Relocating to Philadelphia (Chester, Springfield, West Chester: top neighborhoods, apartment, to rent)

[spoonermoon42]

I am looking at relocating to Philadelphia from Buffalo. My wife and I are young (in our early 30s) and are looking to find an apartment (or house at some point) in an area where we have access to good restaurants, parks and "walking-safe" neighborhoods. We enjoy neighborhoods near colleges and universities because they seem to inject life into those communities.
I'm not sure if this helps, but similar neighborhoods that we like are:
Georgetown - Washington DC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georget...ashington,_D.C.))
Elmwood village - Buffalo (//www.city-data.com/forum/buffa...uffalo-ny.html)
Hyde Park - Chicago (http://www.chicago.com/neighborhoods/Hyde_Park/)
Beacon Hill - Boston (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_Hill,_Boston)
Chapel Hill - North Carolina

We are definitely not opposed to looking at the suburbs of Philadelphia if they have some "life" to them or have easy access to the city.

I'm not sure what sort of income our jobs would make in Philadelphia. I'm a Pharmacist and my wife is an engineer. Hopefully we will make enough money to live somewhere decent. Safety is important.

What neighborhoods or towns/suburbs would you recommend we check out? Thanks in advance!

(Also - We don't have kids right now, but how are the schools?)

[frankgn87]

Philly public schools are mostly horrible. The charters are mostly good but hard to get in. If you don't get into a charter, you must go to private to assure the best education at the high school level. Id recommend the burbs.. Look in Montgomery and Bucks counties.

[FindingZen]

Normally I would ask about your apartment budget...however, a pharmacist and engineer would likely have no problem paying ~$1000-1200 for a 1BR apt in any of the Center City (downtown) neighborhoods.

Given your experience and preferences, you'll likely find Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square and Washington Square West to be most appealing. They are in or near the best that the city has to offer. Center City is about two square miles of high-density walkability; it's as safe as any urban downtown. The elementary schools in the area are top-notch.

Depending on your budget, you may be able to rent a house in University City, just west of Center City across the Schuykill (SCHOOL-kill; SCHOOL-cull) River. As the name implies, it's home to Penn, Drexel and the University of Sciences in Philadelphia. You may want to look west of 43rd St (to avoid students' flexible nighttime schedules) as well as south of Spruce, north of Springfield and east of 48th to maximize safety. 40th Street is the epicenter of UC although there are a lot of restaurants sprinkled throughout the area at relatively reasonable prices. If you have a jones for African food, you'll love Baltimore Avenue. Penn Alexander (supported by Penn) is another well-regarded elementary school. Although the area is much improved over the last decade, it is still a bit gritty compared to Center City.

Mt. Airy in NW Philly is similar to University City in many ways.It is probably the most socioeconomically diverse - and progressive - neighborhood in the city. Chestnut Hill is a lot like Georgetown. If you can rent a home here, it will probably be at a simiar price point as you would find in Center City.

RE: Schools, living in the neighborhood of your elementary school is key to getting your future children in them. After that - or even as they're approaching fifth or sixth grade - you'll have to be proactive about getting them into the better junior high schools and magnet high schools. In the suburbs, unless you're intent on getting your kids into MIT or Harvard, the vast majority of the school districts are above-average to excellent.

I'm kinda tanked out now LOL but hopefully others will chime in on Media, West Chester and the Main Line communities.

[PhillyViaBoston]

With all due respect, you're not going to find Georgetown, Hyde Park or Beacon Hill in Philadelphia or the Philadelphia area.

Center City Philadelphia is lovely in it's own right, but it's not the same in ways that only a visit will truly be able to communicate. Though I agree with Tone509 that Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, and Washington Square West would be your closest comparisons. I'll also add that Society Hill reminds me a lot of the Back Bay in Boston, which is not all that different from Beacon Hill.

Yes, Media, West Chester and the Main Line communities are also nice (and great places to raise a family), but let's not kid ourselves... They're suburbs, which right out of the chute makes them different from the neighborhoods the OP seeks.

All this said, if you're willing to depart from that beautiful city-life wish-list, I'm going to suggest you take a look at Swarthmore. Swarthmore College is there (though I'm not sure it injects "life" as much as just "liberalism" within the community, not that I'm complaining). The SEPTA regional rail line can get you into Center City in under 30 minutes (or <20 minute drive if you're willing to find/pay parking). You'd also have Media nearby (5-7 minutes) for shopping, restaurants & bars, which is about as good as you can get in the suburbs. And the Wallingford-Swarthmore school district is one of the tops in the state.

[spoonermoon42]

Thank you for the great recommendations! If anybody has anymore, please keep em coming. I will actually be in Philadelphia in a few weeks and I am planning on checking out all of these places!

My wife and I are considering moving into the city to begin with and once we are ready to start a family, getting a house in the burbs after we have explored them in more depth.

