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Old 12-13-2010, 06:54 PM
 
Location: earf
203 posts, read 597,828 times
Reputation: 122

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The cost of living in the northeast is outrageous compared to any part of Texas that i'm familiar with. I worked with a guy who transfered from Texas. It took him 4 years but he transfered back out as soon as he could simply because of the cost of real estate in the Philadelphia area. You mentioned how everything on craigslist seemed really old and that's because it is. The northeast has much to offer that you can't find in other parts of the country and i'm not going to put the Phila. area down. Just be sure you are aware of the cost of living around here. If you're interested for reasons other than salary, the main line is a pretty nice area. Other than center city check out the Manayunk area. I would never live within the city limits but Manayunk is a pretty cool area. Also, be aware of the Philadelphia wage tax. If you're considering living within the city it will cost you. The only other advice i can give you is to buy a really warm coat. I'm freezing!!!
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:19 PM
 
Location: Philly
10,227 posts, read 16,838,822 times
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buying a warm coat is essential...and many a person makes the incorrect assumption that a coat is a coat. having a good coat can be the difference between freezing or laughing at some poor sap with a crap coat.
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Old 12-13-2010, 07:25 PM
 
9 posts, read 20,580 times
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OH boy...the more I hear from you Philly folks, the less I want to live there! I have visited it once, but stayed with a friend north of the city in some neighborhood where Bill Cosby lives. Sound familiar? Sigh....I might have to check it off my list. Cold and old and expensive doesn't sound nice to me right now.

PS - I'm wearing shorts and a sweatshirt and my heater isn't on yet. ;-)
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Old 12-14-2010, 08:20 AM
 
2,269 posts, read 7,594,109 times
Reputation: 962
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dentex View Post
Thanks so much! Now that I look at all this information, I'm leaning towards living in center city and riding the train to campus. Great information!
Good decision. If you decide on center city, you may want to get rid of your car, as parking can be expensive. You can always use www.phillycarshare.com or Car Sharing, an alternative to car rental and car ownership – Zipcar when you do need a car.
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Old 12-14-2010, 09:04 AM
 
Location: Philly
10,227 posts, read 16,838,822 times
Reputation: 2973
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dentex View Post
OH boy...the more I hear from you Philly folks, the less I want to live there! I have visited it once, but stayed with a friend north of the city in some neighborhood where Bill Cosby lives. Sound familiar? Sigh....I might have to check it off my list. Cold and old and expensive doesn't sound nice to me right now.

PS - I'm wearing shorts and a sweatshirt and my heater isn't on yet. ;-)
well, it's cold in the winter, there's no getting around that (and this year, unusually so..december has been more like february this year). on the whole, it's relatively moderate...it just won't seem that way to a texan (it's all relative). lots of housing stock, but not all, is older but there's nothing wrong with older...in some ways, it's better built. you just need to keep in mind older homes need work when buying one (OTOH, if you appreciate good workmanship, you may end up with some phenomenal wordwork, etc that people can no longer afford to have built in homes...if carpenters with those skills even still exist). there are other benefits of higher population density IMO. I'd also add, I think PA is much prettier than texas with the trees and rolling hills....and summer, by and large, is more pleasant in my experiences.
edited to add: bear in mind, most people buy things like laptops and flatscreens in neighboring tax free DE...not to mention wine.

Last edited by pman; 12-14-2010 at 09:45 AM..
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Old 12-14-2010, 12:55 PM
 
9 posts, read 31,135 times
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Living in the philly suburbs and graduating myself from villanova, I really enjoy the main line area, but you're gonna have to deal with traffic, and costs. There are cheap rentals all over the main line, housing will be a bit more expensive. You could live a little bit further away from the university like Ft Washington and commute in.
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Old 12-14-2010, 11:05 PM
 
Location: a swanky suburb in my fancy pants
3,391 posts, read 8,788,833 times
Reputation: 1624
Quote:
Originally Posted by deadhead948 View Post
The cost of living in the northeast is outrageous compared to any part of Texas that i'm familiar with.
It might be more appropriate to say that the cost of living in Texas is outrageously cheap compared to most places in the U.S.
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Old 12-15-2010, 04:35 AM
 
584 posts, read 1,426,470 times
Reputation: 240
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryson662001 View Post
It might be more appropriate to say that the cost of living in Texas is outrageously cheap compared to most places in the U.S.
Thank you! I think that is the more appropriate perspective to take! And why is there more traffic and a higher cost of living in Phila compared to TX..b/c many more people would rather live here. The history and other amenities offered just can't be compared. Not only would you have access to the history, arts, restaurants within Phila...within 1.5 hours you have all that NYC has to offer. In another 2.5 hours you can be in the nations capital. Go 5 hours north and you can be in another historical center in Boston; 7 or so hours south and there are some beautiful beaches in North & South Carolina (of course we have our own here...but I'm just saying).
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Old 12-15-2010, 06:28 AM
 
8,982 posts, read 21,187,658 times
Reputation: 3808
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryson662001 View Post
It might be more appropriate to say that the cost of living in Texas is outrageously cheap compared to most places in the U.S.
I would agree with this. I have family that lives in McKinney (slightly closer to Denton than Dallas) that bought a solid, newer SFH in a middle-class neighborhood for around $150K. That would certainly go for double the amount in a comparable area here. And it would be typical of much of the East Coast, particularly the Boston-Washington corridor. IMO Texas in general is in a bit of a housing "anti-bubble" due to the amount of open space available. Comparatively speaking, it's pretty high density for at least 200 miles in any direction from Philly.

Ideally Dentex, you're receiving a considerable salary bump to help make up for the cost of living. But there's no doubt that you'll be losing a bit of buying power by moving from a small Southwestern city to a large East Coast metropolis.
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Old 12-15-2010, 09:04 AM
 
3 posts, read 5,257 times
Reputation: 13
Keep in mind that Septa (the local transit system) is expensive. I'm not sure about a monthly pass, but I recently took the train from Center City, Philly to Rosemont (stop next to Villanova) and it was $6!!! I couldn't believe how much the fares increased since I've moved away from the area! The Eastern Main Line is absolutely gorgeous, though. Enjoy!
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