Recent Temple Grad, Working at Temple, Looking for Areas to Live (Ardmore: subletting, apartments)

[phillytechie]

Hi,

So I just graduated from Temple, and was just offered a full time gig at Temple. So naturally I'm working on figuring out where to live. Mostly looking to get a a few ideas on what areas I might look and if my budget would be at all reasonable. First I'm subletting a place from a buddy of mine till May so I've got a little bit of time to watch the market a bit. Second I really don't want to stay in the temple area, its beginning to get a bit expensive and hard to find studios/one bedrooms.

At this point I'm looking to rent either a studio or one bedroom, Would like to keep it under $1000 if at all possible, (want to save a bit of cash while I can). Right now I've been thinking of looking outside of the city, as the rent seems to be a bit more affordable, but I still like the idea of being in the city. The goal would be to have a commute of less than 30 to 45min, and would like to avoid driving to work. Though I have a feeling that if I were to head to the suburbs I probably would need to have a car around.

So far from a little poking the Ardmore or Chestnut Hill areas look appealing, but I expect that they would probably be out of my price range. Mostly I like the proximity to Grocery shopping and a bookstore/coffee shops, and a nice place to walk around on a nice day.

Any suggestions on where I might start would be great

Thanks

[RightonWalnut]

$1000 a month for a one bedroom? You can easily afford an apartment in the city. If you're gonna be working in the city, why inconvenience yourself and live in the suburbs?

I assume you are younger, but what are your interests? As a young guy I much prefer getting to my apartment in ~15 mins after work then having a social life after.

What are you interests?

[drive carephilly]

Look in South Philly between the Ellsworth/Federal and Snyder stations on the subway. You can rent a 2 bedroom house for $1000.

Or you could get a studio in Center City.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

$1000 a month for a one bedroom? You can easily afford an apartment in the city. If you're gonna be working in the city, why inconvenience yourself and live in the suburbs?

I assume you are younger, but what are your interests? As a young guy I much prefer getting to my apartment in ~15 mins after work then having a social life after.

What are you interests?

I agree with this. You can even afford to live in the heart of Center City, albeit in a studio or walk-up.

If you want an urban atmosphere but find Center City a bit too fast-paced on a day-to-day basis, I'd recommend Manayunk, which would allow for a fairly easy train commute.

[Mimidae]

The *Temple* area is getting too expensive? Wow. It always seemed cheaper than University City and South Philly, the other 'affordable' neighborhoods I've been looking at. Maybe just not a lot of housing stock right now. In your situation, I'd try the Fairmount area. I've seen some pretty affordable rentals pop up there, especially pushing north just a bit.

Honestly though, if your budget is up to $1000, that opens up a lot of the city to you. (I say this as someone who has been relentlessly watching the apartment market for 4 months). *Especially* if you're not tied down to a car (because lack of parking is my difficulty with most of Center City). I agree that there's no reason for you to commute from the suburbs unless you're missing that pace of life (hey, no judgement here - after 4 years in one of the nicest neighborhoods of Baltimore, I was so ready to get back to the quiet and greenery of the suburbs I grew up in. And now I'm ready to get back to city living). For $1000, if you look long enough and are quick enough about contacting realtors, you can get a studio or 1BR in any city neighborhood you desire.

Since you have until May, I would say just start looking at Craigslist daily, as research. Refine your search to places between $600-$1000, or whatever. Bookmark decent looking apartments in your budget, and compare them against eachother. Not because you're ready to rent those places, but for research. You'll start to develop a real sense of the market, how far your rent money will go in certain neighborhoods, so that by the time apartments start opening up for May/June availability, you'll be able to spot the good deals right away.

[phillytechie]

Thanks for the input, I had done a few Google searches and was seeing studios around the $1300 mark which is more than I wanted to go, so its great to see that there are places in the 1000 range out there. I agree that I'd rather be in the City, I just didn't think I could swing it.

I've actually been seeing better prices out in the University City area than *Temple* lately, around here you either share a 4-6br house (with around 100sqft for a bedroom and another 150 for kitchen/den) for 500-600/mo or grab one of a few small (250sqft) Studios for 8-900. Considering this is 6-8 blocks from anything, I'd rather be near a bit of the nightlife and shopping.

Is craigslist/trulia the best place to be looking for the center/south/east city, any where I should add?

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by phillytechie

Thanks for the input, I had done a few Google searches and was seeing studios around the $1300 mark which is more than I wanted to go, so its great to see that there are places in the 1000 range out there. I agree that I'd rather be in the City, I just didn't think I could swing it.

I've actually been seeing better prices out in the University City area than *Temple* lately, around here you either share a 4-6br house (with around 100sqft for a bedroom and another 150 for kitchen/den) for 500-600/mo or grab one of a few small (250sqft) Studios for 8-900. Considering this is 6-8 blocks from anything, I'd rather be near a bit of the nightlife and shopping.

Is craigslist/trulia the best place to be looking for the center/south/east city, any where I should add?

Trulia is the best. Be careful with craigslist... they tend to lie about the location, but you can get some great places there.

[Marius Pontmercy]

I moved to University City while I was still taking classes at Temple. The commute was fine. About 30min each way on the subway, and I usually studied or read a book on the way. The rents are pretty much in line with what you're looking at and the neighborhood is far nicer than the area around Temple. There's grocery stores, restaurants, cafes, bars, and shopping in University City itself, and if you want to go downtown its a short 10min trip on the subway or trolley.