America’s Best Suburbs

Let me start by saying that best and worst lists are always subjective and the criteria being used from list to list yield very different results. So now that the disclaimer is out of the way……according to Niche’s 50 Best Suburbs in America, three of the 50 are found on Philadelphia’s Main Line.  Penn Wynne (which is really a section of Wynnewood, for those who might look it up on a map and encounter frustration), Ardmore and Chesterbrook (which is a very large community contained within the town of Wayne). Click here to see my video tours of Wynnewood and Wayne, as well as some other Main Line towns.

Why the Main Line made the list

So what criteria did Niche use to rank suburbs? “Cost of living, school quality, crime rates, home prices, employment, and amenity access, among other measures” (https://www.businessinsider.com/best-suburbs-to-live-in-america-ranked-2018-9). The Philadelphia area has been receiving a lot of positive press recently as being much more economically “livable” than many other large cities. It is less expensive than its East Coast competitiors of Washington, D.C., New York and even Boston. The public schools on the Main Line are incredibly well-respected; as a matter of fact, the Tredyffrin-Easttown district was just rate the fourth best in the country. In the state of Pennsylvania, out of a total of 504 public school districts, seven of the top 15 are in the greater Main Line area.

It’s not just great schools and a relatively low cost of living that make the Main Line suburbs so desirable. If you are looking for culture. theater and art, (Philadelphia has a very strong museum presence as well as being the epicenter of mural arts), we’ve got you covered., Obviously, history buffs know that Philadelphia offers more historically significant buildings, monuments and historical events than anywhere else in the nation. There’s also easy access to entertainment and sporting events, center city, King of Prussia and other “work centers” and, while we have our share of traffic, unlike some other metropolitan areas, there are always several routes to wherever you’re going. The Main Line has a low crime rate but is not the “boonies”; rather, there are restaurants aplenty (as well as easy access to the ones in Philadelphia, which happens to be the BYOB capital of the world!), lots of retail and access to all the services you could need, with hassle-free parking in almost every case.

Finally, several large employers are located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Due to the large number of hospitals and colleges/universities as well as a strong presence in pharmaceuticals, the region attracts well-educated professionals from other places, As a result, the area is demographically diverse. Many of my past clients have been pleasantly surprised that their political and religious beliefs, ethnicity and lifestyle choices don’t make them feel that they should avoid certain communities.

So….are local Main Line residents surprised that three of our communities took top spots in America’s 50 Best Suburb list? Not a bit. Contact me to find out which communities might offer the best fit for you!

If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973