Is Philly crime really as bad as everyone says? (Philadelphia: home, live)

[sbhubbell]

Hmm, West Chester is definitly a hike from center city. Media is much closer, but still not sure if you can find what you're looking for under 200K. I might suggest some of the working class Delco towns too, like Drexel Hill, Ridley Park, Morton, maybe Havertown.

[scubashawn68]

Originally Posted by Tone509

Under $200K will be tough unless you're comfortable with a TH. The cost of housing is definitely higher up here than in GA. I don't recall if you've mentioned in other posts whether you will be working in Center City. If not, then knowing your work location will help us in helping you.

I think your family may be happy in places like West Chester (which I see you're already looking into on another thread) and Media, for example. You may find some homes in your price range in one of the more working-class communities also in Delaware County. Other than that, you may have to travel out so far outside the city that any savings may be be eaten up by your commuting costs.

On a previous post I stated that I will have a home office and have to travel all over the area. So, where I live is really unimportant regarding the job.

[Deep77]

When asking questions about Philly, it is very important that you ask actual residents of Philadelphia and not those who live in the 'burbs' or worse New Jersey. Montgomery County might as well be another state. To most suburbanites, Philadelphia might as well be Baghdad, because that's all they hear about in the news. They only go into Philly for Phillies' games or to be obnoxiously drunk in Old City, so they have no clue how the residents are. Or what life is like for us here.

Contrary to what these people say, from my personal experience, people who live here do have a genuine sense of optimism for the city. I've met former New Yorkers who see the potential of Philly, and I've met natives who despite the all the flack could never live anywhere else. A lot of people feel more optimistic with the Nutter administration. There is a feeling that the city is moving up.

Yes, Philly has a pretty high homicide rate. Which should be expected, given the lax gun laws in Pennsylvania, causing a high availability of guns in Philly. Homicides in Philadelphia are much like homicides in every other case in America, where the murders know their victims. So unless you plan to sell drugs in the Northeast, then you should have nothing to worry about.

I live in West Philadelphia, where contrary to popular perception, it isn't as bad as people say. NO, I never have been robbed or shot at. The worst thing to ever happen to me is a homeless guy asking for change. And in that has happened only a couple of times. My neighborhood is known for it's large Victorian style homes, that no suburban developer could ever dream of. It has an eclectic mix of Penn and Drexel students, Ethiopian and West African immigrants, young professionals, and even young parents. Yes, you can raise a child in Philadelphia, there are plenty of people that do. Not to mention trolley and bus service into Center City that takes about 15 minutes. Obviously, the closer you are to the Penn and Drexel campuses you are the better the area, however you can go as far as 50th Street and be safe. There is much to be improved, but much has already have been done.

This neighborhood is a 1000x's better than my old neighborhood in Hamilton, NJ. Which I would like to describe as an amorphous blob of concrete.

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by Deep77

Yes, Philly has a pretty high homicide rate. Which should be expected, given the lax gun laws in Pennsylvania, causing a high availability of guns in Philly. Homicides in Philadelphia are much like homicides in every other case in America, where the murders know their victims.

Now there you just lost me. The violence is a lot of gang violence and criminal vs. criminal violence over drugs. "Lax gun laws" are not to blame as by definition criminals break the law, the get the guns illegally. Do you think criminals are law abiding and actually obey gun laws?

Ridiculous.

[Deep77]

Originally Posted by Pilot1

Now there you just lost me. The violence is a lot of gang violence and criminal vs. criminal violence over drugs. "Lax gun laws" are not to blame as by definition criminals break the law, the get the guns illegally. Do you think criminals are law abiding and actually obey gun laws?

Ridiculous.

The availability of illegal guns in Philadelphia has a lot to do with the lax gun laws, and the blocking of any sort of gun legislation by the Central PA legislators in Harrisburg. The majority of homicides in Philadelphia are caused with guns that are bought and registered in Pennsylvania. If police have better tracking and control of the flow of guns in the city, then we can have a lower homicide rate, even amongst gang members. Right now in Pennsylvania, you don't have to report a lost or stolen gun to the police, that's because rural legislators have blocked that bill. Even the one gun a month bill was also shot down by Pennsyltucky. The NRA and other gun freaks always talk about illegal guns and that government should stop it's flow, yet when it comes time to actually do something about illegal guns they're deafly silent.

Strong gun laws do have a big part in bringing crime down. It is no coincidence that New York and Massachusetts have some of the toughest gun laws in the country, and NYC and Boston are two of the safest cities of its size.

[scubashawn68]

Originally Posted by Deep77

When asking questions about Philly, it is very important that you ask actual residents of Philadelphia and not those who live in the 'burbs' or worse New Jersey. Montgomery County might as well be another state. To most suburbanites, Philadelphia might as well be Baghdad, because that's all they hear about in the news. They only go into Philly for Phillies' games or to be obnoxiously drunk in Old City, so they have no clue how the residents are. Or what life is like for us here.

