Moving to the Main Line? Family-Friendly Neighborhood Guides to Narberth & Haverford
This Sponsored Story supports the Main Line Parent Community and is presented by Compass.
There are many factors to consider when looking for the perfect home for your family. Does it have enough bedrooms and bathrooms for your family, and even when your in-laws come to visit? Does it have street parking, or is a garage a must-have for you? How much are the taxes?
While it can be exciting to start looking for your forever home, don’t make the mistake of focusing just on the house. You should make sure the neighborhood is the right fit for your family. While these are all important questions to consider, the one thing you cannot change about your house is what neighborhood it’s in. Your neighborhood is something you interact with every day – whether it’s saying hello to the neighbors, walking your dog around the block, or stopping at your local produce stand, you want to love where you live.
That’s why researching the areas you are interested in is so important. And not only researching, but actually driving through the neighborhoods to get a better feel for it.
The real estate experts at Compass have helped do some of that research for you! Read below to learn why Haverford and Narberth are amazing family-friendly neighborhoods. Or click here to explore Wynnewood, Havertown, Media, and Gladwyne, here to get to know Devon, Ardmore, Berwyn, and Radnor, or click here to learn more about King of Prussia, Merion Station, Bryn Mawr and Wayne.
#1 Narberth, Pennsylvania
Overview: Narberth is close to everything, yet has that family-friendly small-town charm, with classic main street shopping and dining, front porch conversations, neighborhood block parties, and sidewalks on every street.
Commuting: Narberth residents enjoy the region’s easiest commutes. It’s only a mile from City Avenue, with a downtown train station that’s just three stops from Center City.
Favorite Family Activities: Everyone loves Narberth for its year-round, family-friendly events, like the Dickens Festival, downtown scavenger hunts, Music Festivals, the Great Leprechaun Hunt, and more.
Shops and restaurants your family will love: Narberth’s downtown has a movie theater, family-owned market, French patisserie, ice cream parlor, independent bookshop, and a number of other shops, restaurants, and pubs, all within a few blocks.
School District: Narberth families attend the award-winning schools of the top-notch Lower Merion School District, and Borough students can choose either Harriton or Lower Merion High School.
Moving here? Real estate tip from the expert: Whether you’re buying or selling, it’s always best to have an agent who’s an expert in the specific neighborhoods that are important to you. This is especially true in an area like Narberth where the market is highly competitive, and the inventory is extremely limited. Knowing what is about to hit the market can be crucial, so an agent with local contacts and community connections can give you an edge on the competition.
Meet Narberth Real Estate Agent, Cindy Ridgway
Cindy Ridgway brings the same passion and skill from her years as an attorney to the practice of real estate on the Main Line and greater Philadelphia. Cindy’s expertise on local real estate is second-to-none thanks to her dedication to following market prices, understanding trends, and tracking inventory, plus her extensive network of contacts from years of experience and community involvement.
She doesn’t just work here – Cindy has lived in the area most of her life. She and her husband, Ed, who is also on the real estate team, met when they were both in Law School at Villanova. For more than twenty years, they have lived in Narberth, where Cindy and Ed have been involved in the neighborhood, the community and the schools.
Cindy is especially well known in the area for her extensive knowledge about the real estate market in and around the Lower Merion School District. This expertise began with having a son in Lower Merion Schools, and taking a turn as an HSA president, but really comes from her mission to know the neighborhoods, the streets, and even the individual homes that make up this market. Cindy’s clients get the latest information on what’s sold recently, what’s for sale now, and even what’s about to hit the market.
Cindy’s home sales have made her the #1 agent in Narberth since 2014, and her sales throughout the Main Line and Philadelphia have won her repeated awards, and made her one of the top local agents.
“I have purchased several homes in the Narberth / Lower Merion area over the past decade, and sought Cindy’s help after getting to know her and her husband as upstanding and active members of the business and social community in Narberth. Her reputation as a local expert with tremendous negotiation and deal making skills are well deserved and served me and my family well during what turned out to be an extremely complicated transaction on a high dollar home. She expertly helped us buy an unlisted property, during the pandemic. Cindy was readily available, consummately professional, and frankly, a lot of fun to work with and exchange ideas with on the deal. Her local knowledge of the housing stock and positive relationships with other agents in the area were major contributors to her effectiveness facilitating our purchase. Cindy just flat out goes to the mat for her clients, and I would recommend and trust her to any friends and family looking for a home in Narberth and Lower Merion.” – JT, Main Line Parent Community member.
#2 Haverford, Pennsylvania
Overview: Haverford is such a great mix between a private suburb and a very easy walkable town. Shops, restaurants, and transportation are so accessible and make this town perfect for commuters. Old main line stone homes are the highlight of North Haverford.
Commuting: Haverford Station is right in the middle of Haverford Square, which is very walkable to many great suburban neighborhoods.
Favorite Family Activities: Walk or jog the Haverford College trail with your kids or dog, it’s such a nice shaded path where you can enjoy the beautiful foliage and appreciate the old stone Haverford College buildings.
Shops and restaurants your family will love: Green Engine Coffee is one of the best spots to grab a latte, White Dog Cafe is famous for their burger and truffle fries, and Children’s Book World is an old Haverford staple that your kids will love to explore.
School District: Lower Merion and Haverford.
Moving here? Real estate tip from the expert: Haverford has many old homes, so having an agent with knowledge of old home systems and quirks is key.
Meet Haverford Real Estate Agent, Liz Simpson
Integrity, Diligence, Results, These three words sum up how Liz approaches her business. The best measure of the dedication she has to her business is in the results- many happy clients! After growing up in Connecticut, Liz came to the Philadelphia area for her undergraduate studies at St. Joseph’s University. Falling in love with the city and surrounding suburbs, it became her home. In her 20 years here, she has lived in many different neighborhoods in Philadelphia, and then settled in the suburbs. Liz now lives in Lower Merion with her husband and three children.
When you work with Liz, you have the benefit of a savvy agent, but also one with a keen eye for design and staging. Recognizing the impact that presentation to the market has, if you sell with Liz you will be assured that your home will be fully prepared and ready to impress buyers.
Real estate as Liz’s job doesn’t start at 9 and end at 5, and she wouldn’t have it any other way! It truly is a way of life where her business is integrated in her personal life. Friends become clients and clients become friends. Her main area of focus is the Main Line, so many clients also become neighbors!
“Selling our current home and shopping for a new one was a process we were honestly dreading. We’d started and stopped the process multiple times, just never really feeling confident in the agents with whom we were working. As soon as we met with Liz, that changed. From day one, she took the time to really understand our interests/priorities – she operated with a sense of urgency while also being patient when needed (for once it felt like our best interests were at the forefront). She gave us invaluable advice on minor tweaks/staging that really put us in a great position on the selling side (our house sold in 3 days!!) and was dogged in helping us find the right new home –it honestly felt like we were her only client. Liz made an otherwise stressful process feel smooth and painless – we can’t thank her enough and we love our new home! – Alice Lunsford Gibbs
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