Florida Newlyweds moving to NE Philadelphia!! (York, Easton: real estate, crime rate, new house) - Pennsylvania (PA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

dontno · 11-19-2009, 01:25 PM

Aimewitue, welcome to Philly! I am not sure if it is best time to buy right now. House/condo prices are not stable currently. You best bet is to rent for a year. If you like your neighborhood, you can buy it there. If not at least your are more familiar with Philly and know which area you would like to settle.

I would recommend an area in Fairmont Park. They have high rises and townhouses for rent or sell within your budget. There are several healthcare and shopping facilities in the area. It is near City Ave and Monument Rd, so you have a easy access to highway 76 as well as back way roads cut into center city. High rise condos cost around $180K for two-bedrooms. For town houses, there two types in the area. Single unit townhouse with 3 beds/2bath/1 garage costs about $180K and townhouses with two units (each unit has two-bed/one bath/1 garage) costs about $210K (for both units)

Below is the address of the high rise apartments:
3900 Ford Rd Philadelphia, PA 19131 (forgot the name of the apartment)
3600 Conshohocken Ave Philadelphia, PA 19131 (River Park House)

Keep in mind zip code 19131 covers big area, some of which are pretty bad. keep your search close to the high rises.

nkosiek · 11-20-2009, 11:28 AM

Okay, I'm going to actually answer the question since you asked specifically about the Northeast. Sorry, ladies and gents, he didn't ask about Fairmount, East Falls, Manyunk, South Philly, etc.

Since you specifically mentioned 19111, I can definitely help you out, its been my zip code for the last 22 years minus 5 for college out at IUP and another year spent working in London. 19111 has some very nice places in Fox Chase as well as in Burholme and Lawndale (north of Levick). If you go a bit further north and east you'll find some great places in Pine Valley, Pennypack, Somerton and other areas. You should be able to get something in your range of 250k with a yard. The Northeast has a lot of police and firemen as well as a good deal of teachers and other public employees. Some people in other areas of the city tend to look down at the NE for whatever their reason. Frankly, as someone who spent the first 10 years of my life in Logan (North Philly) and the rest in the NE, I can definitely say I'm glad my folks moved up there. Quality of life is nice, I know most of my neighbors (and my wife and I only moved into our house 13 months ago), kids are safe and play outside all the time, and the property taxes aren't killer. La Salle isn't far away from 19111, and its an easy train ride into the downtown for Temple or Penn.

Could schools be better city-wide? Yes, but in places like Fox Chase, Somerton, Pennypack, you've got some great schools because the parents are involved. If you go down to places in South Philly and whatnot you don't come across that as much. Whether its a Charter, parochial, private, or regular public school the involvement of the parents directly correlates to the quality of the school. I write this if you're considering kids at some point.

As you can tell, I'm passionate about both Philly and the NE part of it (while recognizing that neither is perfect) and will talk your ear off if you want me to. PM me if you have any questions. My realtor was great if you don't have one and I'd recommend him in a heartbeat but that's not really your question.

lititzman2003 · 11-20-2009, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nkosiek

Okay, I'm going to actually answer the question since you asked specifically about the Northeast. Sorry, ladies and gents, he didn't ask about Fairmount, East Falls, Manyunk, South Philly, etc.

Since you specifically mentioned 19111, I can definitely help you out, its been my zip code for the last 22 years minus 5 for college out at IUP and another year spent working in London. 19111 has some very nice places in Fox Chase as well as in Burholme and Lawndale (north of Levick). If you go a bit further north and east you'll find some great places in Pine Valley, Pennypack, Somerton and other areas. You should be able to get something in your range of 250k with a yard. The Northeast has a lot of police and firemen as well as a good deal of teachers and other public employees. Some people in other areas of the city tend to look down at the NE for whatever their reason. Frankly, as someone who spent the first 10 years of my life in Logan (North Philly) and the rest in the NE, I can definitely say I'm glad my folks moved up there. Quality of life is nice, I know most of my neighbors (and my wife and I only moved into our house 13 months ago), kids are safe and play outside all the time, and the property taxes aren't killer. La Salle isn't far away from 19111, and its an easy train ride into the downtown for Temple or Penn.

