Ardmore.

Look in Lower Merion Township or Radnor Township. Depending on your budget, Haverford, Villanova, Bryn Mawr, and Gladwyne are wonderful. Ardmore is a bit of a mixed bag, but there are a lot of large old homes on the north side and lots of shopping. Rosemont and Bryn Mawr sort of run together with Bryn Mawr having more of a "main drag." Wayne has a fun, busy central area, too. The main thing on the Main Line is that you have so many towns that grew up along the train line and each has its own atmosphere, and yet it is easy to go from one to another.

ETA: You will love the area. Also, it is easy to get into the city from the Main Line and Philadelphia is a terrific city.

Welcome to Philly and I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Since I'm on the other side of the Delaware River in South Jersey I can't offer much advice on where to look. There are several other members here on the Forum who live around there and have will have more pertinent advice.

But I can second Cyn's recommendation since I had family living in Lower Merion Township. They choose it specifically for the schools and loved the 'feel' of the town.

I'm just outside of Chestnut Hill, so I can't offer any help on the Main Line, but I want to say that I have loved your posts on the wedding journey, and I welcome you to the neighborhood.

I really like Wayne. I grew up three miles from the center of town,
and my parents lived there for 60 years. Downtown Wayne has lots of restaurants and stores, a movie theatre, library, and a
train station. It’s close to King of
Prussia and the major highways. The Radnor and Tredyffrin-Easttown School
Districts always get excellent ratings.

That's a sweet house, Mtn.. and has many of the small charms I associate with the houses of Ardmore, Radnor and Wayne. I worked in Wayne for many years (in the office park that adjoins Valley Forge park). It's a super easy commute to KoP and has a variety of styles and sizes of homes (though I suspect the area will challenge your budget). As Cyn mentioned, it's very easy to move from one to another of the "downtown" areas along mainline and they each have their own characters.

Long after I moved away, I still returned to Wayne for whole foods, trader joes and to peek in the antique shoppes. As you move to the western mainline area, there are more opportunities for wooded and interesting lots (not sure if that is of interest).

I used to work at Valley Forge just outside of King of Prussia. My suggested towns: Glenside. Less expensive, vibrant downtown, near everything but not right on top of it. Good biking and public transportation. Oh, and King of Prussia really isn't that bad once you get off the main roads. Also Phoenixville is worth a look. Other towns include Willow Grove (which I used to live near and used to hate but has gotten more trendy), Abington, Jenkintown, Oreland, even Ambler. And if you don't mind commuting, Landsdale. And the others that other folks have mentioned. Also Media is a hip town although off the Main Line I found the Main Line area way too traficky for my taste.

Thank you all for taking the time to give such insightful responses. For the record, our first choice is Wayne. We love the downtown. Reminds me of Connecticut where I grew up. We also like Narberth. Media was on the list but too far of a commute. Loved Chadds Ford in theory, but a little too remote. For some reason, ambler doesn't do much for me. I don't know why, just a vibe about it that's not for me. I loved the places closer to the city like chestnut hill and west mount airy, but we have to be out of the city limits. So they are out. I will definitely give Ardmore a closer look too. I've looked at most that lpink mentioned but we want a little more land and privacy than some of those on her list. But I'll add them to my Realtor.com search. You never know.

We had a checklist for Wayne that included walk to downtown. We quickly realized with our budget that is not feasible. So we're looking a bit further north, still in Wayne, but a five minute drive to town. It's not the same school district, but it's still a decent one.

Our hunt is very preliminary as we won't purchase a home until the spring. I'm still scouring lots of different town.

It's hard to leave my small town but I'm looking forward to the next chapter. Thanks for your help.

Jo

Athough not the Main Line, add to LPink's list Wyndmoor, Flourtown, Erdenheim, Lafayette Hill. No real downtowns per se, but we use Chestnut Hill for that purpose. On Realtor.com, the 19038 zip encompasses a lot more than Glenside. As for land/privacy, we have .7 acre and we are 3 blocks from Chestnut Hill. It's a street-by-street thing.

So, I have lived on the Main Line almost my entire life. I live in Lower Merion and to be honest it is getting crowded and overbuilt. There are several huge condo buildings going up and the congestion will only get worse. However, if you can find something in the area across Montgomery Avenue in Ardmore you will be in walking distance of Suburban Square, which is getting a total facelift with lots of new shops and restaurants. Look for streets such as Glenn, St Georges, Edgewood and Llanfair. Another area that is walkable to Ardmore is actually in Wynnewood, streets such as Hathaway, Kent and Fairhill.

Also look at Bryn Mawr. There are many shops and restaurants on Lancaster Ave, a beautiful library, a farmers market in the summer. There are fun streets with houses in your price range.

If I were buying now I would be looking at Wayne, Berwyn, parts of Radnor, although only Wayne has a walkable downtown. If you get very lucky, you may find a house for $700K in Gladwyne, close in to the center of town. The center is small and does not have restaurants. The only restaurant recently became a private club, boo hoo. Best of all, we would be neighbors.

