Mt. Airy is not only one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Philadelphia, but also the country. Oprah Winfrey Magazine famously said Mount Airy was a neighborhood ‘where people of just about every race, religion, class, belief system, and sexual orientation come together and play very nicely, thank you.’ It’s a quiet community adjacent to the Wissahickon Valley and the residents spend years looking for the perfect home because houses don’t come on the market often. In Mt. Airy you’ll come across grand 6,000+ sq/ft mansions on one block and twins the next only to come to rowhomes on the following block. Mt. Airy was one of the first successfully integrated neighborhoods in America and that tradition has continued today with neighborhood watches, East and West Mt. Airy Registered Community Organizations.
East and West Mt. Airy are separated by Germantown Ave, the main commercial artery for Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, and Germantown. The Mt. Airy commercial district goes from the Lovett Memorial Library at Germantown Ave and Sedgwick and continues to Germantown and Gowen Ave. Be sure to check out McMenamin’s Tavern, a Mt. Airy staple since 1936 which acts as a microcosm of the Mt. Airy community no matter the time of day.
This neighborhood feels like a small city of its own, and though the commute into the city can be daunting, many find the friendly neighborhood, peaceful streets, and abundant green space well worth the trip.
The most common home is a 2 or 3-story twin, but apartments and condos are also available. According to Zillow, the 2020 median home price in Mount Airy is $300,000 (compared to Philly-wide average of $188,000). East Mount Airy tends to be less expensive than West.
