Where To Find A 1BR Apt in the City or Suburbs for $1200? (Philadelphia: apartment, to rent)

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

Pastorius Court Apartments For Rent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com
central ac and w/d in unit for $1195, daaamn, i havent seen anyth like this round here for less than $1700, and in nyc it ll prolly be 2k+

Yep... well I told you cost of living would be MUCH cheaper in Philadelphia

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

whoA@camden The Victor Lofts Apartments For Rent in Camden, New Jersey - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com

I wouldn't live in Camden. Just live somewhere in Philadelphia if you want urban living. Camden is not a good place right now.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Can we put this myth to rest that the only good places to live in South Philadelphia is East of Broad Street?

To the OP, I would add the Northwest section of the city into the mix of places to check out which includes trendy neighborhoods such as Manayunk, East Falls, Mt. Airy, Roxbrough and Chestnut Hill. Chestnut Hill may be too expensive and Mt. Airy may be too family oriented, so you can check out the others.

If you are young and single, I would suggest living in the city.

yea, actually these nhoods seem pretty laid back, maybe im jus trippin cuz in north jers next to nyc its not really suburban and more like the outer boroughs of nyc, too crowded so i want some space, but if certain philly nhoods are less dense and suburban like, that could work

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Yep... well I told you cost of living would be MUCH cheaper in Philadelphia



I wouldn't live in Camden. Just live somewhere in Philadelphia if you want urban living. Camden is not a good place right now.

yea i kno, f dat
those camden apts should be way cheaper cuz they in camden, i wonder why they're not

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Can we put this myth to rest that the only good places to live in South Philadelphia is East of Broad Street?

To the OP, I would add the Northwest section of the city into the mix of places to check out which includes trendy neighborhoods such as Manayunk, East Falls, Mt. Airy, Roxbrough and Chestnut Hill. Chestnut Hill may be too expensive and Mt. Airy may be too family oriented, so you can check out the others.

If you are young and single, I would suggest living in the city.

I agree with this. I only mentioned suburbs because he specifically asked about them (and everyone else mentioned all the requisite city neighborhoods)

[OleSchoolFool]

but the thing is, isnt almost all action in cc anyway? so what would be the diff between livin in outer, suburban like philly nhoods and philly burbs then?

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

but the thing is, isnt almost all action in cc anyway? so what would be the diff between livin in outer, suburban like philly nhoods and philly burbs then?

No not necessarily. There is a TON of nightlife and cultural offerings in the Northwest section of the city in both Manayunk (on Main Street) and in Chestnut Hill (on Germantown Ave) as well as some good offerings in Mt. Airy (along Germantown Ave.).. so if you chose to live in the Northwest, you could just spend your nights on Main Street Manayunk when you don't want to travel into Center City.

Also, the Northwest section of the city is service pretty well by Septa. There is a line that runs through East Falls, Manayunk and Roxborough and two lines that run through Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill that will get you to Center City in ~15-20 mins for 4 dollars one way.

Now for suburban-esk areas of the city. These areas were ONCE suburbs before they were annexed by Philadelphia in the 1800's. Before this time, Philadelphia was only 16 sq miles large... now it is 134 sq miles in land area. The Philadelphia area is filled with towns of historic tons and areas that all grew up at different times.

If you want a laid back low density suburban like city atmosphere, then you'll want to check out either the Northwest section of the city or the Northeast section of the city North of Pennypack Park. The Northeast tends to be very family oriented and is serviced poorly by SEPTA so you will likely have to drive to Center City. The Northeast is also pretty similar to Queens in the built environment. The Northwest on the other hand, is really a collection of small towns now located within the city limits. Manayunk, East Falls and Germantown tend to be pretty dense and city like while Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill and Roxborough tend to be more suburban-esk in nature. A massive park (Wissahickon) runs down the middle of Northwest Philadelphia that connects to Fairmount Park. Also, there is the Schuylkill River Trail that runs along the entirety of the Schuylkill River. Therefore, if you wanted to, you could ride your bike along the paths from Northwest Philadelphia to Center City. There is nothing like Northwest Philadelphia that I have ever seen in NYC.. it is an area unique to Philadelphia.