Malvern is a nice town and growing. Again, cute shops and restaurants. There's a train station if you want to get into the city. Ardmore, Bryn Mawr and Wynnewood are all on the train line, too. Malvern might be an easier commute to KOP than the others. I used to commute from my house to Paoli and the traffic is pretty bad at rush hour.

I truly know this area like the back of my hand, so I am happy to help any way I can.

I second Phoenixville - it's just on the other side of Valley Forge Park from KoP. It's a revitalizing area -- wish I had bought there 15 years ago, as housing prices have skyrocketed. Yet they are not nearly as spendy as Wayne....I suspect it may be challenging to find something decent in Wayne that is under your budget. Phoenixville is more "counterculture" and still has some hardscrabble areas so it may be a little rough around the edges compared to Wayne (I'd compare it to Manayunk), but I think it is still revitalizing and suspect housing prices will go up much faster than in Wayne.

Is West Chester too far out? It's a nice town and the surrounding area is very pretty. My husband's cousin lived in a Victorian in the borough and then moved outside of town after the kids left home. The prices seem better than the Main Line. This modern house is outside of town around 1/2hr. to KoP.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/1322-Birmingham-Rd,-West-Chester,-PA-19382_rb/

Almost all the areas I mentioned have good, high-end neighborhoods. Pheonixville, for example, has many lovely estates just outside of town. Same with King of Prussia. I thought it was hideous because of the mall and casino, but there are some gorgeous neighborhoods near there. Philly traffic is horrible, so I would definitely want public transport and good shopping nearby.

And yes Ambler is a little ratty, but it also has some lovely neighborhoods just outside of town. But the other towns are definitely hipper. If I had to choose I'd pick an upscale Jenkintown suburb. Hey if it is good enough for Bradley Cooper its fine by me! :)

I have relatives who recently looked in this area. It is true that you get more for your money as you go further west, but I think you really need to know what you want in a town. They were tempted by how inexpensive much of PA can be, especially outside of major cities. In the end they opted for less land/space but in an area where they felt they could find more friends and more amenities that suit them.

My son in law owns a home in Ardmore. Great area. They rarely use a car since the train is in walking distance. Cute restaurants, shopping, wfm. Easy to get into Phila where my daughter in law works. Close to King of Prussia. Many buy older homes on the main line which they renovate if it hasn't been done already. Wynnwood is another nice area. My husbands from that area.

I live in Lower Merion Township as well. I can't get over how many Philly people are here! I love this area, and I still marvel at the beauty while driving on back roads. However, I do agree that the area is being over built, and local traffic can be very congested at times.

I think what I like the most is having so much so close. Philadelphia is a great city, and I love that it's so close, which is why we chose this area. Wayne is great, too, with lots of nice shops and restaurants. You really can't go wrong with most of the towns on the Main Line. They all have great schools, great for resale.

Good luck with your search!

For some reason, I keep getting signed out of garden web/Houzz which is why I haven't been very responsive to your comments. I am really appreciative of all your advice. We have expanded our search to include Ardmore and Narberth. Media is too far (I think someone mentioned it) and we're also looking in west Chester. We've kind of crossed Phoenixville off the list because of its distance from downtown Philly. Yes, it's close to King of Prussia, but a hike to Center City.

Want to see my dream house? It has everything I want, but unfortunately we're sure it will be gone when we start looking seriously. And we can't afford to own four houses (my summerhouse, my home in upstate New York, his home in Philly, and whichever one we buy together.)

A girl can dream though.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1108-Hillcrest-Rd-Penn-Valley-PA-19072/9958292_zpid/

Jo

I know that house! It is right around the corner from my mother's home. Yes, very lovely. I love old stone colonials. That street is not very far from the township transfer station where they take all the trash. Although Hillcrest is unaffected by it, houses on N. Woodbine have trash trucks going by all the time on their way to the transfer station.

This house is on a charming street and you can walk to the center of Gladwyne.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Lower-Merion-Township-PA/pmf,pf_pt/9965383_zpid/398868_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/40.148963,-75.129662,39.902362,-75.569115_rect/10_zm/

This place needs some work but has an amazing location.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Lower-Merion-Township-PA/pmf,pf_pt/9966214_zpid/398868_rid/globalrelevanceex_sort/40.148963,-75.129662,39.902362,-75.569115_rect/10_zm/5_p/

You should just let me pick out your house for you.

Jojoco, that is a super house and looks like a terrific value! Why did I leave home again?

There are so many great homes in the Philly suburbs. I'm sure a fabulous one will be for sale when you are ready. I know because I looked around there myself.

OMG Ded, that house on Rose Glen Road!! That's the kind of place I was thinking of. With just a little work it could be fabulous. Great value to be found in the older homes, IMHO. They just don't "make" wood like that anymore. But then I would only own one home and be all about the back yard!

Here's another, other side of Chestnut Hill. (Just because, even tho it's not in your area.)

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7809-Pine-Rd_Wyndmoor_PA_19038_M36176-59525#photo0