apartment hunting in gentrifying parts of South Philly - safety advice(among other things)? (Washington: house)

[skydivers-in-reverse]

Hi all. My friend and I(both females in our early 20's)are hunting for a new place! As much as I loved West Philly, I am aiming for the other side of the river this time. We're mainly looking in South Philly/CCsouth but we're open to Fishtown(I am not as familiar with Fishtown in the block-by-block way I am with the former areas) and Nolibs as well.

We are set to check out a few places in Queen Village/Bella Vista, and East Passyunk - we are also going to look at a place at 16th and Snyder(Newbold, I guess). The area is so convenient and seems to be budget-friendy - how is it on safety, where approximately does it start to get rocky in terms of safety?

I am okay with an area that is still up and coming and am familiar with living through the hiccups that come with a transitioning neighborhood, but we would really like a decent amount of foot traffic and ideally, a fairly young neighborhood. Honestly I would ultimately prefer Queen Village - but I would appreciate it if anyone could recommend gentrifying(or gentrified) areas of South Philly. We've also got our eye out on the area east of broad and just south of Washington. Also, am I right in assuming that Point Breeze is a bit too fringy for us or is it worth taking a look?

[KansastoSouthphilly]

The East Passyunk neighborhoods (Passyunk Square and East Passyunk Crossing) give you the most bang for your buck. South of Washington, generally, you want to stay east of broad and west of 8th. I also prefer the area north of snyder. The area is safe for a city neighborhood. East Passyunk has exploded recently and continues to grow. There are many people in your age group here. Here is a good post about the changes in the area:

Is This the New Restaurant Row? | Table Matters

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by skydivers-in-reverse

We are set to check out a few places in Queen Village/Bella Vista, and East Passyunk - we are also going to look at a place at 16th and Snyder(Newbold, I guess). The area is so convenient and seems to be budget-friendy - how is it on safety, where approximately does it start to get rocky in terms of safety?

QV/BV are great and super convenient. I've always preferred to live closer to Broad St. for the subway access and lived in Passyunk Square for a number of years before moving a few blocks further south (bigger house for less money).

I would steer clear of 5th/6th St. south of Dickinson or Tasker. 7th & 8th St. also get sketchy south of Morris.

I wouldn't venture west of the Newbold boundaries (18th St.) It's not worth it because you're not saving any money, you're further away from the things you want to be near and it's not worth the hassles. If you stay east of 17th St. you shouldn't have any problems. Despite the sometimes coded language you hear about everything "west of Broad" Newbold is one of the more diverse neighborhoods in the already diverse South Philly and is mostly working class. Compare that to the mostly working poor, 90% african-american Point Breeze.

We've also got our eye out on the area east of broad and just south of Washington. Also, am I right in assuming that Point Breeze is a bit too fringy for us or is it worth taking a look?

Maybe if you were going to look at something around 19th & Federal it would be worth a shot but I wouldn't look at anything in Point Breeze south of Wharton St. Too sketchy and too far from everything to be worth it.