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Old 10-17-2017, 02:10 PM
 
6 posts, read 9,946 times
Reputation: 15

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Hi There!

My young family will be leaving Dallas within 6 months with 3 relocation options: Philadelphia, Washington D.C. or Atlanta. We are not familiar with any option, we are both from Switzerland. We lived in Highland Park for 8 years and are thankfully ready to leave. We are planning visits to each area over the next few months, but I want to see opinions from area residents as to what might work best for us.

We are a very active couple, fitness is very important to us. We love an exciting, open minded, culturally diverse area. Highland Park is aesthetically beautiful, but Dallas lacked an energy that we are seeking. I feel that we want a big city with food, shopping, history, the arts, recreation, and people from all walks of life at at our fingertips. Coming from Zurich and another 3 years in London, Dallas was a major culture shock. We have always resided in the suburbs during our time in the states and are still open to that, but also open to downtown living, pending we can find a nice home with good schools and a recreation space in our budget. By the looks of it Philadelphia and DC look to be significantly more expensive for what we are used to.

Job location would be in Center City Philadelphia, McLean Virginia, or Midtown Atlanta. We are willing to commute an hour outside of that target location.

I can provide more information if I was too vague, but we don't quite know what we want, just something different then Dallas. Do people typically post in every city they are looking at? Philadelphia popped up first, so I posted here. Thank again!

When are you moving? -- Spring 2018
Where are you coming from? -- Dallas, TX
Why are you moving? -- Work
Where will you be working? -- Open.. potentially Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta
Have you been here yet? -- No

Will you buy or rent? -- Prefer to buy
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? -- House or condo, and can go up to $2M, but prefer $1.5M.
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend?
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up?

Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb? -- PA or Philadelphia

Are you married or single? Do you have children? -- Couple with 1 young daughter
Do you prefer public or private schools? -- Either or, as long as they are top notch
Do you have pets? -- 3 cats
Do you want or need a yard? -- Either a yard or some sort of recreation space.
Are you keeping a car? -- We have 3 cars, will gladly get rid of some.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? -- We are open at this point.

What do you want to be closest to?

I want everything close by, either walk or short drive.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?

Diverse

Favorite Beverage - Craft Beer, wine, water?

Wine
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Old 10-17-2017, 02:14 PM
 
5,546 posts, read 6,829,314 times
Reputation: 3826
With that budget go for a beautiful house in Rittenhouse or Fitler. You would be near the Schuylkill River Trail and could potentially walk to work. The only issue is 3 cars! Wow, that's a lot of cars. Although $1.5 - 2M will probably get you a spot or two off the street.
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Old 10-17-2017, 03:05 PM
 
1,511 posts, read 1,157,269 times
Reputation: 3159
That's a healthy budget for living in Philly, for sure!


I'm sure you'll get a similar response to the following from people in DC and Atlanta as well, because everyone likes to talk up their town, but...you'll hit a lot of the marks you're looking for (a big city with food, shopping, history, the arts, recreation, and people from all walks of life) in Philadelphia. Especially food and history. Philadelphia was the first capital of the United States and is where the Declaration of Independence was written, signed, and read to the citizenry, Ben Franklin is buried here, and there's a lot of other history too. For food, we've got amazing restaurants and a wonderful and historic market in the Reading Terminal Market. Lots to see and do in this city!
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Old 10-17-2017, 03:24 PM
 
Location: Dude...., I'm right here
1,763 posts, read 1,527,681 times
Reputation: 1987
With a budget of $1-2M, I would vote for NOVA. DC is much more aesthetic than Philly. However, if you want a better quality of life, go for Atlanta. Less congested and cheaper than both Philly and DC. In Philly, main line has the best schools. Of the 3 locations, Philly is mid Atlantic with easy access to the region.

I'd say you have a good problem trying to choose where to move, it just depends on what you want.
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Old 10-17-2017, 05:42 PM
 
10,787 posts, read 8,668,524 times
Reputation: 3983
Quote:
Originally Posted by AJNEOA View Post
With that budget go for a beautiful house in Rittenhouse or Fitler. You would be near the Schuylkill River Trail and could potentially walk to work. The only issue is 3 cars! Wow, that's a lot of cars. Although $1.5 - 2M will probably get you a spot or two off the street.
OP with that budget you could also look in western Fairmount which would put you right next to Fairmount Park, Boat House Row and Kelly Drive. The Phila. Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum and the Barnes would be a your major institutional neighbors. Fairmount is decidely more kid-friendly than either Rittenhouse or Fitler.
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Old 10-17-2017, 06:26 PM
 
Location: Villanova Pa.
4,927 posts, read 14,158,362 times
Reputation: 2714
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1ondoner View Post
With a budget of $1-2M, I would vote for NOVA. DC is much more aesthetic than Philly.


