Moving to Philly from Texas

[MissClutterbuck]

Originally Posted by swirling_vortex

One thing that wasn't mentioned in your post was the weather. Pennsylvania (and the northeast) in general experiences more temperature extremes and winters can be cold and windy. Walking around outside might be fun in the summer, but doing it when the wind chill is near 0 is probably not going to be pleasant. If you've never been up here in the wintertime, this weekend would be a good test as temperatures across the state Saturday night are going to be around 0.

Cost of living will probably be higher. You might be able to secure an apartment under $1000, but you're going to have to make sacrifices with commuting and/or safety. You'll also have to pay state income taxes and a city wage tax.

The wind chill is rarely near 0 here. Winter isn't as bad in Philadelphia as it is in other parts of the Northeast (and technically Philly is in the MidAtlantic).

As for being concerned about the lack of green, OP, don't be.

Philadelphia Named One Of The 10 Best Cities For Parks In The World By Frommer’s – Uwishunu – Philadelphia Blog About Things to Do, Events, Restaurants, Food, Nightlife and More

Philly's also home to one of the biggest urban green spaces in the country.

Fairmount Park — Visit Philadelphia — visitphilly.com

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by discontent_doodle

Thank you all for such stellar advice! That's a fantastic list of neighborhoods and a great place to start.

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it in person so I can really get a feel for it. The lack of green is a little concerning -- I'm a city girl, but I love love love trees and grass: )

MissClutterbuck: I certainly hope to move there WITH a job, but you just never know. I'm willing to struggle along with with my savings for a couple of months before I find something. I've done it before, thought it's obviously not ideal. I do have a licence so I could do Zipcar -- I just really hate driving and parking: )

Kidphilly: I'm worried about COL in DC (though Boston is no better!) as well as being surrounded by politics. Maybe it's not noticeable, but I have a bit of a dislike for the political scene. It seems like an amazing place though and maybe worth checking out when I'm out that way.

Oddly the answers so far have not mentioned that Philadelphia has the largest, I think, urban park in the country: Fairmount Park.

[Steinish]

Originally Posted by Kamms

Wonder if you will stay socially liberal if you move to Baltimore; Philly is better but neither place is Austin TX. Boston, too expensive, especially with your housing budget.

I met quite a few transplants here who changed their views after a few years of dealing with the natives.

[FrankInPhilly]

Originally Posted by MissClutterbuck

The wind chill is rarely near 0 here. Winter isn't as bad in Philadelphia as it is in other parts of the Northeast (and technically Philly is in the MidAtlantic).

As for being concerned about the lack of green, OP, don't be.

Philadelphia Named One Of The 10 Best Cities For Parks In The World By Frommer’s – Uwishunu – Philadelphia Blog About Things to Do, Events, Restaurants, Food, Nightlife and More

Philly's also home to one of the biggest urban green spaces in the country.

Fairmount Park — Visit Philadelphia — visitphilly.com

My wife and I moved from NC to Philly. I grew up in NYC and went to college in Philly, so I was used to NorthEast weather, my wife ... not so much. Here's a link to a page on my woefully out of date Why Philly? web site: http://philly.codecraftersinc.com/st...imatezones.gif. As you can see, a lot of the climate zone maps put Piedmont/central NC and southeast PA in the same zone. Summers are much better (cooler, less humid, but shorter) than NC or Austin. And winter is less atrocious than Boston.

[FissFiss]

Hey!

Austin resident here as well looking to move to the east coast, most likely Philly, though sooner than you (in the next 6 months).

Just thought I would give a shout out and let you know you're not alone!!!

[discontent_doodle]

Hi FissFiss! Good to know I'm not the only one: ) I wish you the best of luck for your move! It's a little daunting, but I'm looking forward to it.