Being transferred to Philly, are only the 'burbs safe? (Philadelphia: for rent, condo)

[Shizzles]

Philly is a just like any other city. There are good areas and bad ones. There is a subtle but deep undercurrent of racism amongst many subrubanites regarding "Philly", which sometimes the word itself is used as a euphanism for Poor, Black and Ghetto....

[bryson662001]

The Philly crime thing is pretty much an urban myth. Most crime is centered in bad neighborhoods you will never see but because they are part of the city they get lumped into the statistics. If you were comfortable in Chicago you will be fine in Philly as well. You do need to decide if you want the "downtown" or the "suburban" experience. Both are available and both offer the best of their type you will find in the US.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

The Philly crime thing is pretty much an urban myth. Most crime is centered in bad neighborhoods you will never see but because they are part of the city they get lumped into the statistics. If you were comfortable in Chicago you will be fine in Philly as well. You do need to decide if you want the "downtown" or the "suburban" experience. Both are available and both offer the best of their type you will find in the US.

I'm officially tired of trying to explain away the myth....if people want to live in their own little special world where city=bad and suburb=good...fine. We're better off minus the ignorance.

[otters21]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I'm officially tired of trying to explain away the myth....if people want to live in their own little special world where city=bad and suburb=good...fine. We're better off minus the ignorance.

I agree .Those types are the ones who give into white or middle class flight. It is that attitude that caused the decline of many stable neighborhoods in Kensington ,Frankford,Juniata Park,Harrowgate and the lower Northeast from the late 80s to the early 00s and it is still eating up other neighborhoods today.

[frankgn87]

can ya explain it to me? There is NO data specifically targeted to a certain area of the city anywhere I can find. How would anyone find out how safe a certain section of the city is?? In other words. How can a person who is looking to live in the city find out crime data for a particular part? I know as a gut feeling that center city is safer then North Philly but how much safer?? and to the non city people how safe is .. say the main line, as compared the safest region of the city?

[juniperbleu]

I found this site:
Philadelphia CrimeBase

If you click on "Maps" you can build your own map by county/zip code/school/district/etc and crime type. You can also look up "Neighborhood Reports" if you know the neighborhood or zip code, or use the "Trend Charts" to compare neighborhoods on a chart.

[frankgn87]

thanks juni. Looking at that map I see that Philly is not that safe as some are trying to make us think.. Go look for everyone who thinks its a myth that the city is just as safe as the burbs.. wow, parts i figured would be safe like CC are not.. looks the safest parts are the far western NE (somerton) and western germantown area.

[ajaxrasputin]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

thanks juni. Looking at that map I see that Philly is not that safe as some are trying to make us think.. Go look for everyone who thinks its a myth that the city is just as safe as the burbs.. wow, parts i figured would be safe like CC are not.. looks the safest parts are the far western NE (somerton) and western germantown area.

Sorry, but if you think Center City Philadelphia is not "safe," then you probably would feel right at home in some exurb many miles away. If your basis of judging a place's safety is predicated on some chart on the internet, and not actual life experience, then you will be missing out on many places in the world.

[Synergy1]

My wife's cousin lives in Chicago and a prominate figure within the community of Medical Doctors. I on the other hand am a regular guy who has a high degree of education and who enjoys my regular family who lived in the city for 15 years then as a kid moved to the burbs of Philly for another 40 years. Too cold for me now but I still enjoy Philly.

My childhood friend and his wife are professionals and they live just off Southstreet and WOW it is expensive living. $850k for their loft but it was originally 3 and they combined it to one. The living space is really storybook magnificent. He and his wife can afford anything but he finds traveling by car is a hassel so he goes to work in CC by cab. A few blocks to Oldtown is very convient too.

My family lived in Newtown Square and found it good place to live....Our family is just a bunch of regular people so if you are too then try family oriented Havertown, Newtown Square, Wayne, Valley Forge Towers (rentals) or the town of Bryn Mawr....The train is in Bryn Mawr and a fantastic way to travel to and from work....

If you guys need a lot of action then you may find Manyunk, Southstreet, Old City Philly to be what you would enjoy. Philly in my opinion is generally safe. Every place has their ups and downs and in those many years of living in or close to Philly I never found it to be unsafe... Philly and the surrounding areas are just nice. Philly is a very historic city and you may find yourselves caught up in the historic sections and so just have fun....We did and still come back ,,,,(In the Spring/Summer)

[juniperbleu]

There's more crime in a city? Wow, that's a mind-blower...