Contrary to what these people say, from my personal experience, people who live here do have a genuine sense of optimism for the city. I've met former New Yorkers who see the potential of Philly, and I've met natives who despite the all the flack could never live anywhere else. A lot of people feel more optimistic with the Nutter administration. There is a feeling that the city is moving up.

Yes, Philly has a pretty high homicide rate. Which should be expected, given the lax gun laws in Pennsylvania, causing a high availability of guns in Philly. Homicides in Philadelphia are much like homicides in every other case in America, where the murders know their victims. So unless you plan to sell drugs in the Northeast, then you should have nothing to worry about.

I live in West Philadelphia, where contrary to popular perception, it isn't as bad as people say. NO, I never have been robbed or shot at. The worst thing to ever happen to me is a homeless guy asking for change. And in that has happened only a couple of times. My neighborhood is known for it's large Victorian style homes, that no suburban developer could ever dream of. It has an eclectic mix of Penn and Drexel students, Ethiopian and West African immigrants, young professionals, and even young parents. Yes, you can raise a child in Philadelphia, there are plenty of people that do. Not to mention trolley and bus service into Center City that takes about 15 minutes. Obviously, the closer you are to the Penn and Drexel campuses you are the better the area, however you can go as far as 50th Street and be safe. There is much to be improved, but much has already have been done.

This neighborhood is a 1000x's better than my old neighborhood in Hamilton, NJ. Which I would like to describe as an amorphous blob of concrete.

You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. Can you tell me what the affordable area's of the city would be for a small family of 3 ?
By affordable , I mean under 250K.

[Pilot1]

Originally Posted by Deep77

The availability of illegal guns in Philadelphia has a lot to do with the lax gun laws, and the blocking of any sort of gun legislation by the Central PA legislators in Harrisburg. The majority of homicides in Philadelphia are caused with guns that are bought and registered in Pennsylvania.

So its the guns fault not the criminals??? The murder rate in Camden is just as high or higher than Philly and NJ has very, very strict gun laws. But, only the law abiding citizens follow the gun laws so the criminals still commit crimes. The guns are bought illegally and are usually guns that have been stolen. Gun laws are an oxymoron as only the law abiding follow the laws, while the gang bangers kill each other with ILLEGAL guns.

BTW. I went to Penn so I know West Philly very well. You are brave to live there.

[Deep77]

Originally Posted by Pilot1

So its the guns fault not the criminals??? The murder rate in Camden is just as high or higher than Philly and NJ has very, very strict gun laws. But, only the law abiding citizens follow the gun laws so the criminals still commit crimes. The guns are bought illegally and are usually guns that have been stolen. Gun laws are an oxymoron as only the law abiding follow the laws, while the gang bangers kill each other with ILLEGAL guns.

BTW. I went to Penn so I know West Philly very well. You are brave to live there.

Did you read my response? Or just you just didn't even bothered reading and jumped to the knee jerk reaction. The PA legislature blocked legislation that would've made gun owners report lost or stolen guns. Which would help cops track illegal guns and how they are networked. The gun laws Mayor Nutter and other mayors want are the ones that go after ILLEGAL GUNS. Gangbangers aren't the only ones causing the killings. There are homicides that were carried out my normal people who lost their composure and gun happens to be nearby.

I never said gun control is the solution, but its part of the solution.

West Philly has changed a lot since you've been here. I'm never going to the burbs ever again.

[Deep77]

Originally Posted by scubashawn68

You sound like you have a good head on your shoulders. Can you tell me what the affordable area's of the city would be for a small family of 3 ?
By affordable , I mean under 250K.

I recommend Mt Airy and East Falls.

[TheRisingSon]

Originally Posted by solibs

I just checked the FBI stats and Atlanta has 26 murders per 100,000 while Philadelphia has 27 murders per 100,000. For robberies Atlanta has 719 per 100k while Philly has 715 per 100k. In most other categories Atlanta is also worse . . . so while it may have been an exaggeration to say that it's "far" worse it certainly is worse.


What I meant to say is that the murder rate in Philadelphia is worse than Atlanta's.




You mean north of Girard up to Olney? I hardly consider Fairmount and Northern Liberties dangerous neighborhoods.


I have a house in Northern Liberties. There are shootings there as well as plenty of robberies. Come to Northern Liberties at night and walk around and then tell me it isn't dangerous.

When was the last time you went anywhere south of Girard? NoLibs has condo towers. There are a few of the 30-story variety but not many because they have height restrictions for the neighborhood. What you do have is a slew of the 6-10 story variety.

There is a proposal for a Skyscraper for Northern Liberties man, do your research.