Relocating for job in NE Philly--housing advice please! (Philadelphia, Morrisville: middle-class, apartment complexes) - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum

Magnoliablossom · 11-24-2010, 04:48 PM

Hi All--

This is my first post on the Phila. board. I've just gotten a job offer from a company in Bensalem, PA and would like some input as to the best, most reasonably-priced housing options nearby. I have a car but do not want to live too far from my job (not more than 20 min. commute if possible, which looks like 15 miles away at the most). It's just me so a studio apt. would be fine. Looking for a clean, well-maintained apt. complex in a relatively safe neighborhood with free parking (on-street or off). Any suggestions would be welcome! It doesn't have to be PA--I could live in NJ instead if I found the right place.

kyle19125 · 11-25-2010, 12:15 PM

Check out Colonial Gardens in Morrisville, which is a nice quiet town about 12 miles northeast of Bensalem near the NJ border. Colonial Gardens is a nice complex near shopping/restaurants/services and has studios for around $650. As a rule in that area (around Bensalem) I would recommend looking for anything north of the PA Turnpike as there are some rough areas south of the Turnpike within the price ranges you'll probably feel most comfortable with.

Magnoliablossom · 11-26-2010, 01:02 PM

Thanks, Kyle, that actually opens up a whole new area I hadn't considered.

bryson662001 · 11-27-2010, 07:19 AM

Try www.4wallsinphilly.com looking in lower Bucks county or far northeast Philadelphia.
You will actually get a lot more for your money across the city line in Northeast Philadelphia county. The schools aren't so good but you don't care about that. The downside is that the city has a wage tax (roughly 4% of your gross paycheck) no matter where you work.

kimrocktherealtor · 11-29-2010, 11:09 PM

I would try to stay out of Phila so you can avoid the wage tax. There are a few apartment complexes right on the border of NE Philly in Bensalem that you can get for under $800 for a 1 bedroom. I would also check craigslist for any studio apartment/condos for rent in the area.

frankgn87 · 11-30-2010, 05:03 AM

I would look at Southampton, Feasterville and Warminster area..

PennKid · 02-03-2011, 02:48 PM

Although the wage tax can be a pain in the butt, the slightly lower prices that it causes on the Philly side of the border often more than compensates. There are many beautiful neighborhoods on the Philadelphia side of the border that resemble any upper-middle-class neighborhood in Bucks or Burlington Counties, such as Morrell Park, Bustleton, Somerton... the Far Northeast, as one of the city's regions (along with the Lower NE, South Philly, North Philly, etc, is probably the only part of the city with no sketchiness at all; they tore down the last blocks of projects to replace them with a mixed-income community in Holmesburg...

frankgn87 · 02-03-2011, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennKid

Although the wage tax can be a pain in the butt, the slightly lower prices that it causes on the Philly side of the border often more than compensates. There are many beautiful neighborhoods on the Philadelphia side of the border that resemble any upper-middle-class neighborhood in Bucks or Burlington Counties, such as Morrell Park, Bustleton, Somerton... the Far Northeast, as one of the city's regions (along with the Lower NE, South Philly, North Philly, etc, is probably the only part of the city with no sketchiness at all; they tore down the last blocks of projects to replace them with a mixed-income community in Holmesburg...

except that part of the city's prices is the same as the burbs so there is really no reason to be in the city if you don't *have* to be.. That's why the cops/fireman/politicians live in the part of the city.. Id still chose Southampton/Feasterville/Bensalem for her.. Less car insurance too..And, Morrell park has NOTHING in common with Burlington county..

bryson662001 · 02-05-2011, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankgn87

except that part of the city's prices is the same as the burbs so there is really no reason to be in the city if you don't *have* to be..

You are the last person I want to start an argument with but I couldn't let this one go by without a comment. This statement is absolutly wrong. The best example is right on State Road. Delair Landing, on the city side, offers much more for the money and is nicer in every way than adjacent Salem Harbor on the Bucks side yet Salem Harbor is more expensive. The only advantage in Salem Harbor is the school system, and at that it's Bensalem, not bad but not the best either. This is only one example but there are many others in the Far Northeast that are nicer than in lower Bucks but less expensive.
There will be no rebuttle so fire away.
BTW Burlington County is way more expensive than the NE as well.

frankgn87 · 02-05-2011, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bryson662001

You are the last person I want to start an argument with but I couldn't let this one go by without a comment. This statement is absolutly wrong. The best example is right on State Road. Delair Landing, on the city side, offers much more for the money and is nicer in every way than adjacent Salem Harbor on the Bucks side yet Salem Harbor is more expensive. The only advantage in Salem Harbor is the school system, and at that it's Bensalem, not bad but not the best either. This is only one example but there are many others in the Far Northeast that are nicer than in lower Bucks but less expensive.
There will be no rebuttle so fire away.
BTW Burlington County is way more expensive than the NE as well.

I was specifically thinking about the homes we looked at off of Southampton road in Somerton near the cricket club. Those homes are every bit as expensive as Bucks and Burlington counties.. Maybe I should have been more clear. Sorry....Ya know where Im talking about? super nice area in the Somerton