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My husband and I are trying to decide if we should move to Philly or somewhere in New Jersey. We would love to move to New York, but we are not earning that type of money yet. A little about us:
We are 24/27 yr old Black couple with two children. I am a stay at home mom and my husband is in college, and would be attending a local community college there and then transferring into one of the universities in town. Right now we live in Dallas, TX (husband from here) and we HATE the South in general. Moving to the Northeast has always been a dream of ours. He is a Hip Hop Artist, and Philly has a great legacy of music. I know that Philly being as large as it is and having I-95 run through it, it has its problems with drugs, gangs, and crime in general. However, we feel that Philadelphia would be a great fit for us. BUT we are also open to NJ areas. All we really want to know is what areas should we avoid and why. Please don't respond with just a whole sweeping area like "South. West, or North" and then not explain why. Preferably I would like to hear about the area YOU stay in and why. We don't have a ton of money, so we would like to stay somewhere that was under or near $800 month. This is huge for us and we would really appreciate your help.
Things to consider:
Gun Violence (Kids and whatnot)
Break-Ins (I am a stay at home!)
School System (daughters are 2yrs and 2mos)
Transportation (we have a car but would like to take advantage of public transit.)
Street Traffic (homelessness, drug block, etc..)
Proximity to Employment ( I used to have to travel an 1 hr 30 min to work here to make any money)
Things NOT to consider:
Race of Neighborhood (Just cause they're not white doesn't mean they're criminals)
Income Level of Neighborhood (as long as it isn't the projects, we're okay)
We understand that some neighborhoods in any city get bad reputations and some deservedly so. We live (and he has his whole life) in an area called Oak Cliff in Dallas which has a reputation of being one of the worst places in this city. But he has never had a problem here, went to a great school, had great friends, and my little girl plays outside everyday. I know people who do things that are little less than legal, but that doesn't always equal drive-bys and crackheads (both of which we are trying to avoid by the way!). So please, help us out and give us the scoop on your area! THANKS!
All I can say is I would not consider moving to NYC or LI ever, you come back to a different world with less pressure every time you cross the river back to America. Too much built up pressure there. Philly itself is more of a cool music town. $800/month limits a lot of places to look at honestly but maybe parts of Philly may be closer to that them most of NJ.
My husband and I are trying to decide if we should move to Philly or somewhere in New Jersey. We would love to move to New York, but we are not earning that type of money yet. A little about us:
NJ, at least the NY metro part of NJ isn't any cheaper. Take a look at threads that discuss income and budgeting. Anything under 100k is a stretch if you want something resembling a middle class lifestyle, though you could afford a kind of "urban poverty" college kid lifestyle on maybe about half of that.
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We are 24/27 yr old Black couple with two children. I am a stay at home mom and my husband is in college, and would be attending a local community college there and then transferring into one of the universities in town. Right now we live in Dallas, TX (husband from here) and we HATE the South in general. Moving to the Northeast has always been a dream of ours. He is a Hip Hop Artist, and Philly has a great legacy of music. I know that Philly being as large as it is and having I-95 run through it, it has its problems with drugs, gangs, and crime in general. However, we feel that Philadelphia would be a great fit for us.
Philadelphia has some really bad neighborhoods, but it also has some really good neighborhoods. There are plenty of million dollar condos in Philly -- rich people are willing to live there. It is seldom the case that people from NJ go out for a night on the town in Trenton or Camden. In contrast, if you live in the Philly suburbs, you will find yourself going into the city -- for trips to the museum, or for kids activities (e.g. the "please touch" museum, the parks, etc), restaurants.
The suburbs of Philadelphia are very nice, and the housing, even in very nice suburbs, is reasonably affordable. You can live walking distance from The Annenberg estate and pay around 1000/month rent. The place overall seems a little less class conscious, and a little less anxious to price you out if you can't afford a $600,000 house. Likewise, I have coworkers who have the means to live in the "rich" suburbs but choose to live either in the city or in historically blue collar towns. Can assure you that you won't find Wall St investment bankers live in Newark NJ!
