Moving from Boston

[PhillyViaBoston]

Originally Posted by GraysFerryB4

Media is very nice but... the commute to the city can be about 30-40 minutes.

Just for the record, it's never taken me close to 40 minutes to get from Media to Center City (using 95 to either 676 or 76), and it would only take 30 minutes if there was somewhat heavy traffic, which typically only happens if you forget there's a Phillies game and stay on 95 too long.

That said, I'm a "Boston driver" so my merging capabilities are top-notch. It's practically a superpower. Mileage probably varies for those who learned to drive in the mid-atlantic region.

[Bostoncpl]

Originally Posted by PhillyViaBoston

That said, I'm a "Boston driver" so my merging capabilities are top-notch. It's practically a superpower. Mileage probably varies for those who learned to drive in the mid-atlantic region.

Phew! lol.

Thanks for all the input everyone. We'll try searching those areas. One BIG question though. When do places start hitting the market for July/August? Seems like mighty slim pickings now.

[GraysFerryB4]

You may be breaking land-speed records getting from Media to Philly in under 30 minutes. I know that can be done but NO WAY on a consistent basis. Especially rush hour. How about the opposite way on a Friday night?? We may be talking an hour in the summer. When compared to an area like Collingswood where you oppose traffic, the commute is definately shorter.

[PhillyViaBoston]

Originally Posted by GraysFerryB4

You may be breaking land-speed records getting from Media to Philly in under 30 minutes. I know that can be done but NO WAY on a consistent basis. Especially rush hour. How about the opposite way on a Friday night?? We may be talking an hour in the summer. When compared to an area like Collingswood where you oppose traffic, the commute is definately shorter.

In all seriousness, you've underestimated the fairly consistent ease of driving from Media to Center City, even during rush hour.

I do this every day... Leave Media around 8am and get on route 476 south at exit 3. You can easily be at the Walt Whitman bridge in 20 minutes. There's hardly any traffic on 476 south of exit 3 or on 95 north. Though if 95 is congested from an accident (or recently when they were painting the Girard Point Bridge, though that didn't start until 9am) you also have the option of getting onto 76 east at the airport and take that into town.

I agree the return drive is worse, but that wasn't the question at hand. (Because 95 south backs up past the 476 north interchange - even though most of those cars stay to the left on 95 south heading toward Delaware - it causes delay taking the exit onto 476 back to Media.)

All this said, the train is still my favorite choice from Media into Center City just so I don't have to find or pay for parking.

[templeu]

I used to live in that area and took exit 3 on Blue Route. The drive in the AM tended to be better than the drive in the PM... though depending on when I left in the AM, the blue route could be slow (sometimes bumper to bumper, and sometimes it flowed smoothly). I-95 was usually not a problem in the morning. As my screen name suggests I work at Temple, so from door to door it usually took me 40 minutes to get to work...but perhaps getting up Broad added a few more minutes.

Going home at anytime after 4pm was another story. Traffic usually started to back up somewhere around the airport exit and the Prospect Park exit. There were days when it took me 1.5 hours to get home. I have a pretty flexible schedule, so I tried to leave prior to rush hour when possible. But the Fridays I had to leave at 4:30/5pm were no fun at all.

There's no doubt the Collingswood to Phila commute is much easier. That said, Media is a very nice place to live and I wouldn't hesitate to live there (nor would I hesitate to suggest someone consider the NJ burbs). As Phillyvboston suggested, the Media R3 train is a great option if you work near a station.

[PennKid]

Greetings! So I'm actually heading to Boston for grad school next fall to join my girlfriend who already lives there, and I've gotten to do a lot of exploring in Beantown. I acquainted myself with almost every neighborhood up there (I was an urban studies major too, so it's almost a job!), and while I think that Media and Collingswood are both nice places, they may not be exactly what you're looking for if you're coming from Jamaica Plain and looking for walkable but urban neighborhoods... I would suggest living in inner West Philly, which are the neighborhoods that ring Penn and Drexel and USP... some call it "University City". There are two main parts to it, with Powelton to the north, Walnut Hill to the west, Spruce Hill to the Southwest, and the unnamed Baltimore Ave corridor to the southwest/south... Powelton and Spruce Hill are probably the more 'grownup' and quiet places, while Walnut Hill and the Baltimore Ave is dominated by a slightly younger, more 'alternative' crows- in other words, hipsters. Baltimore Ave is definitely the main commercial corridor, and between 44th and 51st you should find everything you need to suit you- bars (Dock Street and Mill Creek), sit-in restaurants (Gold Standard, Gojio), coffeeshops a plenty, bike stores, and boutiques. As for getting to Widener, it's not to far from 76 and thus 95, leading you to widener, and you're not to far from the regional rail, either...

Here are some streetscapes from each:

[GraysFerryB4]

PennKid, I'd have to agree with you that the area has come a long way. The investment in it to tap it's potential in the last 12 years has paid off. I still, however think it has a ways to go. In the summer when colleges are out it is ridden with neighborhood thugs who travel in flash packs. I actually think the UPENN cops to a phenomenol job but they can be overwhelmed. We went to see a movie in the summer at the Bridge ( high end movie theatre that is NOT cheap) and we had to leave because it was South Central. Same with the bowling alley where the was no respect for anyone around them at all. The OP did say that they were looking for an area like that so what do I know. I just would never choose it over media or Collingswood.

[Bostoncpl]

Thanks everyone! You have all offered tons of great help and tips. Don't mean to repeat myself, but our next question is when places hit the rental market down there - Especially Media and University City. We're hoping for a mid-July move. Are there many places that go on the market for that time? And when about do you think they start getting posted to craigslist?

[pman]

Originally Posted by GraysFerryB4

PennKid, I'd have to agree with you that the area has come a long way. The investment in it to tap it's potential in the last 12 years has paid off. I still, however think it has a ways to go. In the summer when colleges are out it is ridden with neighborhood thugs who travel in flash packs. I actually think the UPENN cops to a phenomenol job but they can be overwhelmed. We went to see a movie in the summer at the Bridge ( high end movie theatre that is NOT cheap) and we had to leave because it was South Central. Same with the bowling alley where the was no respect for anyone around them at all. The OP did say that they were looking for an area like that so what do I know. I just would never choose it over media or Collingswood.

pennkid recomended baltimore ave, you're talking about the student area ~40th and walnut. the bolwing alley sucks anyway IMO. if you want a fancy bowling alley, lucky strikes or north bowl are better bets.