Relocating from Denver to Philly (Philadelphia, Girard: homes, neighborhood, university)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by lofarber

😂😂😂😂😂😂 I TOTALLY hear you. Although Im moving for financial reasons cause rent in Denver is INSANE with low pay, I must admit, Im really looking for East Coast attitude and vibe again. And GREEN. I really miss green, so damn brown here. I will miss the snowboarding tho

Snowboarding is not out of the question. The Poconos are not that far from Philly.

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Tidbit:

Are you aware that the current governor, and prior mayor of Denver, is from Philly? Well, Narberth.

Yeah, Hickenlooper was Mayor of Denver when I was living in the Denver burbs, and then obviously became Governor. He may run for President at some point.

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Ugh. I can't get out of Colorado fast enough. To each his own, I guess.

To Denver's credit, I'm living in Boulder so it's not exactly the same. Boulder was recently named the happiest city in the country. If that's not enough to annoy the hell out of a life-long east coaster, I don't know what is.

Give me a filthy street and a Philly Pale Ale any friggin' day.

Yeah, being happy sucks. Filth is great!

I lived in Lone Tree, south of Denver, but would get to Boulder on occasion. It is very progressive, as are most, if not all college towns. Philly has great craft beer, but so does Denver, Fort Collins, etc.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Pilot1

Yeah, being happy sucks. Filth is great!

I lived in Lone Tree, south of Denver, but would get to Boulder on occasion. It is very progressive, as are most, if not all college towns. Philly has great craft beer, but so does Denver, Fort Collins, etc.

Boulder has become the Malibu of Colorado.

It's exhausting.

I lived here about 20 years ago and while it was on it's way, it was nowhere near the d-bag ground zero it is today.

And the property values are outRAGEOUS.

[chessimprov]

Originally Posted by lofarber

Great, thanks. My teen son is part of the community, so very important to me. Besides the LGBT youth center are there any teen clubs/hang out places in Philly?

The lgbt youth center is the Attic Youth Center. Youth could also visit William Way, although that is aimed for adults.

After Schools Activities Partnerships (ASAP) ASAP After School Activities Partnerships - one of their clubs if your teenager is into chess, Scrabble, drama, or debate. Some are with specific schools where your child must attend that school, and some are with community centers. if you must choose a Philly public school and have a few choices, looking for clubs that work with ASAP is a good criteria you could possibly use.

Payne Park and Kelly Dr. maybe, Red Caps, Dark Depths, maybe a few other small stores I don't know if into board gaming, magic, or rpgs, etc.

[lofarber]

So weird question. Can you access by foot fairmount park anywhere you want or is it blocked off / unaccessable in certain areas? Looking at google street maps seems like its not accessable everywhere?

[lofarber]

I should clarify, im talking about accessability in the fairmount neighboorhood

[rowhomecity]

I use to live in Fairmount AND Spring Garden.

You should not that these are TWO separate neighborhoods but because Fairmount Ave. is the main commercial corridor for both neighborhoods, Spring Garden often is misidentified as Fairmount.

Fairmount is an absolutely lovely neighborhood, and is EXTREMELY family oriented.

I use to joke it was the land of station wagons and strollers. Because there are just SO MANY young families that live there. Which to me was nice. Its very stable, has the perfect set of amenities, is a quiet and peaceful neighborhood. Center City is just close enough to easily catch public transit or bike. But far enough that I would not recommend walking it, as it is just a bit too far to make it efficient.

With that Fairmount is designated as the neighborhood with Fairmount Ave. as its southern border. Girard Ave. as its northern border and stretches from Pennsylvania Ave. and Fairmount Park in its western border with its Eastern border comprising of Coritnhian Ave.


MANY. MANY. MANY. realtors and other people not aware of neighborhoods in the city, LOVE to grant Fairmount a larger boundary than it technically is.

So I am not sure if you are looking within those perimeters. But everyone loves to say Fairmount, but that technically is not where they live or are looking.

It is a very common mistake for people to refer to the Spring Garden neighborhood as fairmount because it also utilizes fairmount ave. as one of its main commercial corridors, but it is indeed considered its own neighborhood.


The reason I designate these differences are because well. Spring Garden is very much in tune and walkable to Center City. PLUS you have the subway which is even a better and quicker option than walking, which I would use on a daily basis when I lived in Spring Garden to get to my job in Center City. You do not have Subway access in Fairmount, you have bus lines or a trolley. But I find the Subway is the most efficient form of transit in the city. Buses have to fight traffic on Philadelphia's small colonial streets which can affect efficiency.


And while Fairmount is certainly 100% accessible it is just a bit further and farther west where walking just is not as feasible.

Although the neighborhood is served well by public transit.


Again I have lived in BOTH the Spring Garden and Fairmount neighborhoods. Absolutely enjoyed both. And absolutely recommend them. They are beautiful, close to many amenities, very GREEN, and really share a nice balance of being close to Center City and all its amenities while maintaining a very peaceful charm.

My FAVORITE THING about living in these neighborhoods was being close to Fairmount Park.

Fairmount Park is the largest Urban Park in the nation. And one of the largest Urban Parks in the world. And since having accessibility to recreation is a top priority than I recommend Fairmount or Spring Garden 100% over Queen Village.


With that, parking is going to be a challenge in any neighborhood within Center City or close proximity too.

Monthly parking fees range from $200 - $300 a month. I have not owned a car in Philadelphia for 7 years. So I am not sure what the paid parking options are in Fairmount. My guess is that Spring Garden will offer more options.


I am going to actually recommend the Spring Garden neighborhood to you as your #1.

It is more accessible to Center City which seems like a requirement for you. It is also accessible to Fairmount Park, which will be an amenity you value. And there are more monthly parking garage options.

Here is a profile on Spring Garden:

Spring Garden - Philadelphia Neighborhoods — visitphilly.com

And a link of zillow listings:

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_ren...16_rect/14_zm/

[lofarber]

Rowhomecity, thanks so much for the detailed response, it really helps, and great point about buses and efficiency, never thought of that but it makes perfect sense. I am going to visit one more time time before we move in May, i will definitely check out spring garden!

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by lofarber

So weird question. Can you access by foot fairmount park anywhere you want or is it blocked off / unaccessable in certain areas? Looking at google street maps seems like its not accessable everywhere?

Yes, it's pretty much accessible or as least the parts you will most likely care about. As you have probably figured out the western part of Fairmount is directly connected to the park which borders the Schuylkill River. The major roadways are Kelly Drive(which is named for the Kelly family, Grace Kelly being the most known member) and MLK Drive.

Fairmount Park connects to Wissahickon Valley Park too. The latter often causes a lot of of disbelief that it's entirely in the city.

Also, Benjamin Franklin Pwkway is part of Fairmount Park.

And, afaik, Fairmount Park is still the largest municipal park in the country.