What's True and What's Not??? (Philadelphia, Media: fit in, apartment, lease)

[toodamngood]

I am moving to the city for work and reading the posts on this sight have made me afraid of Philadelphia...and I am someone who was born and raised in the Bronx (this is mentioned to show that I am not unaccustomed to the grittiness of urban areas).

What scares me is the apparent wide-spread nature of the crime that posters have mentioned. I am having a hard time figuring out whether or not all of the posts are accurate or just scare-tactics used by people who have an inherent fear of poor or brown people. I have looked up some of the statistics, but everything I've found refers to the city in the aggregate. So, I can't tell if the crime is concentrated in one area or if it the level of safety fluctuates widely from one block to the next. Nor can I get a sense of how wide-spread the positives (lots of restaurants, culture, etc.) are either. Can anyone help me separate fact from fiction?

What I've found so far:
FACT: Philadelphia has fewer prop. crimes than all other 1mill+ cities exc. 3 (San Diego, LA, NYC) BUT, it more violent crimes than any other city larger than 1 million [FBI Crime stats 2007]

FACT: Median income in Philly is in the bottom 25% of large cities [census update 2003]

FACT: The Philly metro area is in the top 20% regarding segregation between the Black and White population (dissmilarity index of 77%)

[juniperbleu]

In my experience, most of the violent crime does tend to be concentrated in certain areas. There is the caveat that anything can happen anywhere, but typically if you're in a good area your chances of being a victim are much lower than other areas.

Know which areas are bad, be aware of your surroundings, and have general street smarts and you should be ok. Where are you living/working?

[Tone509]

Having negotiated your way through the Bronx, you will do fine in Philly. As juniperbleu said, let us know where you're thinking of living and working and we can steer you in the right direction. If you still have a tolerance for grit and otherwise imperfect conditions, that will open up a wealth of options.

Unfortunately there is considerable truth to Philly's national crime reputation although it occurs primarily in the more challenged neighborhoods between people who know each other. There are occasional exceptions in Center City that have been publicized locally. But along with your Dunkin Donuts manager assualt by "thugs" you also have your "Bonnie and Clyde" college graduates. So go figure...

That median income ranking is interesting. I know that San Antonio is often touted for being the biggest city with the lowest cost of living and from spending time with family down there, Philly is nowhere near their level. I think what may be dragging the city down is the high percentage of under/unemployed residents. People do make money in the city but, like many metros these days, gainful employment is increasingly created in the suburbs.

Compared to NYC and the California coast, Philly is less a melting pot and more like a quilt. I'm inclined to believe there's some validity to the last figure you quote... but there are diverse areas of the city, West Mount Airy and University City being the epitome of that.

Center City is the epicenter of culture, nightlife and commerce in the city limits. It's a walkable two square miles through which most of the mass transit feeds. The definition of CC as well as University City has expanded, at least in realtors' minds, as surrounding neighborhoods have been gentrified or otherwise become more expensive. Outside of those areas, there are some interesting neighborhoods towards NW (Chestnut Hill, West(and East) Mt. Airy, Manayunk) and South Philly, for example. The Northeast aka "the concrete suburb" has the biggest collection of stable if not so lively neighborhoods; the Far Northeast is also further from Center City than some suburbs.

In short, let us know the lifestyle that you seek. Most likely you will be able to find it in or around Philly.

Originally Posted by toodamngood

I am moving to the city for work and reading the posts on this sight have made me afraid of Philadelphia...and I am someone who was born and raised in the Bronx (this is mentioned to show that I am not unaccustomed to the grittiness of urban areas).

What scares me is the apparent wide-spread nature of the crime that posters have mentioned. I am having a hard time figuring out whether or not all of the posts are accurate or just scare-tactics used by people who have an inherent fear of poor or brown people. I have looked up some of the statistics, but everything I've found refers to the city in the aggregate. So, I can't tell if the crime is concentrated in one area or if it the level of safety fluctuates widely from one block to the next. Nor can I get a sense of how wide-spread the positives (lots of restaurants, culture, etc.) are either. Can anyone help me separate fact from fiction?

