Being transferred to Philly, are only the 'burbs safe? (Philadelphia: rentals, loft)

[sbhubbell]

VeryWellRed, don't mind the attitude, not all Philadelphians are so unfriendly. I understand your feelings exactly, and if you watch the news you could certainly think Philly is a scary place. And you will always find more posts and more news bashing a city than praising it...because that's just human nature. It's why the news has turned so negative, because negativity sells. So take the posts you read here, good and bad, with a grain of salt. They are all really just opinions. You've gotten some good advice already on neighborhoods so I won't bother adding to that.

[kyle19125]

Hi there...I was the one who was copied by Mr Starks earlier in the thread, I agree with his selections as well. The original response he quoted was for someone I had responded to who was much younger, single and not wanting to spend a lot, but still be in a safe/stable area of the city.

Much of the friction displayed here are from those who typically do not live in the areas spoken of, rather those that are commenting on what is printed/reported in the media and using that as a source of "judgment".
Victims of sensationalist journalism which portrays the city streets as full of gun-toting thugs and lawlessness. Suburbs versus city, right versus wrong, black versus white...blahblahblah...it goes on and on.

I live in the core of the city (Port Richmond), work in Center City (17th and Market) and have been here for 6 years now. I commute/travel without a car which of course means I use public transit (SEPTA) daily and walk a lot. At all hours of the day and night. Center City is quite safe as statistics will bear out. The downtown area is full of vibrant, safe neighborhoods that you'll find appealing. For your situation I'd recommend Society Hill, Queen Village, Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square and Fitler Square...in that order.
Society Hill and Queen Village are a bit more residential and have that neighborhood-ish feel more so than the others which can be a bit more hustle-bustle urban.

All in all, cities share a common bond of good/bad and trying to figure out which is which. Philadelphia shares that with Chicago...example northside versus southside...and within that more differences. Just do some homework, as you're already doing, and walk the neighborhoods that interest you. Go back to a particular house that peaks your interest at night (on a weekend if you can). Some blocks can be Jekyll/Hyde from day to night..after all, it's the city!

[juniperbleu]

Some more options outside of the more downtown-type areas (Center City, Rittenhouse, Washington Square, etc) would be Chestnut Hill or Mt Airy. They're quieter, but very safe and pretty areas in NW Philly. For Center City you just hop on Lincoln Drive. Chestnut Hill, in particular, almost has the feel of a small town with a main street lined with shops and restaurants.

[otters21]

I would like to add that Roxborough,Andorra, Wissahickon, and Manayunk on the northwest side; Port Richmond (east of Aramingo Ave), Fishtown, East Kensington (east of FranKford Ave. and south of Lehigh Ave.) Bridesburg ,the far Northeast and parts of South Philadelphia are still safe areas for the most part within the city limits. However in South Phila. it can vary from block to block. Two blocks it's great and two more blocks it can get sketchy.

[CHIP72]

One other thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is that the Philadelphia area has a number of truly GREAT suburbs (both in PA and NJ) - not sprawl, strip mall suburbs, but true walkable towns with nice neighborhoods suburbs. These towns may not be exactly where you are looking for because they tend to not be super-large and don't have tons of nightlife activity (to either people in their 20's or people in their 30's), or at least that's the impression I've gotten from visiting some of these towns. Most of these towns are connected to Center City Philadelphia (the proper name for the downtown section of Philadelphia) via SEPTA Regional Rail (Philadelphia's equivalent of Metra), though some of them are served by SEPTA trolley or trolley-like lines (you read that correctly, trolleys), PATCO (similar to SEPTA's heavy rail lines and like Chicago's CTA El lines), or the NJ Transit River Line, a light rail line. A few of those towns include Media, Ardmore, Wayne (all in PA), Collingswood, and Palmyra (both in NJ), plus a few others I didn't mention. Actually, some of the previously-mentioned outer Philadelphia neighborhoods, like Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy, are very similar kinds of places to these nice suburban towns, except they are neighborhoods IN the city of Philadelphia.

