Somerton

Somerton is an upper Northeast neighborhood with easily discerning borders - County Line Road & Poquessing Creek at the north, Red Lion Road at the south, Roosevelt Boulevard to the east and the Philadelphia/Montgomery County Line to the west.

The area is divided into seven smaller neighborhoods including Timberwalk, Lorraine Gardens, Tudor Village, Camelot, and Old Somerton. The residents of largely foreign born, notably Indian and Russian immigrants.

Many of the homes in Somerton were erected pre-Word War II. They include colonial style single-family houses with quaint yards. There are townhomes in the area, as well as a slew of condos and apartment complexes. The median sale price for the homes in Somerton is around $241,000.

There are quite a few schools to choose from in the vicinity. One of them in particular, Watson Comly School, is on the National Register of Historical Places. Other schools include MASTery - a sciences charter school, George Washington High School, Saint Christopher's and William H. Loeshe.

Somerton has an amazing youth sports organization that provide sport programs. They offer football, baseball, softball, soccer for girls and boys, and basketball for boys and girls. The organization has intramural and travel teams. It is a focal point for the young people of Somerton and gives them something to do.

Poquessing Valley Park lies inside of Somerton. Unlike most of the parks in the Fairmount Park System, Poquessing is not devleoped with picnic tables, manicured grass, and mnaged trails. For a long time it was an illegal dumping ground, but it recent years the Fairmount Park System and Bansalem have been working toward making the park a more visitor friendly area.

There are an assortment of businesses throughc the neighborhood such as medical professionals, florists, manufacturing companies, and automotive dealers. Somerton also has an enticing array of restaurants with many featuring Indian, Asian or Russian cuisine. There isn't a lot of nightlife in Somerton, however, there are a few bars such as Benny the Bum and Chickie & Pete's Sports Bar.

It is better to have a car when living in Somerton. The area is close to many major roadways such as Roosevelt Boulevard (US Route 1), which can get you into Center City in 20 minutes or less. For those who do not drive there are plenty of SEPTA bus routes with most of them leading to the Frankford Trasportation Center, which will get you downtown in no time and one bus that brings you to City Line Avenue, which is lined with promising businesses and shopping plazas. Somerton station is the stop for the West Trenton Line that lead into New Jersey.

Somerton has a suburban feel inside of a bustling city. There is a strong sense of commty and the neighbors are tightly knit. The politicians of the area fight hard to keep Somerton community oriented with all the comforts of the suburbs.

Somerton is like a mini version of Philadelphia in that it is one neighborhood that is made up of a lot of different neighborhoods. There are also several subdivisions in Somerton making this far northeast neighborhood a predominantly residential area.

The neighborhood consists of predominantly white residents but in recent years there has been an increase in foreign immigration, especially Russian and Indian individuals. Somerton is a middle class neighborhood with an increasing property value. The housing styles varying in many sections because of when the divisions were made, Old Somerton has larger mid-1900s homes while the homes in Philmont heights are newer and not as detailed because they were built in the 1970s.

Somerton is a lot of busy streets in the area as most of the residents drive. It’s a car friendly community but parking can be minimal depending on which section of the neighborhood you are in. Somerton is also far from the rest of Philadelphia’s main areas of interest which makes having a car handy. Though there are bus routes that run through Somerton, making public transportation an option.

Somerton also seems to have a many practicing religious residents with several church groups existing in the area.

Somerton is a neighborhood located in the Far Northeast section of Philadelphia. It is situated between Roosevelt Boulevard to the east, the border of Montgomery County to the west, Red Lion Road to the south and East County Line Road to the north.
Somerton is a largely residential neighborhood and offers many different types of housing units including row homes, single-family houses, twin-family houses and a few apartment complexes. Most of the houses make ideal homes for families because they are set back from the street and have spacious front yards.
Somerton is a predominantly white, middle class neighborhood but more and more African Americans and Hispanics have moved to the area, adding to the eclectic ethnic mix.
Due to its far proximity from Center City, the area is low on crime and mostly well kept. Residents enjoy a taste of the suburbs as well as a quiet and peaceful neighborhood to live in.
Somerset does not offer a lot of shopping opportunities since it is mostly residential. The main shopping corridors can be found on Roosevelt Boulevard as well as Red Lion Road.
During rush hour, Roosevelt Boulevard tends to be bumper to bumper traffic, so if you do move to Somerset, consider taking public trans to work.