i want to move to Philly ... (Philadelphia, Malvern: apartments, city hall, rentals)

[Boompa]

If you LIVE OR WORK in the City you pay the City Wage Tax. I'd try Bryn Mawr or Ardmore

[donnamarie8]

I am a Philly native but have lived out of the country for 17 years. We are back (temporarily for the next year). I came back to visit all the time so I have seen changes abound. I was so excited to be able to come back for this time...

I would say Nolibs, center city. They just raised the sales tax in the city to 8%. I liked Mt Airy and Chestnut Hill as well..I liked Elkins Park and parts of Huntingdon Valley. Keep in mind you have to drive as well for those areas....

One thing that I am completely disgusted with though. Philly is called City of Brotherly Love, which I know it isn't. However,I am finding people completely rude and insulated. I am in Dresher and I am renting. I find people can be one step in front of you and won't say hello-like it is a crime. This is not how it was when I grew up here.( I grew up in the city).

It is like people are too busy for their life and don't give a crap about you. I find this in affluent neighborhoods as well.

It was always my dream to keep a house/condo here while I live out of the country and still may do it in the end-but I am less disenchanted by it all. The city really was stuck in a time warp for a while, but finally started to come out. Maybe it is just the suburubs, but it is driving me crazy.

I really have a hard time in people dealing with each other like this. I am not sure if it is a US thing or just this area....But needeless to say, I am looking forward to get back to my life elsewhere (we are here for medical reason). I was really disappointed.

That being said, I understand what it is like to need a change of scenery..and there are worse parts to live in the country. Try it and just be friendly..it will have to rub off somehow..

Oh, and driving is another story. don't bother to put your blinker on..They will deliberately cut you off.

[solibs]

Originally Posted by donnamarie8

One thing that I am completely disgusted with though. Philly is called City of Brotherly Love, which I know it isn't. However,I am finding people completely rude and insulated. I am in Dresher and I am renting.

I've found people from the PA suburbs to be pretty rude. Not that most people are, there are just enough that it's noticeable.

In the city, generally, i think people are more outgoing. Obviously, there are a ton of people walking around so you're not going to say "hi" to everyone but in certain situations it's appropriate. But i'm sure you'll find friendly people everywhere if you take the initiative . . . instead of walking past people waiting for them to say hello first.

People in South Jersey are more friendly. Every time my parents would come visit me in Collingswood they would always say something like "I can't get over how friendly and courteous people are around here."

[pman]

Traffic is much worse here than Charlotte which is what you'd expect from a much larger city and metro area, it's also why there's a lot more to see and do here. If you work for Vanguard, as I think they have a charlotte office, they do have excellent shuttle service. If not, SEPTA has shuttle service as well. There's an outbound express at about 7:15 am (no inbound express). amtrak also serves Paoli (fare is $6 I think but the trip is about 22 min from 30th st)

[solibs]

Originally Posted by pman

Traffic is much worse here than Charlotte

No, it really isn't. Not only has the road network not kept up with the development but it's a really sprawled out metro, which means that a lot of people drive long distances to and from work - which adds to the problem. And while their transit system is decent it doesn't have great coverage outside of a 5 mile radius of uptown.

Their employment base is really diffuse so you have a lot of people cramming on to 85 and 77 to get what they're going because there's no easier way of getting there. Independence Blvd. isn't a whole lot of fun either.

The traffic tie ups there compare well to our 95/76/42

[donnamarie8]

Maybe that is what is is..the suburbs. I guess some feel as if they have 'arrived' or something. If we wind up having to stay here longer than the year..I think I may go to the city again, or just outside where it is still city-ish.I don't wait for people to say hello..I say hi first and am friendly..

I have friends that live in Jersey (many philly natives) and yes they are friendlier. I don't know what it is...Maybe I am not giving it enough time..but both my husband and I have noticed it...and my friends that live here all the time tell me I am right...

Don't get me wrong..I love it here...I would not be here otherwise...I spent time in the south (FL) and I really don't like living there-The healthcare here is tops compared to other places (phl is tops)

[pman]

Originally Posted by solibs

No, it really isn't. Not only has the road network not kept up with the development but it's a really sprawled out metro, which means that a lot of people drive long distances to and from work - which adds to the problem. And while their transit system is decent it doesn't have great coverage outside of a 5 mile radius of uptown.

Their employment base is really diffuse so you have a lot of people cramming on to 85 and 77 to get what they're going because there's no easier way of getting there. Independence Blvd. isn't a whole lot of fun either.

The traffic tie ups there compare well to our 95/76/42

we have all those problems here with far more people. our employment base is also diffuse and we have some o the longest commutes in the nation. it would be worse without SEPTA but SEPTA has dramatically cut back service over the years while the region has expanded dramatically. I guess everyone's perceptions are based on their particular commutes though so i suppose my anecdotal evidence could be biased by that. I have no idea where Charlotte ranks on the average commute time. my experience in Charlotte rush hour wasn't bad though I found the city to be as interesting as a rock (no, I'm not a geologist). a coworker of mine fondly recalls the traffic there.

