Narberth Newcomers

Narberth is the small town on the edge of the big city. It's a sheltered oasis in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia and the Main Line. 

This is how it seemed from the outside looking in. My wife and I were living in Philadelphia, but I never felt like I belonged there or enjoyed it. (Side note: We lived just across City Ave by 76, behind the Target. For the first 12 months we lived there I couldn't even figure out what the neighboorhood name was. It turns out it's called "Wynnefield Heights". Yelp doesn't even recognize it as a neighborhood!). Anyway I wasn't particularly happy there. I was a little scared for my wife (or me) to be outside at night. I would dream of moving out of the city, to somewhere I could walk to the store. Or even *gasp* go on walks just to enjoy being outside.

When previous lease ended we did the requisite rent.com and Craigslist searches. We discoverd, surprisingly, an apartment that we could actually (almost) afford, in Narberth. So 2 weeks ago we packed our bags and moved into Narberth.

Now I came face to face with my dreams. Was I right? Is Narberth really so nice? Or was it just a "grass is always greener" illusion and Narberth was just another Philadelphia neighborhood I would come to hate?

Conclusion: Who knows? I've only been here a week and a half. But, consider the following:

• Everyone in Narberth seems to have either a dog, or kids, or both.
• We parked our moving van in the street and no one yelled at us.
• I tried to pay the $1 fee for our parking permits and was told "well, sure, only if you really want to".
• Relatedly, the parking permit fee is only 1 dollar.
• There is a Japanese grocery store.
• Even the skateboarding kids wear helmets.
• We were driving in the morning and got stopped at a police checkpoint. I was very surprised to see a DUI checkpoint so early -- but it was a seat belt check. Seriously, a checkpoint for seatbelts?

If you don't appreciate these, I think you've lived here too long -- these are things that you won't find everywhere.

Will I eventually have some bad experiences? Sure. Will I eventually find out some dark secrets about Narberth? Sure. I'll keep you posted as I discover more about what life is like in Narberth. But in the meantime, I'm going to enjoy this little slice of what sure feels like some level (probably a lower level but still) of heaven that I'm lucky enough to live in.

Agree? Disagree? Let me know!