my hubby and i looked into moving to the germantown/mt. airy area about a year ago. but we ended up not moving there, buying somewhere else (a FAR more boring neighborhood if you ask me). now we are thinking about moving again and once again i am trying to get him to consider germantown/mt. airy. he is open to the idea but we feel like we still know so little about it.

some of the things we would really like to have in the next place we move are:
-walkability (close to local markets, grocery stores, cafes, stores, etc.)
-community, family-friendly neighborhood
-safety

i know the saftey in germantown is "debatable". i personally don't feel uncomfortable driving around there. but perhaps people that live there have a different experience.

any comments or advice from residents would be great! thanks!

I would avoid Germantown. I personally don't think it is safe. Mt. Airy is definately nicer.

My wife and I (with our two kids) moved in to GTown about 2 years ago... We love it. I would not discourage anyone from moving here, especially in the Penn Knox area, where we live, or other similar areas in Germantown. Look around, and you'll find vibrant, open, and active communities of folks in these parts.

If you want convenience, affordability, a family friendly community, and diversity, I would definitely recommend either GTown or Mount Airy.

Truth be told, Germantown is not a gated community. So while I do feel safe here, and comfortable raising my family here; there are times that I'm a little bit more careful (or aware) than I might be in Chestnut Hill or other areas.

But we're still very happy with our decision.

kindedgroove, thank you, that is very much the kind of information i was looking for. can you tell me more about the community there? are there a lot of opportunities for community involvement? that is something that is seriously lacking where we live now. there are not a lot of young families and no one talks to their neighbors. do your kids attend school yet or preschool? if so, may i ask where they go?

my husband has been very interested in the penn-knox area in the past. driving around we have noticed the government housing high-rise on pulaski and queen, or thereabouts. is there ever any trouble from there?

I couldn't disagree more. I also live in the Penn-Knox area. Sure, I feel safe during the day; but during the night is another story. Moreover, there are about 3 projects within a 5 block radius. The one by Queen Lane station has had numerous shootings since the begining of the year. However, if you do have your heart set on Germantown, I would recommend looking closer to Mt. Airy, specifically the Tulepocken area. it is only 6 or 7 blocks west of Penn-Knox, but I think the safety increased 10-fold.

I do some work in Germantown, usually west side of G-town ave. and closer to Mt. Airy, the people that live there like it and I've never had any trouble.

Some of the decision has to be what kind of house you want also. We wanted a big old historical fixer upper with instant equity, so we went for W. Mt. Airy.

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my husband and i moved to east mount airy just over a month ago. the train is a 5 minute walk and most anything i could possibly ever need is also walkable. this includes: a convenience store, groceries, library, bars, cafés, restaurants, shops, salons, yoga studio, gym, movie rentals, music venue, art galleries, pharmacy, beer/liquor stores, florist...

there are two things i can think of that are inconvenient: fast food requires driving or a very long walk, which i find to be a benefit because it keeps us from eating it. the other is a hardware store, which would be a very very long uphill walk or a short 10-15 minute drive to home depot.

my sole complaint is that once in a while people don't clean up after their dogs. yuck.

i've yet to feel unsafe at any time or in any situation in mt. airy. people are generally friendly and say hello. that said, i never walk with earphones in and try to minimize phone usage while walking at night to stay aware of my surroundings. this goes for anywhere i go in phila.

if you want to get a clearer idea of the local crime situation, pick up a copy of the mount airy times-express and read the police blotter section. or visit: http://philly.everyblock.com/locations/zipcodes/19119/

I've lived a block from the Allen Lane train station for almost 11 years and I love it. People sit on their porches and talk to the passers-by, we walk to a lot of the stores and restaurants (and not often enough to the gym), and after years of teaching them not to, we're thrilled that the neighborhood kids are playing together in the street.

Safety and freedom from crime are not perfect, but according to the newspaper's crime stats we probably do better than most other neighborhoods. I agree with the other posters that you shouldn't be out with headphones on or paying attention to the phone rather than your surroundings no matter where you are in Philly.

I'd say that the big drawback is the price of the homes. We couldn't afford to buy ours if it was on the market now.

I'm just curious about where these three projects are? I obviously know of the Queen Lane high rise, but I'm not aware of any others within five (or ten ?) blocks of us... Maybe you can clue me in....

As far as safety in GTown.... Maybe I would feel differently if I, or my wife, were constantly coming home really really late at night... but we're not. I walk, take the bus, ride bike though in the hood at all times that I need to (which includes at night), and have not had any problems. Neither has my wife. I have heard of a few muggings... but then again, I've heard the same of Chestnut Hill.

Unfortunately for Germantown, there are a disproportionate amount of Drug Rehabs here... That does contribute to us seeing some 'interesting' (and not all there) folks walking by our house every once in a while.

I think that Germantown is suffering from (among other things) a lack of confidence... in itself, from others.... but as things (like the Queen Lane HR being imploded, which I imagine will happen sooner or later) change, so will this mindset.

On a positive note, there are some great communities of folks here.... just a few.... Hansberry Garden (Wayne and Hansberry), Wissahickon Charter School, GFS, Green Street Friends, Penn Knox, the Artist Coop, etc.

Over the past five years I have watched as the 200 block of Hansberry Street has gotten prettier and prettier / nicer and nicer. Certainly the community garden has played a part in that, and it is uplifting to watch a corner go from scary to really appealing. I love the job the horse guy is doing on that house near Newhall Street, and am amazed that there are people out there who do such beautiful work. Since we joined the Cricket Club 9 years ago we have watched the boarded up houses across from the club on Hansberry Street gradually get fixed up and occupied, and those guys did a decent job on the rehabs. Now the interest is spreading into rehabs on McKean and Bringhurst, which I think will be stunning streets long-term. I think, however, that the 500 block is the best on Hansberry, followed by the 200, then the 300/400 blocks, ranked in terms of pulchritude. The 100 is still really messed up, but as soon as Hansberry ends and you are on Greene, it gets really nice again. How strange.

BTW, as a sign of the increasing strength of the city and the neighborhood, the club is now full and has a waiting list.