Moving to Philadelphia, help would be great

[danshep233]

Any help would be great! Found these questions on another forum, so thought I'd try here, too.

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When are you moving? Mid-August.

Where are you coming from? Little Rock, Ark., but my wife and I are from upstate New York and have been in Arkansas only a year.

Why are you moving? Wife accepted a position at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Where will you be working? She will be at the hospital; not sure yet for me.

Have you been here yet? No, and may not be able to before moving.

Will you buy or rent? Looking to rent at first, buying possible after.

If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? All are OK. Looking between $1,000 and $1,500 right now, but depends on what I get for a job.

Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? Probably not a high-rise. Something with a couple floors is OK.

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, no children.

Do you have pets? May get a small dog, but not currently.

Do you want or need a yard? Would be nice if we end up with a dog, but not 100 percent necessary.

Are you keeping a car? We both have cars, which has been a problem in our search so far.

Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Both are OK.

What do you want to be closest to?
Work - Would be nice, but a commute is also OK
Shopping - Not necessary, but helpful.
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.) - Yes
Nightlife - No
Train or subway stations - Near a SEPTA line is key for us, as that's how my wife intends to get to work.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? We're young, so no retirement-like area, but other than that, we're fine with whatever.

Thanks for your help in advance!

[five apples]

Any help would be great! Found these questions on another forum, so thought I'd try here, too.

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When are you moving? Mid-August.

Where are you coming from? Little Rock, Ark., but my wife and I are from upstate New York and have been in Arkansas only a year.

Why are you moving? Wife accepted a position at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Where will you be working? She will be at the hospital; not sure yet for me.

Have you been here yet? No, and may not be able to before moving.

Will you buy or rent? Looking to rent at first, buying possible after.

If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? All are OK. Looking between $1,000 and $1,500 right now, but depends on what I get for a job.

Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? Probably not a high-rise. Something with a couple floors is OK.

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, no children.

Do you have pets? May get a small dog, but not currently.

Do you want or need a yard? Would be nice if we end up with a dog, but not 100 percent necessary.

Are you keeping a car? We both have cars, which has been a problem in our search so far.

Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Both are OK.

What do you want to be closest to?
Work - Would be nice, but a commute is also OK
Shopping - Not necessary, but helpful.
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.) - Yes
Nightlife - No
Train or subway stations - Near a SEPTA line is key for us, as that's how my wife intends to get to work.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? We're young, so no retirement-like area, but other than that, we're fine with whatever.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Though it might not be convenient for when you get a job, I would say look in West Philly/University City Area. You can get a place close enough to CHOP that could allow your wife to walk to work. There are some very nice areas in West Philly and I think at your price range you should be able to find a nice place, even a decent townhouse with a yard. Since you are renting you can always move later if your eventual job makes commuting a pain.

[BarryG]

You don't need two cars if your wife is working at CHOP and taking SEPTA.

[OffenseTaken]

It is a long-ass bridge, but SWCC is just over the bridge from CHOP.

[Pitt]

You could live in Center City or any of the adjacent neighborhoods. Just pick a weekend and walk around checking out the neighborhoods. And realize that the neighborhoods next to CHOP aren't all that much more convenient. Old City and Society Hill, for instance, are about a 10 minute subway trip to the hospital. Just pick whatever downtown neighborhood you like the best. Getting to work is easy regardless of whichever you choose.

[MarketStEl]

If you're willing to consider areas outside the city limits, you might want to look at some of the suburban towns along the (ex-)R2 (Wilmington/Newark) and R3 (Media/Elwyn) Regional Rail lines if you really, really want to keep both cars. As others have already said, if you're living near SEPTA in the city and your wife is working at CHOP, you can probably dispense with one of them. Both, if you choose the right neighborhood.

But there are a few suburban communities that offer a high level of urban amenities, decent homes in walkable neighborhoods close to the train station, or both. These include:

On the Wilmington/Newark line: Ridley Park, Prospect Park
On the Media/Elwyn line: Media, Swarthmore, Lansdowne

You may also find some of the communities I've not mentioned along these lines to your liking too. Both routes stop at University City station, which is just around the corner from CHOP.

[danshep233]

Thanks everyone for the help so far. Keep the suggestions coming, I'm looking into them all.

As to the two cars, we've never lived in Philly. I've never even been to Philly. Am I hoping to love it? Yes. But, the reality is that we're coming from a place where we both need cars and don't want to get rid of one or both until we're sure we're going to be staying here. Once we know, we'll do what we have to do.

