Deciding between Philly, Baltimore, Hartford, Richmond, Cleveland and Raleigh-Durham. (house, neighborhood)

[CHIP72]

I'm still trying to figure out how you could live in the DC area and have been to New York but NOT have been to Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Richmond, especially the first two.

The Philadelphia area has a number of nice, true town suburbs on both sides of the Delaware River, though more so in Pennsylvania (because more people live there than New Jersey in the Philly area). Some specific areas to look into include Media, West Chester, the Main Line towns along US 30 (Malvern eastward to the city border), and Hatboro on the PA side and Palmyra, Burlington, and Cinnaminson on the NJ side (and there are probably a few others in both states that would be good as well). Almost all of these have good SEPTA Regional Rail or PATCO or NJ Transit RiverLINE/PATCO rail transit connections into Center City Philadelphia. You could also check Philadelphia neighborhoods like Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, and University City, and if you have sufficient dough and want something very nice and urban, check out Center City Philadelphia itself.

Out of the remaining cities, based on what you said above, Baltimore IMO should be the other city you seriously look at. For varying reasons, Hartford, Richmond, and Cleveland would be decent alternatives IMO but only offer you some of what you are looking for. I'd rank Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill last just because it smaller than most of the other places listed, would be hotter than DC (something also true with Richmond), and perhaps most importantly, would be relatively isolated, at least compared to all the other cities listed. (I still consider that area a good area from my very limited amount of time there though.)

[mead]

I'd go with Philadelphia. It is pretty big, urban, has lots of interesting stuff to see and do, a pretty big downtown, and best of all its one of the cheapest cities for real estate in the Northeast.

[doglover29]

Originally Posted by CHIP72

I'm still trying to figure out how you could live in the DC area and have been to New York but NOT have been to Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Richmond, especially the first two.

Well, we've only been in DC for 2 years (moved here from the midwest), and we just haven't had a chance to go to Baltimore or Philly. But both these cities are at the top of our list. Though I wonder what people mean by Philly having a "gritty, urban feel." Not sure what that means, exactly. More like Manhattan?

Anyhow, I look forward to learning more about all these cities.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by radraja

It seems like you don't mind a bit of a gritty urban atmosphere, so Philly should be a good fit for you.

I'll leave it to someone else to recommend neighborhoods.

The amount of grit in the Philadlephia metro(5000 sq. miles) is maybe 1 % of the total land area.. Stay out of the hoods of Philly and Camden, and you wont find much grit to speak of.

Some nicer burbs in Philadelphia

Doylestown
West Chester
Chadds Ford
Garnet Valley
Gladwyne
Bryn Mawr
Haverford
Villanova
Radnor
Wayne
Chester Springs
Gweyndd Valley
Blue Bell
Media
Rose Valley
Nether Providence
New Hope
Newtown
Upper Makefield
Yardley



The $300k house in Indy that would be $900k in Dc is probably going to cost you $600K-$700k in the Philly suburbs.This is a very stable,fair real estate market.


West Chester Pa., Chester County


Exton Pa., Chester County


Center City Philadelphia- Walnut Street


Chestnut Hill- NW Philadelphia


Chester Springs Pa.,Chester County


Philly skyline from Chester County which is 20 miles west of Philly

[john_starks]

Originally Posted by doglover29

Well, we've only been in DC for 2 years (moved here from the midwest), and we just haven't had a chance to go to Baltimore or Philly. But both these cities are at the top of our list. Though I wonder what people mean by Philly having a "gritty, urban feel." Not sure what that means, exactly. More like Manhattan?

Anyhow, I look forward to learning more about all these cities.

not quite...its more like Queens meets Newark, New Jersey (with plenty of american history & rowhouses) imo


but, this was also an interesting description from a local designer in last month's city paper:

"If Seattle flew east for the weekend and knocked up Detroit, then the baby was raised by New York, you'd get Philly....."

The Trash Collector :: Cover Story :: Philadelphia City Paper :: Philadelphia Arts, Restaurants, Music, Movies, Jobs, Classifieds, Blogs

[john_starks]

Hartford is also a pretty decent city. a little dangerous (but what city isn't these days). the only issue is that i recall the downtown being empty after the work crowd leaves. but there are some nice restaurants, bars, music venues . it also has really fancy suburbs. but, the winters can be rough.

[rainrock]

Seattle?

Ive seen Philadlephia nicknamed Bostroit before but I really dont see the Seattle connection, but that is a pretty humorous description.

"If Seattle flew east for the weekend and knocked up Detroit, then the baby was raised by New York, you'd get Philly....."


Here are some economic statistics of the areas in question.
Personal Income for Metropolitan Areas, 2006

Metropolitan statistics per 2006

Per capita income

Hartford-$44,194
Baltimore-$43,549
Philadelphia-43,000
Richmond-$37,790
Raleigh-$37,107
Cleveland-$37,107


Total metro income in Billions

Philadlephia- 250 B
Baltimore- 115 B
Cleveland 78 B
Hartford 52 B
Richmond 45 B
Raleigh 36 B

[jonjj]

doglover, I really think you should do a weekend trip up to Baltimore and check it out. Many of my neighbors are former DC residents and they have moved here. It is just a MARC train away from DC with a lower cost of living. There are a ton of things to do in Baltimore and if you get bored-hop on a train to go to Philly, NYC, or back to DC. I actually decided on Baltimore for the very same reasons you mentioned. Here, I have a great home that would cost a huge fortune in the same type of location in DC.

[doglover29]

Originally Posted by jonjj

doglover, I really think you should do a weekend trip up to Baltimore and check it out. Many of my neighbors are former DC residents and they have moved here. It is just a MARC train away from DC with a lower cost of living. There are a ton of things to do in Baltimore and if you get bored-hop on a train to go to Philly, NYC, or back to DC. I actually decided on Baltimore for the very same reasons you mentioned. Here, I have a great home that would cost a huge fortune in the same type of location in DC.

Yes, we've been meaning to do this, and will probably come up this summer sometime. Any suburbs in particular to consider that are very nice? We're looking to buy a SFH with a decent-sized yard (at least 1/2 acre).

[doglover29]

Thanks for all those beautiful pictures, Rainrock!!!!! They are gorgeous!

We'd ideally love to live in a suburb somewhere where there's a small downtown to walk to--i.e. we don't want a suburb where there's absolutely nowhere to walk to. Evanston (in Chicago) comes to mind as a great suburb with a nice little downtown with shops and restaurants. We'd love to find someplace like this on the East Coast. Any suggestions?