Where are some nice areas to live around Philadelphia?

Think about the outlying areas of Philadelphia, like Manayunk, Roxborough, East Falls, even Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill and parts of Germantown. There are some areas of West Philly that are nicer (like Powelton VIllage), and plenty of people I know have been looking to buy in Fishtown or the Art Museum area. Remember that Philadelphia Co. hits you with the city wage tax (4%, unless you already work in the city). Prospect Park, Elkins Park, and areas of the northeast are nice, too. However, the area that best fits your description... is the Main Line. The Main Line is a wonderful area to live, if you can afford it. Bala Cynwyd, Narberth, Merion, Wynnewood, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore... all the way out to Devon and Wayne. Seriously, get a map of the R5 (SEPTA regional rail), and go right down the list. From the R5 station in Wynnewood, you can get into Center City in 20 minutes; driving down Lancaster Ave can get you into West Philly in about the same amount of time. It's beautiful, centrally-located, the schools are excellent, and there are enough fine restaurants and cultural happenings that you don't necessarily need the city. I *love* where I live. I've had two amazing apartments in this area, I can get anywhere I need to be, and there's a great sense of community. Unfortunately, if you're looking to buy a place, you WILL pay through the nose. Finally, don't discount King of Prussia itself. The taxes are low(!), and it really *doesn't* take that long to get into Center City. Other up-and-coming areas right around KOP are Gulph Mills, Conshohocken, Plymouth Meeting, and Phoenixville. Good luck!

If you have the money, then stay in the City. The areas around the city are nice, but not worth the money and are never really only 20 minutes outside of the city. Anything west of Philadelphia usually requires you to drive on I-76, which is probably one of the worst, slowest and most congested roads in the country. If you buy new construction inside of Philadelphia, you receive a 10-year property tax abatement. That may only apply to Center City proper, and not the outlying areas of the city though. Either way, property taxes are pretty extreme all over the area. If you plan to rent, than look in parts like Society Hill, Old City, Fitler's Square (very close to UPenn) and maybe even just someplace downtown. In practical terms though, the City is going to be much more convenient than living in the burbs. Public transportation is awful in the city and traffic can get horrendous. I'd think too, that depending on your age, the city is going to make much more sense than trying to drive 60 minutes on a friday night to socialize.

Most of the suburbs surrounding Philly are nice, like Abington, Elkins Park, etc. But they are really pricey since everyone is trying to move out of the city due to the escalating crime rate. We live in Mt. Airy but are looking at houses near North Wales which is closer to my husband's job.

Willow Grove or Hatboro

I would suggest looking in South Jersey. There's alot of really nice places to live.

It seems to me that you have a lot of things to consider here. Philadelphia is a very complex area. There is no area which is truly safe. I say this as a native of over 30 years. I have been in every part as well as the outskirts. Every area has crime problems, from rape to to drugs, to murder. It's just a matter of how well is it disguised. I have read a lot of these and most of the areas which have been mentioned will take more than 20 minutes to get to. When you say compared to King of Prussia do you mean that is where you are currently coming from. The Roxborough/ Manayunk area is considered affluent but I am there daily and it isn't what it used to be. The area has been steadily going down through the years. And the traffic you get into travelling back and forth depending upon the time of day gets rather hectic regardless of whether you travel by the expressway or through the streets of Philly. The suburbs of Philly are having many of the same issues we have in the inner city and come summer time they get rather strictly observed restrictions and fines for their water usage in the event of little rainfall. If a storm occurs or a problem happens for example with the electricity. The problem is fixed within at least a week versus in the city within a couple of hours at it's worst. The closer you get to Center City the more various services are adhered to. For example trash pick- up; in the event that the bag breaks and some trash falls to the street the trash men will clean it up. You move further away and they leave it on the ground. The Art museum area is a pretty good choice. The draw back is finding parking. Depending upon the block the city has various restrictions and permits which residents must purchase to park on their own block. It's a cool area because most of the big city events (Welcome America, parades, fireworks, unity day ) are done in this area and you have the comfort of being close to home. The closer you get to the various colleges and universities you get a higher crime rate. There is a lot going on all around the city so I wish you the best in deciding. I prefer North Philly myself. Everything is out in the open. There is no guessing of who is living next door. You know who the drug dealers, murderers, and sex offenders are. There are no secrets. You never see on t.v. of how they didn't know the guy down the street was a pedifile, in the heart of North Philly because we all know. We don't need a Megan's law to aware us of who we live next to. You know what streets to walk down and what streets you shouldn't walk down at various times of day. There is no false sense of security like you get living in other parts of the city. Because there is a misguided belief that if you live in an area which is seen as more affluent, the criminal element doesn't exist there. So people jog without being aware of their surroundings and their ears covered. They leave windows up and open and doors unlocked. It's an invitation to have crime happen. Best of luck.

I would say anywhere in the main line, Wayne, Deon, Radnor, Ardmore.

Radnor is very nice very high class but more than a 20min drive. Springfield is nice too with high and middle class. Strath Haven or Springhaven are both nice as well. All around 20-30 min drives to philly. You could just take the train into philly and get off at university city which a lot of ppl do and that takes like 10-15mins depending on where you live. The very surrounding areas of philly that are like 10 min drives aren't that nice of nieghborhoods not even close to king of prussia. Wallingford and Newtown Sqaure and Media are all nice as well. Check out some of those towns and see what you like. Good luck.

You may also look at South Jersey... Cherry Hill, Vorhees, Moorestown are all very well known areas with a higher income level... Especially Voorhees, and Moorestown which are homes to some of Philadelphia's sports athletes. Moorestown was ranked the #1 place to live in the US a few years back.