Moving to Philly in May (Philadelphia, Ardmore: apartment, rental, neighborhoods)

[Bk84nation]

Hi everyone,

I am moving to Philadelphia blindly in May to start a PA program at PCOM. I am planning on ditching the car and relying on bike/public trans to get around. Where do you recommend living? Ideally I would want my commute time to be under 30 min max. Walking distance to some decent pubs/social grad student hangouts and a nice grocery store would be nice. I prefer dense urban neighborhood to suburban area and financial district downtown/mall areas. Would like to be safe but don't need luxury living arrangements. Would like to pay no more than $600/mo rent, preferably in a 1bd apartment. Any suggestions?

[thesixth]

Not sure of the rent prices, but the closest nearby communities to consider would be Bala Cynwyd (pronounced Kin-wood), or Narberth and Ardmore. These are just outside the city limits where PCOM is located. You could also look at nearby apt. complexes on the Phila. side, for instance, Presidential Apts, located near I-76 expressway. The Presidential is probably less than 1 mile away from PCOM.
But I really don't know what the rental costs will be
Good luck!

[ajb842]

I work in bala and I doubt you will find rent for 600, unless you're ok with a tiny studio. As for transportation, the bus stops right in front of PCOM so you would have no problem if you moved to either the Bala Cynwyd area or Ardmore area. Unfortunately, the college isn't located in urban area you might be looking for. However, it's not far from CC or some other areas. Check out Manayunk which is much smaller but a very short commute(10min) to PCOM. If you're really interested in CC then check it out. I have to say, because med school is so challenging, most of the students I know end up staying in the roxborough/manayunk/east falls area because they end up doing rotations at Roxborough Hospital and some other main line hospitals. In that case, you might not want to do CC. As exciting as it is, if you could be satisfied with Manayunk/Roxborough for school, you can move to CC when you're done.

[BrassShrink]

I can't help you, except to say good luck at PCOM!

[kyle19125]

As convenient as Manayunk and Roxborough are to PCOM, you'll not experience any of your "wants" by living there. Manayunk is frat-boy (and ex-frat) central on Friday and Saturday night, but not much else going on the rest of the week. You won't have the density of coffee shops, bars/pubs, great restaurants and diversity that you'll have in Center City....not to mention the quality of public transit in the city's core.

You will most likely not find a suitable one bedroom for $600, but you can find decent studios for that price. I'd recommend a roommate situation and with Thomas Jefferson, Drexel and UPenn's Schools of Medicine in Center City...you should be able to find a roommate you'll have much in common with...as well as a nicer apartment. Check out Craigslist for roommate ads. Neighborhoods convenient to transit that would have you at school within 30 minutes are Logan Square and the area of Center City between 20th Street, Chestnut, Market and the Schuykill River...Fitler Square is the neighborhood name most often used. You can take the 44 bus (which follows Market Street through Center City from 5th Street all the way out to City Avenue. It drops you off in front of PCOM. Good luck!

[gfspeople]

sweet. Go philly!

[eggtimer]

check west philly/university city. septa to PCOM shouldn't be more than 30 mins, you can bike if the weather is decent (belmont ave. to city ave.), tons of bars - nightlife - grocery - options, variety of housing options. reasonable safe if you have common sense.

Moderator Cut: The referenced blog is considered a competitor to the forum.

[Dana41387]

Good evening. =) My name is Dana Bender and I am interested in this opportunity with you. I am a responsible full-time working female - 22 professional. My lease is up in May, and I am looking to move to Philadelphia. I work full-time in the health and fitness field in Philadelphia (center city 1901 Market Street) and will be starting part-time grad school at PCOM for the MS in Clinical Health Psych in August. I am clean, responsible, and always pay my bills on time. I am looking for something that can be a stable situation for a few years. Location is preferbly center city.


Look forward to hearing back from you if you are interested in talking about this. Moderator Cut: An invitation to Direct Message here is safer than publishing an e-mail address on a public forum.
Thank you!

Dana Bender

[solibs]

The 44 bus runs express from Center City to PCOM. Otherwise you have to take the R5 to Overbrook and catch a bus.

Doubling up is the best bet as you will get a much nicer 2 or 3 bedroom for $1200 than you will a one bedroom for $600

[pman]

the 52 bus runs near PCOM as well
http://www.septa.org/maps/bus/pdf/052.pdf
you could live around 50th and baltimore area and take that bus, there's excellent transit to center city as well from there and a fair amount of grad students from penn. taking on a roommate certainly would make center city an easier option and there's no easier plaec to live car free.