we are just embarking on a house hunt there. Are there any nabes you'd recommend living in for their family-friendliness, decent housing stock etc? we are looking in the $280Kish range and don't need anything fancy-obviously not at that price point -- just solid. A vibrant but laid-back, kid-friendly community and good schools are the most important criteria for us.

that we should avoid?

My husband and I lived in Havertown for twelve years, until moving to Center City last summer as empty nesters. We lived on Strathmore Road in the Brookline section. It is a lovely neighborhood of homes built mostly in the 1920s, well-built stuccos mostly with some built in the 1930s. There are wonderful old trees that give a wonderfully solid feeling to the neighborhood. My sense is that houses range from the mid-$200,000 to $400,000 in the area. (Much of the rest of Havertown was built after WWII, and is rather ticky-tacky to my taste.) There are several stops on the Norristown highspeed line (Route 100) that makes it very easy to get into West Philly and Center City.

Havertown's public schools are spotty. The elementary schools are good -- Chatham Park, where our son went, is fine, if a little too large. The middle school is a disaster, largely because all students in the township are crowded into maze of older buildings at a time when they should be in smaller groups. We bailed out after middle school, and our son went to a private school in the city, so I can't say much about the high school. In general the system is underfunded, certainly in comparison with Lower Merion or Radnor. On the other hand, there is greater diversity, at least in terms of income.

Culturally, life in Havertown revolved around children, with most people involved in sports, school activities and churches insofar as they relate to their children. Shopping is clustered along the major roadways, especially Rtes. 3 and 1, so you really have to drive for almost everything.

I'm not aware of any "bad" neighborhoods in Havertown. I know that there has been a growing problem with teenagers and drugs, but that is true in most suburban areas these days.

the school situation gives me pause, I must admit.

If I was in the market to buy in the suburbs, I would definitely consider havertown one of the top choices:

1) location...close to downtown philly and also 476
2) schools...there are public and private schools available..i've never heard bad things about havertown's schools.
3) shopping is convenient
4) prices are decent compared to surrounding neighborhoods
5) The town has a pretty neighborly feel

But alas, i'm not yet ready for the suburban life.

I grew up in Havertown from the time I was three until I left for college, so I thought I'd chime in here. As far as suburbs go, it's a pretty nice place. The housing stock is varied and there are some very nice older houses there, as well as some newer ones, that as someone said earlier, are a little bit generic. But since large parts of the town were developed prior to WWII, it does have more of a town feeling than newer, exurban communities. The shopping is concentrated on Darby Rd, West Chester Pike, Eagle Rd, Brookline Blvd, Manoa Rd, and several others. Driving is required for most needs, unless you happen to live close to one of the commercial streets. There are several bus lines that connect to 69th St Station (103, 104, 105, 110) as well as the 100 trolley, and the R5 train at Ardmore Station and the 102 trolley at Lansdowne Ave are nearby. The schools are quite good, especially since they don't get to spend nearly as much per student as Radnor or Lower Merion. I went to Chatham Park Elementary and really recommend it. Once your kids get to middle and high school, you might have some issues unless they're honor students. Drugs are present, but that's the case at all schools (the LM kids did a fair amount of coke, while I remember Haverford being mainly a pot school - caveat: broad generalizations). The people of Havertown are - for lack of a better phrase - good, solid folks. There's a mix of working class, middle-class, and quite a few upper-middle-class people, and in general, the people are more down-to-earth, friendly, and less materialistic than what I remember of Radnor, Conestoga, and some of the other wealthy districts.

but we've moved on to considering Ambler and Ardmore....the world's longest house hunt continues apace!

I know you've changed your mind about H-town, but since I grew up there, I just wanted to say this: although I went to a parochial school, I know this much - when I was growing up, Haverford High School was (and may still be) in the top 10 in the country, COUNTRY, in terms of test scores. Yeah, we used to call it Have-a-drug, but like the other poster said, mostly pot. Not that I'm saying that's benign, but hey, pot was all around me growing up, but since I had a solid foundation of family and friends around me, I didn't give in to the pressures....same can be said for any area and any family.

I went to Haverford Twp schools as well although a LONG time
ago(I graduated from HHS in 1967!).

I concur with others that as far as 'burbs go, Havertown is a safe and
secure community.

I found it too bland for my tastes but others, obviously, love the
atmosphere.