We moved from W. Philly to East Mt. Airy 2.5 years ago. We have a son who is almost 3. We moved up here when he was 7 months old.

For the first year or so I really missed West Philly. Now I think I would miss this area just as much if we moved.

The good:
* It's much cooler up here in the summer. Not as much stinking trash cans from apartments.
* More green, not just the parks, but people have bigger yards and there are more trees on the streets.
* Less trash on the streets. The neighborhoods are less economically diverse, which is mostly a bad thing in my opinion but it means you don't have as many boarded up houses alongside well-cared-for homes.
* Close to good charter schools (greenwoods, wissahickon) which is the direction I think we'll go for our son. We are pretty strongly in favor of public schools but are not really considering our district school (Emlen School) or even the much-touted Henry or Houston schools. Maybe we'd do Jenks. Not sure yet.
* Cheaper daycare up here! We were at PIC (loved it), and switched to Childspace when we moved (liked it okay) and are now at Summit (loved toddler teachers, like preschool okay so far)
* Good co-ops. I'm part of the bbsitting co-op Rich mentioned and I love it. Wish it was more diverse, both racially and economically, but otherwise it has been great for us.
* More variety in the size of houses. In West Philly we really couldn't find a house that was ONLY two stories, ONLY 1500 square feet or so. We didn't want a Victorian house. Here, there were houses of all sizes on the market when we looked.

The bad:
* It's racially diverse, but just like in W. Philly, the institutions are not very diverse. So you might live next door to people of all races, but your kid's classmates all look pretty much like your kid with a few exceptions. I know Mt. Airy prides itself on diversity, so I may get shouted down on this one, but I do feel this pretty strongly.
* The walking/driving thing really is a big downer. I can walk to a lot of shops, including a major grocery store, library, cafe, and video store. But we pretty much have to drive to get to a good daycare center.
* The commute is not that great. I take both the R7 and the R8 (to University City) and find that they don't run often enough especially at off-peak times, and the R8 especially is prone to lateness. I've had some hair-raising sprints to get from the train station to daycare in time for pick-up. You just can't beat West Philly for commuting. If you can't walk, you can take the trolley anywhere. If you can't take the trolley, you can bike. Biking from up here is not really practical. People do it, but only really hardcore folks.
* I miss Mariposa co-op. It's small. It's grungy. But it really feels like a co-op. If you ask any fellow shopper, "do we have quinoa?" they help you find it. In Weaver's Way, sure it's bigger and cleaner, but if you ask any shopper if "we" have something they look at you the way you would if you asked a shopper the same question in Acme, like "what do you mean, we?"
* It's harder to meet people, definitely. I made so many friends in West Philly at Clark Park or just while I was out checking my mail. Here, people get in their cars to go places and there is less bumping into people.

Still, if what you're after is green space, I think you'll love it up here. This is a really wonderful neighborhood and at this point I like it better than I liked West Philly.

Whew. Long reply. Sorry for going on and on.

hi -

i am interested in the babysitting co-op you mentioned, as well as any playgroups for children. i am also a life-long resident of mt. airy, lived at penn while an undergrad, and now have a 9 month old son who is in desparate need of being around other children, but i'm a full time grad student and we cannot afford day care right now. a relative watches him during the day, but are there any on-going playgroups that we could get involved in?

indigo

The babysitting co-op does have a website, but I can't seem to find it at the moment.

Just so you know, the co-op is made up of 30 families, and has openings pretty often. You do have to get recommendations from 3 families who are existing members before you can join. If you don't know anyone who's a member, you can come to our regular co-op socials until 3 families feel they know you well enough to recommend you.

This isn't meant to make non-members feel excluded, but to make sure that we all feel we can trust the other members of the co-op. With so many families, there are frequently times when we're leaving our kids with folks we've never met before. At least we know that other co-op members do feel they're trustworthy.

VCM,
Thanks for all of your valuable information--it really helps!

I am not going to shout you down but just add a different view to the poster who said:

The bad:
* It's racially diverse, but just like in W. Philly, the institutions are not very diverse. So you might live next door to people of all races, but your kid's classmates all look pretty much like your kid with a few exceptions. I know Mt. Airy prides itself on diversity, so I may get shouted down on this one, but I do feel this pretty strongly.

You are right that the schools are less diverse than the community--but there is one very simple answer to that--white families should use the schools too!!!! I have had two kids at Henry--one who is now in college and went to Henry from kindergarten through 8th grade, the other is in 6th at Masterman after a great K-4 start at Henry. Quite simply it is a very solid school with some excellent programs, including a great music program, excellent theater, and good gifted support. Seven Henry kids from my son's class went to Masterman so you know the academics are good. Part of me wishes we had all stayed there. I see so many young families around W Mt. Airy--if you all want a neighborhood school, you have one. Just use it already!!! I get especially frustrated with the assumption that the charter schools are "better." In what way? Their test scores are lower, they don't have the range of music or sports or variety of programs that Henry has. They are smaller and perhaps more "cuddly" if that is really what matters most to you. But on objective academic measurements, Henry is a better school. Check out the scores on the Dept of Ed site--paayp.com--for yourself.

My children were both nurtured by the Henry community--and had the definite advantage of going to a school where most of the kids did NOT look just like them. Here's just a few of the experiences they had at Henry: Going on a whale watch, attending the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, helping build a mosaic mural at Penns Landin, singing in a fabulous production of West Side Story, winning art contests, playing in the NW Regional Orchestra, learning cello and trumpet (the cellist was prepared well enough to become principal cellist in Central's amazing orchestra as a sophomore), and on and on. Try it, go with friends--you'll like it!

Susand,
Thanks so much for your perspective. I so much need to hear all these different points of view. Thank you, thank you!

Thanks, susand. This is really helpful. I know next to nothing about the elementary schools so far (my son is still a few years away from kindergarten) so I really shouldn't make assumptions. The round of school visits will start soon so I will be learning all this firsthand.

About diversity in various Mt. Airy institutions and social circles--I think this is a big challenge in any diverse neighborhood. As one of my friends put it, sure, there are people of different races all living on the same blocks, but who are the folks that you are inviting over for dinner?

I certainly don't have the solution, and as a member of the community I have just as much opportunity to make positive change as anyone else. I just find it to be sort of an oversimplification when folks say "oh yes, this is such a diverse neighborhood!" without talking about the fact that there is so much further still to go.

I have a question. What in the heck do you do if your kid can't be at school until 8:20 and you have to leave for work by 8:00? Are there any before-care programs? We have an 8 year old and I don't think he's old enough to walk to school by himself.

The before-school care issue is a problem for lots of parents. Both Summit Childrens Program and Childspace provide it. Summit walks the kids over to Henry; Childspace drops them off in a van. I hope this info is up to date but you could check directly with them. I would guess that Childspace probably covers Houston and Jenks too though I am not so sure about that.

Thanks to everyone who replied and those who give others great advice on other threads. My husband and I are officially in settlement on a house in West Mt. Airy and will be moving in sometime in March! We're really looking forward to it.

I've now turned my attention to trying to find a good nursery school for our son (now 16 months). We need something very part-time, a half-day program would be ideal. A place near to a train stop would be great too. I know the Big Backyard is great, but I think the child needs to be at least 3. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!