Philadelphia Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Where do you live?
I have lived in University City, Manayunk. Conshohocken, KOP area and now I am in the Downingtown area.
I keep inching away from the city, but I really miss it.
I want to be closer and I am not sure if the burbs are right for me. Just wondering where a good middle ground would be, too, maybe?
Where do you all live? Where is your favorite place in the area to live? What do you like about this area/these areas? Just wondering. Thanks 
Re: Where do you live?
We just moved from south Philly to manayunk/whissahickon. I could go no further out. Sometimes I already feel 57998643236 miles away. But I like the public grammar school here and we have a great home. So it's where we plan to stay for a while. I feel like we are just enough suburbs and city.
We are in Rittenhouse and LOVE it. Super friendly people, we love our neighors and it is pretty peaceful while still having a lot going on close by.
We have an offer in on a short sale in New Hope though - more kid friendly, great schools, love the area and it's closer to DH's job. It happens to be a house we fell in love with years ago (now with a MUCH lower price) which is why we've put an offer out there, but if it doesn't work out, we'll just stay where we are for a few years.
I grew up in Delco but have lived in Chester County for the last 4 years or so. I really love it out here but I miss the 20 minute train into the city. Now it takes about an hour by train and sometimes more by car. I definitely don't get into the city as often as I used to because I need a much larger window of time to make it worth the trip.
We live in a great neighborhood with good schools and we're in a good location for our jobs. Plus, I absolutely love our house and I don't ever want to leave it. I would like some bigger closets. Damn 1960s homes!
I like Chester County and the schools are great, but I agree about being "so far out" (I hate 202) and the house we are renting is an old pain. Sorry to whine! I miss being so close to/in the city.
My husband works in KOP and doesn't mind commuting, so that's a plus. (When we lived in Manayunk and Conshohocken, he drove to Moorestown, NJ to work and that took 2 hours one way sometimes.) When we lived in University City before that, he had to drive out of the city all the time for co ops (Drexel internships.) I wish I could be as relaxed as he is about being in the car for that long, but I think that having a LO now and being pregnant is making me antsy?
I grew up in Bensalem (my parents still live there) and I lived in Northern Liberties (H lived in Washington Square when we met) and now Havertown. We LOVE Havertown and are so happy we chose to move here (we had strongly considered Langhorne). Here are some of our reasons:
It was still close to the city and there are so many different ways to get into the city without taking 76 or any highway. H commutes to NJ and it takes him about 40 minutes, but he found a route that isn't annoying and doesn't involve 76 or 95. He doesn't mind the commute because we are really happy here
The school district (Haverford Township) is great
I am a SAHM and am able to walk to the library, several playgrounds, a little town center. Our kids will also be able to walk to the middle school and high school.
We like older homes with character and Havertown has them. It is also very family friendly, our block has tons of kids. We have a lot of friends from the city that all moved to the western burbs - Havertown, Ardmore, Media, Bryn Mawr
GL with your decision!
DS 3.12.08
DD 7.11.09
DD 8.01.13
I grew up in Upper Darby, lived briefly in Media after college, but have been living in Phoenixville for the last 9 years. When we first moved here it was because it was equidistant (for the most part) for our commutes.
We fell in love with the walk-ability of the town and the proximity to the downtown district. We really love old homes, and our current place is 112 year-old, 3 story, brick twin. We just sold our current home and are moving next month, but only a few blocks away to a single home with more yard.
We are an easy commute to KoP/Main Line areas and it's not far from the PA Turnpike. Schools are good (we don't have kids), and amenities are plentiful--great library, nice parks throughout the town, a modern YMCA nearby, and we are a 5 minute drive from VF National Park.
Another huge plus is being able to walk to the Oakmont and have beers with icebunie
DS 3.12.08
DD 7.11.09
DD 8.01.13
I grew up in Media, which I really like (then and now) but I am a city girl through and through.
I have also lived in Folsom, which also has good points.
We currently live in Fairmount, I find that it sort of feels out of the city while still being in the city - the proximity to the park and the general lack of high-rise buildings (except for the two condo buildings on Pennsylvania Ave) combined with generally good neighbors who give a crap about curb appeal kind of softens the city vibe. And you can be pretty much anywhere in a cab in 20 minutes. DH walks to work in Center City and I have a ridic short commute to Camden. We are not having kids so schools not an issue.
Yeah that's right my name's Yauch!
Shifts!
I'll rep the Garden State. I'm from PA and "upgraded" to NJ. Towns like Collingswood and Haddonfield are both young and family-centric, very walkable with cute downtowns and farmer's markets, and located along the Patco hi-speed line. the same can be said for Moorestown but it's not easily accessible to Patco.
ETA: "upgrading" was not a dig at PA but more a response to my friends who say I "sold out" by moving to NJ.
I have a 1/3 mi walk to the train and an 11 min train ride into Center City. On the nights DH and I don't want to deal with the train schedule (which runs every 3-5 minutes during peak hours and every 20 minutes thereafter, much much more convenient than that PA regional rails) it's a $15-25 cab ride, depending if we're cabbing from Old City/NoLibs or Center City.
We spend a lot more time in our hometown since having DS and I'm so glad we decided to live where we do. Within a 10 min walk we can hit the library, 3 parks, a lake, downtown, restaurants and shops (I can't wait for spring!). When I do drive into Philly I can be there in 20 min from driveway to parking.
We used to live in Graduate Hospital area (just southwest of center city) for 6 years and recently moved to Ardmore. We wanted/needed more space and a "semi-suburban" lifestyle without compromising proximity to stuff --- walkable downtowns, transit, shops/restaurants. I would feel really isolated if I didn't live near things I could walk to. I feel like Ardmore is the best of both worlds...we still walk to stuff, and I take the train into CC for work.
We also looked at houses in Havertown and Bryn Mawr. There are a lot of great towns just outside Philly.
Also live in NJ. Can't wait to 'downgrade' and move to PA, sooner rather then later.
We are also in Manayunk/Wissahickon, and for us it is perfect --- I would never be able to go further out. I don't care what anyone says, there is no such thing as a "short" ride into CC if I have to drive -- I love being able to walk to a train.
Like lachute, we have a great public K-8 school. If that doesn't work out, we would go private anyway.
I never was one for a lagre house or yard I needed to upkeep, so for me a three bedroom row and a park on the corner is where it is at. I can walk to most things, and I pay like $15 in property tax.
~*~Nestie Bestie with Bemmas221 ~*~
BFP 8/28/07, M/C 11/10/07
My TTA Chart|DIY obsessed
I loved the short "commute" into the city when I was in Manayunk.
I worked in NoLibs and had my routine down, whether I drove or took my bike. I don't want a large yard, bc that means more for me to maintain. :P