philly neighborhoods help (Philadelphia, Washington, Liberty: apartment complexes, to rent, home)

[leafalafel]

Hello Philadelphians

I've lived and breathed in the San Francisco bay area for 23 long years (my entire life!) and i've always wanted to venture out and live somewhere else. (not because SF isn't awesome but because I've never lived anywhere else). I even stayed in the city for college and now i've been working in the city for about 4 months.

Now i just need to live somewhere else!! i looked into a bunch of cities around the country from Honolulu to Boston and i ended up applying to a bunch of jobs. I got job offers in Texas (Austin and Dallas), Portland (OR), Raleigh, Des Moines (random, i know. dont ask), and Philadelphia.

I did visit each of my options for interviews and now i'm very serious about Philadelphia! I'm going to visit again next week to make my final decision.

anyhow, i'd love recommondatiosn on neighborhoods to consider. I'll be visiting each of the recomondations and looking at housing options.

what i would like (in order)

-Safety (of course, as a young female)
-Distance from work (no more than 25 min drive to Childrens Hospital)
-Greenary! parks, forests, ponds, anything. my Lab will be very happy too
-FOOD! ie restuaraunts, cafes, grocary shops and more.
-Fun stuff- for your average 23 year old. bars, lounges, hookah, movies, etc.

thankss ))

i hope i'm not being too vague.

my budget to rent is say no more than $1500 for a 1 bedroom and $2000 for a two bedroom.

are there any apartment complexes/communities that fit my criteria? like one that has a pool, fitness center, and is pet friendly?

is my budget ok/normal for phily?


another question, how long do you think it'll take me to get used to the snow/winter? what do you wear?? puffy jackets?? how do you walk in the snow without slipping?

also, are there lots of bugs in philadelphia?? like spiders (i know, not a bug), mosquitos, roaches, etc



THANKS


even easier: tell me the neighborhoods/zip codes to AVOID

[UDResident]

I'll try to answer some of your other questions later but for now I'll say that the "typical" Philly wear is a hoodie and jeans. When it's too cold for a hoodie and jeans then people just wear typical urban winter-wear like heavy coats, maybe a hat and gloves, etc.

Also, you slip on ice, not snow. Snow isn't slippery. Watch out for black ice especially.

[drive carephilly]

I don't know what kinda job you got as a 23 year old to be able to afford $1500-$2000 a month in rent by yourself, on Philadelphia wages, but good for you.

Anyway, while you probably could I can't see any reason to spend that much money on rent. You can get a nice place, close to CHOP for around $1000.

If you're really that baller maybe you can afford to drive to CHOP everyday (most employers here don't pay for employee parking) but I'm not sure why you'd want to. It's a nightmare around there at rush hour and there aren't going to be many places you could drive to in 25 minutes (that you'd want to live in) that you couldn't get to faster on the train.

Find CHOP on a map . . . now look at the South St. Bridge that crosses the river just to the east of the hospital complex. I would look in the neighborhoods at the foot of the bridge - namely Fitler Square and Graduate Hospital (sometimes called South of South) and the area just south of Rittenhouse Square. If you were to find a place in the vicinity of say, 24th & South it would be ~10 minute walk to CHOP. Anywhere on either side of South St. from the bridge all the way down to 2nd St. would suit your needs (except for the "greenery" part). The #40 bus runs west on Lombard and east on South and right past the Hospital complex.

You could also live a little bit west of the hospital. I would look around 43rd & Baltimore/Clark Park area. If you don't mind the walk it would probably be about 20 minutes. You could also take trolley to within 3 blocks of the hospital.

If you lived within 10 blocks of the hospital you could, conceivably, go home for lunch to walk the dog or just put your feet up for a bit. When I used to work near the Liberty Bell and I lived near Washington Ave. I used to go home for lunch all the time. It was a 5 minute bike ride each way. I got an hour for lunch. Thursday nights were big happy "hour" nights with the office crew. Most fridays I would go home and take a nap.

If you're looking to live in an apartment building there are quite a few along the river and in University City. I'm not sure which are pet friendly but it shouldn't be too hard to look it up. Left Bank is right at 33rd & Walnut and maybe 4 blocks from CHOP.

Winter gear - if you know how to dress on a winter night in SF you'll be fine here. A hat, gloves and a scarf. Wear layers. It snows here occasionally. It isn't like Buffalo where you get snow on the ground all winter. It snows a little bit, people step carefully, and a few days later it's all gone. Think of the the mountains in the east bay. Sometimes you look up in the winter and there's snow up there - but it doesn't stay like that all winter. Just imagine if the city was up on top of the mountains instead of down along the bay and you'll have a pretty good idea of what winter is like here.

