Moving to Phily next week (Philadelphia, Springfield: apartment, rent, low crime)

[ely]

Hello i´m moving from fairfax city,virginia in washington dc metropolitan area to philadelphia
I have a 7 years old child,i want to know where is the safest neighborhoods to live with my child and my husband
Please let me know any informations about schools , good neighborhoods,and any other info that you concern important
I will be at the New College Building, Hahnemann University Hospital ,no idea about the area or the hospital itself.

please i will appreciate any information
thank you
waiting to hear from you

[newmarlig]

Originally Posted by ely

Hello i´m moving from fairfax city,virginia in washington dc metropolitan area to philadelphia
I have a 7 years old child,i want to know where is the safest neighborhoods to live with my child and my husband
Please let me know any informations about schools , good neighborhoods,and any other info that you concern important
I will be at the New College Building, Hahnemann University Hospital ,no idea about the area or the hospital itself.

please i will appreciate any information
thank you
waiting to hear from you

Welcome to Philly. Hahnemann is in a great hospital very close (walkable) to center city. You didn't say if you want to live in the city of suburbs. If it's the city, I would suggest the Fairmount area, or University City (be sure you are in the catchment for the Sadie Alexander School), or Queen Village (ditto for the Meredith School). These are all fairly close to the hospital, although only Logan Square is really walkable. The others would require public transportation (bus). However, the other two areas mentioned have the better public schools as mentioned above. You might want to consider a private school if you move to that area, such as Friends Select.

West Mt. Airy would be another good choice. It's further out, but still within the city limits. Your husband could take the R8train to Surburban Station and walk to the hospital. The best public school there is Henry and also many superior private schools.

West Mt. Airy Neighbors - Moving to Mt. Airy

SEPTA

If you are looking for the suburbs. I suggest either Ardmore or Narberth on the main line. The schools are excellent and the R5 train would being your husband to suburban station.

SEPTA

There are many, many other good areas in and around the city, but this is just a start. If you have any specific questions, please post them. Good luck.

[orrmobl]

I agree with everything except University City...that area is just not safe at night for people traveling solo. They have rashes of muggings and rapes in that area every other year or so. I refused to take my kid to the Penn emergency room at night bc it meant parking in U City at night.

If you're from Fairfax County VA, you should be looking at the Main Line. Areas closer to the city include Narberth, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Haverford and Lower Merion. Wayne, Berwyn, Devon, Paoli are further out but have the best public schools. Radnor, St. Davids, Strafford, Rosemont, Gladwyne are in the middle, still great schools and where the big money is...just depends on what you have to spend, how far from the city you want to be and what your tolerance for snobbishness is...

Depending on how much money you're looking to spend, the Delco suburbs Springfield/Broomall/Havertown/Wallingford/Swarthmore/Media are all fairly close to the city and have good to great schools.

[Rosseau]

I used to work at Hahnemann. I communted from across the bridge in South Jersey. The one thing that bothers me about Philly is the increasing crime and the unpredictability of where it will happen.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by Apartment Broker

I used to work at Hahnemann. I communted from across the bridge in South Jersey. The one thing that bothers me about Philly is the increasing crime and the unpredictability of where it will happen.

I'm not denying crime is a major issue in the city, but to say it's increasing is incorrect. Violent crime actually went down 8% in 2007 compared to 2006. Not a huge drop, but at least it's a move in the right direction:

"Lambasted early this year for Philadelphia's rising crime rate, Mayor Street is on the verge of handing off the city to Michael Nutter with all forms of violent crime in retreat.

After four years of increases, reported violent crimes were down 8 percent as of Sunday, according to statistics compiled by the Police Department."

Violent crime dips in Phila. | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/13/2007 (broken link)

[emroyka]

Yes, Hahnemann Hospital is very easy to access from South Jersey via the Ben Franklin bridge and 676/Vine St. Expressway (though I can't vouch for the traffic) and I think it'd be a faster commute than the Main Line. Property tax is notoriously expensive though AFAIK. Cherry Hill, Moorestown, Collingswood, Haddonfield (if you can afford it!) are all nice neighborhoods there and from what I understand have good school districts...correct me if I'm wrong though.

[billb7581]

Cinnaminson is good (adjacent to Moorestown), and you could take the River Line to the Patco station to downtown.

[ely]

billb7581
emroyka
duderino
Rosseau
orrmobl
newmarlig

THANKS for answering me
I really appreciate your time and commitement
I am still confused and frightened by moving to Philly. I really don’t understand your perception of high and \ or low crime rate. This is a little confused for me .
I will pick one place to live from your advice please feel free to answer and explain me as much as you can about the city its neighborhood and Philly life style.
People like you make me feel confident and right to move to Philly
You are very nice and kindly persons
God bless you
I expect my neighbors could be like you
ELY

[JerzBoy]

Are you looking to buy or rent ely? As far as safety and schools go.....your best bet would be South Jersey as its much easier to commute to Center City than the majority of the PA suburbs.

Will you have a car or be looking to take public transportation into the city? Easy public transportation towns would be Collingswood, Westmont, Haddonfield, Cinnaminson. If you will have a car than your options will open up considerably. Also a price range would help us narrow it down.

[billb7581]

I work in Philadelphia, and guys that live in the decent areas of the Northeast, send their kids to Catholic school.

You're best bet for the entire safety/school package with a reasonable commute is probably something in western Burlington or Camden counties.