[Clark Park]

Your very best choice may be University City, just on the other side of the Schuykill River ... this is the real "college town" part of Philadelphia that is full of cafes, little ethnic restaurants, bookshops, cultural venues, quirky shops, etc. The best part about University City is that it is historic and you can see examples of every type of Victorian residential architecture from the 1850's right up to 1900 or so: Queen Anne, 2nd Empire, Italianate, Eclectic, Gothic Revival, etc.

One part of University City is called Spruce Hill, and the special Penn-Sadie Alexander Catchment Area is arguably the best K-8 school district in the city. The school is subsidized by the local universities and classes are small and the programs and amenities are tops, the standards are very high ... but you must live in this specific neighborhood to be eligible to send your kids there.

Because of all these things I must warn you that home prices in University City are quite high. People pay a premium to live there.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by PhillyViaBoston

With all due respect, you're not going to find Georgetown, Hyde Park or Beacon Hill in Philadelphia or the Philadelphia area.

Center City Philadelphia is lovely in it's own right, but it's not the same in ways that only a visit will truly be able to communicate. Though I agree with Tone509 that Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, and Washington Square West would be your closest comparisons. I'll also add that Society Hill reminds me a lot of the Back Bay in Boston, which is not all that different from Beacon Hill.

I get the sense that you're downgrading Center City Philly neighborhoods in comparison to top neighborhoods in DC, Boston or Chicago, although I'm not sure why.

Of course, I completely understand the perspective that Philadelphia does not have as many shall we say, "upscale," neighborhoods as the aforementioned cities. However, neighborhoods like Rittenhouse Square, Filter Square, Society Hill, Washington West and Chestnut Hill are without a doubt among the best urban neighborhoods in the country with exactly the same amenities you'd find in places like G-town, Hyde Park and Beacon Hill. (I used to live very close to Georgetown in DC and visit Center City often, so I do have a basis for comparison.). Chestnut Hill was recently ranked by Forbes as one of America's Top Urban Enclaves: http://www.forbes.com/2007/08/02/hom...e_slide_2.html, and Rittenhouse is constantly winning accolades for its gorgeous public space: http://planphilly.com/rittenhouse-sq...-public-spaces. Not trying to instigate debate, but I thought it was important to add some perspective.

To the OP, you should definitely stick to Center City or University City for the type of neighborhood you're looking for.

[PhillyIndy]

Originally Posted by spoonermoon42

Thank you for the great recommendations! If anybody has anymore, please keep em coming. I will actually be in Philadelphia in a few weeks and I am planning on checking out all of these places!

My wife and I are considering moving into the city to begin with and once we are ready to start a family, getting a house in the burbs after we have explored them in more depth.

If the plan is rent, then kids, then move, then you should do Rittenhouse Square.

Once you have kids you can then look at the Mainline or Media and a vareity of other places.

Rittenhouse is the nicest part of the city. You could also consider Fairmount/Spring Garden. Certainly not as nice but you get easier access to Fairmount Park, more space. Any Ultimately it is 1.5 miles to Rittenhouse square.

[Wisertime]

I can only compare to Chapel Hill, since I lived near there. If you like that, you might check out Chestnut Hill (has 2 trains into the city too). If you go to the suburbs check out Glenside and Ambler....probably not quite the same thing you are looking at though, but affordable if you need more space/yard etc.

[Manayunker]

I re-lo'd to Philly. Lived in Manayunk, Brewerytown/Art Museum area, West Chester, Malvern, Phoenixville, and finally Collegeville. Wife grew up on Mainline so I had a taste of some areas.

Loved Manayunk but it's pretty well over by now. Still good restaurants and great drive back-n-forth to Center City but it's lost its vibe.

If 1st moving to Philly I'd suggest Art Museum area. Pretty good restaurants, North Star Bar (if it's still there) was awesome, and you're close to anything that's gonna happen on the Parkway.

Time comes for the suburb move I'd suggest West Chester for a little townie feel w/ a college and some pastoral fun. Not the easiest to get back into the city from but why would you need to?

Old section of Malvern was nice and your close to 202 corridor & all a lot of tech jobs but otherwise blandish suburb.

Collegeville fits a little better for the growing family (more house for your $s) but you gotta go to Oaks or KofP for any entertainment/dining.

As for Mainline, Ardmore would/could work and there's always Brigadoon-ish Narberth (Go Narbs!). Narbeth is kind of uncut gem, great for family & close to Mainline but the denizens have this underdog attitude. Not much snobbery & a fun July 4th down at the baseball fields.

I'm far removed from Philly now (up @ 8,000 ft. in the Rockies) but gotta say I had fun while I lived there. Bonus, got a wife & some great in-laws & friends to boot.

Good luck w/ your move.