of Jewish people (who are usually, but by no means always, white), absolutely adds to diversity on top of that because Jewish people (again, by virtue of their Judaism) are ~4.5% of the Delaware Valley. By the way: the 19096 zip code is just under 80% non-Hispanic white these days (you're citing 2000 census stats, at best).

Singling out Lower Merion--which is more diverse than all of its suburban neighbors except for Upper Merion--is off-base (and reeks of an agenda when you single out Jews as part of the "problem"). It also doesn't benefit the OP, who hasn't specified the type of diversity s/he is seeking and, rightly or wrongly, seems resistant to moving for 1,000,001 other reasons.

Let's not further derail the thread and focus on helping the OP as best we can. If you want to talk about this more, you can start your own thread or direct message me.

[kashley]

Originally Posted by Flyers Girl

HTSD is ranked 24th out of 585 Pennsylvania school districts. What exactly are you looking for?

Yes HTSD is rated pretty well I must say. However, based on my research, LM ranks number 4 in PA. I just want the best for my kids; that's all. ��