Moving to Philadelphia.... NEED HELP!!! (Chester, King of Prussia: apartment, for rent, low crime)

[amiendavis]

Hi everyone. My boyfriend and I are are planning to move to Philadelphia in the next month or so for an employment opportunity and we are having trouble finding information. He will be working right down town in what I believe is called "Old City" and we are interested in finding an apartment that is close but without a lot of crime. We are considering living right in the city - I know there is a lot of crime there but because of rising gas prices, lesser time to commute, no extra parking fees, and ease of public transportation - it is still really appealing to us. Though if we are unable to find a place that meets all of those requirements in our price range and are forced to commute anyway, then we will be looking outside the city. That is where the problem lies. We are looking for a nicer area to live that has reasonable rent, low crime, is easier to get into the city, and is still fairly close with possible public transportation. With the research that I've done I'm still not satisfied with what I have found as far as what the better areas to live are. If we are going to live in the suburbs then we will still want to be within reasonable driving distances to shopping and grocery stores but not in an over populated area. If anyone out there has any comments or suggestions we would really appreciate it! Thanks for all of your time.

[Lucario]

If you are looking outside the city, Camden County in South Jersey is your best bet. If you need a small city feel in the 'burbs, I would suggest Collingswood, which is quite close to Philadelphia but far enough outside Camden city to be safe. If you want to be a bit further out but still close to Philadelphia, I would suggest Blackwood/Clementon/Gloucester Twp. Either way, you can commute to work without having to drive; the PATCO Hi-Speed Line is right there and will take you right into Center City. Parking is horrible in Philadelphia, and the Parking Authority is a veritable criminal enterprise. You can avoid the parking hassles altogether if you don't drive into the city at all; at least if you take PATCO into Center City you could do that.

[amiendavis]

Also wondering if there is any public transportation into "old city" from the main line areas?

[amiendavis]

Does anyone else have any info for me, please???

[rainrock]

You could do some research on the Mainline towns. They are approximately a 20-30 minute commute into the city and all are located on rail lines that will take you into center city.The housing stock in these towns are impressive but the apartment stock is on the older, conservative side. Lots of brick and mortar.

Mainline towns include
Bala Cynwd
Penn Valley
Ardmore
Narberth
Wynnewood
Bryn Mawr
Haverford
Rosemont
Radnor
Wayne
Paoli
Berwyn

Another nice small town is Media and its surrounding areas which are a 20 minute ride into the city via car or train.

Perhaps a more affordable area is Ridley Township especially Ridley Park.

If you want ultra modern you need to go out an hour away to King of Prussia/Valley Forge/Chester Springs/Exton/West Chester/Plymouth Meeting area in Pa or Cherry Hill in NJ

Septa has a great map showing all its routes including train routes out into the suburbs.Its fairly extensive.

The Mainline towns are along the R-5 running west out of the city.Media is on the R-3
http://www.septa.org/maps/click_map.html

You arent going to get much help from Philly people when you start off yur request with I know Philadlephia is dangerous.

Good luck.

[newmarlig]

Don't be afraid of living in or near Old City. Those areas are all safe (using common sense) and convenient to Old City (walkable in many instances, or easily reachable by public transportation). You should consider, Society Hill, Queen Village, Bella Vista, Washington Square West and Rittenhouse Square. Check craigslist for apts. in each of those neighborhoods.

[amiendavis]

thanks everyone for all of the good info. i am looking into all of these areas you mentioned. new readers: please feel free to provide more =)

[dubs08]

while many of the surrounding areas are expensive, affordable places always pop up. stay glued to craigslist. i bet you will even be able to find a place in the city this way. the best way to search on there is to be specific. put in your limit, check of the show image box, and type in the neighborhood. rittenhouse, olde city, northern liberties, bella vista, queen village, fairmount, all nice city neighborhoods. outside of center city chestnut hill/mt airy are great. chestnut hill is expensive but i know people living in apts affordably there. and as for the maine line, in the town centers - along lancaster avenue, there are usually affordable places for rent. try ardmore, haverford, bryn mawr, wayne.