We're open to living in the city or in the suburbs. We've mostly been looking at apartment complexes right now since we're so far and you can tend to find websites for the complexes. We found two places on Zillow that both turned out to be scams, so it's made us hesitant to go that way at first.

Again, thanks for the help!

[clonechemist]

Since you don't know if you'll like living right in the city, I'd suggest looking into one of the nicer inner-ring suburbs.

On that note, you should look into Ardmore. The commute to CHOP via regional rail would be about 25-30 minutes. It's a really nice suburb with a good walkable core, with the train station and lots of shopping. In your price range, you should be able to find nice 1-2br apartments in buildings or maybe a small rowhome with yard, all within walking distance of the Ardmore train station.

Also, if your wife might be working any unusual hours, you should double-check the SEPTA schedules before assuming anything, as the system shuts down between about 11PM and 5AM.

[BarryG]

Thanks everyone for the help so far. Keep the suggestions coming, I'm looking into them all.

As to the two cars, we've never lived in Philly. I've never even been to Philly. Am I hoping to love it? Yes. But, the reality is that we're coming from a place where we both need cars and don't want to get rid of one or both until we're sure we're going to be staying here. Once we know, we'll do what we have to do.

We're open to living in the city or in the suburbs. We've mostly been looking at apartment complexes right now since we're so far and you can tend to find websites for the complexes. We found two places on Zillow that both turned out to be scams, so it's made us hesitant to go that way at first.

Again, thanks for the help!

Craigslist is a better bet than the apartment complexes with websites you'll find.

If you're unsure about city vs suburb it makes more sense to me to try a year downtown then decide. As for the cars, I understand what you're saying, but if you want to live in the city, you can sell one car and bank the money... you'll have it for a down payment if you end up moving somewhere else and need a car. I know selling a car is a hassle but it will make things a lot easier. If you want to do the burbs, it doenst matter as much and you may appreciate having two cars.

As for SEPTA, major city lines run all night but the suburban trains do shut down, though closer to midnight than 11. Not that riding SEPTA after midnight is s stellar experience, but it's doable, and cabs are easy to come by and reasonable in price to/from CHOP if you live near the core, as a plan B.

[Pitt]

Thanks everyone for the help so far. Keep the suggestions coming, I'm looking into them all.

We're open to living in the city or in the suburbs.

Again, thanks for the help!

If you're open to living in the city or suburbs then just move downtown (or one of the surrounding neighborhoods). All the surrounding neighborhoods blend right in with Center City. You might as well consider it all downtown honestly. And it's all pretty much transients from the suburbs anyway. There's bums an# scammers, but not much of anything else that could be perceived by any stable person as threatening. It's so easy to get everywhere via subway. I live 36 blocks from where your wife will work and I have made the trip there in under 30 min. 10 min walk 5 blocks to subway, 10 min subway ride, 10 min walk 5 blocls from where subway drops me off to CHOP. It's so easy.

I got rid of my car 2 months after I moved here but now I like to go to the beach and surrounding small towns so...well...I just use the girlfriend's vehicle LOL

Northwest Philly is 5 mi from Center City and a bit more suburban in make up, but still cityish and is located in the city limits. The people are a bit more Richie Rich and less edgy and artsy is I guess the best way to put it. There's Chestnut Hill - land of bucollic stone mansions housing rich conservatives and a nice cobblestone main street, neighboring Mount Airy along the same main street and home to equally bucollic mansions housing rich liberally minded folk, Roxborough - a fine working class community with a mix of college grads, neighboring Manayunk - a former mill neighborhood finely preserved yet repurposed and housing a vibrant main street and an odd mix of Penn State type frat bros, old townies, and young professionals, and East Falls - an outdoorsy population that's a tad more cityish than the formentioned hoods housed in handsome old stone homes and row houses.

Those Northwest Philly neighborhoods are walkable and sustainable, greener, more woodsy and hilly, cleaner, and have better air quality than the Center City and surrounding neighborhoods, and sit along parks, creeks, and rivers with great bike and hiking paths. One bike path goes right along a major river through Northwest Philly neighborhoods all the way down to Center City. The food, drink, and cultural scene isn't nearly as good in the Northwest Philly neighborhoods but it's still better than any suburb. They are half hour/40 min train rides into where your wife will work, but the subway does not extend to these neighborhoods so you have to take the more expensive trains. These neighborhoods do have cheaper rents though so it really balances out to a minimal monetary difference.

