"Look with my eyes, reader, upon the town of Norwood [...] and you will say that no fairer village glistens in the sunlight, or nestles under arching elms." -- Henry Ward Beecher, from "Norwood; or, Village Life in New England"
Norwood is probably the closest you can get to Philly without getting your hands full of cream cheese. It's a gorgeous town full of parks, museums, and enough historical goodies to make you wish you paid more attention in social studies.
So let's get this part out of the way: Norwood's cost of living is about 2 percent higher than the rest of Pennsylvania
"Look with my eyes, reader, upon the town of Norwood [...] and you will say that no fairer village glistens in the sunlight, or nestles under arching elms." -- Henry Ward Beecher, from "Norwood; or, Village Life in New England"
Norwood is probably the closest you can get to Philly without getting your hands full of cream cheese. It's a gorgeous town full of parks, museums, and enough historical goodies to make you wish you paid more attention in social studies.
The Basic Stats
So let's get this part out of the way: Norwood's cost of living is about 2 percent higher than the rest of Pennsylvania. In 2013, the population was estimated to be 5,890. That's spread out over.8 square miles. In short, once you've moved into your rental apt, you've got a pretty good chance of running into someone you know on the street. Speaking of moving in...
What's the Damage?
OK, so the cost of living is a bit elevated, but home rentals in Norwood are lower than the national average. This is pretty decent, considering that you can barely get a shoebox apt for rent in Manhattan for the same money, minus the shoes, of course. Also, since there are no real neighborhoods in Norwood, it completely gets rid of all that useless hunting around in different parts of the city and doing neighborhood comparisons about which side is better than the other. Now you can really focus on finding your dream home!
Why Norwood?
Well, for starters, the crime rate is 15 percent below the rest of Pennsylvania's average. The average summer temperature is 75 while the average winter temperature is 38. On any given day, you've got about 20 food and drink establishments within a one-mile radius of wherever you're standing. Ditto for places to shop. Take a walk at one of nine different parks, like the beautiful Ridley Creek State Park, or hit one of the four public libraries in the area. There's also plenty to do for the culturally-minded.
Search carefully and you'll come across the famous Morton Morton house. Yep, you read that correctly. Morton Morton. Not to be confused with Marten Martensen, who was Morton Morton's son's grandson. Don't worry, it all becomes less confusing once you realize that the whole place used to be called "New Sweden." The Morton Morton house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, as Morton Morton, incidentally, was cousin to one of the signers of the Declaration of Interdependence. His name was John. See, we told you it gets less confusing.
All in all, Norwood is a great place look for an apartment for rent. With much to see and do, from the charm of colonial history to the convenience of modern accommodations, you'll find yourself settling in like a hand in a comfy glove.
