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I'm seriously considering moving to Philadelphia and was hoping that some of you who live there and/or are familiar with it could help me with your advice/opinions. I realize that this message may be a tad long, and that you may not want to answer some or all of my questions, but any input would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!
- I am a licensed court interpreter in my current state (TX), and I am eligible to apply for reciprocity in PA. The only caveat is that PA requires me to have a PA address in order to accept my paperwork and to allow me to attend a required two day orientation. After these steps, I have to wait for them to process my file and grant me my PA license. After this, I try to find work. This profession is amenable to freelancing, and once I have the license it shouldn't take too long to find freelancing assignments (or so I think). My question to you is, do you have any recommendation of how I could get a local PA address while I wait for my licensing requirements and processing (a 2-3 month process)?? Any pointers on how I could find someone who would be willing to serve as my PA address for these purposes, and forward me the associated mail to TX?? I really want to avoid renting a place for the processing time since I wouldn't be bringing in any income if I'm in PA. And renting a place in PA while I'm still working in TX seems like a colossal waste of money.
- On another note, I would be making the type of move that is more stereotypical of people in their 20s (I'm 32) - ie. moving to a new city without knowing anyone there and winging it. I seem ok with the idea, but was wondering if from someone else's perspective it would seem nuts - What do you think?? I have zero debt and savings that could sustain me for at least 1 to 1.5 yrs given my frugal lifestyle. I just really want to move to a more walkable city where there is decent public transit, and that has a lot of the characteristics that Philadelphia seems to have.
- Once I'm ready to go there, where would you recommend I could find a studio or 1br with a kitchen in an area of town where I could walk for most, if not all, of my daily needs and that is still reasonably safe?? I realize that I may have to drive for work, but well, as long as everything else is walkable that would be great. I hope to pay no more than $1000/month with all utilities including internet - am I being realistic? I'm open to living with roommates if it's a place with a lot of space, if not, I rather live in a tiny place by myself.
- Regarding my car, assuming my apt doesn't come with a parking spot, how much should I expect to spend for parking per month? How do I go about finding a parking spot or garage?
- Anything else that you think I should keep in mind or think about if I do move to Philadelphia? What are some things that newcomers to the city are often surprised about (either positive, negative, or other)??
- Is it ok to call it Philly, or is that annoying to locals??
- Anything else you want to add about Philadelphia??
Don't think I can help you with the mailing address bit, especially since lots of mail gets delivered to former tenants at my address and yours stands a high chance of getting buried in that pile therefore, but I might be able to speak a bit on the where-to-live query.
At the price you list as your upper limit, your options are pretty much these:
--Get a roommate and a 2-bedroom apartment in Washington Square West or similar mid-tier Center City neighborhood;
--Get your own apartment in South Philly, especially East Passyunk Crossing/Passyunk Square. (Though rents there may have hit roommate level too.)
You might also be able to consider some University City addresses as well.
Philadelphians are friendlier than their reputation makes them out to be, but the local addytood is real. And while the natives may diss this place to high heaven, you better not.
Ugh - bureaucracy! No ideas. Is there a mailing/parcels store that could provide a PO box type of thing and yet not sound like a PO box address?
Your housing budget is totally reasonable. You can find a 1BR in a safe, walkable neighborhood.
"Philly" is fine. Just don't spell it "Phili" (even though that would seem to make more sense).
I think you'll like Philadelphia. I remember having the same type of age-related trepidations the first time I moved to Philly, and realizing that while, yes, the neighborhood was full of younger people, it was also full of people my age and older. And it was fine.
Thank you for the replies MarketStEl and Hallouise!
I'm actually going for a quick Philly visit on May 17-19, 2015. If my feelings about Philly don't change and/or if they become more positive, then I'll probably be making the move in about 3-4 months.
Two offers for anyone interested, whether you have replied or not:
1 - Meet me for lunch during one of these days and just talk to me about Philly - lunch is on me.
2 - Regarding the address, I will get a PO Box while my paperwork gets processed. If, and only if for some reason I am asked for a residential address, I will give a $30 Amazon gift card to whomever lets me use their PA address. Nothing will ever be mailed to you since the PO Box will be the mailing address. You don't have to give me the address in advance - just let me know by a PM that you are willing to in case it becomes necessary. You can also ask me for any information so you can be sure that I am not doing anything shady.
Also, if anyone can comment on the parking situation that would be appreciated - do most studios/apts come with a parking spot?? If not, how do I get a dedicated spot on the street or garage and how much?? Is it ok to leave my car parked in a spot or garage for days or weeks at a time??
Anything else you want to add about Philly is welcome.
Thanks.
I can't help you with the parking question, but I sure don't think most apartments in that price range come with their own spot. I do love the fact that you asked whether the term "Philly" would annoy the locals! You sound very sweet. "Philly" is fine, and the locals usually just say "the city", as in "I commute to the city every day for work". Which usually means "center city"; otherwise, you'd be saying, "I commute to West Philly...or 'the Northeast'..."...or a particular neighborhood within the city, like "Chestnut Hill" or "Frankford", etc. But you'll get used to it! I always give out-of-towners a heads-up that Philly people are intense....talk and move fast, passionately loyal to our sports teams, not laid-back by any means, so that can be a culture shock for a Southern or Midwest type of gal. But I think it's a wonderful city and I will always be proud to call myself a Philadelphian! Good luck to you and hope it all works out...