Come here for a weekend and look around. This city knocks travelers on their asses. If you're open to living in the city, it'll knock you on your ass too. You won't be expecting how great it is. I just led my girlfriend's Atlanta aunt and niece around Center City for two days and they couldn't believe how much it offers. If you are open to city life, you will regret going to the burbs. You'll understand once you scope out the city.

Good luck.

[enyo]

I'm not a fan of dealing with cars in the city. If I were in your shoes I'd live in chestnut hill where there is more street parking. Plus you get a taste of the city and have two train lines that will get you into the city in about a half hour. You have the driving convenience to get to plymouth meeting, king of prussia, glenside, jenkintown, east falls, manayunk,mount airy etc and you have a 2nd car if your wife takes the train. I'm pretty sure one of the trains takes you right into university city.

If paying to keep your cars in a garage is reasonable, I'd rather live in center city than west philly. However, parking in west philly is easier and there are some pretty areas that are more quiet than Center city.

West Philly always felt like you could end up in some shady areas fast. In my experience it was cheaper than Center city, but there were plenty of times I looked over my shoulders when walking...wife got robbed at gunpoint, house burglarized, friend robbed at gunpoint on front porch in daylight, person 10 minutes ahead me was stabbed on drexel's campus, 5 or 6 kids tried to mug me once... etc.

At the same time, my first year in center city 4 people were killed on the street I lived on (13th street). But most that were people attacking people they knew.

I can't really vouch for the other neighborhoods in the city as far as living. I don't think I'd enjoy living in South Philly or Fairmount as much - less charm in my opinion.

I had a friend that lived at front and callowhill. Plenty of street parking and it's fairly close to the spring garden subway station for your wife.
Its also a bit desolate at night and might creep your wife out if she's walking home when it gets dark early during the winter. It didn't really have the convenience of walking 3 or 4 blocks to a choice of 10+ restaurants either.

[clonechemist]

Lots of good suggestions for places to live here.

Another thing to consider is your budget vs. your space needs. Within your range, you should be able to find 2 bedroom places in most of the more suburban areas (Ardmore, Chestnut Hills, maybe East Falls(?), Swarthmore, Media, Lansdowne, etc). For the closer in neighborhoods (West Philly, Fairmount, Southwest Center City/Graduate Hospital) and even the nicest center city neighborhoods (Rittenhouse Square and Washington Square West) you should be able to find nice 1 bedroom apartments but 2 bedrooms will mostly be too expensive.

Regarding parking, it may not be the major problem you think it is. If you live in Center City or other Philadelphia neighborhoods you can get a street parking permit for only $35/year. That will allow you to park on the surrounding streets indefinitely. The real hassle would come if you end up needing to use your car to commute every day, because looking for a parking spot after 5 PM in central and surrounding neighborhoods is not fun, as you could easily spend 30 minutes driving around and end up parking 4-6 blocks from your place.

Also, regarding a 'yard': pretty much nowhere in Philadelphia proper can you find an actual patch of grass on private residential property. Most private outdoor space here is in the form of a concrete patio or a balcony or roof deck. Just fyi.

I'll echo everyone else and suggest you really try to come and visit before making a decision. Craigslist is probably the best way to find a place (Especially if you want to live in the city - there are thousands of apartments in small buildings that will never have a big website, and the bigger buildings tend to charge a premium), and if you're moving in mid-August you should be looking at places right now. I love living right in the middle of the city, maybe you will too.

[Freckles]

Lots of good suggestions for places to live here.

Also, regarding a 'yard': pretty much nowhere in Philadelphia proper can you find an actual patch of grass on private residential property. Most private outdoor space here is in the form of a concrete patio or a balcony or roof deck. Just fyi.

Except for pretty much everywhere in NW Philly.

To the OP: Philly Weekly's real estate rental section can be another resource for you. It doesn't seem as robust as it used to but it has a number of listings.

[BarryG]

Northwest Philly has tons of grass as do many places in West Philly and the Northeast. It's true that a grass yard is unheard of in Center City and the surrounding 'hoods. There are a lot of roof decks however.

[Hospitalitygirl]

Except for pretty much everywhere in NW Philly.