You will be hard pressed to find a more aesthetically pleasing "urban" neighborhood in the USA than Center City Philly. parts of Manhattan/ Park Slope Brooklyn /Boston is about it.

DC's urban neighborhoods pale in comparison to Society Hill , Rittenhouse,Bella Vista,Old City,Spring Garden,Art Museum.

You can find arguments that favor DC but the one you chose is charmin soft big guy.

OP look around Rittenhouse/Society Hill/Old City but do your homework and make a visit to make sure the place you choose to live is a fit for your family. Yu can easily visit both Philly and DC in a 2 day trip.

Living in Philadlephia gets you the advantage of living an hour or so from terrific summer resort beaches in South Jersey + Delaware,Maryland. Pocono Mountains are a few hours to the North and you'll be a couple hours from NYC and DC. The surrounding countyside is terrific-Great public schools in suburbs.

Last edited by toobusytoday; 11-09-2017 at 05:37 PM.. Reason: Removed the insult
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Old 10-17-2017, 09:17 PM
 
Location: Dude...., I'm right here
1,763 posts, read 1,527,681 times
Reputation: 1987
4 of the top 6 richest counties in the US are in Northern Virginia.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rainrock View Post

You will be hard pressed to find a more aesthetically pleasing "urban" neighborhood in the USA than Center City Philly. parts of Manhattan/ Park Slope Brooklyn /Boston is about it.

DC's urban neighborhoods pale in comparison to Society Hill , Rittenhouse,Bella Vista,Old City,Spring Garden,Art Museum.

You can find arguments that favor DC but the one you chose is charmin soft big guy.

OP look around Rittenhouse/Society Hill/Old City but do your homework and make a visit to make sure the place you choose to live is a fit for your family. Yu can easily visit both Philly and DC in a 2 day trip.

Living in Philadlephia gets you the advantage of living an hour or so from terrific summer resort beaches in South Jersey + Delaware,Maryland. Pocono Mountains are a few hours to the North and you'll be a couple hours from NYC and DC. The surrounding countyside is terrific-Great public schools in suburbs.

Last edited by toobusytoday; 11-09-2017 at 05:39 PM.. Reason: Removed orphaned response
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Old 10-17-2017, 09:59 PM
 
193 posts, read 201,557 times
Reputation: 737
I was born in Washington, D.C. and lived in the city for 22-years (Cleveland Park/Van Ness). I also lived in Atlanta for a short period of time. I've lived in Center City Philadelphia now for 15-years and if indeed you want "everything close by, either walk or short drive" as you say, then Center City Philly beats anything in D.C. or Atlanta by a mile!

With your budget you could afford a beautiful home in Rittenhouse or Society Hill and walk to practically everything--museums, performing/visual arts, medical care, historic attractions, parks, shopping, libraries, etc. I can't think of a neighborhood in either Washington or Atlanta that offers anything comparable in such a compact area, and if you're seriously considering McLean, Virginia then you can forget about having "everything close by". And Midtown Atlanta (or anyplace else in Atlanta for that matter) can't begin to compare with CC Philly. Visit all three and see for yourself.
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Old 10-18-2017, 07:45 AM
 
Location: Philadelphia, PA
288 posts, read 242,124 times
Reputation: 285
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1ondoner View Post
4 of the top 6 richest counties in the US are in Northern Virginia.
...So what?
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Old 10-18-2017, 07:47 AM
 
6 posts, read 9,946 times
Reputation: 15
Thank you all so much for the replies! I was up very late last night doing some research on neighborhoods and google street views, it seems that Atlanta is quite similar to Dallas, which is a red flag to us. We want to escape the Southern way of life...driving everywhere, traffic, sub-par public transit, same strip malls and sprawl in every town...

I was definitely impressed with some of Philadelphia's urban neighborhoods. Fitler Square, Society Hill, and the Logan neighborhoods looked charming. Rittenhouse area looked very exciting, but possibly too much hustle and bustle to live right in the center of the action, plus I didn't see as many areas for kids to play outside in that neighborhood.

Also, I did some research on suburban communities, just to keep those in mind since we go back and forth about the yard aspect. Radnor and Newtown Square, and Chestnut Hill stuck out to me as very nice communities. And I saw that Wayne, Media, and West Chester looked to be very walkable and lively communities considering they are not in the city. Also what about the schools in all of these communities? Can anyone share a little about those!

Also, of course we prefer a wonderful area with amenities and an educated populous, but being in the richest county or town is not our top priority, we did that in Highland Park and are over it. Not to say we won't live in a wealthy town, but that is not our make or break point.

I may copy and paste this in the DC forum as well to maximize response. Thanks

Last edited by pampam123; 10-18-2017 at 07:59 AM..
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