How are the Philly Burbs? (Philadelphia, Lancaster: real estate, apartment, rent)

[Johnny Danes]

1. Budget-$1000/month
2. House/Condo/Townhome?-Apartment
3. Employment Status(commute/work from home)- Transfer and future homebased business
4. Children(public school vs. private)-None
5. Suburban or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of the two-Urban but suburban if fine also/mix
6. Easy access to public transit, important or not?-Yes
7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood.-Affluent blacks but mixed is fine.










Seems like the only talk on this forum is "City Center".

I don't have children so I don't care about "good schools".


I am trying to decide if I should move to Atlanta or Philly.

Just trying to do some research.


I do know I want to have a home based business and want to easily get around town. But I also want to be able to network with more affluent blacks.

[RightonWalnut]

What specifically are you looking for?

[Johnny Danes]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

What specifically are you looking for?

I'd like to live in the city but I would entertain the burbs if the price is right. Not more than $1000/month rent.

I am looking to move to one of the named cities.

[ElijahAstin]

The Philly suburbs aren't the only place to meet black professionals. In fact, if you're childless and want a "suburbs-in-the-city" feel, I'd recommend Mt. Airy, which is a historically progressive, racially mixed neighborhood. Wynnefield is popular as well, although it's not quite as cohesively upscale.

Out in the suburbs, the portions of Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, and Paoli close to Lancaster Avenue have black communities dating back to the Great Migration.

To the north, Wyndmoor (Springfield Township), Oreland (Springfield/Upper Dublin), pretty much all of Cheltenham Township, and scattered parts of Abington Township (I'm not 100% sure where, but I'm sure other posters can help you out with the specifics) have somewhat newer, but more noticeable black professional enclaves, especially Cheltenham, which is now over 30%.

[cpomp]

If your looking for an affluent black community, youd be better off in Atlanta. Not driving you away, but the affluent Philadelphia suburbs are overwhelming white. Very segregated area.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by cpomp

If your looking for an affluent black community, youd be better off in Atlanta. Not driving you away, but the affluent Philadelphia suburbs are overwhelming white. Very segregated area.

There's plenty of segregation in Atlanta too. The difference is that there are more black professionals to go around down there in the first place, many of whom have naturally banded together to establish their own communities. There are plenty of black professionals in the aforementioned suburbs I mentioned, with Cheltenham Township probably being the closest of them all to a "mecca." The Philly suburbs, affluent or otherwise, have been diversifying at a very rapid rate as of late.

There's certainly pros and cons to consider, and Atlanta definitely has both more black professionals and more black professional-oriented communities, but greater Philadelphia is hardly void of them.

[rotodome]

I imagine that you'll do better rent-wise in Atlanta too, just given how affordable real estate is there.

[FindingZen]

Affluent black professionals are fairly scattered, although it seems there is a bit of a confluence in Cheltenham Township, for one.* In Abington Township, the predominantly black section of Crestmont is working-class/lower-middle class.

Back in the city, Mt. Airy is a good idea as suggested. Odds are you will come across affluence in all shades within the various neighborhoods of the two square-mile Center City.

Black affluence definitely isn't as pronounced here as in the greater ATL region. If that is the primary audience your business is targeting, you would definitely do better - and your rent money would go further - down there.

If you could bump up your rent by a few hundred, outer Prince Georges County MD - suburb of DC - could be even better.

*I see Cheltenham was suggested as well.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Affluent black professionals are fairly scattered, although it seems there is a bit of a confluence in Cheltenham Township, for one.* In Abington Township, the predominantly black section of Crestmont is working-class/lower-middle class.

Back in the city, Mt. Airy is a good idea as suggested. Odds are you will come across affluence in all shades within the various neighborhoods of the two square-mile Center City.

Black affluence definitely isn't as pronounced here as in the greater ATL region. If that is the primary audience your business is targeting, you would definitely do better - and your rent money would go further - down there.

If you could bump up your rent by a few hundred, outer Prince Georges County MD - suburb of DC - could be even better.

*I see Cheltenham was suggested as well.

As far as business considerations go, I think the biggest thing to keep in mind is that Philadelphia has a historically significant but relatively small black professional community, that is just beginning to see a sizeable increase in both size and dispersion. Atlanta's black professional community doesn't date back as far, but it's much larger and more "established."

In other words, in Atlanta, the market is already there and you'll probably one among many trying to tap into it from whatever angle your business model would be attacking. In Philly, you could very well manage to "corner the emerging market," but with bigger potential reward comes bigger risk.

[foo cities]

One of the strongest and coolest like King of Prussia.