Moving to the big city for school.. (Philadelphia, Ellsworth: apartment, city hall)

[Watermelon27]

Hi everyone! I’ll be relocating to Philadelphia this summer for grad school… and I know it’s early, but I wanted to get a sense of which neighborhoods would be best for me to call home. The most important things I’m looking for: convenient location for getting to/from school (by walking or public transportation) and an area that I, a single 30-year old female, would be feel comfortable/safe in, that has parks and/or yards for walking my dog. As a student, close proximity to grocery store/pharmacy, library, and coffeehouses would be great… a low-key bar/brewpub or two would be nice, as well. But, I’m not a party animal, so I don’t want to be in the middle of the bar/club scene. I plan to make use of the Drexel off-campus housing website, but I’d like to have some idea of where in the city to look, especially since I'll be at the Center City campus. I'm really excited about being in Philadelphia, but a little nervous as I've never lived in a big city before. Thanks in advance for the advice!

Here are the questions…
When are you moving?
July or August 2011
Where are you coming from?
Medium-sized city in South Florida (looking forward to a nice, big change!)
Why are you moving?
Starting grad school at Drexel (Center City Hahnemann campus)
Where will you be working?
n/a
Have you been here yet?
Visited for a long weekend in November and stayed with friends in the Art Museum area. Saw the Art Museum area, Fairmount (around the Eastern State Pen), and a lot of Center City. Loved it all!

Will you buy or rent?
Rent
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft?
I would consider any of those.
How much can you spend?
About $1,000/month max. $850-900/month would be better. But I might consider splitting a 2br with a roommate, in order to get more out of my budget if I need to.
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up?
Not sure… walk up is fine if I were on the 2nd floor (I have an older dog that doesn’t navigate stairs that well. One flight would be okay, but probably not more than that.)

Are you married or single? Do you have children?
Single, no children.
Do you have pets?
Yes, one adorable 40lb mutt.
Do you want or need a yard?
A yard would be nice for my dog, but it isn’t a necessity. If I didn’t have a yard, though, I would want to be near a park or an area conducive to dog-walking.
Are you keeping a car?
Yes, although I plan on taking public transportation to/from school (15th Street and Vine in Center City). I want to keep my commute short--the shorter the better--but definitely under 30 minutes.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet?
I’d like a nice happy medium between the two.

What do you want to be closest to?
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Train or subway stations

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood?
Doesn’t really matter. More interested in the convenience of the location, safety, and having good, safe places nearby to walk my dog.
Coke or Pepsi?
Gotta say Iced Tea… I’m a southern girl!

[pman]

spring garden. walking distance to school..parking is ok. lots of dog owners.

[Northbound81]

Collingswood NJ... safe to walk around any time of day or night. 15 minute ride on PATCO into Center City. Great parks to walk your dog. PATCO runs 24/7 so even if you stayed out late in the city, you can always get home.

In Philly itself... Manayunk is nice but regional rail runs infrequently and costs a lot, and there is no subway access. Center City is expensive. There's some good areas in South Philly, check out the areas near the Ellsworth-Federal stop on the Broad Street Line for example.. there are many more, but South Philly is a patchwork and some blocks are nice, others not so nice. There's also a serious lack of good outdoor recreation spots. Manayunk is much better with plenty of trails and parks nearby, but again the regional rail is very inconvenient. University City is tough to find good rentals in. Most are in terrible condition, or priced very high due to high demand from Penn and Drexel students. Really I think Collingswood is the best bet.

[newmarlig]

I agree with Spring Garden (Art Musuem area). Bella Vista (just south of center city) would be a fast subway ride and has dog parks.

[Marius Pontmercy]

PATCO isn't really convenient to Hahnemann, you'd have to get off at 8th and Market, then walk up the Hahnemann on Broad and Race-Vine. You shouldn't have to look to NJ, there are plenty of more convenient, safe places in Philly with plenty to do around them. As mentioned already, Spring Garden and Fairmount, sometimes termed as the "Art Museum" neighborhood are nearby. There's plenty to do down there, besides cultural institutions you'd have ready access to the Parkway, Fairmount Park, and the Schuylkill River trail for all your outdoor/exercise/dog walking needs. The great thing about Hahnemann is that its right on a subway stop, so you can really look at any neighborhood along a mass transit route that will have an easy commute into work. You could look into South Philly. Areas around the Lombard-South and Ellsworth-Federal stops have lots of nightlife, you're near South St and some good cafes, bars, and eateries around about said street (one of my favorite cafes is on 15th and South). That neighborhood is generally called Graduate Hospital, or SoSo (South of South). You could look into places in West Philly around the UPenn Drexel campuses. You would have to transfer from the Market-Frankford line or subway-surface lines at City Hall, which can be somewhat confusing at first. If you're up for that though you could go anywhere along the MFL as well. So besides University City in West Philly you could also check out the Northern Liberties which sits right above Center City near the river in North Philly. Again, lots of bars, restaurants, cafes, and neat little shops and galleries here as well. You could also try Center City, but you may not be able to find what you want in your price range there. And, I think, unless you really want the "city life" of high-rise living and lots of hustle and bustle the other neighborhoods will probably be nicer for you. Quieter streets and all that.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Watermelon27]

Thank you so much, everyone for giving me wonderful places from which to start my search! Are a lot of the rentals on a student cycle (leases ending/beginning in summer) or is it a free-for-all, with a lot of variation? I definitely plan to fly up and check things out in person in April or May-ish, but I'm wondering whether leases beginning in July/Aug/Sep are snatched up far in advance. I know there's a big student population in the metro area, so I'd like to time my search well.

[Marius Pontmercy]

There are some student oriented leases, but those are generally only around the major universities, and some, like those around Temple, probably wouldn't be very desirable for you. So generally the areas you'd be looking into will be full year leases, but you will find them on all sorts of cycles, so finding a place on the right one shouldn't be too much of a problem. As far as how far in advance to look, I really don't know, but I can tell you I started looking in May for an apartment and I had to be moved in by August, so I gave myself about three months to search, although ideally you may even want more time depending on whether or not you can't find the right place. I know some people will move into any place that's just somewhat what they were looking for, other people take more time.

[jennm59]

I would move to Chestnut Hill (or at least be sure to check it out) for a number of reasons. One, you want quiet, place to walk your dog (lots of green space and accessible to fairmount park), walkability to coffee houses (have both an independent one and starbucks), it's safe, and easily commutable to the center of the city. It also would be a great transition from where you are coming from. It even has a new co-op to get fresh foods that you can walk to if you live there. West Mount Airy is very similar, but not as much in the way of stores...(and make sure that's "west" mt. airy, and not east).

[zoegirlinphilly]

Drexelmed's Queen Lane campus is in East Falls, just 20 minutes from center city. There is a shuttle bus that takes students and faculty between the campuses so many CC students end of living in East Falls. Its nice and quiet there, place to park your car, plus access to public transportation.

[Watermelon27]

Thanks for the new replies pointing to Chestnut Hill (W. Mount Airy) and East Falls. I appreciate the help!