Tredyffrin-Easttown v. Wallingford-Swarthmore (Philadelphia, Chester, West Chester: fit in, to rent, how much)

[ExploringPhilly]

Hi folks,

First off, please accept my thanks for the many informative posts on the Philadelphia area. As a soon-to-be transplant, your posts have done a lot to help me get my mind around the area.

So, we (wife, 3 daughters, cat, me) have pretty much narrowed down the potential communities to two school districts: Tredyffrin-Easttown v. Wallingford-Swarthmore. We need more viewpoints to make a final decision on where to settle.

Both school districts have good reputations. That said, as we have dug into the numbers (SAT scores, S&P ratings, etc.) it's looking like Tredyffrin is showing ~10% higher scores, ratings, etc. than Wallingford. And Tredyffrin's scores are about the same as our current district in Ohio. Not wanting to put too much weight in the raw statistics, however, I surfed for more background and found several comments on the Wallingford district calling it "once great", "a has been", etc. How seriously should I take these comments?

Also, I hear a lot about Main Line attitude and that worries me. We live in an affluent area but one that seems (to me at least) as pretty down-to-earth. I'm really not interested in living in a place where a healthy emphasis on lifestyle, education, etc. borders on mania. Thoughts?

[JHG722]

I've lived in (on?) the Main Line my entire life, and have seen very few examples of 'attitude'.

[silverspringer]

Have you visited both areas? They differ somewhat in style and feel. I don't think either is necessarily better (in fact I think they are both very good), but you might know the right place when you saw it. If you can, I would visit the schools, especially if your daughters are at the high school level. You may feel strongly one way or the other.

[ExploringPhilly]

Silverspringer -- We have visited both areas and both of them seem to be at least an approximate fit. That said, we haven't visited the schools (other than driving by them). Good suggestion. Thanks.

[sbhubbell]

I like both areas and like the previous poster said, I grew up on the mainline and have seen very few examples of attitude. And TE is kind of at the end of the mainline anyway, so in my experience the further out you get from the city the less "old money" or serious snobbery there is. On the flip side Wallingford Swathmore is closer to the city and the airport, so that's a plus. I think it's a bit more family friendly than the mainline. I'd argue they are comparable academically but Strath Haven has some better sports teams, namely soccer and football. Oh...and Strath Haven HS has AWESOME hills for sledding when it snows. My favorite place to sled, hands down.

[orrmobl]

Tell us what kind of car you drive, what kind of restaurants you like, what kind of shopping you like, what kind and size of home you like, how much you have to spend and where you will be working, how long and what kind of commute you want and it should be easy for us to give you some better advice...

If my wife was working in the city, we would live in Wallingford, Swarthmore or Rose Valley. But we are a liberal inclusive type family so the people there just fit our sensibilities. Media would also make the cut for the walkable downtown and friendly people. That being said, the service sector in SE Delco comes from the city or blue collar backgrounds and are definitely rougher than you will find in Chester County or more affluent areas; I never realized this until I moved out past Downingtown and found how friendly everyone was - was a real eye-opener for me.

If you like European cars, fine dining, mega malls with high end shopping, you will fit in well in TE. I have decided that if we can find a house in our price range, we will move there anyway because the schools are that good and it's so close to my wife's work.

However, I have also encountered Great Valley (Malvern) grads who were extremely smart, mannerly, all around nice people. I would venture the same is true for Unionville Chadds Ford grads (also in the top 10 districts in the state like TE) and Downingtown (Downingtown/Exton/Lionville) as well. West Chester has a lot going on as well but its growing too fast for my taste. All of the districts mentioned are very very good and should have been on your short list if they weren't. Find a house you like and a commute you like and you can't really go wrong.

Sorry to muddy the water but if you answer those few questions, the answer should become fairly clear.

[ExploringPhilly]

Answers to your questions: We own a Chrysler minivan and an Infinity sedan. We don't eat out all that often but when we do it's at a good local pizza/italian/steak place (Julia Childs would probably call me a "feeder" as opposed to a "diner"<sigh>). We're not big shoppers either. We own a 5000 sf home in Ohio but realize we won't be able to afford a home in Philly that's anywhere near that size given that I'd like to keep my door-to-door commute to Center City to 45 minutes (I'm generally headed into the office around 7 and leaving the office just after 6). My guess is that we're looking to rent for the next couple years, pending worries about the economy/signs of deflation in 2009, and don't want to spend more than $3K in rent. Politically/philosophically, I guess we're slightly right of center though not religiously so -- we tend to embrace friends from all over the political spectrum so long as they're not dogmatic.

[orrmobl]

Sounds more like Media to me. Wallingford/Swarthmore would also be a fairly good fit so long as liberals don't bother you too much - the people are really friendly and inclusive so that's all good.

I would also say East Goshen/West Chester may be a good fit but no public transportation to the city. For that you would have to drive to Media or Exton which is in the Downingtown School District - this district has a wide variety of people and housing etc, but is a tad further than the commute you want...

Garnet Valley schools are also very good but that area (Glen Mills, Bethel, Thornton) tends to have a bit of keep of with the Joneses and again you have to drive to Elwyn/Media to catch the train.

Tredyffrin is more affluent than ALL of the areas mentioned above, and will probably not be as welcoming as most others, but the schools are great. I would say the fit there for you is less than the other areas I've mentioned.

[ExploringPhilly]

Thanks, Orrmobl!

One more question -- I've read the sticky Philly traffic post but it didn't provide quite enough detail to answer the following question: Could I drive to/from Center City from Wallingford-Swathmore in 30 minutes so long as I'm doing so before 7 am and after 6 pm?

[orrmobl]

You're welcome!
As for the commute, not likely. It probably takes a good 40 minutes even at off hours...you are much better off taking the R3 train as it is less expensive/aggravating than driving and parking in the city and you can actually do work during your commute...or read or catch a few more zzzs!