Now my b/f is talking about moving to Cheltenham. He says the car insurance rates are too high in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill (in the city). I'm not too familiar with this area...is it in the burbs? Any info would be great..thanks. ;-)

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Yes, it's in the suburbs. Cheltenham is both a name for an area, and a name for a specific township.

The Cheltenham area is just across the northeas boundary of East & West Oak Lane. Cheltenham Ave separates East and West Oak which are Philadelphia, from Cheltenham which is Montgomery County.

Cheltenham township includes areas known as Elkins Park and Wyncote and Jenkintown (although there's a Jenkintown Boro as well). The areas are named after the train stations, which have excellent train service because the R1 R2 R3 and R5 all stop at those three stations.


There were 4 places rented in that area- all were big Br going from $1,600 to $2,200

Right now all I'll I 'd be able to show you would be a 3Br at $1,700

Hal

Thanks Hal. Right now, we only need a 1 br.

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Well, "the map is not the world" - just because the information isn't easily available doens't mean the perfect place isn't out there, it just means you'll need to find a local paper, or check the apartment books, or take a tour through the area.

Hal

i think the cost of car insurance changes when you cross the city limit more than where you are in the city. (maybe. maybe the far northeast is cheaper than north philly.)

a lot of other things change too. check out the picture Hal posted in the other thread. See the 'cloverleaf' shaped pattern of houses in the upper right? They're just on the far side of Cheltenham ave, the left 90 degree corner is Cheltenham Ave (NW/SE) and Washington Lane (SW/NE), the diagonal road which tends more 'north' is Ogontz/309. Anyway, as you cross the border everything becomes more suburban there.

Have you driven around or otherwise looked at these neighborhoods? What other criteria do you have? (Close to train/bus/shopping/highways/schools/???)

P.S. go to http://terraserver.microsoft.com/ to look at some of these images.

Yes, we have driven around certain areas, just to check them out (it's been a while though). It would be nice to be close to trains/buses/shopping/highways...schools are not important to us, because we don't have kids, nor are we having any. I suppose we'd like to have a bit of "city" living right outside of the city (if we decide to actually not move closer to CC).

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Well, here's news from

The West Oak Lane Leader - which is a local paper for the area.

Hal

Business sections continue to grow and improve

By: Arlene Edmonds 01/14/2004

Wal-Mart set for Cedarbrook, Ogontz Grill for West Oak Lane

There's no need for those who live in Mount Airy, West Oak Lane, or Cheltenham to travel miles outside their neighborhood for go shopping. The malls and business corridors in the area are expanding, being renovated, and improving each year. Now, as 2004 is underway, local residents will find that they have even more resources at their disposal to keep their shopping trips close to home.

Perhaps the biggest local news is that on Jan. 28, Wal-Mart will be opening in Cedarbrook Plaza, according to Laurie Stopyar of the Cedarbrook Plaza management. Wal-Mart is one of the nation's largest employers and they lead other companies in the employment of senior citizens. Nationally, they hire 164,000 employees who are age 55 or older. The company was ranked number one by Fortune 500 in 2002. The same year, they pulled in their largest sale day in history on Black Friday with $1.43 billion in sales. They are also the recipient of the prestigious Ron Brown Award, the highest presidential honor for Outstanding Achievement in Employee Relations and Community Initiatives. The company was founded in 1962 with its first store in Rogers, Arkansas. Five years later it had 24 stores with $12.6 billion in sales. "Also we will be having Bally Total Fitness at the mall," said Stopyar. "We don't have an opening date yet but they will be there shortly. The pre-sale has already gone through and they definitely will be opening."

Cedarbrook Plaza is located on the border of Mount Airy and Wyncote on the corner of Cheltenham Ave. and Easton Rd. The developers "de-malled" the formerly enclosed mall into a 524,000 square foot regional power center which has the potential to draw a shopper population of 550,000. Currently the mall's tenants include a 24-hour Pathmark Super Center, Modell's Sporting Goods, Dollar Power, China City, and more. The location where Wal-Mart will be was formerly a Jamesway Department Store, a Caldor Store, and more recently, to K-Mart Super Center.

There are also new improvements coming to the heart of Ogontz Avenue in West Oak Lane. John Unger, the economic development coordinator for the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation (OARC) reported to The Leader that businesses in the area of the Ogontz Plaza Shopping Center are going to do more improvements to their facades.

In recent years, the Ogontz Avenue Business Association (OABA) pooled their efforts to get new street lights, street signs and awnings. Now, with the resurfacing of the old trolley tracks along Ogontz Avenue, they are gearing up for the next phase. "They want to get new banners to spruce up the avenue," said Unger. "They have applied to the Philadelphia Community Development Corporation for monies to be able to do that. Rodney Carson is still the president of OABA, and he and the other businesses are working on that."

There is a new restaurant - Ogontz Grill - also coming to the commercial corridor. This is on the site of several previous restaurants, including Hard Rock Café and Home Cooking Café. OABA is looking forward to finally having a mainstay sit-down restaurant in the working class community.

The recent editions of The Leader profiled new businesses like Art Noir at the corner of 21st St. and Ogontz Ave., its neighbor African Expressions, and Paul Beale Florists on the 7200 block of Ogontz Ave., a family business in the community for 32 years. "We are looking forward to having a successful business here on Ogontz Avenue," Belinda Otusanya, owner of African Expressions told The Leader. The store, along with many others, is a member of the OABA. The mission of OABA includes encouraging local residents to shop on Ogontz Avenue, to build a strong economic base in West Oak Lane, to support the growth of local community groups in the area, and to network with OABA members and other agencies to ensure a safer and cleaner neighborhood.

Both the Wadsworth Avenue Business Association (WABA) and the Upper Ogontz Business District are still working to maintain and stabilize their commercial strips. Both avenues have no major vacancies. It was in 1999 that WABA under the leadership of its president Thom Pell helmed a major revitalization program that included the removal of oversized signage, replacement of old roofing shingles, renovation of the rear parking lot on the east side of the avenue, installation of new streetlights, and new awnings and security gates for some businesses. At that time, State Rep. LeAnna Washington had urged residents to take advantage of a special rebate program for the enhancement and security projects.

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the 'New Wadsworth Avenue' was done at Wadsworth Day 1999. Since then the business group has been continuing to meet to further improve and stabilize the area.
Stenton and Germantown Aves. have seen new changes as well. Those in the Joint Community Council are also working on getting the community more involved in "cleaning up" the Stenton Ave. and Washington Lane area so that even more improvements can take place.

Germantown Avenue is also home to many newer venues, with the help of the Mount Airy USA non-profit community development group. Among the newest developments are the renovation of the Sedgwick Cultural Center, the restaurant-nightclub North by Northwest being named as one of the best venues in Philadelphia for live entertainment, and the newer Infusions coffeehouse.

©The Leader 2004

I live in Cheltenham - more specifically LaMott which is a "village" located in Cheltenham Township. Either you are going to have to give us an example of how much car insurance he is paying or how much he considers is too much. :what_is_:

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Rose
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Too late...we moved to Germantown 2 weeks ago. Fortunately, our car insurance didn't increase too much ($35 more or so a month).

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