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BUT we are also open to NJ areas. All we really want to know is what areas should we avoid and why. Please don't respond with just a whole sweeping area like "South. West, or North" and then not explain why
All of NJ. I hope I've explained why to your satisfaction. But I'll add a little more. My commute to work is about a 15 minute drive (3.5 miles down quiet streets). It's close enough that I could walk. In the NY metro, the suburbs would have given me a 75-90 minute commute. That means more time with the family. Even though I live in a reasonably priced rental, it is a spacious 2br/2ba in one of the best school districts in the state. I'm just across the road from a park, and a short stroll down some tree lined streets to a walkable downtown. I'm 20 minutes drive from Center City, which is nice because the city is actually a good place to visit. No 20 minute wait at a tunnel or bridge.
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Preferably I would like to hear about the area YOU stay in and why.
PA. Because I wanted to escape from the rat race.
Quote:
We don't have a ton of money, so we would like to stay somewhere that was under or near $800 month. This is huge for us and we would really appreciate your help.
Things to consider:
Gun Violence (Kids and whatnot)
Break-Ins (I am a stay at home!)
School System (daughters are 2yrs and 2mos)
Transportation (we have a car but would like to take advantage of public transit.)
Street Traffic (homelessness, drug block, etc..)
Proximity to Employment ( I used to have to travel an 1 hr 30 min to work here to make any money)
On your budget, the "price the bums out" mindset of suburban NJ will make it very difficult for you to find a place in a good school district. In contrast, you will be able to find rentals at a low cost in PA. I found rentals as low as $1000/month for 2 bedroom townhouse in Lower Merion (comparable to the top school districts in NJ), and I was going out of my way to shop for the more upmarket places in that area.
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Things NOT to consider:
Race of Neighborhood (Just cause they're not white doesn't mean they're criminals)
Income Level of Neighborhood (as long as it isn't the projects, we're okay)
In NJ, the choice is largely made for you, because if everyone else considers the above and your budget is 800/month, you get priced into the corner.
Last edited by elflord1973; 08-25-2010 at 11:52 PM..
i'd like to throw in that one of the only reasons i pick ny metro area over philly (besides the yankees!)at this point in my life (28 and 29 yr olds) is my earning power. my wife is a pharmacist, and would earn virtually the same in philly or elsewhere. but my earnings would drop enough, and expenses in other areas raise enough, to make the cost of living difference not that wide.
but for most people, if you're considering both and don't have an emotional tie to either city, Philly wins out because of cost of living.
yes, there are some bad parts. but if you mind your business, you're fine. i have friend in manyunk (trendy section of philly), downtown, west mount airy, and many other sections and they never felt in danger. then there are the burbs of king of prussia, west chester, etc.
depending on what your hubby is persuing, education could also be cheaper in the philly area, with a lot of quality schools to choose from.
i think it's a no brainer for you if you're on an $800/month budget for living space. philly wins.
If I were you, I would pick somewhere in Pennsylvania. It'll be more affordable than most places in New Jersey. We're only a short drive away when you want to stop by.
Can you tell where he will be going to school? You will need to factor in commuting. Septa is a pretty good if you are near the Regional Rail or a direct bus route. You might try to look on Craigslist and narrow down apartments by price range. 800 for a 2 bedroom downtown is unlikely, but you can sometimes find bargains. Again, if you have any specifics on where he will be going to school, let me know. I made the move from OK to Philly 7 years ago.
I would recommend posting this on the Philadelphia sub forum on the Pennsylvania board. Given your budget I wouldn't even know what to begin to recommend in terms of housing in South Jersey. I think Philadelphia itself is going to be your best bet. Your husband will be closer to the music scene, the Philadelphia Community College is very good and then after that you have Temple, U-Penn, Drexel and several other schools in town or in the immediate area. Also, being in the city means you can go without a car and save a boat load of money there as insurance in Philly and NJ is a LOT more than what you pay in Dallas.
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But I'll add a little more. My commute to work is about a 15 minute drive (3.5 miles down quiet streets). It's close enough that I could walk. In the NY metro, the suburbs would have given me a 75-90 minute commute. That means more time with the family. Even though I live in a reasonably priced rental, it is a spacious 2br/2ba in one of the best school districts in the state. I'm just across the road from a park, and a short stroll down some tree lined streets to a walkable downtown. I'm 20 minutes drive from Center City, which is nice because the city is actually a good place to visit. No 20 minute wait at a tunnel or bridge.
