Possible Move from Brooklyn to Philly (Philadelphia, York: transplants, neighborhoods, college)

[RightonWalnut]

I would rent a place right in Center City. Easily doable in your price range.

[Better Than You]

Originally Posted by Droop

Wow, Fishtown is slowly recovering from being East Kensington but I can't imagine why someone would move there.

"Slowly recovering from being East Kensington?" LOL! Fishtown was never similar to East Kensington. And I would say it "arrived" at least eight years ago ... look at the price of real estate - it's here!

[Running_Shoes]

Thanks very much!

[Frank Bones]

If you're coming from Brooklyn (and you liked it there), I'd skip areas in NW Philly like Manayunk which is more suburban and removed from the "action" so to speak. If you like running, you'll probably want to live somewhere west of Broad since the Schuylkill River Park and Fairmount Park are the best areas for running. I'd recommend the Powelton Village, Fitler Square, and Fairmount neighborhoods.

[Mimidae]

As for a commute to Wilmington, I would not overlook the western side of Center City (Graduate Hospital, Rittenhouse, Logan Square), because driving to Wilmington is actually quicker via the western artery out of the city, which is the Schuylkill Expressway / I-76. I know because I spent years commuting from Wilmington to both the western part of the city and the eastern limits, and getting to anywhere via I-76 was quicker than taking I-95 all the way. By 5-10 minutes. The main train station, at 30th Street, is on the western side of the city.

Don't overlook University City, as well. For $2500 or even $2000 you can get a pretty nice apartment, be close to that train station and 76 (again, in my experience, the quicker way to get out of the city), be close to several good running trails, and have plenty of culture. University City is kind of the Brooklyn of Philly. The further west you go, it becomes even more affordable, but, of course, gets closer to less safe neighborhoods. But for your budget, you don't have to worry about going too far west. University City is very pretty (lots of historic Victorian houses), and in my opinion West Philly (which UC is part of) has the best community initiatives (a tool library, a communal compost space, Shakespeare in Clark Park, free art classes, things of that nature). Fishtown also has some of this feel. But UC has way more trees.

I would caution you to do some research into the nightlife / community feel of the Art Museum area before getting too excited about it. I have heard from multiple people who live there that people are not as friendly and that the restaurant/nightlife scene is really lacking. It's a pretty neighborhood. And this warning might not apply for the southernmost part of the Art Museum area.

Fishtown is very hip, and very young. Lots of fixies, lots of young people practicing in punk bands in warehouses. This may be your scene, and it may not be. If you're a little older, you may want to look at Center City and points west.

You really should come down and spend some time here. If possible, multiple weekends - spend time in Fishtown, South Philly, Center City, Rittenhouse, Art Museum, Graduate Hospital, and University City.

Manayunk (and it is spelled like that, not "Manyunk", a misspelling that seems common and makes me shudder) I would not recommend for you. It's for the very young, and someone used to Brooklyn will not find it culturally interesting. And it puts you further away from Wilmington. I'm not knocking Manayunk, but I don't think it's right for what you're looking for.

Good luck!

[zhaep]

eeeeeeesh lotta old-peopley advice here

ur coming from brooklyn , gawker agrees:

Northern Liberties = Williamsburg
Fishtown = Bushwick (kinda greenpointy due to polish heritage but not much surviving at the moment)

i would add

Fairmount / Art Museum = Fort Green / Park Slope
Bella Vista / Queen Village (South Philly but very close to Center City) = also Park Slope / Prospect Heights ? [edited]
Rittenhouse (more 'Center City') = idk like DUMBO ? Maybe more Manhattanish as most of Center City will be
most of West Philly = Red Hook / Downtown Brooklyn / LIC ?

Northeast Philly (the size of the rest of philly , not that close to Center City)
Greater Northeast = Queens (with a fraction of the ethnic diversity)
Lower Northeast = Long Island

Manayunk is basically a suburb. So is the Northeast. West Philly is the college town version of philly.


all of this is on philly scale so u realllllly gotta scale (down) the expectations / analogies . also realize that gentrification is not nearly as robust in philly , we never had a Giuliani and we are the poorest major city in the country (highest poverty rate). u can travel across the entire city in 45 minutes by car , no neighborhood mentioned above except the Northeast / far West Philly and Manayunk is more than 10-15 minutes to Center City by basically any method other than walking at most times. also public transit is deplorable.

With your budget you could easily live in center city or Rittenhouse but could also save A LOT of money and live in Fairmount / Art museum area , Bella Vista / Queen Village , or Northern Liberties / Fishtown and not suffer much at all.

