Moving tomorrow! Areas to avoid? (Washington: neighborhoods, theatre, university)

[Andthevictoris]

Hi there.

I'm relocating to Philly tomorrow (from Washington D.C.) and I am super excited. I'll be living in Old City. I have done quite a bit of research into the city and I'm slowly getting a grasp on the different neighborhoods...

What I really haven't been able to find out, however, is what areas of the city to avoid. A friend of mine said northeast philly? I'm assuming north of fishtown?

For what it's worth, I'm a 25 year-old gay black man who is involved in theatre. I don't foresee that being an issue necessarily, but I thought I would throw it out there for some background info.

Thanks everyone!

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Andthevictoris

Hi there.

I'm relocating to Philly tomorrow (from Washington D.C.) and I am super excited. I'll be living in Old City. I have done quite a bit of research into the city and I'm slowly getting a grasp on the different neighborhoods...

What I really haven't been able to find out, however, is what areas of the city to avoid. A friend of mine said northeast philly? I'm assuming north of fishtown?

For what it's worth, I'm a 25 year-old gay black man who is involved in theatre. I don't foresee that being an issue necessarily, but I thought I would throw it out there for some background info.

Thanks everyone!

Just get used to the neighborhoods near to Old City for starters: Society Hill, Washington Sq West ( includes Midtown Village/Gayborhood), Rittenhouse, Chinatown, Logan or Fitler Squares. In other words spend time at first in Center City. And, eventually, other neighbors adjacent to CC(Fairmount, Spring Garden)or explore University City or parts of S. Philly,

NE Philly is a huge area(with lots of neighborhoods)and I've never encountered any issues there. But I'm an older adult black female. For now, you will have enough to do just getting acquainted with a new city, imo.

There are parts of West/SW and North Philly that, as a newbie, you should avoid. I'm a native so I've been to those places many times without incident. But it might be wiser for you to stick closer to CC for now.

The NW neighborhoods(both Mt Airys, Chestnut Hill, Manayunk, parts of Germantown)are great but a bit far from CC. But you should explore those too in time.