Hello all, I'm new on these forums. My wife and I are thinking of moving to West Mt. Airy. We'll be looking at a few homes in the Carpenters Woods area. I've gathered that it's a diverse, wonderful place to raise a family, and it seems we'd fit in really well.

I gathered from many threads that WMA is *generally* safe. But I found the Carpenters Woods Town Watch Crime Map (http://cwtownwatch.org/index.php?opt...maps&Itemid=12) which seems to paint a different picture. Looks like suspicious activity, break-ins, and general crime hassles are pretty frequent.

I'm having some doubts. Can you all put my fears to rest?

There is crime in any part of Philadelphia, some more than others. I think where you are looking is considered one of the safest and most gorgeous part of the city. You might have a bit less crime in the Far Northeast, but you give up the beauty, culture, nicer housing etc. that Mt Airy offers. It all depends on where you are coming from as well. If you are moving here from Pleasantville Iowa, you might want to lock your doors at night, and we celebrate diversity here. If you are coming from the Bronx, you won't need bars on your windows.
Good luck in your search.

__________________
Rich McIlhenny
Re/Max Services Inc.
www.Richmachomes.com
Rmac88@aol.com

For what it's worth, we've lived in WMA for 2 years without any incident at all, and I live over near G-town Ave. which some might consider more prone to crime (although that's subjective). As with anywhere just use common sense - don't leave anything visible in your car of any value, keep windows locked, especially when you're away, and don't roam the streets alone late at night.

Every week as well I dig through the rest of the slop in the Mt. Airy Times/Express and read the police reports, keeping an eye for things happening near me. The best part of WMA, though, is that neighbors look out for each other and each others' property for the most part, so make good with any future neighbors and town watch groups!

[quote=NWPhillyRealtor;528925]There is crime in any part of Philadelphia, some more than others. I think where you are looking is considered one of the safest and most gorgeous part of the city. You might have a bit less crime in the Far Northeast, but you give up the beauty, culture, nicer housing etc. that Mt Airy offers. It all depends on where you are coming from as well. If you are moving here from Pleasantville Iowa, you might want to lock your doors at night, and we celebrate diversity here. If you are coming from the Bronx, you won't need bars on your windows

We live in an OK part of Coatesville, and I'm accustomed to locking doors and putting valuables away whilst in Philly...but don't always do so at my house. I'm just leery of teenagers poking around and messing with cars, or getting mugged walking home from the SEPTA station.

West Mt. Airy is great. We love it and would move here again.

It is unfortunately not the safest and the cops do the very minimal. Basically nothing.

We still love it and you just to make sure your house and cars are safe.

i've lived here for 10 years, i believe it to be quite safe.

there's always going to be some amount of crime wherever you go, but that which happens in wma is pretty minimal, especially when compared to other parts of the city, and coatesville.

ymmv,

paul