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Relocating to Philly - advise needed

WoodyStylee

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Hey Guys,

There is a good chance i'll be moving to Philly for a new job within the next month. I've never been to Philly, nor do I know anyone who lives there.

I'm a city person, so the more dense the area, the better; but I also want to be around cool places where its easy to meet people in the same age group (i'm 26). I did a little research, and read some stuff about Rittenhouse Square & Center City, so any feedback on those areas would be great. Also, I'd be working in the Navy Yard area; i'd be willing to sacrifice extra commute time for living in a better part of town (but to some extent).

Any other feedback about Philly would be appreciated.
 

Pundit

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First off you should check out the City Data forum for Philadelphia:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/philadelphia/

You will find many opinions on the questions that are of interest to you. Center City (CC, Rittenhouse Square is included in CC) should be your target residence area as a young active guy. Owning a car in CC can be a pain unless you get/buy parking for it. There is a fair amount going on at the Navy Yard, so there may be decent mass transit options for you. The Broad Street subway does not reach it at its southern-most stop but there may bus service at that point.

If you have some major coin, you can join Cliff Lee at:

http://www.1706rittenhouse.com/

Good luck. Philly is a great town if you take it as is and don't bring a NYC attitude with you.
 

BC2012

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I lived the majority of my life in Philly. The Naval Yard is far from the major parts of the city, so you'd be better off in the new Town Homes in South Philly. Otherwise, you could drive daily from downtown if you get a parking spot.

I lived in Old City (east of Center City): not a bad area, at times, but it's fairly expensive and gets overrun with college kids and tourists (for the Liberty Bell/Besty Ross House/Independence Mall).

If I were still in Philly, the areas I would target would be Rittenhouse (think 18th-20th St and no more than 3 blocks south of Market) and Society Hill (2nd-5th, 2-5 blocks south of Market). Rents will be pretty high in either area for Philadelphia, but not expensive compared to NYC.

Pros: Philly has awesome restaurants, is a great sports town, has some nightlife (although not like NYC), relatively cheap rents/property, easy commute from outside of the city to downtown, close to DC, Atlantic City, NYC.

Cons: VERY blue collar, high crime in many parts, crappy public transportation within the city, job market is fairly lousy outside of healthcare/biotech, major college brain drain.
 

WoodyStylee

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Originally Posted by BC2012
The Naval Yard is far from the major parts of the city, so you'd be better off in the new Town Homes in South Philly. Otherwise, you could drive daily from downtown if you get a parking spot.

My problem is that I don't have a car (useless in NYC), so I was hoping to commute via the SEPTA from Downtown to the Navy Yard everyday (this is the idea I have fabricated in my mind, please let me know if this is unrealistic). I punched in the directions to Google maps using public transportation, and it says about 35mins door-to-door, if i'm living in Center City. And of course i can ride the 'ol bicycle when weather permits.

BC2012, given that you live in Boston now, which is were I lived most of my life, how would you compare Philly to Boston; in terms of size, etc.? Boston was definitely too small for me; I'm not sure if thats just because I grew up there, but seeing the same people out every weekend got old quick.

FWIW, I also like to go out and party on the weekends, so I'd like to be near a lot of nightlife.
 

BC2012

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Originally Posted by WoodyStylee
My problem is that I don't have a car (useless in NYC), so I was hoping to commute via the SEPTA from Downtown to the Navy Yard everyday (this is the idea I have fabricated in my mind, please let me know if this is unrealistic). I punched in the directions to Google maps using public transportation, and it says about 35mins door-to-door, if i'm living in Center City. And of course i can ride the 'ol bicycle when weather permits.

BC2012, given that you live in Boston now, which is were I lived most of my life, how would you compare Philly to Boston; in terms of size, etc.? Boston was definitely too small for me; I'm not sure if thats just because I grew up there, but seeing the same people out every weekend got old quick.

FWIW, I also like to go out and party on the weekends, so I'd like to be near a lot of nightlife.


Boston is infinitely nicer than Philly in pretty much every aspect of the area. More restaurants, more public transportation, way less crime, better fit for the college educated. The nightlife here is better, in my opinion, but it's not that different. Philly's bars close at 2AM and you'll need to cab it back since public transport stops at midnight-ish (similar to the T).

From downtown to the Naval yard, it's about 5 miles, a pretty far bike trip. You can go straight down Broad Street, though. Public transport is the Orange Line (Broad Street) to the stadiums and then about a 1.5 mile walk (ugh). The Orange Line is pretty nasty at night, even south of Market - I hated taking it.

In terms of size, Philly felt way, way smaller than Boston. Down town is only a few blocks large - Philly is very neighborhood centric. A lot of the nicer bars are in Northern Liberties (very hipster but full of cool bars), South Philly, and Old City.

PM me for more info. I have an idea of where you'll be working in the Naval Yard - you would probably be better off living in South Philly than Center City.
 

Don Carlos

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Philly is a shithole.
 

Mblova

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Pm use Luftvier or w.o.eisme. Both reside in philla.
 

erictheobscure

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Given your age, I'd probably live in the Fitler Square area. Lots of residential buildings with lots of character. Bars and restaurants in the area; the crowd tends to skew young.
 

BC2012

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Originally Posted by erictheobscure
Given your age, I'd probably live in the Fitler Square area. Lots of residential buildings with lots of character. Bars and restaurants in the area; the crowd tends to skew young.

That's even further than Rittenhouse in terms of getting to the Orange Line. Cool area, though. I almost lived there during undergrad, right at 22nd and Spruce.
 

WoodyStylee

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I would NOT be owning a car in Philly, so should I rule out living in Center City area if I need to commute on the SEPTA to the Navy Yard every day? I dont mind a 30-45min commute, as that is what i'm used to living in the city anyways. I used to commute by bike from the North End in Boston to Cambridge every day in the summer, so a 5 mile bike ride doesnt scare me (if its flat).

I just want to avoid any slight feeling of suburbia.
 

Dedalus

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Originally Posted by Don Carlos
Philly is a shithole.

Go Phuck yourself.

OP - Broad Street line and Bus 71 will be your friend. I would say look for housing close enough to a Broad street station.

I wouldn't want to live in Center City. It's a bit on the corporate side. What sort of things are you into? I would live in South Philly for the Italian Market, personally.
 

WoodyStylee

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I like being able to walk out my door and be right in a highly dense area (one of the things I loved about living in the N.End in Boston).

I'm pretty into music, so I like going to shows. I'm definately the epitome of a bachelor, so i'd like to be around a predominantly young professional, single crowd (BTW how are the women?). I litterly know zero people there, so any non-lame activites to meet new people would be good also.
 

Dedalus

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http://www.r5productions.com/ Show-wise, I think you can't beat Northern Liberties, at least for rock. Barbary, Johnny/Brenda's, The Fire, and Kung Fu Necktie are cool places. The majority of the cooler people I know in Philly live in Northern Liberties, South Philly, or Art Museum district. Old City and Center City are older, richer, and more vanilla.
 

Dedalus

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It's sort of a gradient in terms of price and niceness. Closer to Italian Market is more expensive, and further south you go gets cheaper. Passyunk is good for youth, hipness, and affordability, around Tasker/Morris/Passyunk.
 

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