More community in Francisville or Cedar Park? (Philadelphia, York: apartment, lease)

[And1Thousand]

Hello,

This may sound like a silly question but I'm trying to figure out if there is a greater sense of community in Francisville or in Cedar Park. I'm trying to start a community-oriented house and I want to live in a place where I will know my neighbors. I'm a 22-year-old white male. I want to be a therapist. Two summers ago (summer of 2012) I lived near Temple at 11th and Thompson (near Girard) in Yorktown and really enjoyed it. It was a (I think) working-class black neighborhood. There was frequently a group of guys and some women outside on the stoop next door hanging out and we would say hello and chat or shoot the **** sometimes. My neighbor would always say to me "Have a blessed day" when I left for work on my bike. I felt really safe there. My neighbor was really upset after the back wheel got stolen off my bike after I left it locked up on our front porch overnight one night. The neighbors weren't overly friendly or corny.

I'm looking for something like that and I would like a place where I am not just around my neighbors who have a community but where I can have relationships with my neighbors. Maybe I just hate white people but I feel like for all the "community" in Cedar Park and the Clark Park/ Baltimore Ave area, I expect in my time there outside the house I will be surrounded by white people and some blacks who might be friendly but don't really want to engage with me, or hipsters who will play mind games with me. In my time in Yorktown we invited our ~50 year old neighbor into the house when we had a party and he talked with me about issues with parents (I was living in the house with friends who were Temple students in order to not live with my parents in the suburbs that summer). He engaged with me.

Things that matter to me are having a sense of community and being safe. I don't care that much about having restaurants nearby. Maybe I don't want to be around white people. I haven't really seen a community of white people, and I don't know if I would find one in Cedar Park. I don't want to live around people who are full of ****. Both Francisville and Cedar Park have parks nearby. I like playing basketball and I could play pickup at both those places (Francisville Recreation Center and Clark Park). I am considering these two places:

Francisville: Renovated 4 bed. 2.5 Bath Close to Center Citi

Cedar Park: large 4Bd/2Ba University City apt near Clark Park

In Francisville, I could live in a house; in Cedar Park I'm considering an apartment. Francisville is cheaper.

Where do you think I might find a greater sense of community-the house in Francisville or the apartment in Cedar Park?

Thank you!

[pman]

What's a community oriented house?

[And1Thousand]

Originally Posted by pman

What's a community oriented house?

A house in which the residents care about each other and try to promote a sense of community in the house. It's not so much about the outside community as it is about the community inside the house.

[pman]

Originally Posted by And1Thousand

A house in which the residents care about each other and try to promote a sense of community in the house. It's not so much about the outside community as it is about the community inside the house.

So you're just talking about roommates not a rooming house?

[And1Thousand]

Originally Posted by pman

So you're just talking about roommates not a rooming house?

I think so. I'm not totally sure what a rooming house is. "Boarding house" came up on Wikipedia. We/I would not be offering a service for money to the residents. We would live together as roommates. Everyone would be expected to clean up after themselves and help keep the house clean. People would lease for probably a year. There would be relationships/ bonds/ friendships between the roommates. Does that answer your question?

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by And1Thousand

A house in which the residents care about each other and try to promote a sense of community in the house. It's not so much about the outside community as it is about the community inside the house.

Do you mean commune?

[Clark Park]

Originally Posted by And1Thousand

I think so. I'm not totally sure what a rooming house is. "Boarding house" came up on Wikipedia. We/I would not be offering a service for money to the residents. We would live together as roommates. Everyone would be expected to clean up after themselves and help keep the house clean. People would lease for probably a year. There would be relationships/ bonds/ friendships between the roommates. Does that answer your question?

Then you are talking about a rooming house. "Rooming house" has a strict legal definition in Philadelphia: it is a dwelling where more than three non-related individuals reside. A boarding house implies there is a meal or meals are served as part of the arrangement.

There are a lot of house shares throughout University City because there are a lot of college students here, and a lot of young interns working at the nearby hospitals. Often homeowners (like myself) who are either part of a couple or just single will rent extra bedrooms in our 5, 6, 7 bedroom three story Victorian houses.

Cedar Park, although not as expensive as Garden Court, Spruce Hill (where Clark Park is located) or Woodland Terrace, is becoming gentrified and pricy. Francisville is more affordable for many people. Cedar Park itself is on Baltimore Ave. between 48th and 50th Streets

[And1Thousand]

Originally Posted by Clark Park

Then you are talking about a rooming house. "Rooming house" has a strict legal definition in Philadelphia: it is a dwelling where more than three non-related individuals reside. A boarding house implies there is a meal or meals are served as part of the arrangement.

There are a lot of house shares throughout University City because there are a lot of college students here, and a lot of young interns working at the nearby hospitals. Often homeowners (like myself) who are either part of a couple or just single will rent extra bedrooms in our 5, 6, 7 bedroom three story Victorian houses.

Cedar Park, although not as expensive as Garden Court, Spruce Hill (where Clark Park is located) or Woodland Terrace, is becoming gentrified and pricy. Francisville is more affordable for many people. Cedar Park itself is on Baltimore Ave. between 48th and 50th Streets

Thank you for clearing that up. Does anyone have any input about neighbors in Francisville or Cedar Park?