Neighborhoods convenient to I-76? (Philadelphia, Reading: living in, young professionals, restaurants)

[almondpocky]

Hello all. I posted earlier about moving from NYC for a job in Reading. After some consideration, I'm pretty sure I'm going to move to Philadelphia rather than attempt the Reading suburbs. I'll be driving to Reading about three days a week, usually not during rush hours.

So--if anyone has advice or information about Philly neighborhoods that are convenient to I-76, I'd appreciate it. So far on my list are Manayunk, Art Museum, Chestnut Hill, Bala Cynwyd--but looking at Craig's List, those are all kind of pricey, correct? Any others I should check out? Any I should stay away from? Right now I live in Brooklyn, and would love to maintain that kind of life (good and inexpensive food options, bike riding, coffee shops, places to walk to, etc.)

Background info on me: 30s, single, female, not hetero.

Thanks!

[pman]

that's a long commuter but I suppose it's possible from manayunk or chestnut hill/mt airy. from chestnut hill/mt airy you might consider just taking the turnpike out to KoP and catch 422 from there rather than relying on the unreliable 76

[rotodome]

East Falls is very convenient to 76, because you get right onto the highway section of route 1, which feeds onto 76.
If you want a Brooklyn type of experience, and a non-hetero community, I think that Chestnut Hill could be a good choice, because it has a bit of a Park Slope (but more suburban feeling) vibe to it, with lots of shops and boutiques and groceries on Germantown avenue, and it's very walkable, with access to a beautiful park with hiking and biking trails. West Mt Airy as well, although it's a bit less walkable, even though it's a bit closer in to Center City.
Living in Center City is actually a lot like living in Brooklyn (meaning Brooklyn Heights/Cobble Hill/Park Slope type Brooklyn), but it is relatively pricey. Eastern South Philly is experiencing some Center City spillover and is becoming a very nice place to live with lots of shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. And much of it is walkable or bikable to Center City.

For what this anecdote is worth, and if it matters, most lesbians I know In Philly (which is quite a few actually) live in South Philly, Chestnut Hill, and Mount Airy. The younger ones live in South Philly, and the older ones who are partnered up live in Mount airy and Chestnut Hill.

In the suburbs, I'd look in Bala, but also Narberth, and maybe Conshohocken.

[Duderino]

As a general note, I think you should be aware that 76 traffic can get atrocious even during non-rush hours. Before you make any final decisions as far as your housing location, it might be a good idea to "test out" your route on the off-hours in which you'll be traveling in order to get a good feel of the timing. As I'm sure you're aware, a Philly-Reading commute isn't exactly going to be a breeze, but three days a week should make it more tolerable.

As far as the neighborhoods you're looking into, I don't know if Chestnut Hill, in particular, would be a good fit if you're tying to find something comparable to Brooklyn. CH is one of the outermost neighborhoods of the city and is much more suburban in character. It is a beautiful area, but Brooklyn-style urban it is not. I would stick with areas such as East Falls/Fairmount/Art Museum for what you seem to be more accustomed to while being relatively close to 76.

Edit: rotodome's suggestion of Conshohocken (Conshy) is also another option. It's very close to the city, slightly closer to Reading, and has a strong and growing community of young professionals.

Good luck!

[rotodome]

Duderino, there's a pretty broad range of "Brooklyn-style urban". It's a big place.

[rotodome]

Ditmas Park (Brooklyn) nowadays I think is a pretty comparable neighborhood to Chestnut Hill.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by rotodome

Ditmas Park (Brooklyn) nowadays I think is a pretty comparable neighborhood to Chestnut Hill.

In my (limited) experience, Brooklyn generally seems much more urban than a neighborhood like Chestnut Hill. However, I'll defer to your judgment as you live there.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by pman

that's a long commuter but I suppose it's possible from manayunk or chestnut hill/mt airy. from chestnut hill/mt airy you might consider just taking the turnpike out to KoP and catch 422 from there rather than relying on the unreliable 76

Just to avoid confusion here, the turnpike is I-76.

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by Duderino

In my (limited) experience, Brooklyn generally seems much more urban than a neighborhood like Chestnut Hill. However, I'll defer to your judgment as you live there.

Oh you're right - generally it is. But Brooklyn isn't a neighborhood. It's more like a city of 2.5 million with a wide range of neighborhoods in it. Chestnut Hill is one neighborhood.

I was saying Chestnut Hill was like Ditmas Park because both of those neighborhoods are pretty progressive, and have a main avenue with a train station, shops, restaurants, a food co-op, etc, which is flanked by residential streets that look like this (streetview links):

ditmas park - Google Maps

chestnut hill philadelphia - Google Maps

[pman]

Originally Posted by Duderino

Just to avoid confusion here, the turnpike is I-76.

nope, the turnpike is 276 east of king of prussia.
if you're going to try a suburb, conshy is probably the best fit. you miss one more traffic bottleneck (the conshohocken curve), it's a 30 min train ride to the city, and it's a pretty sizable place.