My head is spinning! (Norristown, West Norriton: real estate, trip , rent)

[toxigal]

I haven't gotten a job offer yet, but I'm obsessed with figuring out where i'll live if i do!

more background on me...i'm 33 (i may have said 30 before, that's wishful thinking!), single, completing my PhD, dog lover, and extremely liberal. i'd love a nice multi-cultural area.

i'll be working in willow grove.

i currently live in a very blue collar, baltimore city neighborhood that i like very much. it does not offer much with respect to walkable entertainment, but my neighbors are nice and i was able to afford my only little townhome that i've grown quite used to being in.

i'd love to find a similar neighborhood in philly. as my previous post said, i've looked at manayunk, roxborough, and fishtown (too far!). i'm also interested in mt. airy.

how bad is norristown? (if i decide to go suburb instead).

if i have to rent i'll need to find a place that will allow two large dogs. i also have two rabbits, but they generally dont' raise too many eyebrows. i'd be looking to spend no more than say, $1200/month, but less is better since i'll want to save to buy as soon as possible.

this is so stressful!

[maf763]

In the city, your best bets would be Mt. Airy or Germantown (19119 and 19144). $1200/month doesn't really help, it would be more informative to know total price range instead. Norristown certainly has its share of urban plusses and minuses, and rices in the boro itself are more reasonable than the surrounding areas of East & West Norriton. Ambler is a good town and very close to WG but more expensive. There are pockets of reasonably priced homes in places like Abington and Chetenham, but they are not urban.

Go on to a real estate site and plug in those zip codes and see what comes up. Good luck.

[toxigal]

Those zipcodes really help!

and the photos look so much like the neighborhood i currently live in. and the house prices are just right for what i'm looking for.

are these areas where 1 street is good and then you go a block and things aren't so great? not that that is a problem, but it means i need to schedule a trip to spend the day making note of what streets are good and which aren't!

[maf763]

Maybe not street by street, but a reconnaissance mission would be a good idea.

[Ohiogirl81]

Parts of Norristown are OK to good:

• North of the hospital (Fornance Street), between DeKalb and Elmwood Park. The farther away from DeKalb, the better. This is the neighborhood I live in, and it's very friendly (with a couple of nosy neighbors, which is a good thing!), and reasonably safe. The worst I've seen is some cars getting egged; my car was hit while parked on the street, but that sort of stuff happens everywhere. Our neighborhood is quite a dog neighborhood, much to the disappointment of my two cats!
• Stanbridge to Forest, between Oak and Sterigere streets.
• Norris Hills, but that neighborhood seems awfully cramped to me and it's isolated from the rest of the town.

All three have a variety of stores nearby -- mostly convenience stores and pizza joints, but hey, it's something! -- that you can walk to easily.

Norristown certainly is quite affordable, compared to the rest of the area. It's got a bad rap for good reason *cough*inept government*cough*, although like anywhere else, you can't paint the entire town with the same brush.

[toxigal]

i understand about area generalizations. when i tell people in baltimore where i live they get this look of "huh?" on their face. the underlying, upspoken question is "why on earth would a white girl live there".

but i love it.