For Philly area residents

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I have been thinking about moving there for a while and may try to look on moving in about a year. Could you guys give me a lowdown on some middle class areas where I can either buy a place for around $140K or rent for less than $900 a month (preferably a two bedroom). Also, I lost the name of the gay neighborhood, what is it? One last thing, I want to live in Pennsylvania not New Jersey or Delaware. Philadelphia proper would be nice but not necessarily required. One last thing, how extensive is the subway system? I don’t want to get a car unless I have to.

Thanks and HUGS!
Sqrl

2

I can’t give you the lowdown on the property prices, etc. But the subway and comuter rail system is pretty good. Try http://www.SEPTA.com

If you throw a neighborhood name at me I can try and give you the lowdown.

3

Thanks for the link it is interesting.

How about this? What neighborhoods would you not live in? would you not want your parents to live in?

HUGS!
Sqrl

4

One other thing. There have been ten views presumably from other Philly residents. Post DAMNIT! I need/want the information. :wink:
HUGS!
Sqrl

5

I’m sure Esprix could help…but he’s gone for another couple of weeks. :frowning:

And besides, WHO SAID you could move??? Certainly not ME! Hmpf.

6

Well your title said Philly area but then you specified in your OP that you were definately not interested in Delaware. So I have no info for you. Especially since the one co-worker I could ask about the gay neighborhood in Philly is on vacation in Rehobeth.

Do you have access to AOL? I’m thinking the folks who hang out in the Philly area gay chat may have some info.

7

philly person checking in.
septa is okay. just the most expensive in the nation. DO NOT
use any esculators in the septa system. the subway runs north and south on broad street (one of the main streets\highway), the “el” (elevated tracks) runs east and west along market street ( ground 0 for philly, market is 0 chestnut is 1 south, arch is 1 north). the streets are set in a grid pattern,unlike my fav. city boston.
right now the hot neighbourhood for houses is the artmuseum\fairmount area. this is the area i live in. it is about a half hour walk to the center of downtown, or most office buildings.
i don’t drive (legally) the insurance is high and the parking nil. a lot of people don’t have cars they just rent for the weekend if there is a need.
i wouldn’t live in north, west, or northern liberties.
any other things i could help you with?

8

Fairmount Park Area is nice…

How far out would you be willing to live? There are some nice burbs about 10 minutes out of the city. Look at the Haverford college area…

9

I didn’t say I was moving until about a year silly Falcon. :wink:

Anyway, I know a little of how the city is laid out as I lived in Claymont, DE for a summer and travelled up there frequently. I don’t want to do that again. Delaware is only for shopping. :wink:

rocking chair, what is a typical rent in that area for a two bedroom place? A one bedroom place?

Thanks again and HUGS!
Sqrl

10

Whoops. I forgot to add again that I am looking for a place that is less than $900/month in rent (preferrably a lot less, but we know how that goes) or about $140K. I don’t mind a commute really as long as it is not much more than 30-45 minutes one way. I did an hour and a half commute one way every day for a while and I don’t want to do that again.

HUGS!
Sqrl

11

I just spent two months living in ‘temporary housing’ in North Philly. Trust me, you don’t want to live there. I’m now permanently set up in Newark, DE, which is about a 70-minute train ride into Center City where I work. A monthly rail pass from Newark is a hefty $143 dollars a month. Most people I work with commute in from the various 'burbs on SEPTA’s regional rail, but if you don’t want a car, you’ll probably have to stay fairly close to Center City. You might try browsing on apartments.com to get an idea of prices.

12

Ah, that was my problem as I am not sure where to begin looking because I want to live in a relatively safe neighborhood but don’t know where to start. I have seen plenty of things in my price range I just am not sure of their relative safety.

HUGS!
Sqrl

13

That’s not too surprising; Philly rents are much better than DC rents. Like the others, I’d be happy to give you info on neighborhoods, either here or on e-mail. But some quick thoughts:

The gay neighborhood I’m assuming you are referring to is around 12th & Pine Sts. The houses are beautiful, the area is safe, and there are lots of restaurants and bookstores nearby. Septa stops at 11th & Market (about 4 1/2 blocks north.)

Society Hill is also beautfiul - historical and well kept houses. Very expensive to buy, but a friend got a good rental deal (I’m not sure what kind of rental vacancies there are.) Olde City is less expensive, and more hip (I think.) Septa stops at 5th & Market, and 2nd & Market (walk north for Olde City, south for Society Hill.)

I’m blanking on the names of the areas east of Broad, but south of South St. Those are (were?) the Italian areas, and there are some good restaurants there.

I doubt you’d want to live in University City or Powelton Village; it’s mostly undergrad or grad student housing, and not as well-kept for the rent you pay (gouging the Penn & Drexel people.) And neither area is as safe as the areas east of that other river (That’s the perception, and probably the reality; I never had any problems, but I never actually lived in those portions.)

Spruce Hill is the area from 40th to 49th Sts, on Spruce St. The houses are beautiful, and I bet rents are cheap. Safety would be somewhat of a concern, but my friends there have been fine. And there’s a great Ethiopian restaurant at 47th & Baltimore.

