Looking for some insight on neighborhoods in Philadelphia! (Ardmore, Parkside: crime, homes)

[MarketStEl]

"How difficult is it to find work in Philadelphia? Especially close to CCP."

If I read you right, you've got retail, data entry and some IT skills under your belt.

The immediate vicinity of the Community College is not a major employment center, though you will see the carcasses of buildings that once housed hundreds of workers all around it.

1500 Spring Garden is the former main manufacturing facility for the drug maker Smith, Kline & French (now GlaxoSmithKline, most of whose US operations are now in North Carolina although US headquarters for this Anglo-American company are split between here and Research Triangle Park, NC); it now houses a carrier hotel (server space for Internet hosts), the engineering firm of Day & Zimmerman and the studios of KYW-TV (CBS3) and WPSG-TV (CW57). That's probably as many people as work in any building around CCP besides the College itself (and you might want to check out the employment opportunities there).

I wouldn't recommend looking for work at the School District of Philadelphia, housed in the building that once contained The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News' presses at 500 North Broad. Too much drama surrounding the district, which is trying to shed expenses furiously. (The rest of the former Inky HQ is in the hands of Bart Blatstein, who also converted the former Philadelphia State Office Building at the SW corner of Broad and Spring Garden into apartments; we have no idea what his plans for that place are now that his casino bid was rebuffed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.)

North American Publishing Company is housed across from the former Inquirer Building at 401 North Broad, but it sounds to me like you don't have much publishing experience. I had a hard time getting noticed when the company posted openings for one of its many trade publications.

There are some small shops along Spring Garden that cater to CCP students and nearby residents.

You'll find richer soil in Center City proper (two stops south on the Broad Street Line; if you settle in NoLibs, the El--'scuse me, Market-Frankford Line--runs along its principal axis, Market Street) and University City (30th and 34th Street MFL stations and all of the stations in the trolley subway from 30th Street to the 40th Street portal, inclusive); U-City has become a "second downtown" of sorts and is home to the city's largest private employer, the University of Pennsylvania (including its Health System); Drexel University, the University of the Sciences and the denizens of the University City Science Center also make for rich job-hunting.

To the north of CCP is the city's second-largest higher education institution, Temple University. It's located between Cecil B. Moore and Susquehanna-Dauphin stations on the Broad Street Line; Cecil B., 3 stops up from Spring Garden, is the gateway to the campus. Again, check out the opportunities there.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by nabwong

No worries. Another place to consider is west philly near Clark park area. You can take the green line trolley into center city. I'd say, don't venture further than 48th st. (South of spruce and north of Springfield)

There's nothing wrong with venturing to at least 50th St now especially on Baltimore Ave. And what's wrong with Chester Ave, up to 49th?

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

From Northern Liberties, why take the El? It's a straight shot over to CCP on the Route 43 bus, which follows Spring Garden Street. Its eastern end is at Penn Treaty Park, so parts of Fishtown are also convenient to it; to the west of campus, it runs through Powelton Village (OK) and West Powelton and Mantua (not yet) en route to its western end at 50th and Parkside Loop.

The buses are fine, folks! Really!

Service on the 43 sucks and on weekends it's worse.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

"How difficult is it to find work in Philadelphia? Especially close to CCP."

If I read you right, you've got retail, data entry and some IT skills under your belt.

The immediate vicinity of the Community College is not a major employment center, though you will see the carcasses of buildings that once housed hundreds of workers all around it.

1500 Spring Garden is the former main manufacturing facility for the drug maker Smith, Kline & French (now GlaxoSmithKline, most of whose US operations are now in North Carolina although US headquarters for this Anglo-American company are split between here and Research Triangle Park, NC); it now houses a carrier hotel (server space for Internet hosts), the engineering firm of Day & Zimmerman and the studios of KYW-TV (CBS3) and WPSG-TV (CW57). That's probably as many people as work in any building around CCP besides the College itself (and you might want to check out the employment opportunities.

[....]

North American Publishing Company is housed across from the former Inquirer Building at 401 North Broad, but it sounds to me like you don't have much publishing experience. I had a hard time getting noticed when the company posted openings for one of its many trade publications.

Independence Blue Cross is also in 1500 Spring Garden and Sungard is in 401 N Broad.

