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Hi everyone. I have recently been offered a job in Philadelphia, NY at a place that is very close to Fort Drum. After much thought, I have decided that I might accept the job and move within their specified time frame, so I need to find a place to live (rather quickly). As they still have not sent me a written contract to sign I have no idea how much I would be able to spend on an apartment, but I would rather not spend more than about $900/$950 per month. I saw four or five apartments when I was up yesterday in the Evans Mills area and I didn't like most of them because the previous owners hadn't treated them very well and the apartments had sustained minor to moderate water damage before I saw them.
I would rather have a one bedroom apartment with a bathroom and kitchen. A studio is also fine, too. I don't mind ground floor apartments, but as a very small, very petite girl with strength and dexterity as weaknesses and minor back problems (not affected by things such as stairs), I'd rather live in a second floor apartment or higher. My boyfriend and I are also talking about where we see our relationship going and if it has the long-term potential to make it beneficial for him to move with me because of my career (he does not have a great job and his career aspirations are such that he is going to have to leave his current job at some point soon, which makes it really easy for him to move with me if he finds a job). If he does move, we would like to settle down for a bit and get more serious, so any places that have the potential for being couple or family-friendly are great, too. Do you know any cities that you would recommend as good places for living in? Is Philadelphia, NY (not Pennsylvania) safe to live in? I googled this question and all answers were about Philadelphia, PA, so help would be great.
I also used to live within train distance of New York City and I really liked the convenience of being able to hop a train or a bus and be at an activity within an hour. I have heard that if you are not into outdoor sports (which, thankfully, I am), Philadelphia can be a boring place to live in, especially for someone from the NYC Metro area. What is town life like? Where do the locals go for entertainment? Where do you go for shopping, specifically if you are in to eating locally grown/sourced, organic, healthy foods? What sorts of groups are there that I can be a part of to maintain things like my Persian cultural background, my penchant for multiculturalism, my love of outdoor sports such as deep sea fishing and biking, and just my desire to explore the area? My boyfriend is also very much into comics, exploring bookstores, and such things and will want to know where the nearest comic store is when he comes up (I think it's in the Watertown Mall, though). I am also wondering what sorts of options there are for gyms and things once the weather gets cold and I need to exercise indoors.
Also, what is the weather like? I read somewhere that Philadelphia set the coldest record for a city in the US (or NY, I could be mistaken), in December by reaching a temperature of -47 degrees. How well are the roads maintained? I really like my current half hour commute to work because it means that although I love my students, I hardly ever run into them outside of work and I don't have to worry about them judging me when I go jogging in my awful pajamas or something similar. If I can, I'd like to have something similar, unless the roads get really bad during the winter.
A big concern for me is that I want to continue taking Spanish classes, hopefully from a company that can give me a certificate of completion or something that states my current language level. Do you know of any private tutors, companies, or people who offer Spanish classes in the Philadelphia area or just through a nearby college (within a forty-five minute drive of the city)? I am very curious to learn new languages to advance my career as an ESL teacher.
You would have to move this to the general section of the NY forum, as Philadelphia is in the Watertown area. Very rural and I would look in Watertown or perhaps near Fort Drum for housing. Maybe even Clayton or Alexandria Bay.
For culture, your best bet is either Syracuse or Ottawa ON. To get into Canada, you'll need a passport or an enhanced drivers license.
Outside of Jefferson Community College, your best bets for colleges may be in Canton or perhaps Oswego or even Syracuse.
Are you going to be working at Indian River High School? It has a pretty diverse student body due to the school district covering most of Fort Drum(about 2/3rds).
In my opinion, you can live very comfortably with a $900-$950 rent in Philadelphia. I've met people who have found steals in Center City and are paying only $600 a month. I paid around $900 for an apartment just outside of Center City and had a ton of space in my studio. I had my own kitchen, walk in closet, bathroom, and a lot of leg space in my living room/bedroom area. Safe neighborhood too (relatively of course, Philly isn't as safe as NYC). Few robberies here and there almost every weekend but they usually happen at odd hours in known "shady areas."
With that amount of rent, I would also try to avoid North Philly and deep West Philly (I wouldn't recommend getting an apartment further than 45th and market in West Philly). Being as close to Center City would be the best option.
In my opinion, you can live very comfortably with a $900-$950 rent in Philadelphia. I've met people who have found steals in Center City and are paying only $600 a month. I paid around $900 for an apartment just outside of Center City and had a ton of space in my studio. I had my own kitchen, walk in closet, bathroom, and a lot of leg space in my living room/bedroom area. Safe neighborhood too (relatively of course, Philly isn't as safe as NYC). Few robberies here and there almost every weekend but they usually happen at odd hours in known "shady areas."
With that amount of rent, I would also try to avoid North Philly and deep West Philly (I wouldn't recommend getting an apartment further than 45th and market in West Philly). Being as close to Center City would be the best option.
This is for Philadelphia NY near Fort Drum and Watertown, not the Philly in PA.
One other thing to add is that the village of Philadelphia gets its power/electric from NYPA and in turn, utility rates are lower there than surrounding communities.
Take a look at the photos on the bottom of this map. You can move them around with the arrows to see down various streets. Philadelphia is going to be much more rural than you expect. In fact much of the north country is. The population is around 2,000 people and the median household, not individual, income is $31,250.
Granted it's only 10 miles to Fort Drum (the largest employer in the area) where there are businesses and apartments catering to the various types of people stationed there but keep in mind that this is snow country. Storms can produce several feet of snow over just a few days. Roads will be plowed but travel times can be increased considerably.
The good news is that you will be living between the 1000 Islands and the Adirondack mountains. The bad news is that most of their activity is during the summer months.
Take a look at the photos on the bottom of this map. You can move them around with the arrows to see down various streets. Philadelphia is going to be much more rural than you expect. In fact much of the north country is. The population is around 2,000 people and the median household, not individual, income is $31,250.
Granted it's only 10 miles to Fort Drum (the largest employer in the area) where there are businesses and apartments catering to the various types of people stationed there but keep in mind that this is snow country. Storms can produce several feet of snow over just a few days. Roads will be plowed but travel times can be increased considerably.
The good news is that you will be living between the 1000 Islands and the Adirondack mountains. The bad news is that most of their activity is during the summer months.
It can get quite a bit of snow, if the snow belt shifts north, but usually once you get north of the city of Watertown, the snowfall usually isn't as heavy. Temperatures can get very frigid though.
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