[0x54D5]

I grew up 15 minutes from Levittown, PA. I even had to do an undergrad research project on it. The development is boring and pointless but packed with lower middle class families. A place where there's only a driveway for one or two cars but there's always 3 or 4 per house and parked all in the street. The houses themselves are all full. The area just west and north of Levittown is actually one of the oldest rich suburbs in America containing Newtown, PA and Washington's Crossing with estates from the 16th century and acres of land.

Oxford Valley Mall is far from dead. The food court is always pretty lively on Fridays and Saturdays. The Forever 21 next to the food court is constantly packed with teenagers. I literally went there not long ago with my girlfriend and we had to stand in line at the register. Not exactly dead.

The guy just went on a random Tuesday instead of a Saturday. Of course it's going to be dead. The parking lot also has a really good theater seating style movie theater. Both Oxford Valley Mall and Neshaminy Mall are on Route 1 going north out of Philadelphia and also have I-95 going by. Also the Mall has Sesame Street Theme Park right outside it's parking lot and across the street is a whole other plaza containing a Best Buy, A Home Depot, a Lowes, and a bunch of other stuff. Honestly the only reason the mall can't keep full is cause of all the competitions nearby. The area itself is actually super nice just to the west of the mall with lots of properties rising in value.

I used to run a Gaming LAN Center in 2005 in Neshaminy Mall. The area is served by FIOS and Comcast.

As to why buses come to the mall? Really? Old people like to walk around during the day in the mall just for fun. People also use the bus to get to and from work. Most of the routes are going to and from Philly with a few connecting the various regional rail stations. Growing up we all wished there was just one bus from the center of Newtown to the mall so we wouldn't have to ask our parents to take us.

If you actually stay just around Levittown there's a lot of old crap from the 60s in a clearly abandoned and/or ruined state but that's not really indicative of the area.

[aeontech]

Off topic: by the way, this your comment (and some earlier ones) are showing up as dead. I vouched for this one to unhide it, but you may want to email the mods to see why your account is flagged.

[vips7L]

All of this. I grew up in Levittown, PA. This entire article is false. Just look at the housing prices in Falls or Middletown Townships.

While Levittown does have its problems (see the Fairless Hills overdose sign), its no where near as bad as this article makes it seem.

[residentraspber]

As someone from this area (I used to work at the Chick Fil A by the mall!), I agree with some of your points, but not all of them.

Levittown is very close to a bunch of wealthy Philly suburbs, but it, itself is not wealthy. The main "strip" no longer exists, taken over by the shopping plazas nearby and the mall, but never really replaced. It's also surrounded by Rt 1 and I95, making it rather difficult, if not impossible to walk around anywhere.

I most disagree with your statements about the mall. It's usually about as empty as the pictures show. Way back when Boscovs left, that was pretty much the end. Sears and JCPenny left more recently but after they did, so did the rest of the mall. Now it's hardly as busy or useful as it used to be. Macys will probably leave too, someday.

[_k3n_]

I remember that gaming center! The Oxford Valley Mall has definitely lost some luster since the 90s, but yeah, these photos are painting a bleaker picture than reality.

I mean, half of Levittown, PA is part of the Pennsbury School District, home of "The Best Prom in America" (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/04/23/be...).

[awshepard]

> As to why buses come to the mall? Really?

This is a good point, and one not well-explained in the article. I agree, what's the big deal? The Columbia Mall in Howard County, MD (the 3rd wealthiest county in the US) has the Mall as a primary stop for many buses. What does a bus coming to the mall have anything to do with the quality of a neighborhood?

[jim-jim-jim]

>I used to run a Gaming LAN Center in 2005 in Neshaminy Mall.

Oh damn, I remember that. Was it called Ultra Zone or something? I lived in Jersey but I'd meet my PA friends there sometimes.