Ah, H-Town. You might have grown up here, you might forever be considered a newcomer. But on October 7, 2023, in this quaint little corner of the world all will be considered Townies! Darby Road will again be transformed into a bustling hub of activity, celebration and community spirit. It's the 28th annual Haverford Township Day (HTD), and listen up newbies: If you've never been, you're in for a treat. Imagine waking up to the gentle hum of a community coming together. The day kicks off with a flea market and craft fair at 10:00 am. Now, I've been to many a flea market in my time, but there's something about the Haverford one that feels... well, homey. Local and artisan vendors will set up shop. If I’m being honest, in the last several years, I’ve been a bit “meh” about many of the vendors, especially the Multi-Level Marketing pyramid schemes like LuLaRoe (they should be banned from the festival). There’s also a lot of overpriced, mass-manufactured jewelry. I try to suss out the hand-beaded, hand-made wares. The good thing is you can always find some vendors with true flea market finds like old books, vintage clothes, and trinkets you don’t need but you’ll definitely want. Watch out for the one table with the small wind instruments, though - if you blow it, you bought it! If shopping isn't your thing, perhaps a 5K race at the Middle School at 8:30 am might get your heart racing. Or, if you're like me and prefer a more leisurely pace, the parade starting at Manoa Shopping Center at 10:30 am is a sight to behold. It comes up Eagle and down Darby, ending at the Skatium. The *rocking* Haverford High School band plays, there’s usually Mummers (because: Mummers - they’re everywhere!), and various scouts. Sometimes there are politicians waving and throwing candy from the backs of convertibles. No floats though really. Sad. But! The firehouses usually toss a few treats and blast their sirens. Bring ear plugs and maybe don’t bring the dog. Our dog howled his … [Read more...]
Millennials would love H-Town, if they could afford it
A bit of information is coming out about Millennials and where they'd like to settle down. Turns out, it's the 'burbs. Great! H-Town's a 'burb. And we have all the things here these younguns are lookin' fer: "It appears that what many Millennials want when picking out a place to raise a family isn’t a city per se, but rather the perks that are traditionally associated with living in a city: restaurants, shops, and grocery stores within walking distance, easy access to public transportation. In other words, they might want suburbs that are more city-like than the ones they grew up in." Here at HavertowniesHQ, we get it. We searched for a town with good schools, a single family dwelling we could afford and good "walking-around" streets. We've been lucky to be here, within walking distance to the schools, a Wawa, the library and a few pizza places (and more) for 15 years. We're the lucky ones, apparently, because this article reports many Millennials are stuck in cities they can't afford to leave (median house price here is $301,500). We personally haven't met too many Millennials in Philly who want to flock to the 'burbs (and we meet quite a few, being techies and all), but surely there are those who have the same reasons we did for wanting to move out of Center City and into the suburbs. Of course, not many of us Havertownies can do much about these stuck-Millennials plight. But: We can encourage businesses and residents to keep up our eclectic mix of hometown charm and upscale living. Despite all the nail salons (jeez, people, don't any of you do your own nails?!), our dining scene just keeps getting better, and our Walkability score is crazy great (so stop complaining about parking. There is NEVER GOING TO BE ENOUGH PARKING. Walk.) We can also encourage a bit more diversity. Haverford Township's 92% whiteness is just... over. Wanna know where we got our stats? From the guvvermint: http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/RHI125214/4204533144,00 … [Read more...]