Thinking about Philly (Philadelphia, York, Willow Grove: real estate, apartment, to rent)

[kimberlymarie30]

When are you moving? Summer/Fall 2012
Where are you coming from? Cincinnati, OH
Why are you moving? Want to live in a "real" big city and Hubby fell in love with Philly on a business trip last spring.
Where will you be working? Not sure, my husband is a corporate Tax Accountant currently pursuing his CPA and Masters of Tax. He will be looking for a Tax Manager or Director position in Philly. I work in the real estate appraisal industry and am currently pursuing an MBA.
Have you been here yet? Hubby has and he loves Philly, almost bordering on obsession!

Will you buy or rent? Buying
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? Condo is fine as long as it's not a high rise, but preferably a townhouse/single family with at least a little outside space.
How much can you spend? Not more than $350,000
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend?
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? Walk up if an apartment is necessary

Are you married or single? Married Do you have children? 2 year old daughter, will be 4 when we plan to move, so schools are pretty important.
Do you prefer public or private schools? Either
Do you have pets? 1 dog and a cat
Do you want or need a yard? Yard would be great.
Are you keeping a car? Yes, 1 car
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? We want to be in a dense, historic neighborhood preferably that is walkable for a majority of our needs.

What do you want to be closest to? See above, walkable to all or most of these things would be preferable.
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? We are absolutely open to diversity in a neighborhood.

We are planning on an extended visit, 1 week or more this summer, as my husband has friends in the area. More than anything, we are looking for some suggestions as to which areas we should look into with a Realtor when we are visiting.

[Sandi Lichtman]

When we had children - we, like so many other families, chose to move to the NJ suburbs to raise the family. We found great public schools in Cherry Hill and an easy commute to center city (about 25 minutes). We are also only only about 75 minutes to the Jersey shore. You will find that you get more house for your money in Jersey. Haddonfield is another community with a reputation for great schools - but the homes are more expensive there.

[FindingZen]

At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader for my hometown area, you might like Abington, particularly the Roslyn and Glenside areas. You should be able to find older detached homes in your price range. I can't guarantee that everything will be walkable but retail and restaurants will be short (<10 min) drive away. The greater Abington area also happens to have about a half dozen Regional Rail commuter trains to choose from. Depending on where you live, you'll be ~ 30 minutes from Center City by train.

Nightlife is pretty subdued but, besides your usual restaurant chains scattered about, Jenkintown and Glenside have some decent suburban diversions. Willow Grove Park is a significant shopping mall while you'll run into some strip mall/big box stuff on Old York Road/Route 611.

There are certainly other choices out there to consider that will fit your budget and other preferences. I'll let others more knowledgeable expound on those.

[newmarlig]

I would also suggest West Mount Airy. You can be in center city in under 1/2 hour.

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Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[bryson662001]

The 1st big decision you will have to make is the city or the suburbs. The suburbs around Philly are just like the suburbs around Cincinnati except there are even more of them so the choices are endless. Since I am guessing it was the city that your husband fell for I will stick with that option. The biggest downside is that the public schools are usually not so good (but a few are depending on the neighborhood) so you may have to use a private school. There is also a wage tax, approx 4% for city residents no matter where they work. If your husband is working in the city he would pay it anyway. If he is working in the suburbs then you might consider living there as well and avoiding it. When you said "We want to be in a dense, historic neighborhood preferably that is walkable for a majority of our needs." my 1st thought was Society Hill, the original 17th-18th century neighborhood at the east end of downtown (which is called Center City by locals). The zip there is 19106. However it may be out of your price range. Some adjacent areas to the south, Queen Village, Pennsport and Bella Vista 19147 are not quite as polished but have a similer feeling and are the same age. Properties are less expensive because they aren't actually in Center City. So go to www.realtor.com and plug in each zip code and see what you think. At the west end of Center City is another pretty town house neighborhood with a good deal of modern construction called Logan Square and the adjacent art museum district 19130 but this may also be out of your price range.

[pman]

Originally Posted by newmarlig

I would also suggest West Mount Airy. You can be in center city in under 1/2 hour.

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Mount Airy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

or east mt. airy.
as far as schools, I hear good things about the merideth school (queen village I believe, which wouuld fit the walkable neighborhood ideal) and penn alexander (run by penn). there are a couple more, I think, at the elementary level that are local public schools, then there is the charter options. outside that, many people go catholic or otherwise private. comparatively, property taxes in the city are much lower than jersey and many of the philadelphia suburbs (but not all). I would suggest that it would make the most sense to rent in an area you think you might want to live first.

[newmarlig]

Public schools in West Mt. Airy (Henry and Houston) are better than those in East Mt. Airy.

[G Goo]

Originally Posted by newmarlig

Public schools in West Mt. Airy (Henry and Houston) are better than those in East Mt. Airy.

Houston serves East Mt Airy as well as WMA.

[maestro]

what area/neighborhood of Cincinnati do you live in now? I lived in Cincy for a while, so I might be able to give you advice on a somewhat similar area here.

[andream77]

Unfortunately, there are not many homes in the city - in an area with good public schools- for your price range. Not unless you wanted to totally rehab and even still Bella Vista (the Meredith school border is very tiny and very expensive). Some friends of ours just redid their house in NoLib and paid about 200K to do that. So it can be done, but the tricky part is finding the schools. You might be able to find a condo but that is also pushing it.

I would recommend looking into the burbs or renting. The Abington might be a good fit because it is older and quaint. It is a great place to raise kids and you would definitely have some outside space and be relatively close to stores and food. The schools there are great as well. Like Tone said, it is a short drive away. We are moving back to the area this summer provided I can find work and we are looking at the burbs primarily for the schools. I never really thought I would live outside of the city, but with 2 kids I am now considering it because the cost of private schools is crazy.

If you really want to be in the city, have you guys thought about renting? We thought about renting in the city once my son graduates HS. We have a 2 and 16 year old. Good elementary schools are easier to find than HS. Once you get into the higher grades, I feel the burbs are best. I was born and raised in Philly - in the city - and it definitely can be rough. But there are certain areas downtown that are great as well, but you might have to pay a bit more for them. I always make a pro and con list whenever making big decisions. I would highly recommend pinpointing what the most important things are for you guys and travel around. Visiting can also help. It is so hard to make a decision without seeing things.