What I've found so far:
FACT: Philadelphia has fewer prop. crimes than all other 1mill+ cities exc. 3 (San Diego, LA, NYC) BUT, it more violent crimes than any other city larger than 1 million [FBI Crime stats 2007]

FACT: Median income in Philly is in the bottom 25% of large cities [census update 2003]

FACT: The Philly metro area is in the top 20% regarding segregation between the Black and White population (dissmilarity index of 77%)

[From Philly]

I also think those of us who come from there or who still live there tend to maybe complain a little more than others because we know what the area(s) used to be like. And now we see it changing dramatically in some instances. But, if you come from the Bronx, I think you'll be fine here.

Like the others said, be aware of your surroundings, get to know which areas are bad and stay away if possible, and never look timid/afraid while out and about.

[john_starks]

yeah you should be fine coming from the bronx. i moved here from manhattan 3 yrs ago and found it unsafe. probably because of the lack of lighting, foot traffic and police presence in many neighborhoods. a lot of good neighborhoods rub up against seedy neighborhoods. maybe Nutter will be the next Giuliani and develop a zero tolerence policy on crime.

[herenia]

I moved to philly from a small town in southeastern kansas with a population a little above 9,000. I moved for school and no i don't have any family in philly. Just few friends who actually lived downtown. Yes, i used to live in Edina, MN which is close to minneapolis but it was a very quiet suburb. What i'm trying to say is i moved from a place where i could get up at 5am and jog around the city to west philly. Obviously i wasn't gonna run track anymore cuz there was no way in heck i was gonna get up early morning and train on the streets in west philly. Of course, i stayed east of 52nd street, more towards university city. The neighborhood there isn't the best, not so much in terms of crime cuz the bad parts of west philly tends to be north and west and 52nd but it was sketchy, people sitting at my door steps. I once came home with my bf and there were people at my doorstep. I passed through quietly without saying a thing till one guy spoke up and asked if i knew the guys sitting there. I told him i didn't and i recently moved to the area from kansas for school. He then told me they were busted for drugs. Yes, drugs in front of my house. I usually rush into my apartment and never look at them. That was one thing about west philly, people come to sit at your steps or porch like they pay your rent. I found it very uncomfortable that these people just come sit there and i was always afraid they'll do something to me. There were times i'll walk home and see arrests on the street as well. Anyway, i paid up my rent and moved downtown even before my 1year lease was over. I have lived downtown these few years and i'll tell you its safe down here. The 6th district does a good job. I had a problem trying to get the police here because the people across the street kept drumming at night but i finally walked over, filed a complaint, followed up 3 times to make sure they'll come here and check the building out and now i have my peace of mind. And before those guys started drumming, it was quiet down here. The police doesn't work like those in small towns who'll show up if your neighbors dogs are barking like crazy. You have to call again and again if you're calling about a noise related issue.
I've lived in south philly for a couple of months, maybe 2 and it was ok. I pretty much mind my own business. But if you want to stay clear from the bad places, downtown is expensive but good. Think about it: philly makes money from tourism with most tourists staying in hotels right here. Do you think they're going to let crime and drugs infiltrate the area around the convention center? You can walk around and find patrol on most streets here. There are times when i see them on my street or at times they're parked a block away from my street with their lights off but i see them as i walk from the other end towards my house. And i'm talking about walking home after 10p or 11p or even later sometimes.
Just know which areas to stay clear from and you'll become oblivious to the crime in the city. I know the only times i hear of crazy shootings is when i hear co-workers talking about one that happened a germantown school or somewhere else. If I, who moved from smalltown kansas can live here, i think you should be well beyond OK.

[bryson662001]

I'm with herenia. Try to forget about where you "think" you will be comfortable because of your race and try to find a place in Center City. You will fit in. I am honestly not aware of any neighborhood in the city that is exclusivly AA and doesn't have a crime problem. AA profesionals like you don't segregate themselves from the other races.

[herenia]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

I'm with herenia. Try to forget about where you "think" you will be comfortable because of your race and try to find a place in Center City. You will fit in. I am honestly not aware of any neighborhood in the city that is exclusivly AA and doesn't have a crime problem. AA profesionals like you don't segregate themselves from the other races.

Ditto!