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My husband and I are looking into relocating to the Philadelphia area from Northern California to be closer to my family who live on the east coast. I have been reading other threads on this site about Philly and have some concerns. Just to let you know that I know nothing about Philly.
1.It seems that Philly has been going downhill. Not very clean; high crime rate; people are not too happy with the politics going on. Is this true? If so, has this spread into the suburbs or are these just city problems?
2. I was researching public schools in the Philadelphia area. It seems that there are quite a few private schools which leads me to believe that the public schools are not that great. Am I wrong?
Also, I was also wondering how friendly the people are in Philly area? Is it fairly easy to meet people? Do you know your neighbors (more than just their name)?
We have a 4 yr old daughter and are looking into relocating and was hoping people would be honest with me. Would you relocate to Philly?
I REALLY appreciate any info/insight you can share.
Other posters have responded adequately already, but I just thought I'd contribute my perspective.
Philadelphia largely has a national reputation that doesn't necessarily match reality. Granted, violent crime is a huge issue about which many residents are concerned, but it's unfair to say that issue grips the entire city, being that there are a good number of safe, well-kept neighborhoods in which to reside. Bluntly, Philly is hardly on the decline. On the contrary, it is on an upswing with lots of development and gentrification occurring or in the works, and I think that the city's bouts with violent crime will dissipate in the near future.
In terms of schools, suburban Philadelphia is home to some of the best public schools in the country. Yes, there are plenty of private schools, as well, but those would only be necessary if you were raising your children in the city. Also, I think one cultural difference to note between the Northeast and the West is that the tradition of parochial/religion-oriented schools is very strong here. This is important to understand because families send their children to these schools hardly because public schools are lacking in educational quality (unfortunately, it is sometimes the opposite) but that they wish to instill certain religious faith that isn't found in public education.
Friendliness is always relative, and it's sometimes hard to break into established, tight-knit communities that are common in this area, but there are also plenty of newly-developed communities with transplants exactly like yourself. All in all, if the points you raised are your primary concerns, then you can rest assure. Good luck in whatever you choose!
Philadelphia is also on the upswing becauce the man who will likely be the next mayor (Michael Nutter) appears to be leaps and bounds beyond his bureaucratic predecessor, John Street.
I actually live in Philadelphia, having moved here from Washington DC four years ago. I can tell you after extensive research that Center City is the place to be. Crime, of the major types, are largely not an issue in Center City. Areas where crime is rampant, are areas that you would never have a reason to venture into legitimately. Public schools in Center City are very good, especially in the neighborhoods on the east side (Society Hill, Washington Square and Queen Village). There are also nice smaller parochial schools. The Center City area is quite clean, the Center City District does an awesome job of keeping sidewalks and streets tidy. I can tell you if coming from Northern California, where I am assuming you own a home, you'll be able to find a great house in a great neighborhood like Society Hill. The neighborhood is wonderful, friendly neighbors and a nice sense of community. There is a great farmers market on Sunday mornings at HeadHouse Square, the oldest operating farmers market in the US. You can walk to a Whole Foods Market on South Street. There is a really nice Philadelphia Sports Club (health club) on 5th Street with an outdoor pool. Tons of nice restaurants are within a few blocks. Also, living amongst Colonial American history is a pretty special thing. Narrow cobbled streets, colonial architecture, small public gardens and relatively quiet considering you're in the middle of Philadelphia. Search for listings between Front and 6th Streets, between Walnut and South Streets. Best of luck!
just wanted to send you a message regarding your move to PA. I have lived here all my life (34 years) and I have to say I have been very lucky to live in such a great community.
I live in Broomall which is part of the Marple School Disctrict. I would highly recommend that you look up our school district on Schools, High School, Public Schools, School District, Public High Schools - SchoolMatters and you will see that we have a great and high performing school. Our area is very safe, family oriented and near to everything you would want in a town.
We are 15 minutes from the PHL International Airport, 20 minutes outside of Center City (it's a 10 minute regional rail trip), 10 minutes from King of Prussia our largest mall, 20 minutes from Southern NJ and Delaware (We are considered the tri-state area), 5 minutes from the Main Line area (this is out upscale neighborhoods, and minutes away from all kinds of shopping. I'm not sure if you are aware but Delaware has the tax free shopping!
If you are looking for an area that is family oriented, safe, and convenient this is the best area. Not congested yet not in the middle of the sticks. Our house is minutes away from all the main highways such as I95, Route 476, and Route 252. And if you work downtown (which I did before I had children) you can drive 10 minutes to the Bryn Mawr train station and it's 10-15 minutes into the center of the city.
Unfortunately my husband's work is taking us to Arizona so we are selling our home. I welcome you to check out our house online. The MLS# 5093335 and you can go on realestate.yahoo.com or realtor.com to search the MLS number. Our house is a large colonial with 4 BR 2.5 Bath which is not common in this area. We tend to have many split levels and cottage style homes. Our taxes are very reasonable in comparison to the towns next to us.
I wish you lots of luck on your search! Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
My husband and I are also moving to Philly from Nor Cal. I was wondering about Tech jobs and Health Care jobs in the city. How's the homes and if there is any good haunting in the area.