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

kul
do most people use mass transit to get to work to center city from the burbs? can you get a $1000-1200 apt near a train station in the burbs?

if you want to get a 1BR appartment in the burbs basically the ONLY place they'll be located is by public transit. With a few exceptions in the near suburbs, the vast majority of 1BR appartments in the philly suburbs are situated right next to train or trolley stations. In most of these apartment complexes rent will be considerably lower than $12000 for a 1BR.

Originally Posted by OleSchoolFool

but the thing is, isnt almost all action in cc anyway? so what would be the diff between livin in outer, suburban like philly nhoods and philly burbs then?

By far the most action particularly as far as culture goes is in cc or other neighborhoods that are considered a part of "downtown" philadelphia like old city or society hill or rittenhouse, etc. But that is not to say that there isn't a lot of action in other Philly hoods. There are plenty of philly neighborhoods (bella vista, queen village, northern liberties, fishtown, university city, etc) that not only have night life options but even art galleries and museums and restaurants and theaters etc.

Most of the action is in center city, yes. But please don't take it to mean that the other nabes are quiet. there is a ton going on in these neighborhoods, certainly a lot more than the suburbs. Plus even if you didn't want to enjoy all the amenities in your own hood and wanted to head into downtown to do everything there is still a huge difference between heading downtown for some action from the suburbs as compared to coming from say northern liberties or bella vista. If you live in Bella Vista heading downtown is as simple as putting on some shoes, walking out your door and heading a few blocks north. From the suburbs? It's quite a bit more of a hassle. Plus not all public transit is created equal, transit from the burbs in invariably less frequent and longer rides than say just hopping on the BSL in south philly and you'll be downtown in a couple of minutes.

[RightonWalnut]

I would say the ONLY downside of suburban living as a young single professional would be the severe lack of night life and cultural offerings relative to the city. In the city, you will meet a SLEW of single people with similar interests to your, it is a place where you can make friends and then go out with those friends. In the suburbs, the majority of those people are families or married trying to start a family, nightlife is relatively weak and you won't meet too many people willing to converse.

So like I said, if you are single and young, I'd suggest the city or a similar area like Conshohocken, Collingswood or West Chester.

[OleSchoolFool]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

No not necessarily. There is a TON of nightlife and cultural offerings in the Northwest section of the city in both Manayunk (on Main Street) and in Chestnut Hill (on Germantown Ave) as well as some good offerings in Mt. Airy (along Germantown Ave.).. so if you chose to live in the Northwest, you could just spend your nights on Main Street Manayunk when you don't want to travel into Center City.

Also, the Northwest section of the city is service pretty well by Septa. There is a line that runs through East Falls, Manayunk and Roxborough and two lines that run through Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill that will get you to Center City in ~15-20 mins for 4 dollars one way.

Now for suburban-esk areas of the city. These areas were ONCE suburbs before they were annexed by Philadelphia in the 1800's. Before this time, Philadelphia was only 16 sq miles large... now it is 134 sq miles in land area. The Philadelphia area is filled with towns of historic tons and areas that all grew up at different times.

If you want a laid back low density suburban like city atmosphere, then you'll want to check out either the Northwest section of the city or the Northeast section of the city North of Pennypack Park. The Northeast tends to be very family oriented and is serviced poorly by SEPTA so you will likely have to drive to Center City. The Northeast is also pretty similar to Queens in the built environment. The Northwest on the other hand, is really a collection of small towns now located within the city limits. Manayunk, East Falls and Germantown tend to be pretty dense and city like while Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill and Roxborough tend to be more suburban-esk in nature. A massive park (Wissahickon) runs down the middle of Northwest Philadelphia that connects to Fairmount Park. Also, there is the Schuylkill River Trail that runs along the entirety of the Schuylkill River. Therefore, if you wanted to, you could ride your bike along the paths from Northwest Philadelphia to Center City. There is nothing like Northwest Philadelphia that I have ever seen in NYC.. it is an area unique to Philadelphia.

yea, id say NE looks even more suburban than queens, more like staten island or long island
NW seems like a nice middle ground, Mt Airy and Roxborough would prolly fit me
so even close suburbs like lower merion or drexel hill or wateva dont have much action jus cuz they outside the city?

[OleSchoolFool]

does philly crime eva spill ova to the nice philly nhoods or the burbs?