Relocating from Detroit to Philly (Philadelphia, Penn: to rent, how much, neighborhoods)

[Archgeek]

Hi everyone I am pondering moving to Philly when I graduate from the University of Michigan business school next year. I'd like to know where is a good neighborhood for recent college grads to move to. That is affordable but still in a decent area. I have not decided between Boston & Philadelphia yet but I'd like to get some input, Thanks every one.

Archgeek.

[RightonWalnut]

Areas like University City, Old City, Graduate Hospital, Northern Liberties and Manayunk are just a few places that most after grads move to. Boston has less of a nightlife culture and is more family and couple oriented as well as college students... Philly has all of those as well as a very strong single and graduate culture. At least IMO

[rotodome]

Have you gotten job offers in both Boston and Philly?
That might help make your decision a lot easier. They're both great cities with lots to offer, and honestly are not wildly dissimilar places, so I think the specific job you're going to do all day will likely make a bigger difference in your quality of life than the comparative merits of each city.
Also things like "affordability" tend to be relative to one's salary, so it's good to know what that is beforehand if possible.

[pman]

Welcome michigander, bells is popular in Philly.
Be more specific in what you want.

[Archgeek]

Summersm343 thanks for the input I was wondering about the nightlife & all. I know both Boston & Philly are extremely walkable in terms of density, but which city has more of the 'neighborhood' feel?
Rotodome yes I have had offers in both cities with the starting salary of around $115,000 in both places. I do not know if thats considered 'good' in either place? With how much more expensive they are from Detroit.
Pman I'd like a area thats not too commercial (starbucks, chain etc.) more so close to a university but still has the 'grit' & 'small town feel'. I don't know if Philly universties have historic architecture in or around them. I used to be an Architecture major so I think that might be good to go off of in determining what/where I want to live in Philly.
Thanks for help everybody.

[rotodome]

Congrats on the multiple offers! If I were you I'd be thinking about things like "Does either job seem more interesting?" "Which office is nicer and in a better location?" As that's where you're going to be spending a lot of your time...

But anyway:
Boston is a more expensive place to live than Philly, and your dollar will go further in Philly. But I think you should be comfortable in either place with that salary. Both cities are very rich in history and historic architecture. Both are really very neighborhoody. Philly is a bit more rough around the edges. Philly is technically "bigger", but that's mainly just a fluke of the how the political boundaries of the cities are drawn up (eg: Cambridge, Brookline, Lexington etc are not technically part of Boston because they were never annexed and combined, whereas Philly annexed all the townships in its county in 1854). They're really very similarly sized cities for all intents and purposes, and the metropolitan regions are also of a similar size.

I'm an architecture enthusiast as well (an architect actually), and as far as the old universities in the cities go, I personally think the historic architecture in and around Harvard is a bit more interesting than the architecture around UPenn.
I say that mainly because Penn's campus is less than half the age of Harvard's, so there's a much greater breadth of architectural history in Harvard's buildings.
(Penn was founded in the mid 18th century, but uprooted and started over across the river in West Philly in 1872, so the oldest buildings on Penn campus are actually Victorian era, whereas the oldest buildings on and around Harvard campus date from 150 years earlier, and the university itself was founded way back in 1632.)

Like I said before, the cities themselves are not incredibly unlike each other. I'd visit and check them out and see how each strikes you.

[Archgeek]

Rotodome thanks for the input and comparison between the campuses of Harvard & UPenn. I like architecture from World War 2 and back. It has a real historic feel and charm to it. If Philly is less expensive then Boston I may consider that strongly now because of student debt. Well about the the university neighborhoods in Philly there any dive bars open till 2am every day? I dig places like this thats in my hometown Detroit.
Thanks, Archgeek.

The Bronx Bar - Midtown - Detroit, MI

[Bruins_Fan]

Originally Posted by Archgeek

Rotodome yes I have had offers in both cities with the starting salary of around $115,000 in both places. I do not know if thats considered 'good' in either place?
Thanks for help everybody.

You would do fine in Boston on $115k as a single person. You could probably afford to rent in almost any neighborhood, pending what you're willing to spend on housing. I like the North End, though it's one of the toughest for parking. Beacon Hill and the Back Bay are also great areas and very desirable.

[RightonWalnut]

Philadelphia » Nightlife » Bars » Dive Bars - Yelp

http://www.yelp.com/c/philadelphia/lounges

http://www.yelp.com/c/philadelphia/pubs

http://www.yelp.com/c/philadelphia/bars

[FindingZen]

Without knowing your debt burden and homeownership intentions, you could live very well in Philadelphia, certainly with a more favorable cost of living than the "capital of New England". Both Philly and Boston are integral in America's history so there are no shortage of older buildings.

Personally, if I were a single guy in your position, I'd rent a unit at the Piazza at Schimdt's in Northern Liberties and call it a day. But your mileage may vary.