I just have to say that is is so refreshing to be on this board and find people that actually like where they live. We have been thinking of relocating from So. CA and our first choice was NJ since we have family there and in Conn. I was scared off the NJ board because so many of the people there dislike the high property taxes and corruption in that state. Everyone posted about how I would hate it in NJ and how my family could never adjust to the East Coast. A friend of mine from Princeton told me to look at Bucks County PA instead. I did have many East Coasters tell me that I would not like leaving California because of the weather. I am glad to see that no one gave all the reasons why NOT to move to PA. It makes me feel as if I may really like the people in your state enought to considered relocationg. Thank you PA!
For the two posters from California - My husband and I are visiting Philly in early Oct and I will let you know what I find and how I like it. I am originally from upstate NY and have lived in the SF Bay Area for 10 yrs. The east coast is very different from Ca.- I personally miss the east so much (that's why we are moving). I would recommend making a trip before moving, especially if you have never been there. You can PM me if you have any quesitons. Good luck!
My husband and I are also moving to Philly from Nor Cal. I was wondering about Tech jobs and Health Care jobs in the city. How's the homes and if there is any good haunting in the area.
Health Care- best bet is to check out University of Pennsylvania Health System. Humongus operation and with a metro 6 million people you know there is more than enough health care jobs to go around.
The tech jobs are predominantly out in the suburbs. If I had to give you an area to target it would be the NW suburbs. King of Prussia,Malvern,Chesterbrooke,West Chester.
My family and I just moved here from Honolulu and, believe it or not, we LOVE it! In addition to living in Honolulu for 4 years we have also lived in Monterey, San Diego, Laguna Beach. I can honestly say that so far, things seem to be wonderful!
I have to admit that the Philly area was at the very bottom of my list of places to move to. My misconception of the area was what many Californians stereotype of the area is: industrialized, congested, filthy, rude people, etc. Sure there are elements of the area that may be like that but the Philly Burbs is a great place to live.
In case you are wondering, we ended up in the area because my wife is doing her medical residency here (she is a physician) Believe me, I was not happy at the thought of having to move here--I had a very high paying (although high stress) job in Honolulu, we own a place on the water in an exclusive neighborhood and our 4 year old daughter went to the top private school in Hawaii.
We have been here for 3 1/2 months and things have been great. People are friendly, so long as you are. They may not go out of their way to be nice to you, but when they are--it is genuine. The public schools are supposedly some of the best in the nation. Our daughter is still in private school until next year because she was born late November and was not eligible to attend public kindergarten. I will say that from talking to other parents from the area I am very comfortable with having her attend the public schools here.
Oh, BTW, we are far from being snobs or overly religious, it's just that we are originally from Cali and raised our daughter for the first years of her life in Hawaii---both states have public school systems that rate at the very bottom of the list of public school systems in the U.S.! Again, the Philly Burbs are very high on that same list.
It always burned me to think that I was paying 9% of my salary to state income taxes, and then HAVE to pay for private school! It's like double taxation! Oh, that's the other thing, PA state income tax is around 3%, although the property tax may sometimes be higher (depending on the county/township you live in) but you will, for the most part, see where that money is going.
As far as kids are concerned, there are a ton of things to do! We have only been here 3 1/2 months and I have taken my daughter to the Museum of Natural History, The Franklin Institute, The King TUT exhibit, Six Flags (hour away), Atlantic City Boardwalk (hour away), Dutch Wonderland (has to be the best amusement park for young kids--hour away), Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. (2 hours away), fun, educational "Duck Tour" of the City, and this Winter we will be taking a train up to NYC (1.5 hours) to check out several Broadway Shows!
I apologize if this response is long-winded but I have been looking on this forum for 10 months now without ever contributing. I am truly excited to provide my honest feedback of our experience of the area, so far.
Jobs here are plentiful. It's like an East Coast Silicon Valley. VAnguard, QVC, Nutrisystems, Wyeth, Merck, Glaskow Smith and Kline, etc. Tons of excellent hospitals in the area--great if you are in the Healthcare Field like my wife and myself--or if you are a patient!
In addition, if you walk through the largest mall in the area, King of Prussia, you will find it seems very culturally diverse. It's almost like being in a mall in California--except that it is less "foreign" It seems that teenagers that are walking around the area generally seem to be more respectful, less pretentious, and less vulgar than what you would find in teens in every other mall in Cali. Being a Father of a 4yo girl, this is VERY important to me.
Surfing is an hour away and although it is obviously not Hawaii or Cali--it's not too crowded, either. The Pocono mountains are an hour or so away for so so skiing/snowboarding--but again not crazy crowded like Tahoe. Great camping, fishing, hiking and hunting here, too.
Traffic, although many people here complain about it, is nowhere close to Cali's (or even Honolulu's) congestion. Also, although people may honk--there seems to be a lot less "road rage" and I don't feel like I am going to get shot for accidentally cutting someone off!
Again, I continue to search through this forum to find the ideal place to rase my family. I can honestly say, I think I found it...
Things may change in January, however
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moving to Philadelphia
