I do not have a lot of information.
I know the cost of living is a little less but then it depends where you are moving from. May be you already live in a low cost of living area.
I know there is desi community there and masjids and some halal restaurants too.
Oh haverford and swarthmore area is awesome. I was an urbanite and lived in center city, but these places have great parks and trails. Desi community is fairly large too. Not sure of suburban masjid though. It’s definitely no Dallas or NYC in terms of desi population and shops etc from what I know but it’s dated info
There is a very vibrant culture, much history to the city. Haverford and Swarthmore are great colleges, Bryn Mawr is not too far and they all serve as major hibs for cultural events Villanova is in that general area as well. The city has some major universities which have muslim associations and desi groups, Penn, Temple, Drexel, Lasalle, St. Josephs which are in addition to the ones in burbs,
Schuykill river is great for rowing, ad has running and biking lanes next to it. Major park right there with tons of history and events.
Downtown of course you have some of the most historically rich places in all of USA including independence hall, liberty bell etc etc.
I was there as a student and found the community a little standoffish in terms of mixing with students. I guess they had some screwed up ideas and fears that we will spoil their girls etc (and just to set the record straight, in many cases I..errr we did just that so I cant complain)
sg11.. we will be moving from Massachusetts.. cost of living here is pretty high!
X2.. thanks for the information! We will be checking out places in Swarthmore, Glen Mills and Media soon inshaAllah and then decide between three! My husband’s job is in Media so probably that will be a preference.
I am about to google Schuykill river and find out more abotu it!!! sounds like a lovely place.. thanks!
Yes I’ve a similiar impression that pretty much everywhere in Pennsylvania, the cost is lower than Mass and hell ya from NY for sure. Also desi community is still good enough for sure depending on where you are. Like I didnt find much in Pittsburg while its reverse in Philli. I’m pretty sure you must have googled already and if not, just complete your homework. Good luck and do update on wherever you move and how is it over there
SID…lets see how things go.. I hope we like it there! we have a small community in MA where I live but absolutely wonderful.. we bought the house here because we couldnt think of a better place to raise our kids.. oh well, Allah is the best of Planners!
Reha.. not even close to what we have in MA… we drove around a bit in PA and decided that philadelphia itself was a big no no.. I want to move further west in Bucks county (beautiful, farmland) but due to my husband’s job we will be in delaware county and its really not that beautiful..oh well, home is where family is