Parking is usually not part of the deal with apartments in Philly, unless you are fortunate enough to find one in a large apartment development that has on-site parking. Don't hold your breath expecting to find one, though. If that matters to you, your odds of finding apartments with parking improve if you look in the outlying districts in the northeast and northwest parts of the city: Germantown, Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill, and much of the Central and Far Northeast. (The Oak Lanes are not as fertile ground for apartments, period.) If you don't mind the commute, you will also quite likely find apartments in these areas where you can live by yourself in a very nice unit and remain within your housing budget. You can, if you like, leave your car at home and take SEPTA Regional Rail in from most of the Northwest Philly neighborhoods you might want to look into; in the Northeast, that's not an option really, and the bus routes that serve the district take a good little while to reach Frankford Transportation Center, the jumping-off point for rapid transit into Center City.
There's no such thing as "reserved" on-street parking, though in some neighborhoods in the winter, residents treat parking spaces they've dug out as their private property. There are residential parking permit systems in most neighborhoods in Center City, University City and South Philly that allow permit holders to ignore the time limits for on-street parking. I think you can find information about these permits on the Philadelphia Parking Authority website.
Jaime - Are you looking to freelance solely in the city, or surrounding areas?
One thing you may want to consider is that there is a Philadelphia Work Tax for working in the city (regardless of where you live) and there is a Philadelphia Resident Tax for living in the city (regardless of where you work). The Resident tax is higher and both are around 4%.
Personally, when I lived in PA (now in NY), I lived outside of the city and worked in the city. The 4% withholding was only applicable on the days I worked IN the city. The days that I worked in other suburbs, I was able to claim exemption for the Philadelphia work tax.
At the end of the day, when filing your local tax return (in addition to your state and federal return, which might be new since TX doesn't have state withholding), you are liable to file with your RESIDENT local liability. Generally, when working in Philly, you'll have more withholding held than you are responsible for in your locality. Your locality will get their credit from Philly.
Unfortunately, Philly will keep the difference for themselves and you won't get a refund for the amount withheld beyond your liability.
Hopefully that helps, as taxes could play a part in determining where you live.
Jaime - Are you looking to freelance solely in the city, or surrounding areas?
One thing you may want to consider is that there is a Philadelphia Work Tax for working in the city (regardless of where you live) and there is a Philadelphia Resident Tax for living in the city (regardless of where you work). The Resident tax is higher and both are around 4%.
Personally, when I lived in PA (now in NY), I lived outside of the city and worked in the city. The 4% withholding was only applicable on the days I worked IN the city. The days that I worked in other suburbs, I was able to claim exemption for the Philadelphia work tax.
At the end of the day, when filing your local tax return (in addition to your state and federal return, which might be new since TX doesn't have state withholding), you are liable to file with your RESIDENT local liability. Generally, when working in Philly, you'll have more withholding held than you are responsible for in your locality. Your locality will get their credit from Philly.
Unfortunately, Philly will keep the difference for themselves and you won't get a refund for the amount withheld beyond your liability.
Hopefully that helps, as taxes could play a part in determining where you live.
The tax is called the wage tax.
Otherwise, the description is roughly accurate: anyone who lives or works in the city of Philadelphia pays it. The rate in both cases is now below 4 percent; it's about 3.9 percent for residents and a half-percentage-point lower for nonresidents who work in the city.
Jaime - Are you looking to freelance solely in the city, or surrounding areas?
One thing you may want to consider is that there is a Philadelphia Work Tax for working in the city (regardless of where you live) and there is a Philadelphia Resident Tax for living in the city (regardless of where you work). The Resident tax is higher and both are around 4%..........................................
Hopefully that helps, as taxes could play a part in determining where you live.
I'm looking to freelance both in the city and the surrounding area, at least in the beginning while I get acquainted with how work is distributed in the region and find my niche.
Thank you for bringing this up, it helps a lot - taxes are something that I know I'm supposed to consider but have been procrastinating in doing so (out of sight out of mind). So it seems then that combined it would be roughly a 7.5-8% tax in addition to my federal taxes. That sounds a bit disheartening, but well, I have to deal with the reality of the numbers.
Is the Philadelphia Resident Tax anywhere within the city limits, or is it just the core of the city?
Which surrounding areas (where I wouldn't pay the Resident Tax) could meet the criteria for having a car-free or car-diminished life (except for work since my job would require me to travel to different places)?
Living in a walkable area is part of the allure that makes me want to move to Philly, so I definitely don't want to end-up in a car-dependent suburb since I have plenty of that here.
For those of you who pay it, is the Resident Tax worth it? Are you getting what you pay for?
For those who live in the surrounding areas, is the Resident Tax one of your main reasons for not living within the city?
Thanks.
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