[CLTGoBlue]

WARNING: long post

hey guys, thanks for all the responses. in regards to CLT traffic, it is bad, but i'm actually pretty fortunate in that i go against the grain for work (out of uptown in the morning, in to uptown at night) so my commute is about 12 minutes for 6 or 7 miles of travel, straight down 77. thats what is gonna suck about moving, i have a pretty cushy set up right now. my roommate & i both work at VG here, split a 2 br in the 4th Ward uptown for 900/month. commute to work is zilch, and if you're gonna be a YUP in CLT, i can't think of a better neighborhood. but, we've both been here for so long now and nothing has really changed. more bars have been built, but @ our company so much more can be done @ the HQ, so we're both considering this move. he's got a serious GF though, so i don't think i'll be rooming with him. which kinda sucks because he's a good roomie and that would change a lot of stuff if we could live together ...

well it seems that the more i read, CC is the way to go. the vibe in 'Yunk actually sounds perfect, but if i'm gonna do it up, maybe i should just go all out. doesn't seem like it would add too much to my commute. please let me know if driving from 7-8 AM & 7-8 PM would change any opinions on a commute from Philly to Malvern, as those would be my likely hours. i also happen to work a compressed schedule, so i'm only making the trip 4 days a week. every other week, one of those days will be a saturday ...

well i have a lot to investigate. i would love to rely on my car very little and train my way to work if it was manageable. the suggestion of looking at University City is interesting, the West Philly area around 30th seems like a good location and in the right direction of work. i'm gonna start to look at some CL posts in my price range, maybe i could post them here for opinions? not sure if that's kosher, if we can't do direct ads i'll give y'all intersections or somethin ...

... but if i may summarize some other posts, it seems like the commute from 'Yunk->Malvern is not much better than CC->Malvern, so the lifestyle difference may be worth it if the finances right. am i reading that correctly?

is there anyway to predict what my utilities would be like? what does good cable/internet go for in Philly? G & E? when you read that your "cost of living" will go up, is stuff like this something i should factor in? or are we just talking things like the wage tax & sales tax (8 % in the city?). what's a gallon of gas cost these days? trying to get a better idea about what i can afford with all things considered ...

Art Museum is a neighborhood that keeps coming up for me. in the direction of Manayunk but a bit more central? what's up w/ this Avenue of the Arts? i think it'd be right there. i assume parking is terrible?

i guess Manayunk still makes the most sense, except for the parking portion. i'm definitely open to a random CL roomate though, so maybe i can filter for off-street parking locations. but lifestyle/commute/proximity to the city all make sense ...

i would still appreciate any comments re: Conshy in particular!

[Commuting North]

For what it's worth Man, I still think you'd like Manayunk the best. It ultimately depends on what you're looking for, but at age 25, I know what my interests revolved around -- parties and girls. Manayunk is a bit of a "frat" scene, but it also draws the hottest girls between the ages of 21 and 26 on a regular basis. One of the bars has a standing beer pong tourney every week (I think on Thursdays). Most of the bar scene regulars also participate in extracirricular actitivities -- intramural sports, group trips to sports games, etc... (it's pretty easy to get into a solid social scene if you want). Disclaimer: As mentioned in prior posts, this scene does get old quick. I would suggest you do it for one year, two max, while getting the know the city neighborhoods better so you can move into town after you've graduated from the Yunk.

While Coors and Miller Lite are the beers of choice in the Yunk, if, you're more of the type to explore historical neighorhoods during the weekends, and stop by a pub with 50 craft beers on tap to sip a couple, then the city proper is probably your best bet. Personally I didn't get to this phase until my late 20s, but you may mature quicker than I did

As for transit, commuting to Malvern from the city will add a substantial amount of time vs. commuting from Manayunk to Malvern. Just getting onto 76 W. from many neighborhoods in the city is a nightmare during rush hour. Then you have a number of miles before you get to the Manayunk exit. I would estimate for most Philly neighborhoods about 10 minutes to get on to 676. Once on 676 you're really screwed. That will take you at least 15 minutes to get to 76W (less than two miles). Then, it's relatively easy sailing until you reach the Manayunk exit. I would guestimate an extra 25 - 35 minutes on your commute if you're comparing CC to Malvern vs. Manayunk to Malvern.

At my age, 33, you couldn't pay me to live in Manayunk, but at 25, there's no place I'd rather be. If you do decide on the city, I would STRONGLY suggest making a few visits to walk around the neighborhoods. The neighorhoods are dramatically different in terms of safety, convenience, atmosphere and demogrphics, and you don't want to be stuck in a year lease in a place that you hate.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by CLTGoBlue

so Conshy sucks? that's sorta dissapointing, i got the impression it was a bit more artsy/hippy than 'Yunk ...

It doesn't really suck, but it's not that big. There's 3 or 4 decent bars/pubs, and 3 or 4 decent restaurants, on the main strip (Fayette Street), and that's about it. It's a nice town to live in while working in Center City because the train ride is only about 30-35 minutes, and it's close to everything via 76, 276, and 476. It's also becoming a nice place to raise kids again (not that it was ever terrible, but the river that used to be lined with industrial sites is now lined with offices and condos). Most young kids that live there hang out there occasionally, but they're also going to places like Manayunk and Center City to hang out as well. It's not like there's "tons" of stuff to do in Conshy, but it is a nice place with a fairly large 22-28 (i.e. pre-marriage) crowd.