The SO and I are moving to the UPenn area of Philadelphia, but we haven’t secured an apartment. I’ve never been to the city before, and won’t have an opportunity to go before I move, in about a month. He’ll be attending law school, and I’ll have to find work when I arrive, so money could be tight for a while, but I’m not willing to live in a place that’s totally crummy.
Does anyone have strong opinions about neighborhoods that they’d like to share? Are any areas trendy or up-and-coming but still fairly inexpensive? Is the public transportation system good enough that a long distance commute could still be pleasant?
You don’t specify explicitly, but I presume your SO is going to law school at UPenn?
The Northern Liberties is almost the definition of what you’re asking here, but it can be a bit of a trip to the Market-Frankford subway line.
I would personally suggest that you live in the UPenn area. The further west you go, the more “not so nice” it gets, but the rents are reasonable and it’s sort of a matter of traveling down the distance gradient until you reach your equilibrium point between cost and what the neighborhood is like.
Long distance commutes are possible but unadvisable. The regional rail system is decent but expensive. Any morning trip by car on I-76 (the Skuykhill "free"way) is a distrant second choice behind smashing your hand in a door on a daily basis and playing N’Sync loudly on repeat throughout the workday in the office.
Do you have to have a car? Philadelphia car insurance is famous for being very expensive, and the area around Penn has some of the highest rates, if not the highest. Plus, the traffic in that area is just absolutely god-awful.
While both of us own cars now, I intended to get rid of mine before the move, if possible. My hope was to use public transportation wherever possible, which makes proximity to subway stops a nice feature.
Once you’re living inside city limits, you’re a) paying Philly car insurance rates [which don’t differ neighborhood by neighborhood, from what I understand], and b) paying the city wage tax regardless of where you work. If you live in the 'burbs and work in town, you pay the wage tax at a slightly lower level. If you live in town and work in the 'burbs, ditto. If you both live and work in the 'burbs, no wage tax.
If he’s going to Penn, West Philly is probably your first choice – see ultrafilter’s comments. You can also live in Center City and commute out by the Market-Frankfort subway/el line (what my brother did when he went to Penn Law School). Parking, etc., a major PITA either way. You can also live a little further out – I’m in East Falls, 15 minutes from Center City, a transit pass is I think $20 or $25/week, which will enable you to take the train into town and to ride all busses and subways. Transit passes vary in price by zone, which is based on distance from Center City, so even one stop further out the line (Manayunk) is a higher price.
There are basically only two subway lines in Philly – Broad Street (N/S) and Market/Frankfort (E/W). Depending on where you live and/or work, these may or may not suit your needs. There are also numerous bus lines.
there is philly car share and zip car. they are cars that are shared by people and have a designated parking space. very handy things. they come in a variety of sizes, so if you just need to go some where with a compact, there is one. if you need a pick up truck there is one.
as far as apart.s go there are plenty around penn. the uni is very interested in having faculty and students rent near by. if you go to the other side of the river, 23rd street and on toward broad the rent does go high. in my 'hood (fairmount) rents are around 1,000. per month and up.
you do have to shop around a bit. in west philly you have to know where the good pockets are. on the center city side of the river there are quite a few older apt. bldg.s and old victorian houses that are reasonable. they are around 23rd st. to 20th st. from those places you can get to u of p and a center city job easily.
There are a lot of options; the areas immediately around campus are safer, but a lot of the buildings themselves are horrible, as undergrads will pay anything to live in a craphole if it’s close. As far as living west of 43rd or so, the area’s been gradually improving- I lived on 43rd and Spruce, 45th and Osage, and 47th and Pine. (The Garden Court Plaza apartments are a little pricier than some in west philly, but they have a parking garage and a free shuttle to campus. It’s also full of grad/med students. We liked it there.) Center City is nice, but rent is larger and places are smaller. There are good deals to be had, though.
Carshare’s been expanding at a rapid rate; a lot of people like it.
You need to visit and explore first-hand with someone that knows the neighborhoods. The nuances of each neighborhood change ten fold with each block east/west/north/south. Each neighborhood in Philly is part of a thread into a bigger fabric (how’s that analogy?..haha).
Seriously, it’s hard to pick a neighborhood. You almost need to pick a specific block, radius, etc within a neighborhood that can be named. Given a tight budget, the nuances and block-to-block differences are going to have a profound effect on your way of life.
Get to Philly and explore with a local if possible. For example: Don’t rule out an area like South West Philly, where you can live cheaper and have access to Penn and Center City (aka downtown) in a short 40-minute trolley ride…plus easy airport access and access to the burbs. Without hitting the pavement with someone who can balance your budget/needs and understands the geography, you might never hear of SW Philly. But their are specific sections of SW Philly that are wonderful, and others that are not.
This is very true; the variation from block to block is huge, and you won’t know unless you go there yourself, preferably with someone who knows the neighborhoods. You might want to see if there’s anyone your SO’s program (Graduate student association members, people whom he met during the interview process, etc) who can give him some information on where the other law students tend to live and what he can expect for how much money. I know when I started at Penn the other neuro students put out a listing of how much they paid for rent and where they lived, and people offered up their apartments for tours during interview weekends.
I want to thank everyone for their advice, especially about the carshares and about touring the neighborhoods. I would’ve loved to have more time to explore firsthand, but due to circumstances and schedules I’m going to be moving in sight-unseen. We’ll look into finding a current student or several to talk to about their experiences and about specific buildings, I hope that will be helpful as well. For Southwest Philly, what’s a major intersection that’s in that area? I’m not clear on which location that is, specifically.
A major intersection would be Lindbergh boulevard and Island Avenue.
The trolley (subway-surface) line servicing the area is the 36. The 36 will take you to University City as well as 30th St Station and City Hall. At 40th st, the trolley goes into a subway tunnel.
SEPTA (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) is the local public transportation company.