Is Philly a good alternative for NYC?

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Montezia

Apparently over here the minimum standard of good living means 100k.

"Over here" where?

Half the households in the metropolitan area make $56k a year or less, and the Living Wage Calculator gives the minimum figure needed to meet basic needs for a family of four in the region as $69,059 if both parents work and $53,977 if one works and the other stays home.

Or do you mean something more by "good living"? The figures here cover taxes plus expenses for food (not including dining out), housing, child care, transportation, medical expenses, and other expenses (including clothing, personal care items, housekeeping supplies, and reading material). I think that if you added a reasonable amount of dining out to the mix, you'd still be comfortably below $100,000. Even adding vacation travel should keep that figure for a two-working-parent family of four below six figures.

[Montezia]

Sorry if my post wasn't clear. I meant to say for Seattle. I've met a lot of people that seem to look down on my nursing work and that's disheartening.

[TownDweller]

Originally Posted by Montezia

I think working class is a better term.

Apparently over here the minimum standard of good living means 100k. I grew up in a town in Tn and didn't know anyone that made over 60k (not exaggerating). In nursing there's always physical labor involved. Fortunately I work in home health so there's less of that (but it really depends on your client) than in a facility where you never catch a break.

I'm not bothered by the techie people although I am bothered you have people who make outrageous amounts of money for desk work (I'm not putting them down because I know these people are smart) and other people who will be screwed over with the minimum wage rising.

It would be nice to be around people who know working class doesn't always mean poor or struggler. Seattle probably has some of the most clueless people I've met (and I've been to different states in the south and lived in the NE). I guess if more money equal less common sense then I'm glad I don't have obscene amounts of it.

All these responses so far are pretty good and helpful.

Working class is a pretty broad class of people and traditionally referred to those who work for wages and do not own the means of production. It includes both blue collar (laborers) and white collar (office) employees. So a nurse, a police officer and also an IT analyst would be working class in the traditional definition.

Commonly used, it tends to lean towards those who use physical labor to earn a living. And who earn lower wages And it often carries a negative connotation. In my experience, a lot of people who work in offices look down on those whose work includes working with their hands. Even though some, like nurses, technicians and chiropractors, require significant education and skill.

[eliza61nyc]

Originally Posted by Montezia

Sorry if my post wasn't clear. I meant to say for Seattle. I've met a lot of people that seem to look down on my nursing work and that's disheartening.

lol, for some reason Nurses and Teachers have always gotten a bad rap. I really do think that one small part of it is that these are traditionally occupations held by women and well, we won't get into the whole income inequality thing there.

Don't let it get to you. I have a cousin who just became a nurse practitioner, lol she says everyone dismisses nurses until they need one.

[TownDweller]

Nurses deserve far more respect than they are given.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by eliza61nyc

lol, for some reason Nurses and Teachers have always gotten a bad rap. I really do think that one small part of it is that these are traditionally occupations held by women and well, we won't get into the whole income inequality thing there.

Don't let it get to you. I have a cousin who just became a nurse practitioner, lol she says everyone dismisses nurses until they need one.

More men are getting into it, which...well, we know this already, should help some of the income disparities.

One of my cousins(a guy),is a nurse in the Emergency area at Einstein Medical Center. He has three degrees( 2 in psych from Temple) and 1 in nursing(LaSalle).

My sister is a retired nurse practitioner.

I wonder where all the nurses who worked for Hahnemann ended up.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by kyb01

More men are getting into it, which...well, we know this already, should help some of the income disparities.

One of my cousins(a guy),is a nurse in the Emergency area at Einstein Medical Center. He has three degrees( 2 in psych from Temple) and 1 in nursing(LaSalle).

My sister is a retired nurse practitioner.

I wonder where all the nurses who worked for Hahnemann ended up.

Don't know, but I'm sure they'll all land somewhere. There is such a need for health professionals at all levels, but especially for the 2nd level group: NPs and PAs.

[MaryL1968]

Originally Posted by Montezia

Thanks for all the great responses.

I've never felt unsafe in nyc even as a small, young looking woman. Brownsville was the exception though. But when I did go out at night 75% of the time it was in Manhattan around Times Square. I also learned real quick where all the bad areas were. Even when I lived out by Yankee Stadium in the Bronx I used to be out past midnight and there was only one time I was followed by a weirdo. Rather than being scared my response was simply to look around and see if I could find a beer bottle nearby and use that to defend myself if I needed to. The police presence is very high in nyc. They are everywhere from the curb to the libraries and especially abundant in Manhattan. I'm not sure if this will be true for Philly. It'd pretty hard not to see a cop every 15 minutes or less in nyc especially if you are on the go.

As far as transportation goes I am getting to a point where I want to step away from using mass transit if I can't walk to where I'm getting to. That's one thing I forgot to mention. Seattle isn't totally anti-pedestrian but it feels like I have to walk further than I had to in nyc to get necessities. Much of Seattle feels like a food desert without a car. And the idea of riding a bus just to go somewhere new to eat seems ridiculous to me. I really miss having good spaghetti restaraunts.

I work in home health as a private duty nurse. It's basically shift work in someone's home for 10 hours a day. Honestly it doesn't feel like work and in a way almost feels like a scam that I get paid so much to sit and do whatever for most of my shift. But I'm not complaining. I get so much work and hobbies done on my current schedule.

Obviously Philadelphia is cold but is it the same as nyc? Any minor differences?

I think Seattle IS missing that blue-collar feel. Whatever grungy environment it supposedly had in the 90s is gone now. I feel that Seattle is sterile and lacking in culture compared to the east coast. A lot of people here seem to kinda look down on trade work even though I work in a trade and am not struggling whatsoever. Also apparently a lot of the people I've met in my art studio don't think working class people pursing their hobbies is a thing. Some of the bizarre responses I've gotten working and going to school are getting old and annoying.

I've been watching walking tour videos of the Philadelphia and a lot of it does remind me of the outer boroughs.

You might check out the Summerton area of "Far Northeast Philadelphia." This area is one of the safest in the city and has good provision for parking. It has good housing and shopping and although it has a quasi suburban feel, Center City is still accessible for entertainment. You can park by the elevated subway at Frankford Transportation Center and ride the el downtown or taking an Uber from home won't cost a lot.

I would avoid North Philly as that's a high drug area with a lot of violent crime similar to Brownsville in Brooklyn.

[bursitis]

Originally Posted by MaryL1968

You might check out the Summerton area of "Far Northeast Philadelphia." This area is one of the safest in the city and has good provision for parking. It has good housing and shopping and although it has a quasi suburban feel, Center City is still accessible for entertainment. You can park by the elevated subway at Frankford Transportation Center and ride the el downtown or taking an Uber from home won't cost a lot.

I would avoid North Philly as that's a high drug area with a lot of violent crime similar to Brownsville in Brooklyn.

*Somerton.


Not to be confused with the low-end Summerdale.