move from OH to Philly (Philadelphia, York: apartment complexes, car insurance, how much)

[maestro]

I need some advice:

I've been living in Ohio for 8 years, and I'm making a decent wage in a fairly vibrant economy. I am married with a baby (6 months), and my wife stays at home. We live in an apartment close to downtown.

I'm looking at Philly as a possible relocation place, because I want to be closer to my family in New York.

My question is: If we moved to Philly, could my wife still stay home despite the increase of cost of living from Ohio? I don't make a ton of money and we don't need some huge house in an afflent suburb. We just need a nice area with a nice downtown (neighborhood bars, restaurants and shops). How much money would I need to make to keep my life situation intact?

[rainrock]

Nicer apartment complexes in the better towns begin around $1000 a month.You can find cheaper apartments $600-$800 but they will be in blue collar towns. Comcast will wack you about $140 for the cable/DSl/Phone package. Utilities probably the same you are paying now. Car Insurance is relatively cheap.

Its not the cheapest place around.The average household income in the suburbs is probably around $70K but its a pretty high quality of life for the most part. We have our fairs share of older blue collar areas but most of the area is terrific.

West Chester, Media,Mainline, Doylestown,Jenkintown, Center City Philadelphia all have decent downtowns. Center City by far is the most exciting vibrant area of the region but its not for everyone. There are close to 500 restaurants and bars within a 3 sq. mile area in CC and the immediate neighborhoods are immaculate.

South jersey also might be an option for you. Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Voorhees.

[maestro]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Nicer apartment complexes in the better towns begin around $1000 a month.You can find cheaper apartments $600-$800 but they will be in blue collar towns. Comcast will wack you about $140 for the cable/DSl/Phone package. Utilities probably the same you are paying now. Car Insurance is relatively cheap.

Its not the cheapest place around.The average household income in the suburbs is probably around $70K but its a pretty high quality of life for the most part. We have our fairs share of older blue collar areas but most of the area is terrific.

West Chester, Media,Mainline, Doylestown,Jenkintown, Center City Philadelphia all have decent downtowns. Center City by far is the most exciting vibrant area of the region but its not for everyone. There are close to 500 restaurants and bars within a 3 sq. mile area in CC and the immediate neighborhoods are immaculate.

South jersey also might be an option for you. Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Voorhees.

how long of a commute to downtown is some of the places (in typical rush hour)?

[newmarlig]

Originally Posted by maestro

how long of a commute to downtown is some of the places (in typical rush hour)?

If you are going to be working in Center City Philly (called that rather than downtown), you might want to look in South Jersey and take the high speed line into the city. Travel time would be in the 15-25 minute range depending on where you are coming from. It runs frequently and is actually faster than coming from a Philly suburb.

[PhillytoCali]

Havertown is a really nice suburb close to everything w/ lots of young working middle class to upper middle class families. Homes are pretty affordable.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by maestro

how long of a commute to downtown is some of the places (in typical rush hour)?

1/2 hour from most suburbs. West Chester is out there a bit(25-miles) closer to an hour.

[nurse38]

Originally Posted by PhillytoCali

Havertown is a really nice suburb close to everything w/ lots of young working middle class to upper middle class families. Homes are pretty affordable.

Havertown is not cheap. but is cheaper than center city. The twin homes in havertown runs in the mid-high 200s. The taxes are about 3,000-4,000 per year. The school dist is good. I hear that all the time from my co-workers who live in the area. Center-city is full of professional working people to the rich. a simple row home in center-city i'm talking about 400,000- 1million due to the fact that its the city of art. It is not worth it. nothing but a city full of gang-banger and people selling drugs on the corners. Every time you turn around, you hear about someone being killed. They target the working class. Dont be surprised to have a single mom with 8 kids as your neighbor on section-8. I grew up in the south-philadelphia and i say its not worth the money their asking for these newly built homes. I'm not saying that the homes are not nice but when you have to walk out your door and dont feel safe, it's not worth it. One more thing, the worst school dist i ever known. fights everyday. must consider private scools.

[Ohiogirl81]

I dunno where you live in Ohio now, Maestro, but just about everything here will cost you more: Housing, groceries (produce is soooo expensive here!), utilities (electricity is ridiculous), taxes (I'm paying 3x more in taxes here than I did in Cincinnati). CNN Money has a great website that helps you figure out how much of an increase in salary you'll need to overcome the increase in cost of living:

Cost of Living - Cost of Living Calculator from CNNMoney

[toobusytoday]

It looks like Maestro is looking at.... Connecticut! I noticed the opening post date was in March and that the last comment on the thread from Maestro was also March so I clicked on his name to see if had been posting lately and it looks like he has jumped states!

"OK people, I need your help.

I'm trying to convince my wife that we should move from Ohio (she's from out here) to CT, specifically the Hartford area. We are flying in to town from Sept. 14-17 in order to learn more about the area and CT itself.

In the 2+ days that we'll be there, what should we do/see to sell her on all that central CT has to offer? I'm talking things to do in Hartford and the neighbhoring areas. I'm open to drive down to the coast or up to the rural areas of NE or NW Connecticut to show her some old-school colonial New England towns/villages.

What do you experts suggest we go do?"

Yet another reason to see if the opening poster still cares before posting....