Suburbs of Philadelphia

I lived in Philadelphia when my (now teenaged) kids were babies, and while I didn't live on the Main Line with kids, I had many colleagues who did (I lived there for a few years pre-kids).  The comment that stands out in my mind from a colleague was, "The Main Line is where everyone moves for the excellent public schools, and then sends their kids to private school anyway."  All the towns you mention are older suburbs, and have more of a small town feel, but are very white and middle/upper middle/wealthy (varies some by town).  If you want a community that feels more like Oakland, I would recommend looking in Philadelphia itself.  It has much more of what you like about Oakland, and is still more affordable than anything in the Bay Area.  The public school system is deeply troubled, although I understand there are individual schools with strong leadership and parent support.  Good luck!

We lived in the Bay Area for many years and moved to the Philly suburbs from 2006 to 2014 to be closer to my family in PA a few hours away. 

We lived in the NW part of Philly in an area called Mount Airy, which we found to be the closest vibe to Berkeley/Oakland in the suburbs in terms of open-mindedness. Public school options there are tough (some people navigate a couple of schools with involved PTAs), but most folks do lotteries to get their kids into charter schools, or they do private schools. (There are many great private options, many of which offer financial aid.)

When we left Philly in 2014 to move back to CA, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, etc. were all still very conservative in terms of diversity and open-mindedness. I think it was getting a bit better there (we saw a change from 2006 to 2014), but many people grow up and stay in Philly so there is a lack of overall diversity in that area of Philly along the Main Line.

If you are looking for public schools, Lower Merion and Abington were ranked as great SDs when we were there, but I honestly would not have wanted to live there due to the lack of diversity and open mindedness. Those areas felt too conservative for us.

Overall, I know some people who moved to Philly from other major cities and loved it. I also know folks who lived there for a time and then moved back to the West Coast. It depends on what is important to you and what you are hoping to achieve by moving there.

As for us, we had been sick of the Bay Area when we left -- and thought Philly would be the place where we would settle forever. That said, we honestly couldn't wait to get back to the Bay Area, and were so glad to move back here in 2014. And while we have good friends still in Philly, we honestly have no interest in going back to visit - and we don't miss anything there other than the memories of our children being babies there.

Some things we missed from the west coast... the natural beauty of the Bay Area (access to Tahoe, the Headlands, Santa Cruz mountains, etc.) and also the abundance of great food. We also missed being around a larger population of diverse and open minded people. My husband is also not a spectator sports fan (football, hockey, basketball, baseball) so he found it difficult to connect with others at work  - as most colleagues were avid sports or golf fans. The job market was also much smaller/tough there in his field. We also found that while housing is inexpensive in Philly, other things were more expensive or the same as here (utilities, car insurance, restaurants, and groceries if you want anything organic.)  And finally, we lost money on our house when we sold it - as the market had not gone up over 7 years the way we'd anticipated (and we had to spend a lot to fix it up as most of the housing stock is old.)

FWIW, when we left Philly, a lot of folks were moving from the Main Line neighborhoods to downtown Philly (Northern Liberties, Fishtown, etc.) - so those areas have a lot going on  (restaurants, more diverse and open minded people, and very walkable). But not sure what the schools are like, or what it's like to have young kids there.

http://www.philadelphiaspeaks.com that has forums by area - and can give you advice from locals. That said, many folks on there love Philly so I wanted to give you the perspective of someone who moved from CA to Philly and didn't love it.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like. 
 

We moved from San Francisco to Center City Philly first and then the 'burbs (next to Bryn Mawr and Ardmore). Happy to share my thoughts if you want to contact me directly.

I am in Havertown Pa visiting relatives right now.Great school district.Haverford and Media are also very nice.Media has a nice artsy shopping area like Rockridge.Look for towns that are part of Mainline.

I grew up in Wynnewood and went to middle school in Bala Cynwyd and know the area. I haven't lived there since 1991, but I don't feel it's changed much. I go back to visit family. The weather is beautiful in mid-September through October. It's really cold November-March. It's beautiful again with lots of rain from April-mid June and really hot and sticky late June-August. It got so cold, I couldn't take the winters anymore and so hot and humid in the summer, I couldn't take that either. Back when I lived there, there weren't many festivals in the suburbs. There were more downtown, but maybe that's changed. The diversity is in the city, not in the burbs. It is not as open-minded as Oakland and not as liberal.

The suburbs are more conservative than out here. The city of Philly is too. It's totally different than here. The suburbs are safe, quiet place to raise kids if you like shopping and parks. Mountains aren't close by and neither is the ocean. The focus is different, it's not the great outdoors. I know people who are happy there but it is not diverse like out here. Life is rougher there. Philly is a rough city, harsher than Oakland. There are parts that are changing and hip, but it still isn't Oakland.

Hope that helps. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out.

You might want to consider Chestnut Hill or Mount Airy. They are much more like Oakland than the places you mentioned. Both are pretty with many family activities. 

My brother and his wife lived in Manayunk for several years and loved it there. I visited with them often and always enjoyed my time there as well. I haven't been in awhile, but when they lived there, there was a vital and dynamic main street that had excellent restaurants, coffee shops, bookstores, etc. It was a highlight of my time there to stroll down the street, which was walkable from their house.

There is the Schuylkill river and river path in town, as well as a decent amount of open space and trails. They had dogs when they lived there and always said it was a great dog town. The transit system is excellent and goes into Philly from the downtown, and it is a quick drive as well. The weather is still northeastern in character, but since Philly is farther south than New England, tends to be a bit milder in the winter, though it can get more humid in the summers.

Manayunk itself and Philly offer amazing cultural activities: festivals, museums, performances and tons of kid-friendly places and things to do (check out "Kidchella" if you visit or move this summer!). There are abundant opportunities for outdoor recreation in the area as well. Manayunk really does have a balance of quaint neighborhood and urbanish amenities. It was relatively affordable then, but not sure now. Then again, if you're moving from the Bay Area, nearly everything will appear to be affordable! Best of luck to you.