Philadelphia: Tell Me About the Main Line

[Anonymous]

We are considering a potential job opportunity in downtown Philly and exploring neighborhoods to live in. We currently live in Bethesda, and would like to replicate what we like here (access to good shopping and schools; and a progressive, educated, culturally diverse community)-but hopefully at a lower price point (under $600k) and shorter commute (ideally under 30 min).

We have a young child so public schools are very important to us as is neighborborhood safety. We've spent time in downtown Philly for work and also socially. However, I know very little about the Main Line (outside of what I've been gathering on blogs and real estate sites).

It seems like Lower Marion, Ardmore or Bala Cynwyd could be good fits-but I imagine there are other towns that might also allows to us replicate Bethesda, and get even more bang for our buck.

Any insights would be appreciated!

[Anonymous]

I am from Lower Merion. I’ve seen a few threads discussing this in the past so you may want to search.

I think Bethesda and LM are quite similar. Suburban square is a lot like downtown Bethesda. R5 commute into philly is very easy.

LMHS was an extemely good school when I graduated in the early 00’s. It weakened for a while, but I’ve heard it’s gotten better again. The feel at LM is probably closer to Whitman than BCC.

Housing stock is great. It’s not as cookie cutter as MD. It’s certainly cheaper than Bethesda, but you aren’t going to find a huge house for $600k.

Depending on what you are looking for and your commute you still get great schools like Radnor a little further down the main line.

[Anonymous]

What about Swarthmore? Excellent public schools and a nice town vibe.

Just be careful of how the school districts are drawn. Pennsylvania has townships so a post office name can be split into different townships in different counties. Bryn Mawr and Haverford are in both Montgomery and Delaware Counties, I believe, and Bryn Mawr is further divided within Radnor and Haverford townships (Delaware County) and Lower Merion township (Montgomery County).

Unless things have changed a lot in the last 10 years since I last lived in Philadelphia you're not going to find that much diversity on the mainline. It's white. Plenty of Jews but I'm not sure if that is diversity to you. I think there's more diversity closer to City Avenue dividing Lower Merion from Philadelphia properly. It's also out towards Radnor and Chester County that you start finding more Asians and South Asians.

[Anonymous]

We were in Wayne for thanksgiving weekend, and I literally never saw any people of color. Everywhere we went, everyone was white. I can't imagine raising my children in that sort of bubble.

The area is charming with some great houses, but I think the price point is higher than you think. Our hosts paid more than a million for their house a decade ago and I'm sure it's worth more given the upgrades they made.

The public schools seem great from what I've heard, but lots of people send their kids to private school for the experience. There's a country club culture there as well, but I imagine that's comparable to Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

I graduated from Wissahickon school district, which still has a wonderful reputation, but doesn't really have a good town center (unless Ambler has improved - it wasn't great when I was growing up). I would agree that the diversity around there is mostly Jews, Asians, and South Asians. You'll find more African Americans in Philly area than Bethesda. You're not going to find the diversity you do in the DC area. There are so many good school districts in the area, you really can't go wrong. The main line is where you'll find more "old money", a little more snob appeal, and a little preppier. But there are nice people everywhere. Driving into the city stinks, but the commuter rail is good. Explore the areas walking distance to the stations.

[Anonymous]

Inner Main Line (bala Cynwyd, narberth, ardmore, wynnewood, merion station), all within Lower Merion--is your best bet for price and commute. It's not extremely diverse but more so than Wayne. Schools are good, very livable area, good shopping. We like it here! Real estate taxes are higher than Bethesda, FYI.

[Anonymous]

I’ve never met anyone I have cared for from “the main line”. But, then again, I don’t like Montgomery County either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never met anyone I have cared for from “the main line”. But, then again, I don’t like Montgomery County either.

All the people I know from the main line are very similar to the people I know from Bethesda, at least at my small, preppy college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were in Wayne for thanksgiving weekend, and I literally never saw any people of color. Everywhere we went, everyone was white. I can't imagine raising my children in that sort of bubble.

The area is charming with some great houses, but I think the price point is higher than you think. Our hosts paid more than a million for their house a decade ago and I'm sure it's worth more given the upgrades they made.

The public schools seem great from what I've heard, but lots of people send their kids to private school for the experience. There's a country club culture there as well, but I imagine that's comparable to Bethesda.

My husband grew up in Wayne and I agree it is pretty monochromatic. I'm South Asian and sometimes find myself the only person of color for days there.

[Anonymous]

What about Chelteham or Jenkintown OP? Not the mainline but certainly commutable by train.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were in Wayne for thanksgiving weekend, and I literally never saw any people of color. Everywhere we went, everyone was white. I can't imagine raising my children in that sort of bubble.

The area is charming with some great houses, but I think the price point is higher than you think. Our hosts paid more than a million for their house a decade ago and I'm sure it's worth more given the upgrades they made.

The public schools seem great from what I've heard, but lots of people send their kids to private school for the experience. There's a country club culture there as well, but I imagine that's comparable to Bethesda.

I feel that way when I go to Wayne and I live on the main line. It's not all like Wayne, thankfully.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Chelteham or Jenkintown OP? Not the mainline but certainly commutable by train.

Maybe. I'd look at Media, Haddonfield, Swarthmore, Ambler first though (if looking at other suburbs).

[Anonymous]

Ambler and Jenkintown are true small town, village-type neighborhoods. They are MUCH crunchier than the Main Line. Cheltenham and Abington are sprawling townships, each with a few cute neighborhoods within them. Your $600K would go a lot farther in any of these neighborhoods than on the Main Line.

Ardmore is my favorite of the ML neighborhoods that have been mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Look into Swarthmore. Great public schools. More diverse than the mainline schools. Strath Haven is outstanding and is around 25% minority. Great old neighborhoods in the boro and near Swarthmore College. Plus modest neighborhoods that help provide more diversity.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/pennsylvania/districts/wallingford-swarthmore-sd/strath-haven-high-school-17405/student-body

Does this house appeal to you?

https://www.redfin.com/PA/Swarthmore/412-N-Chester-Rd-19081/home/39173183

But, and this is a big caveat, taxes are very high.

[Anonymous]

PP. Neglected to mention Wallingford next to Swarthmore is lovely and feeds into the same schools. A bit more reasonable but taxes are still very high.