[leafalafel]

Also, you slip on ice, not snow. Snow isn't slippery. Watch out for black ice especially.

this is how experienced with snow i am :/

but im excited! my first white christmas! (well, Hanukkah for me )

although im not too excited about shoveling snow. i should start working out my arms now.

[leafalafel]

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

I don't know what kinda job you got as a 23 year old to be able to afford $1500-$2000 a month in rent by yourself, on Philadelphia wages, but good for you.


.

i'm a nurse

and i work with children and babies with cancer, so with all the suffering i see i think i deserve to be paid well :P

[frankgn87]

Originally Posted by leafalafel

Hello Philadelphians

I've lived and breathed in the San Francisco bay area for 23 long years (my entire life!) and i've always wanted to venture out and live somewhere else. (not because SF isn't awesome but because I've never lived anywhere else). I even stayed in the city for college and now i've been working in the city for about 4 months.

Now i just need to live somewhere else!! i looked into a bunch of cities around the country from Honolulu to Boston and i ended up applying to a bunch of jobs. I got job offers in Texas (Austin and Dallas), Portland (OR), Raleigh, Des Moines (random, i know. dont ask), and Philadelphia.

I did visit each of my options for interviews and now i'm very serious about Philadelphia! I'm going to visit again next week to make my final decision.

anyhow, i'd love recommondatiosn on neighborhoods to consider. I'll be visiting each of the recomondations and looking at housing options.

what i would like (in order)

-Safety (of course, as a young female)
-Distance from work (no more than 25 min drive to Childrens Hospital)
-Greenary! parks, forests, ponds, anything. my Lab will be very happy too
-FOOD! ie restuaraunts, cafes, grocary shops and more.
-Fun stuff- for your average 23 year old. bars, lounges, hookah, movies, etc.

thankss ))

i hope i'm not being too vague.

my budget to rent is say no more than $1500 for a 1 bedroom and $2000 for a two bedroom.

are there any apartment complexes/communities that fit my criteria? like one that has a pool, fitness center, and is pet friendly?

is my budget ok/normal for phily?


another question, how long do you think it'll take me to get used to the snow/winter? what do you wear?? puffy jackets?? how do you walk in the snow without slipping?

also, are there lots of bugs in philadelphia?? like spiders (i know, not a bug), mosquitos, roaches, etc



THANKS


even easier: tell me the neighborhoods/zip codes to AVOID

Yes there are bugs in Philly. Lots of roaches like in any city where there are lots of people in a small area.. Skeeters and spiders like any other area in the east coast.

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by leafalafel

i'm a nurse

and i work with children and babies with cancer, so with all the suffering i see i think i deserve to be paid well :P

of course. my brother is also a nurse . . . but his program took a total of 6 years (undergrad + nursing).

A white christmas usually only happens once every 5 years and most of the time it's because it snowed a few days before and hasn't completely melted yet.

[leafalafel]

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

of course. my brother is also a nurse . . . but his program took a total of 6 years (undergrad + nursing).

A white christmas usually only happens once every 5 years and most of the time it's because it snowed a few days before and hasn't completely melted yet.

really?? aw man!!

whats the weather like around xmas time? rainy?

actually, what is the weather like in each month?

[UDResident]

Originally Posted by leafalafel

this is how experienced with snow i am :/

but im excited! my first white christmas! (well, Hanukkah for me )

although im not too excited about shoveling snow. i should start working out my arms now.

White Christmases may happen but don't count on it happening often. It's possible that you'll have snow on the ground on Christmas but snowing on Christmas itself is actually pretty rare. Having eight nights does tend to make the odds a bit better though haha

Shoveling isn't all that bad if you live in a rowhome, and people will come around and offer to do it for you for some cash so you don't necessarily have to do it yourself.

The weather in general can fluctuate. When I was a kid (I'm 24), it would stop being summer around late August, would become fall around Halloween, would start getting cold in November, and would be really cold by mid-late December. Then it would warm up in late March, become spring in mid-late April, become summer in June, and get very hot from mid July-mid August. Then we had the period of the late 90s-early 2000s with El Nino/La Nina where it was warmer on average, we had days in December where it was in the 80s-90s and thunderstorming, would get heat waves in the summer, etc. Then it got normal again. These past few years, it was a lot more like the late 90s/early 2000s period.

It gets really humid here in the summer too.

[leafalafel]

is the area near CHOP called University City??


if so, i heard the area is quite sketchy and not very good for white girls :/

but i could be very wrong. so thats why im asking here


what areas are the nicest and safesest in philadelphia proper?


i also wouldnt mind living in the suburbs, as long as there are other young professionals and not just families


like in the San Francisco bay area there is a city called Redwood City. it is quite suburban with families but also has young people and a theater district.

i dont need a crazy downtown at all! as far as nightlife i just need 2 or 3 bars (for variation). everything else i wouldnt mind venturing into downtown philly.