Why isn’t everyone moving to the Main Line?

[Anonymous]

I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

Media is nicer than Overbrook but also farther away. Overbrook is a mixed bag. Some of the houses and neighborhoods are run down. You want the higher quality areas in Bala Cynwyd, Wynnewood, Penn Valley, Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, or farther out Wayne and Berwyn.

[Anonymous]

Because I don’t make my life choices based upon housing prices…I like where I live. It’s expensive. Oh well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

Media is nicer than Overbrook but also farther away. Overbrook is a mixed bag. Some of the houses and neighborhoods are run down. You want the higher quality areas in Bala Cynwyd, Wynnewood, Penn Valley, Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, or farther out Wayne and Berwyn.

Philadelphia has a lot of large elegant houses built between 1880-1930 in areas that are now resolutely rundown and even derelict. Bit of a shame as these are the same houses you find in Chestnut Hill or the Main Line or Wyndmoor. And that's not even including places like Elkins Park or Drexel Hill where housing is so cheap because taxes are so high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

69th Street Transportation Center is scary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

69th Street Transportation Center is scary

Thanks for the info. Never been there. So do people that live in Media commute into center city for work or leisure via regional rail or the trolley to the elevated line?

The trolley looks interesting and convenient if frequent but I presume it’s also much slower than regional rail.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

69th Street Transportation Center is scary

Thanks for the info. Never been there. So do people that live in Media commute into center city for work or leisure via regional rail or the trolley to the elevated line?

The trolley looks interesting and convenient if frequent but I presume it’s also much slower than regional rail.

Commuters take regional rail. Pretty sure the Media stop on RR just opened this past August. I took it once recently but wasn’t paying a ton of attention to what was around it. It’s a “park and ride” station on a busy road, but there is a large parking garage. My cousin lives in Thornton which is near there (and likes it), and picked me up at the station. I have never seen the town center of Media but I’ve heard it’s nice.

I lived in the city avoided the el & trolley and took the septa buses, walked a ton and took RR to get around. Avoid the Norristown High Speed Line too.

If Media doesn’t work out, consider Exton, Thorndale, Paoli, Malvern & Downingtown too. All have good schools and are on the Paoli-Thorndale train line (the present-day “main line”). The downside is that they’re much farther out on the line than the lower main line towns like Wynnewood & Ardmore, but they seem to have cheaper home prices. Exton to Philly is about 50 minutes on the SEPTA P/T line. Exton is an Amtrak stop to NYC & Pittsburgh as well, including a 30ish minute Amtrak ride to Philly. That would get too pricy to do for everyday commuting, but for special occasions it could help. Media is on the Media-Wawa line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

69th Street Transportation Center is scary

Thanks for the info. Never been there. So do people that live in Media commute into center city for work or leisure via regional rail or the trolley to the elevated line?

The trolley looks interesting and convenient if frequent but I presume it’s also much slower than regional rail.

22:55 here. I mistakenly wrote that the Media stop was a park and ride and on a busy road. It’s not; it is walkable.

The Wawa stop, which is the next stop from Media, is a park and ride. That’s the one I’d taken recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Weird thread. Most of us have jobs? So we can't just move somewhere random where our money goes further. The money goes further because the jobs aren't there. It's like asking "Why doesn't everyone move to this one nice area of Ohio?"

NP. My job is now 100% remote and DH is transitioning to the same, so we were just talking about this possibility. It’s not so weird anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

Overbrook is pretty derelict in parts and would be low on my list. It’s not convenient to anything either. Try East Falls or Roxborough for a neighborhood on the edge of the city. Or Manayunk. Media is totally different—a cute, fairly lively suburban town. Upper Darby is not a “good” area or school district. Wallingford is nice in a suburban way. Tons of Penn commuters in that area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

Overbrook is pretty derelict in parts and would be low on my list. It’s not convenient to anything either. Try East Falls or Roxborough for a neighborhood on the edge of the city. Or Manayunk. Media is totally different—a cute, fairly lively suburban town. Upper Darby is not a “good” area or school district. Wallingford is nice in a suburban way. Tons of Penn commuters in that area.

Adding: People commute IME by train, high speed line to 69th St transportation center, or car. Not typically by trolley.

If you are looking at other areas, Jenkintown/Abington might be worth a look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if Overbrook is nice? Beautiful old homes on street view. Lots of mature trees. It’s right on the Septa 10 trolley line for convenience and across Rt 1 from posh Lower Merion. Probably an easy commute to Penn/University City.

While not on the Main Line. Media looks nice: Small, attractive town on the Septa 101 trolley line to Upper Darby. I assume it’s a safe, middle class suburb.

Overbrook is pretty derelict in parts and would be low on my list. It’s not convenient to anything either. Try East Falls or Roxborough for a neighborhood on the edge of the city. Or Manayunk. Media is totally different—a cute, fairly lively suburban town. Upper Darby is not a “good” area or school district. Wallingford is nice in a suburban way. Tons of Penn commuters in that area.

I’m not saying Overbrook is nice, but it is the first stop on the Paoli-Thorndale line leaving Philly.

[Anonymous]

Home prices are cheaper and appreciation is slower bc of the absurd property tax rates.

[Anonymous]

Cheaper towns in that area (vs Villanova/Radnor/Bryn Mawr) that are okay:

-Havertown; is not on any train line, only buses, so you’d either have to drive to Philly each day about 30 min. Could also drive to the the Haverford train station. Schools there are zoned to Haverford Senior High School which is highly ranked.
-Elkins Park
-Jenkintown
-Abington
-Drexel Hill (but NOT Upper Darby). Might need to go private.

If you’re looking to live in the city, the liveable neighborhoods are the following: Society Hill, Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, Washington Square West, Manayunk, Queen Village, Roxborough and the area slightly to the west of the west entrance to Penn’s Campus. Up to about 47th & Pine. Garden Court, Walnut Hill & Cedar Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Home prices are cheaper and appreciation is slower bc of the absurd property tax rates.

Philly itself does not have absurd property taxes. Many of the suburbs do though.