[masonbauknight]

How about the neighborhood north of Spring Garden St. and south of Fairmount, within walking distance of the CCP? I lived around there in the early 1990s when it was quite edgy, but far cheaper than the areas to the south. It would have to be out of the OP's price range now -- my 1992 rent off 19th St. for a small 1-bedroom walkup (an aged but decent building) was $425, so that has probably more than doubled by now. I've read that Whole Foods has opened nearby, and I'm sure the area's in demand by young singles and families. I often wonder what the rents are like -- and if it's safer. I felt some paranoia back then, even before a neighbor got mugged at gunpoint in front of an ATM on Spring Garden (he was at the machine just before midnight, something I never would have risked anyway).

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by masonbauknight

How about the neighborhood north of Spring Garden St. and south of Fairmount, within walking distance of the CCP? I lived around there in the early 1990s when it was quite edgy, but far cheaper than the areas to the south. It would have to be out of the OP's price range now -- my 1992 rent off 19th St. for a small 1-bedroom walkup (an aged but decent building) was $425, so that has probably more than doubled by now. I've read that Whole Foods has opened nearby, and I'm sure the area's in demand by young singles and families. I often wonder what the rents are like -- and if it's safer. I felt some paranoia back then, even before a neighbor got mugged at gunpoint in front of an ATM on Spring Garden (he was at the machine just before midnight, something I never would have risked anyway).

You're talking about Spring Garden and Francisville. The latter is going through tremendous change and development wrt gentrification. Lots of singles and families with young children.

The current Whole Foods, at 20th and Callowhill, is being replaced by a much larger store at 22nd and Pennsylvania Ave.

I moved into Spring Garden in 1995 so I know about it being sketchier back then. There's no blight at all now. New infill housing on Mt Vernon, Wallace, 19th thru 15th and along Fairmount Ave toward Broad St.

[nabwong]

Originally Posted by kyb01

There's nothing wrong with venturing to at least 50th St now especially on Baltimore Ave. And what's wrong with Chester Ave, up to 49th?

I meant those as relative points. One or two blocks off is cool. I work in that area and have seen a good transition the past couple years. Also being closer to Clark park would probably be more convenient for her.

[masonbauknight]

Originally Posted by kyb01

You're talking about Spring Garden and Francisville. The latter is going through tremendous change and development wrt gentrification. Lots of singles and families with young children.

The current Whole Foods, at 20th and Callowhill, is being replaced by a much larger store at 22nd and Pennsylvania Ave.

I moved into Spring Garden in 1995 so I know about it being sketchier back then. There's no blight at all now. New infill housing on Mt Vernon, Wallace, 19th thru 15th and along Fairmount Ave toward Broad St.

Thanks for the update, kyb01. Brings back so many memories. (I was much younger, too, in 1992.)

[Clark Park]

Originally Posted by nabwong

No worries. Another place to consider is west philly near Clark park area. You can take the green line trolley into center city. I'd say, don't venture further than 48th st. (South of spruce and north of Springfield)

All of the Spruce Hill, Garden Court, and Cedar Park neighborhoods in University City are fine. That extends to 50th Street now. The steamroller of gentrification, historic preservation, yuppies and hipsters, and all the rest are pushing westward even to 52nd Street. On a recent trip to Malcolm X Park I found only young white "professional looking" people walking purebred lap dogs in that park, after stopping off at a chic cafe on 52nd Street and enjoying their Lattes and Mochaccinos. (Believe it!)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Clark Park

All of the Spruce Hill, Garden Court, and Cedar Park neighborhoods in University City are fine. That extends to 50th Street now. The steamroller of gentrification, historic preservation, yuppies and hipsters, and all the rest are pushing westward even to 52nd Street. On a recent trip to Malcolm X Park I found only young white "professional looking" people walking purebred lap dogs in that park, after stopping off at a chic cafe on 52nd Street and enjoying their Lattes and Mochaccinos. (Believe it!)

I generally agree with you about a lot of stuff. But seriously, I have to take issue with the idea that ALL the African-Americans, some of whom have been residents in W. Phila(west of 52nd)for generations(including my family) are crime driven maniacs who don't care about their homes or their immediate neighborhoods.

Just stop with this veiled racism.