Other people who actually live in Philadelphia rather than just visit and check out various neighborhoods like I do are better sources of information than I am, but based on what you said above I do agree many of the neighborhoods in Center City are your best bet, places like Society Hill, Old City, or Rittenhouse Square. I sincerely believe the nice parts of Philadelphia are arguably as nice of urban neighborhood areas as you are going to find in the entire U.S. (Likewise, some of the bad parts of Philadelphia are among the worst urban areas in the entire U.S.) If you can't find something you like or within your price range in Center City, there are a number of very nice towns or outer city neighborhoods that will probably work for you relatively well as well.

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by phillyzoo

Although a violent city, you will need to worry more about this poster's response than your personal safety while in the city. This angry response is typical of Philadelphians. Get used to it now...

Tend to agree, plus he fails to point out that Chicago is twice the size of Philly, (2.8 vs 1.4) so murder per capita is higher in Philly.

To answer the OP, it is true that Philly is a fairly dangerous city, but there are many areas you can live comfortably without issue. The bad areas are concentrated in the north and west. That said, I don't see any advantage to living in Philly, check out the PA burbs or even better NJ, which has more amenities, better location/access to major roads and points of interest in the region. Frankly, being a soccer mom is very desirable in the Philly area, the burbs in this region are great, far better than the burbs in Chicago.

As far as Philly goes, I don't know why anyone in the world would want to live there, even in the wealthier areas. But as Charles Emerson Winchester the III said in his Harvard snobbery, "that's what slums are for".

[CHIP72]

Originally Posted by MoorestownResident

As far as Philly goes, I don't know why anyone in the world would want to live there, even in the wealthier areas. But as Charles Emerson Winchester the III said in his Harvard snobbery, "that's what slums are for".

Uh, perhaps because the original poster said the following:

What do you want to be closest to?
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Center City is going to fit those criteria best, especially if the OP and her husband want to live in a walkable area.

[LLOJ]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Do you really expect people to help you out with this condescending attitude? Do your own research before you come on this board insulting the city and its people.

FWIW

2008 murders

Chicago- 508
Philadelphia-332

I cant figure out if I'm more taken aback by your attitude or obtuseness

Chicago has twice the amount of people in Philadelphia, yet Philadelphia's murder rate is more than half of the amount Chicago's murder rate, so although it's not really fair to compare the two cities when it comes to murder rates, Philadelphia basically has more murders per capita than Chicago.

That being said, the only place that I'd recommend someone like you to live in is the Center City where you're in the middle of everything although at night I'd still watch my back at certain areas there.

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by CHIP72

Uh, perhaps because the original poster said the following:

What do you want to be closest to?
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Center City is going to fit those criteria best, especially if the OP and her husband want to live in a walkable area.

The OP is clueless. Just trying to help.

[Deep77]

I grew up in Mercer County, NJ-about 45 min to an hour north of Center City-and I currently live in West Philly. The longer I live in Philly, the more I discover about it, learning new things about the city that I never knew before, despite growing up not too far away. I have no desire to New Jersey nor any suburban community. Whenever I go back to NJ to see my family and friends, they have this notion that I live in some sort of war zone. I am not surprised by this. For them, the only times they come to Philly is for Phillies' games, concerts, or to fly out of Philly International. The rest of their information is from the news. Which explains why people who live in the city are far more optimistic than people in the 'burbs.

Yet, when I bring them down to West Philly, they are amazed at the beautiful Victorian houses, the great Ethiopian food, and are shocked how friendly people in Philly can be. For my Jersey friends, it was their first time in West Philly. Because of the Penn Alexander School, people are staying to raise families. Just look at the strollers around Clark Park. I even have some friends, who have decided to move to Philly and commute to their jobs in New Jersey.

I am not naive about the violence in the city. A popular topic of conversation in my neighborhood is where the cutoff point is. Some say don't go beyond 50th, I say 52nd is where you don't go past. Which is not bad, because in the 1980's, you could not leave the Penn campus, let alone sit in a brew pub and discuss where the cutoff is. Gentrification in West Philly is occuring block by block, which is good because rapid gentrification could make housing unaffordable before people know it. However, its reputation will continue to linger.

I do worry about the homicide rates in Philly. But I don't worry about them that much. Statistically, you're more likely to be killed by someone you know than a total stranger. Also, I don't venture in the more desolate areas, I don't do heroin, nor am I a member of a gang. Getting shot is not the most imminent threat to my life. From reading the postings of these boards, it seems the only possible way for one to prematurely die, is by getting shot. You're probably more likely to die from a car accident than getting shot.