Coming to Philadelphia in August (Houston: apartments, rent, crime rates)

[avengerr91]

Hello there,I got admitted to Temple Univeristy as an undergraduate for this fall and now want to know which areas are best to live if i prefer off campus housing.Iam International Student and this will be first ever visit to Philadelphia so obviously I have a lot of questions.Firstly,I want to know If the area around temple university is really all that dangerous ? Secondly,what area would you choose to live in if you were me and would want a maximum 15 min bus ride to the university ? The budget is around 650$ a month and Im looking for a safe place.Lastly,what I want to know is whether Philadelphia is a dangerous big city ? I got calls from relatives saying Philly is dangerous and I would be much safer in a city like Houston.Please tell me if that is true.Thank you

[newmarlig]

Look in South Philly close to the Broad Street subway (Broad Street is 14th Street - I would stay on the east side of Broad Street to be safer). The subway will take you to campus in about 15 minutes and also to center city (which is perfectly safe if you use common sense) in about six minutes (depending on how far south you live.)

[pman]

you might want to look into spring garden which is much closer to temple than south philly. lots of temple students there

[avengerr91]

South garden a safe area ?

[avengerr91]

The rent can be around 800$ max but the apartments should be in a decent area looking for a one bedroom apartment.

[kidphilly]

Maybe try Craigslist and check on apts in CC, Bella Vista, No Libs, Fishtown and Spring Garden etc.

you could always post some blocks and people may be able to give you some perspective on safety

What is your perspective on safety, are you from a city, small town, comfort level with cities etc.

[avengerr91]

Im from a big city.

[rotodome]

Houston and Philly are extremely different cities. Houston is more of a sprawling spread-out city where people generally drive everyplace, while Philly is a much more dense, older, walkable city.

I'm not experienced enough with Houston to tell you how much more or less "dangerous" I think it is than Philly. I can look at stats and see that Philly ranks #30 and Houston ranks #46 on a list of crime rates last year. But I know that stats aren't the whole story.
Like, is Atlanta (#22) really more dangerous than Inglewood,CA (#44)? Probably depends on a lot of circumstances.

I'm guessing that the truth is that, in both Houston and in Philly, if you are in dangerous areas of the city it's dangerous, and if you avoid those areas, you'll be fine.

[avengerr91]

I know that dangerous exist everywhere and you have to use common sense to avoid them.I just need an apartment where my brother and I can live safely and where coming home slightly late at night isnt too much of a problem.I checked out Spring Garden and it was good but some of the apartments i saw where a little rough.Any chance of getting one in or close to Centre City for around 800$ a month.A single bedroom is all thats required.

[Marius Pontmercy]

Originally Posted by avengerr91

I know that dangerous exist everywhere and you have to use common sense to avoid them.I just need an apartment where my brother and I can live safely and where coming home slightly late at night isnt too much of a problem.I checked out Spring Garden and it was good but some of the apartments i saw where a little rough.Any chance of getting one in or close to Centre City for around 800$ a month.A single bedroom is all thats required.

Probably not.

What part of Spring Garden looked "pretty rough"? The eastern part looks a bit sketch but generally isn't dangerous. Western Spring Garden Ave runs through the actual Spring Garden neighborhood, which is one of the nicest in the city. You may find cheaper rents north in Francisville, although you may find that a bit rough as well.

Your best bet would be, again, South Philly along Broad Street. Look into Bella Vista. Graduate Hospital isn't bad, but is more like Francisville.