This is all off the top of my head - I don’t know what the vacancies or the rents are, and I’ve been away for a year. I will warn you - Septa’s not the Metro, and the Regional Rail doesn’t run nearly as frequently as it should. Happy hunting.

14

philly’s pretty big. there are some nice areas in the great northeast (about an hour commute to center city). as was said, the bad places are north and parts of west. The suburbs just west of west philly (narberth, merion) are nice, and prices occupy a pretty broad continuum. Society hill is a beautiful nice neighborhood, but rather expensive.

the gayborhood is what you are thinking of. this is close to rittenhouse square, a nice area pretty quiet.

many great restaurants in Philadelphia. Bring an appetite, and your Visa card, because the city of brotherly love doesn’t take american express.

kidding.

Lolanthe- the Abbyssinian? SSSooooooo filling, couldn’t finish a thing.

15

rents in center city, river to river and spring garden to spruce start at $800. this is usually for one bedroom. most of the people in my office that have just moved to philly usually start in an apartment building then search around once they are here for a bit. in center city/fairmount you have to be really fast to get an apartment in a house.
chestnut hill\mt airy is an area i would move to as well. it is usually a short (less than a half hour) ride to center city by septa train line. the rents are about the same up there, you get more room for your money though.

16

Ah that is exactly what I was looking for. I now have a better place to start. What is a low pricing range for a decent place to live? In DC it is typically 900-1300.

HUGS!
Sqrl

17

The gay neighborhood is Queens Village (no, I am not making that up). It’s just south of South Street. I suspect rent may be a little high (though not in the $900 range). South Street used to be cool, but is now just a place that attracts a lot of drunken frat boys on Fridays and Saturdays. And Mardi Gras on South Street has become ridiculous; we’re giving New Orleans a run on who produces the most trash.

Olde City is the artsy district; lots of galleries and cool old buildings, and fun on First Fridays.

The farther outside the city you live, the closer you can get to the $140K price for houses. Look in the Delaware County area (Media/Springfield/Upper Darby are all on the train lines).

If you live in the burbs, you need a car. There’s really no rail system outside the city, just buses. If you live in the city, you still don’t have much rail or subways, but Philly is a good walking city. Having a car means either (a) paying for parking, or (b) killing yourself looking for a parking space. Either way, you get your windows broken a lot (I had mine broken 3 times in 2 years).

The two main subway lines are the Broad Street Line (North/South) and the Market/Frankford Line (East/West). They hook up with regional rail (see http://www.septa.org for details). With the Septa lines, you can make connections to New Jersey Transit (and, ultimately, New York), and DARPA (Delaware’s transit system). The subway and bus cost $1.50, or you can buy weekly or monthly passes (many companies subsidize these costs). Regional rail costs vary according to distance. You can take the R7 from 30th Street Station in Philly to Trenton NJ for $8 round trip; another $12 will get you to Penn Station in NYC. Compare that to $60 round trip on Conrail.

Philadelphia has a city wage tax. If you live and work in the city, you pay the most. These days, more people seem to be both living and working in the city (like me!). As a former worker in the city, moving to a job in the burbs was an instant 4.3% raise.

For info on the Philly gay and Lesbian community, visit the PGN (Philly Gay News) website at http://www.epgn.com/. This weekly newspaper is your best source of information on gay happenings in town.

It’s been too long since I rented in Philly, so I’m not sure what stuff is going for now. 10years ago I rented a large one-bedroom on 9th and South for $550/month. Fairmount (near the Phila Museum of Art) is nice, as is Society Hill. Apts out by the U of PA are another possibility, but the neighborhoods around there go from charming to scary within blocks of each other. Look up and down Pine Street from 4th to 20th, too.

18

I asked about whether or not you would be willing to live in the burbs because of the wage tax. Although a SEPTA pass into the city would be a few hundred a year, that would be more than offset by the 4.3% “raise” one gets by living in the burbs.

Here is a useful site…
http://web.philly.com/content/inquirer/home/

Apartments.com is pretty good, but I would use it to make a preliminary list and then check them out in person. Looks can be deceiving. Everything everyone has said is on target.

PS The idea about Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy is a good one. A very very very nice neighborhood and you will deinitely get more for your money.

19

No, Dahlak’s. Yum. Where is yours?

20

The gayborhood is in Queen Village? Since when? I still think it’s the Rittenhouse/ Pine Street area (Between, say 10th and Broad, Walnut and Pine). The Pine Street area has beautiful apartments but the streets can be a little too quiet and dark at night if you walk home late often.

I live in Bella Vista (South of South Street). Lots of Italian families, very safe to walk around in at night and close to all major things. Reasonable rents too.

If you have the time to visit places I would recommend it, because neighborhoods in Center City change drastically within two blocks. I have an old boyfriend who lives just 2 blocks west and one block south of my current apartment and there’s no way I’m ever stopping by there to chat after dark. Lots of city neighborhoods have drastic changes like that; I suggest taking the time to visit any apartments you might be interested in before you commit (which is what you were probably gonna do anyway :))

Rittenhouse, Fairmount/Museum area, and Olde City are the most sought after areas; they are pricey but you can usually find stuff in the surroundings areas if you’re lucky.

Best of luck.