I was interested in whether anyone had any insight into raising kids in Society Hill. We are considering moving there with our 2 year old and was curious about schools/child care options/activities. Thanks.

don't kow much about it but I was walking down one of the streets there during sat. last summer and the neighborhood park was packed with kids playing and parents with them chatting with each other.

There are nice playgrounds interspersed among the houses. I walk through there everyday for exercise and there are always moms and dads outside with kids, especially after school time. I think that would be a great thing to raise a kid in that area.

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I know of at least one child care place, at St. Peter's Church (4th and Lombard, I believe). I'm sure there are others.

A classic kids' place is 3 Bears Park, on Delancey between 3rd and 4th. We've taken our (now 3-year-old) daughter there numerous times.

I'm not sure if all of Society Hill is within the catchment area of McCall school, but if it is you'd have a good public elementary school available (it's between 6th & 7th, Pine & Spruce). If it's not & you want to have a public school option in a few years, I'd suggest looking for housing within the catchment area.

that's the place i was talking about, thanks niel.

I live in Liberty Court, the new area in Queen Village, adjacent to Society Hill. On a nice afternoon recently, I counted 22 beautiful children playing on the 200 block of Gaskill Street. The kids seemed to be between 3 and 5 yrs old, having great fun, supervised by parents. Looks like a nice plce to raise children.

There are many preschools and daycares in and near Society Hill, Three Bears Park and other parks within walking distance, and baby and toddler music classes and tumbling classes nearby. As someone else said, McCall is considered a good public elementary, and many people in Society Hill send their kids to private schools.

For me, Three Bears Park seems to illustrate that Society Hill is a great place for families, if you can afford it.

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I live in Society Hill with my (8 month old) daughter. We've found it a very good neighborhood for kids. As others have mentioned, Three Bears is a great park for little kids. Old Pine Community Center has a lot of kids' activities (we take our daughter to music class there). I don't know if St. Peter's has daycare- they do have a very good school- but there are several options just outside of the neighborhood. It's walkable, low-key and friendly; we love it.

The downside, as Scoats mentions, is that it's very expensive to live there. We bought our place in 2000, before the market really went crazy; now that we've got a nipper, it isn't big enough, and we probably won't be able to afford to stay in the neighborhood...