Quote:
Originally Posted by jessemh431
Thank you.
So downtown would be an okay place to live, unlike downtown LA, right? I've always wanted to live in an urban environment, but I always thought most downtowns were unsafe just like in LA until I joined this site.
|
HA! In Philadelphia, the downtown area (Center City) is the SAFEST area of the city (or at least one of the safest parts). On a semi-related note, I think the main reason for that is Philadelphia has the 3rd largest downtown of any U.S. city in terms of population (behind New York/Manhattan and Chicago) and unlike many cities, there has always been a lot of people living in Philadelphia's core, even before the resurgence of downtowns in the last 10-15 years.
Being the public transit nut I am, I'll point out that there is VERY frequent public transit service of various types between Philadelphia and New York at just about all times of the day 7 days a week (with the exception of the middle of the night, and even then I think there is a little bit of service available), so if you are going to somewhere in or near NYC, especially Manhattan, driving isn't necessary (and actually is much more of a pain than taking a train or bus). Here's a summary of what's available:
TRAINS
Amtrak: they have dozens of trains every day between the 2 cities (somewhat less frequent service on weekends), though the service is expensive (and that is true not only with the Acelas but also the Regional and Keystone trains). The Acelas take just over an hour, while the Regionals and Keystones take around 90 minutes or a little less. All Amtrak trains in Philadelphia stop at 30th Street Station, which is BETWEEN the Drexel campus and the western half of Center City and is walkable from both (and of course is accessible via public transit from both too). In New York, all trains stop at Penn Station, which is underneath Madison Square Garden and is in the heart of midtown Manhattan, at 32nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.
SEPTA/NJ Transit: an arguably more popular and much cheaper option is to use the two connecting commuter rail systems to travel between Philly and NYC. SEPTA trains run hourly or more frequently most of the day every day, and NJT trains run even more frequently than that. The SEPTA R7 and NJ Transit Northeast Corridor Line connect at Trenton, and you simply switch trains there; most of the time the trains are even on the same platform (on tracks on opposite sides of the platform of course). The SEPTA/NJT option takes a little more than 2 hours for a one-way trip. As with Amtrak, you can get on the SEPTA R7 at 30th Street Station, and you can also board at Suburban Station, which is located in Center City just west of City Hall, in the 16th/17th Street and Arch Street area. In New York, the NJT train will stop at Penn Station.
BUSES
Greyhound/Peter Pan: these intercity buses run on essentially 30-60 minute schedules from early in the morning until late in the evening and I think there may be a bus or two overnight too. Trips take about 2 hours, subject to traffic conditions. The Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal is located at 1001 Filbert Street, immediately north of Market East Station and about 1 1/2 blocks from the Market-Frankford Line 11th Street station. (Filbert Street is considered a half block street and is the first parallel street north of Market Street, the main east-west street in Center City Philadelphia.) The terminal is a bit of a walk from the western half of Center City but doable. It is a very small bus station, considering the volume (which is considerable). In New York, buses stop at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which like Penn Station is in midtown Manhattan. The PABT is at 41st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, roughly one (long) block west of Times Square (which is at 42nd Street, 7th Avenue, and Broadway). Depending on how you book, roundtrips can be as cheap as $20-25 or $13 one-way.
Chinatown buses: unfortunately, we don't have Megabus here in the east yet (ever?), but these are the closest equivalent. The ultra-cheap, low end of the transportation totem pole, in Philadelphia most of these semi-informal services stop near 11th Street and Filbert Street in Center City, one block west of the Greyhound Terminal. In New York, they stop in that city's Chinatown area, which I believe is on the east side of lower Manhattan. There are no formal terminals associated with these bus routes. The buses would be even cheaper than Greyhound/Peter Pan, probably about $20 roundtrip on all trips.
BTW, Drexel's and Penn's campuses abut each other, with Penn's campus immediately south of Drexel's; Penn's campus extends further west than Drexel's, and the western part of Penn's campus is fine safety-wise. Actually, if you like what Drexel has to offer academically, you also will probably like what Penn has to offer academically as well.
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 400,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 14,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. Within the last few months our forum was cited in an article in 15 newspaper and in a story on AOL's homepage.
02-24-2008, 12:02 AM
Linear Mode