Could schools be better city-wide? Yes, but in places like Fox Chase, Somerton, Pennypack, you've got some great schools because the parents are involved. If you go down to places in South Philly and whatnot you don't come across that as much. Whether its a Charter, parochial, private, or regular public school the involvement of the parents directly correlates to the quality of the school. I write this if you're considering kids at some point.

As you can tell, I'm passionate about both Philly and the NE part of it (while recognizing that neither is perfect) and will talk your ear off if you want me to. PM me if you have any questions. My realtor was great if you don't have one and I'd recommend him in a heartbeat but that's not really your question.

Read the posts again; I recommended the Northeast.

slickvic277 · 11-20-2009, 06:07 PM

WOW! nkosiek great post,about time the N.E gets some love on this site.Again great post.

Aimewitue · 11-20-2009, 06:22 PM

Hey thanks everyone for the replies

Okay so i'm kinda gathering that NE philly doesnt get alot of love on this forum

Which weird because most the cities i've visited which are in the south usually the northeast and Northwest part of the city is better than the southside of town.

Does this hold true for philly that nicest parts of town are in the northwest and northeast parts???

Like here in florida the northside of a city is usually nicer,more development,cleaner and just in general better.

hilster · 11-20-2009, 07:22 PM

Still say: house with a yard, in your price range, nice neighbors, abt 8-10 miles ftom the city, good hospitals to work for and colleges? Havertown...

Aimewitue · 11-21-2009, 06:48 AM

Will check out havertown hilster thanks!!

FindingZen · 11-21-2009, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aimewitue

Hey thanks everyone for the replies

Okay so i'm kinda gathering that NE philly doesnt get alot of love on this forum

Which weird because most the cities i've visited which are in the south usually the northeast and Northwest part of the city is better than the southside of town.

Does this hold true for philly that nicest parts of town are in the northwest and northeast parts???

Like here in florida the northside of a city is usually nicer,more development,cleaner and just in general better.

As it happens, the NW and NE parts of town, along with Center City, are generally considered among the more desirable parts of town. There are negative exceptions within those areas as well as positive exceptions in certain areas of North Philly (e.g. East Oak Lane, Fern Rock), West Philly (University City), and South Philly (a hodgepodge "box of chocolates" which others more knowledgeable can explain to you better).

IMO, the major challenge that NE Philly has is its geography; it's a long, long commute to Center City and many other job centers. One would have to truly love their neighborhood to for that drive/ride to be worth it. Otherwise, there are a lot of nice communities up there.

Aimewitue · 11-21-2009, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tone509

As it happens, the NW and NE parts of town, along with Center City, are generally considered among the more desirable parts of town. There are negative exceptions within those areas as well as positive exceptions in certain areas of North Philly (e.g. East Oak Lane, Fern Rock), West Philly (University City), and South Philly (a hodgepodge "box of chocolates" which others more knowledgeable can explain to you better).

IMO, the major challenge that NE Philly has is its geography; it's a long, long commute to Center City and many other job centers. One would have to truly love their neighborhood to for that drive/ride to be worth it. Otherwise, there are a lot of nice communities up there.

From what i'm been reading it seems that there are major job centers in the suburbs. Like King of prussia/ west chester ,horsham and other areas. Of course center city is a job center. but the suburbs seems like they are growing and can hold their own. seems like more job centers are in NW side of the city.

FindingZen · 11-21-2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aimewitue

From what i'm been reading it seems that there are major job centers in the suburbs. Like King of prussia/ west chester ,horsham and other areas. Of course center city is a job center. but the suburbs seems like they are growing and can hold their own. seems like more job centers are in NW side of the city.

Yes I should have said suburban job centers. And you are correct that most of those are N/NW of the city. Most job growth in the metro is outside of Philly. But for your purposes, the healthcare industry is strong in the city; the hospitals that you're interested in are doing well.