Rentals in No Phila.

[ella]

Any suggestions for renting in No. Phila. for a Temple U student?

[cwd22]

Try to stay within the bounds of Broad, 18th, Susquehanna, and Jefferson. Some of the best blocks in that area are probably the 2000 block of Carlisle, the 1800 block of Willington, and the 1500 blocks of Fontain and Page. There are a lot of other students on those blocks, and plenty of homeowners who seem to take good care of their property.

[OutOfContext]

Any suggestions for renting in No. Phila. for a Temple U student?

Yeah, don't.

You can get a much better place, cheaper, in a far nicer area of the city. Try looking in South Philly.

[ella]

Yeah, don't.

You can get a much better place, cheaper, in a far nicer area of the city. Try looking in South Philly.

Isn't that kind of far from campus? What transportation would I have to take? Subway? ~sorry, not too familiar with the city

[OutOfContext]

Isn't that kind of far from campus? What transportation would I have to take? Subway? ~sorry, not too familiar with the city

No worries!

You'd take the subway most likely, depending where in S Philly you'd live. It's around a 20 minute commute.

[OutOfContext]

Hell, you could even find a nice studio in Center City for what most places around Temple are charging these days.

[ella]

Hell, you could even find a nice studio in Center City for what most places around Temple are charging these days.

I noticed the price of rental around Temple seemed high for what you get. So, the further away from the college the better (cheaper)? What about the Drexel area? Also, seems kind of far. I'm confused about where to look. No Phila is not exactly my first choice but I'm interested in staying close due to extra curric activities at temple.

[OutOfContext]

I noticed the price of rental around Temple seemed high for what you get. So, the further away from the college the better (cheaper)? What about the Drexel area? Also, seems kind of far. I'm confused about where to look. No Phila is not exactly my first choice but I'm interested in staying close due to extra curric activities at temple.

It's just my personal opinion, but I wouldn't live anywhere near Temple. Lack of quality entertainment, amenities, and generally overpriced dumps are my reasons. Again, that's just my personal opinion. It's really up to what your priorities are, and mine didn't include proximity.

The Drexel area is far nicer in my opinion, but you'd have to take the EL or trolley to City Hall and transfer to the BSL which would add another 15 minutes to your trip. Not terrible, but not as convenient as getting on the BSL directly and just going north from South Philly. (taking for granted that you live within walking distance of the BSL in South Philly which is most of it in my opinion, but again, that's personal opinion.)

I just don't see the allure of living close to Temple. It just doesn't seem worth the price for what you get.

[ella]

Try to stay within the bounds of Broad, 18th, Susquehanna, and Jefferson. Some of the best blocks in that area are probably the 2000 block of Carlisle, the 1800 block of Willington, and the 1500 blocks of Fontain and Page. There are a lot of other students on those blocks, and plenty of homeowners who seem to take good care of their property.

Yes, I like Broad, 18th, Susque. & Jefferson area. Seems ok. Do rentals come with 12 month leases or can they lease for shorter times periods? We looked at one rental so far and they wanted a 12 month lease.

[OutOfContext]

They are all generally one year leases, at least for the first year.

[ella]

They are all generally one year leases, at least for the first year.

Thanks, looks like I better get myself a map and check all surrounding areas for places. At least we have until next fall to find something.

[OutOfContext]

Please make sure you drive through any area you might want to live in during various times of the day, including late night. Trust me.

[ella]

Please make sure you drive through any area you might want to live in during various times of the day, including late night. Trust me.

Great advice ~ I saw a pic of "south phila" on the pic of the day site in this forum. looks nice. All S. Phila like that? Small tight streets though, they don't want me driving down them! ~lol~

[OutOfContext]

Great advice ~ I saw a pic of "south phila" on the pic of the day site in this forum. looks nice. All S. Phila like that? Small tight streets though, they don't want me driving down them! ~lol~

Not all of South Philly is nearly as nice as those pictures unfortunately. There are some very rough parts. I'm just going to go ahead and say that there's more nice areas in South Philly than there are in North Philly though...

Not all the streets are as tight, but yes, there's quite a few of them.

[thoth]

Meh. Temple of today is not the Temple of even a year and a half ago when I graduated. I'll agree the places are overpriced, but part of that is the price you pay for the convenience of rolling out of bed and into class. I wasn't bored on Temple campus, and especially now with the theater, supermarket and other commercial expansion, I'm pretty envious. That said, I moved off because I wanted to be more integrated into an actual neighborhood as opposed to living in Temple's bubble.