To the OP: Philly Weekly's real estate rental section can be another resource for you. It doesn't seem as robust as it used to but it has a number of listings.

You can add most of the NE to that list as well.

[MarketStEl]

Except for pretty much everywhere in NW Philly.

To the OP: Philly Weekly's real estate rental section can be another resource for you. It doesn't seem as robust as it used to but it has a number of listings.

Like every other newspaper classified ad section, Craigslist ate PW's listings. And as classified ad revenue was a MAJOR source of newspaper income, its demise - more than any loss of revenue that comes from giving away online a product the publishers used to charge for - accounts for a great deal of the pallor hanging over print journalism today (still the best kind, IMO, but I'm biased).

You can add most of the NE to that list as well.

The funny thing about the Northeast Philly block I live on is that many of the front yards have been turned into back yards of the South Philly concrete patio variety. I can find examples of this on several of the adjacent blocks too, but not as many per block.

The reason for this is because the rowhouses on this and all the adjacent blocks have no back yards. The space that might have gone to these is taken up instead by a triple-width alley that offers access to the basement-level garages for each house. There's enough space in front of the garage door for residents to park a car at a shallow angle, which most do, in many cases doing this instead of using the garage, which is on the small side by contemporary standards anyway. Edited to add: The alleys are also wide enough that a homeowner could build a rear deck off the first floor as an alternative to turning the front yard into a rear patio facing the street. Some - too few, IMO - have done this. Maybe it's because the cost of building a deck with supports is higher?

BTW: I see someone here refer to "Spring Garden subway station" near Front and Callowhill. This is an accurate use of the word "subway" everywhere but in Philadelphia, where the term is reserved for only one of the two city rapid transit lines. See my Glossary of Philadelphia Transportation Terms for more on local usage when talking transportation. (Edited to add locational reference for the transit station because there is an actual Spring Garden subway station, at Broad Street. There used to be a second, where Ridge Avenue crosses SG, but that station was closed more than a decade ago.)

[bjeebers]

Based upon the OP's answers, you should check out the Belmont Village section of West Philadelphia. It is a 1920s garden community located right on the city border across from the Bala Shopping Center. The SEPTA Cynwyd Line (Bala stop) is right here which will take you into University City in about 8 minutes. All the homes have driveways and garages in the rear and there's parking on the street too. The Main Line suburbs are minutes away as is all of Center City. And, homes rent for the price range you are looking in. Belmont Village is a small pocket of homes so just google map 4700 Conshohocken Avenue 19131 and that block should put you smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood. Welcome to Philly!

[rojnish]

Hi OP, I lifted this from Josef over at Skyscraperpage.com and I thought you might be interested since your spouse is a CHOP employee. Exciting things ahead....and it might affect your short/long term decisions about where to situate when you come here.
Welcome to Philadelphia - it's a great place to live.


Inga on CHOP's expansion plans in today's Inquirer:


Quote:
CHOP expansion could bring jobs, traffic
Inga Saffron, Inquirer Architecture Critic

It's easy to imagine Philadelphia's business district accommodating another tower the size of Comcast. After all, the region's entire transit system funnels downtown, making the city's core accessible to thousands of commuters. Now, try to visualize the same amount of office space — 1.2 million square feet — in the neighborhood tucked below the South Street Bridge, a tight enclave of rowhouses and corner pubs once known as the Devil's Pocket.

Assuming America's health-care industry keeps growing at its current rapid clip, the area around the Pocket could soon see a development with even more square footage than the Comcast Center. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is wrapping up an ambitious master plan that would replace a gouged-out factory on the city's emerging Schuylkill waterfront with a dense cluster of modern research buildings, green parks, a bike trail, a 1,600-car parking garage, and a smattering of restaurants and service retail.

http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...__traffic.html

[danshep233]

Thank you everyone so much for the help. We went through every post for help when considering where to live. As I mentioned, one of the harder things for us (at least for right now) is that we both have cars, which made it difficult when looking in the city. We'll decide what to do with the cars once we assess how things go.

For now, we settled on the suburbs and ended up with an apartment in Wynnewood where there's a SEPTA station right outside the complex. For what we need, we liked what the area had to offer and will reconsider what to do when our lease is up.

Again, thanks so much. Everything helped greatly.

-Dan

[MizFormaldehyde]

You don't need two cars if your wife is working at CHOP and taking SEPTA.

Tell that to anybody who is all pro-driving. They don't listen. XP