Burb vs. burb

Ardmore North Wales

Two Montgomery County contenders, $64K apart on a typical house, and two different ideas of a Saturday. The tale of the tape:

Quick verdict

  • Your dollar goes further in North Wales: homes around $475K against $539K.
  • Ardmore takes the food question. More kitchens worth arguing about.
  • Ardmore owns the night: more taprooms, later rooms.
  • Ardmore wins the browse. The shops are the afternoon.

The read, side by side

Food scene
Nights out
Shops & browsing
Arts & festivals
Trails & outdoors
Family Saturdays
Train to the city
Main-street walk
Peace & quiet

Scored 0–5 by us, the way we’d brief a friend. Not by a formula.

The numbers

Ardmore North Wales
CountyMontgomeryMontgomery
Typical home$539K$475K
TrainArdmore, about 30 minNorth Wales, about 45 min
Drive to Center City~25 min~45 min
SchoolsLower MerionNorth Penn
Population13,5663,426
In our guide112 places30 places

Home values: typical figures checked against Zillow and Redfin, mid-2026. Train times: typical scheduled rides to Jefferson Station, rounded. Verify before you commit to anything with a mortgage on it.

A Saturday in each

Ardmore

  • Felicia's Pizza Kitchen: Pizza on West Lancaster Avenue, run as a takeout counter with a handful of seats.
  • Pilot and Powell: A clothing boutique on Parking Plaza, the block behind Lancaster Avenue where Ardmore keeps its municipal lots.
  • Axiom Contemporary: Contemporary art gallery in a Coulter Ave storefront, a block off the Lancaster Avenue strip.

The full Ardmore guide →

North Wales

  • American Star Diner: The Welsh Road diner running round-the-clock, which settles where 2 a.m.
  • Ewenited Stitches: A yarn shop on East Montgomery with a pun for a name and skeins stacked to the ceiling.
  • Walnut Square Park: A small square on East Walnut, half a block from Tex Mex Connection and the shops.

The full North Wales guide →