buying in philly...which neighborhood? (fit in, real estate market, to rent)

[friedgold]

so here's another "which neighborhood should i live in?" thread. basically i'm a (very) recent college graduate who is moving to philly to work and am looking to buy a place. I'm generally looking for something under 200k with 2 or more bedrooms so i can rent the other one out. After doing some research, I've narrowed it down to a few neighborhoods, but was wondering which ones would be the most affordable/suitable for me. I'm a young professional who probably would want to be close to nightlife/bars/stuff like that, as well as a SEPTA line. The areas I've narrowed down are:

Fishtown
Port Richmond
Bella Vista
Graduate Hospital
Art Museum/Fairmont (rather pricey, dont think i'll be able to afford anything here)
Brewerytown

thoughts?

[newmarlig]

Why would you want to rent a room to a complete stranger? Why not look for a one bedroom for less money?

[friedgold]

renting out a room would help pay the mortgage, and a 2 bedroom isnt really all that much more expensive than a one bedroom.

also, i'm the kind of person that couldn't live alone, id probably go crazy

[ooodsie]

I would stick w Bella Vista, Fairmount/Art Museum, and Graduate Hospital Area personally.

[phillyzoo]

Brewerytown is on the rise. A lot of artist types moving to the area and your return on investment will be pretty good there.

[Just1Lion]

probably get a decent amount for your $ in Fishtown. and you could set yourself for a nice profit in the future in Fishtown's popularity continues to rise.

[orrmobl]

Originally Posted by ooodsie

I would stick w Bella Vista, Fairmount/Art Museum, and Graduate Hospital Area personally.

+1. You will have an easier time finding a roommate (and a better roommate at that) moving to one of the more desirable areas...bear in mind rents are supposed to be declining nationwide as more people your age are staying home longer or moving home after college to save money...so your ability to rent a room out may not be a done deal or at the price you may be expecting, ie don't count that chicken before it's hatched. If I were you, I would rent wherever I liked and wait for the Philly real estate market to come back to reality price-wise. Or wait to buy until as late as possible this year as prices will certainly be adjusting, possibly at an accelerating rate.

[friedgold]

thanks for the replies...we seem to have narrowed it down to either fishtown or graduate hospital. how safe are these respective areas? In fishtown, we were looking for stuff closer to the girard el station, and it seemed pretty safe around there. we didn't get a chance to see graduate hospital, but the places we're looking at are below washington avenue, near point breeze (is this still graduate hospital?)

which area would be better in terms of safety/finding a roommate?

[newmarlig]

I would stay away from Point Breeze.

[Just1Lion]

Originally Posted by newmarlig

I would stay away from Point Breeze.

i 2nd that notion. unless you are bulletproof. ha. but really, not the safest area.