Good restaurants all over but many def clustered around Rittenhouse / Center City / Old City and South Philly

Philly is a beer town so you wont have trouble really anywhere but Fishtown and Passyunk ave (South Philly) are definite hubs.

If Commuting to delaware, Fishtown / Northern Liberties are on the east side of the city right next to I-95 , Queen Village / Bella Vista are also East but South more (so he could get on 95 at a lower point and miss a lot of the rush hour traffic heading into the city from the Northeast and Jersey).

As far as running , Kelly Drive is the most popular path , along Fairmount Park , which is along the Schuylkill river (which separates West Philly from the rest of Philly). There are other trails along the Schuykill and a new boardwalk being built (first installment just opened) on the river that could be options. Other than that theres not many large parks with big trails in the city , though there are some nice bridges to run on the Delaware river (east side of philly, separating us from Jersey).

find a place with a reserved parking spot.

i may be out on a few shaky limbs with some of these comparisons but just trying to give points of reference

[rotodome]

^^ I wont make too many comments, but I'd definitely swap out DUMBO and add Brooklyn Heights as a more apt comparison for Rittenhouse up there...

Also not seeing West Phila being much like RedHook/LIC at all. I think comparing it to Clinton Hill + Bed Sty feels more accurate.

[Frank Bones]

Originally Posted by zhaep

eeeeeeesh lotta old-peopley advice here

ur coming from brooklyn , gawker agrees:

Northern Liberties = Williamsburg
Fishtown = Bushwick (kinda greenpointy due to polish heritage but not much surviving at the moment)

i would add

Fairmount / Art Museum = Fort Green / Park Slope
Bella Vista / Queen Village (South Philly but very close to Center City) = also Park Slope / Prospect Heights ? [edited]
Rittenhouse (more 'Center City') = idk like DUMBO ? Maybe more Manhattanish as most of Center City will be
most of West Philly = Red Hook / Downtown Brooklyn / LIC ?

Northeast Philly (the size of the rest of philly , not that close to Center City)
Greater Northeast = Queens (with a fraction of the ethnic diversity)
Lower Northeast = Long Island

Manayunk is basically a suburb. So is the Northeast. West Philly is the college town version of philly.


all of this is on philly scale so u realllllly gotta scale (down) the expectations / analogies . also realize that gentrification is not nearly as robust in philly , we never had a Giuliani and we are the poorest major city in the country (highest poverty rate). u can travel across the entire city in 45 minutes by car , no neighborhood mentioned above except the Northeast / far West Philly and Manayunk is more than 10-15 minutes to Center City by basically any method other than walking at most times. also public transit is deplorable.

With your budget you could easily live in center city or Rittenhouse but could also save A LOT of money and live in Fairmount / Art museum area , Bella Vista / Queen Village , or Northern Liberties / Fishtown and not suffer much at all.

Good restaurants all over but many def clustered around Rittenhouse / Center City / Old City and South Philly

Philly is a beer town so you wont have trouble really anywhere but Fishtown and Passyunk ave (South Philly) are definite hubs.

If Commuting to delaware, Fishtown / Northern Liberties are on the east side of the city right next to I-95 , Queen Village / Bella Vista are also East but South more (so he could get on 95 at a lower point and miss a lot of the rush hour traffic heading into the city from the Northeast and Jersey).

As far as running , Kelly Drive is the most popular path , along Fairmount Park , which is along the Schuylkill river (which separates West Philly from the rest of Philly). There are other trails along the Schuykill and a new boardwalk being built (first installment just opened) on the river that could be options. Other than that theres not many large parks with big trails in the city , though there are some nice bridges to run on the Delaware river (east side of philly, separating us from Jersey).

find a place with a reserved parking spot.

i may be out on a few shaky limbs with some of these comparisons but just trying to give points of reference

Aside from some of those comparisons being WAY off (West Philly is nothing like Red Hook and Rittenhouse is surely no DUMBO), it's foolish to try to do a neighborhood-to-neighborhood comparison with NYC. They're two different cities. At best, you might say that Center City is kinda like a small Manhattan and the rest of the city is a mix of Brooklyn and Queens without high-rises.

[rotodome]

I actually think attempting to provide points of reference can possibly be a helpful thing to people in terms of trying to get their heads around a totally unfamiliar place. Obviously very different experiences living in the two cities, though.

However, I do always tell people NOT to go to Philly looking for NYC, because you will not find it, and if that's what you're looking for you'll only end up disappointed.
What you will find is Philly, which is a great place in its own ways.

[pman]

Manayunk is basically a suburb? What does that tell me? It's an old Milltown whose dense population clings to the hillside.