Personally I think South Philly is a bit extreme if you're just looking for a nice neighborhood, though I certainly knew plenty of folks who did the slog on the subway. I lived in South Kensington near 5th and Jefferson, Fairmount near Corinthian and Girard, and had lots of friends who lived in Fishtown. I generally was no more than a 10 minute bike ride or a 15-20 minute walk from the edge of campus at most points, and there was always the bus/trolley if it rains. There are lots of options that don't involve living across town or being totally dependent on mass transit.

[ella]

Meh. Temple of today is not the Temple of even a year and a half ago when I graduated. I'll agree the places are overpriced, but part of that is the price you pay for the convenience of rolling out of bed and into class. I wasn't bored on Temple campus, and especially now with the theater, supermarket and other commercial expansion, I'm pretty envious. That said, I moved off because I wanted to be more integrated into an actual neighborhood as opposed to living in Temple's bubble.

Personally I think South Philly is a bit extreme if you're just looking for a nice neighborhood, though I certainly knew plenty of folks who did the slog on the subway. I lived in South Kensington near 5th and Jefferson, Fairmount near Corinthian and Girard, and had lots of friends who lived in Fishtown. I generally was no more than a 10 minute bike ride or a 15-20 minute walk from the edge of campus at most points, and there was always the bus/trolley if it rains. There are lots of options that don't involve living across town or being totally dependent on mass transit.

You mean it was worse? I've had strange men come up to me and touch my hair, ask me strange questions, follow me (i think they were just lonely) and this was just walking back to my dorm on broad in daylight!

[Dayman]

Where did you live before?

I live in the ghetto and I would not live near temple, although I'm probably ending up going to school there within the next year and a half.

There are certainly nicer parts of town to live. The big problem with Philly is that it's really block to block what parts are nice and what aren't.

[cwd22]

I live around 16th and Susquehanna now, and I've had very few problems. Of course I'm a guy so things are a bit different. I share a house with a few friends, so I don't really pay much in rent. It's nice being close to class and other school related activities, plus I live close to a lot of my friends. I lived in White Hall last year, so I'm pretty desensitized when it comes to some of the stuff that goes down at Broad & Susquehanna too.

[thoth]

You mean it was worse? I've had strange men come up to me and touch my hair, ask me strange questions, follow me (i think they were just lonely) and this was just walking back to my dorm on broad in daylight!

Yeah there were less people on campus, less stores, less security, and in 2004 there were pretty much only a handful of streets that even had restored rowhomes for students to live in and most were RIGHT next to the campus. Nowadays I see them building new and rehabbing rowhouses for students on 17th and Oxford/Jefferson, which is crazy to me.

There was no Edge/Ave North (vacant lot), Progress Plaza was a dump with no grocery store, no SAC expansion, no new business school (was curtis hall, a total wreck), the art school was still off campus (current location was a parking lot next to a weird vacant lot, Cecil B had less stores, the buildings around white hall were vacant, 1800 Liacouris was a half block of vacant row homes in the middle of campus, and the Baptist Temple was nowhere close to being renovated. A lot of these things changed in the last year or two alone, but yes it used to be worse. And people said the same thing to me when I started going there in '04 ("it used to be a lot worse").

If the worst thing that happened to you is "strange men asking you strange questions", then I doubt there are many places in Philadelphia that would not seem strange to you. Although hair touching is another thing, if someone tries to touch you at all you should really tell them to back the **** off.

[ella]

Yeah there were less people on campus, less stores, less security, and in 2004 there were pretty much only a handful of streets that even had restored rowhomes for students to live in and most were RIGHT next to the campus. Nowadays I see them building new and rehabbing rowhouses for students on 17th and Oxford/Jefferson, which is crazy to me.

There was no Edge/Ave North (vacant lot), Progress Plaza was a dump with no grocery store, no SAC expansion, no new business school (was curtis hall, a total wreck), the art school was still off campus (current location was a parking lot next to a weird vacant lot, Cecil B had less stores, the buildings around white hall were vacant, 1800 Liacouris was a half block of vacant row homes in the middle of campus, and the Baptist Temple was nowhere close to being renovated. A lot of these things changed in the last year or two alone, but yes it used to be worse. And people said the same thing to me when I started going there in '04 ("it used to be a lot worse").

If the worst thing that happened to you is "strange men asking you strange questions", then I doubt there are many places in Philadelphia that would not seem strange to you. Although hair touching is another thing, if someone tries to touch you at all you should really tell them to back the **** off.

It really was a lot different then. I love Temple, love the campus. I am, however, a little freaked out about some encounters with people on the streets (not students). But, I guess that can happen any where.