Not sure if anyone has mentioned Wyndmoor yet. Not Main Line but just across the city line from Chestnut Hill. Friends who initially were looking in Lower Merion, Ardmore, etc ended up there and love it. Not Bethesda, but provides easy access to Center City, good schools, and walkabillity. The homes are beautiful. Admittedly, I have no idea it it’s more or less diverse than the Main Line towns already discussed.

Are you or your husband from the Philadelphia area?

If not, it is definitely an acquired taste. Philadelphia is generally full of feisty, grumpy people. If you aren't ready to play rough (which they think nothing of) - its not for you.

Any of these places would be demonstrably better than Bethesda. So don’t worry: you can be bubbled up.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

$17k in property taxes?!?!?!

Even worse inNew Jersey. Mind boggling.

Anonymous wrote:

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).

Haddonfuel is in NJ and is not diverse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are the best school districts in Philly? As someone who might end up there (husband is from Philly and his company is pushing him to end up there) I’m in the dark. I’m from Boston so totally in the dark.

u

There is one district in Philly. It is SDP. Or do you mean Philly area?

The city has great neighborhoods and some great schools. Please do not start dissing public schools because they are not all white. A friend of mine just moved to Media from the city. She said her kids had a higher quality education in the Philly public school than what they are getting in the burbs.

Your friend is a very, very large anomaly. Philly public are bad, and I lived there so am not going by reputation.

Anonymous wrote:What are the best school districts in Philly? As someone who might end up there (husband is from Philly and his company is pushing him to end up there) I’m in the dark. I’m from Boston so totally in the dark.

u

There is one district in Philly. It is SDP. Or do you mean Philly area?

The city has great neighborhoods and some great schools. Please do not start dissing public schools because they are not all white. A friend of mine just moved to Media from the city. She said her kids had a higher quality education in the Philly public school than what they are getting in the burbs.

Anonymous wrote: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.

$17k in property taxes?!?!?!

What are the best school districts in Philly? As someone who might end up there (husband is from Philly and his company is pushing him to end up there) I’m in the dark. I’m from Boston so totally in the dark.

OP here again. Thanks for all of this advice. It has been a huge help as I continue my research!

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all of this helpful feedback! So glad that I posted here. I will definitely also look into Swarthmore, Jenkintown and Cheltenham as recommended. And probably stay away from Wayne. Two quick follow ups:

How much longer would the commute be into Center City from Swarthmore vs Bala or Ardmore?

Are there any safety concerns with the Bala Cynwyd/Lower Merion area? I've read online that it may border a sketchy part of Philly. But I also recognize that "sketchy" can mean very different things to different people.

And property taxes higher than MoCo?!?! That is truly frightening...

I posted upthread, but I live in the area and made the move from DC. Media is one of the cuter, more vibrant Philly burbs and one I would add it to your list to check out. Cheltenham wouldn't make my list--I think it's on a downward slide. You could also check out Glenside, Ambler, Blue Bell area for another option.

Safety is not a concern once you are a few blocks away from City Ave (and really it's not much of a concern when you're closer.)

Taxes in L. Merion, to give you an example, on a $600k house run a little under $10k and going up every year. Taxes on a similar house would be $15k+ in Swarthmore.

You won't replicate Bethesda because this isn't Bethesda, it's an older area with a different character, but you can have an equally nice life here (or nicer!). Finally, although you get more for your money here, it may not be quite as dramatic as you expect. A lot of the "bargains" have tradeoffs, like the house in Swarthmore posted upthread which is on a very busy road. At around $600k, you will still be making some significant tradeoffs re: updates, yard or house size, etc.

Anonymous wrote:Eastern main line is more diverse. Look for schools that feed to Lower Merion high school and Bala Cynwyd middle.

Haverford (Haverford high school) is another idea. You get more for your $ compared to LMSD.

Yes, but Haverford still isn't that diverse. It's also more like North Bethesda or Gaithersburg than Bethesda in terms of feel.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is some diversity in Bethesda. There is seemingly none in Wayne. I am not exaggerating when I said we didn't see any minorities in 4 days. None. Zero.

You can't walk into a grocery store, cvs, or restaurant in Bethesda without seeing at least some people of color. But in Wayne, we didn't see any. It was unsettling to be in a diner packed with only white people...I felt like we were in the 1950s south.

We ventured into Ardmore to shop, and it was slightly more diverse but still very white. And Ardmore was packed (the outdoor shopping area). That area reminded me a bit of Bethesda in terms of outdoor shopping.

I know the point is diversity, but your post is bringing back good memories for me (Minella's Diner! Suburban Square!)

Yes, I'm talking about Minella's! Great diner, but zero diversity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bala Cynwyd and Swarthmore aren't like Bethesda (and Jenkintown is far away and nothing like Bethesda either). Stick with the towns on the R5 starting with Merion and Narberth and moving west. I spent part of my childhood in Malvern so closer to the end of the line on the western end. The school districts are excellent (Lower Merion, Radnor, Tredyffrin-Easttown, even Great Valley).

Jenkintown is adorable and absolutely commutable. My mother took the train to Center City for 30+ years.

But Jenkintown doesn't replicate Bethesda and isn't on the Main Line. My relative has a lovely house in Media and commuted to Center City for 30+ years but Media doesn't fit OP's criteria. What about West Chester? Doylestown? King of Prussia? Mount Airy? We could just name every area and suburb of Philadelphia but that isn't helpful.

Well, she wants walkable and progressive, with a quick commute. Jenkintown works.

Eastern main line is more diverse. Look for schools that feed to Lower Merion high school and Bala Cynwyd middle.

Haverford (Haverford high school) is another idea. You get more for your $ compared to LMSD.