Young TN couple, wondering where to live in Philly suburbs (Philadelphia: 2013, for rent)

[Mchartman1209]

My husband and I are both 27 (no kids) and are moving to the Philadelphia area in June. We are both from the south and have no knowledge of the area. We are interested in living in a suburb that is close to the city but still has fun things going on.

We are interested in renting a townhouse or house with a garage (hoping to pay around 1500 for rent but are willing to pay more if need be). We want a town that is safe, has other young couples, good restaurants, some shopping, nightlife and town events. We also want to easily be able to get to Philadelphia rather easily because that is where my husband will be working. We also have 2 cars.

I have read that Manayunk,West Chester and Conshohocken might be a good fit for us and would love to hear details and pros/cons of each. I am also open to other suggestions. Thanks!

[maf763]

Manayunk is within the city and West Chester is a not going to be a quick commute into Philly. Conshohocken fits your criteria - there's a website called more than the curve that has a lot of info about the community. You could also try some places like Media or Ambler. If you're willing to live within the city, you'll have more options.

[stuckinsj]

Tennessee is very different from Philly. The traffic is much worse and the housing prices are much higher for renting and owning. Young people in their 20's and 30's without kids are more likely to live in the city than the burbs if they work in town. You might want to ditch one of your cars if you move to Philly. Some of the suburbs are as walkable as the city making a second car unnecessary. Check out some of the neighborhoods around Center City (aka downtown) as well as Manaynuk, Closer in West Philly. There is not much night life or young people in the burbs outside of the college towns.

"We want a town that is safe, has other young couples, good restaurants, some shopping, nightlife and town events. " - That screams intown living to me.

[scosm]

A few questions that would probably be helpful to know the answer to are:

-Is your husband is going to commute by public transport or by car?
-How long of a commute is he willing to put up with?
-What part of the city is he going to work in?
-Do you want to be "in town", as in a place where you walk to the store and the coffee shop or movie theater, or in a more suburban neighborhood? I say this because I think people use the word "town" differently in different parts of the country, especially outside of the denser parts, earlier developed parts of the east coast. Finding a house with a garage in the "town" part of West Chester is going to be very difficult. In the suburban area around it, not so much.

[frankgn87]

how about schools? Will your kids be home schooled, public schools or private? Be aware the school system IN Philly is VERY bad qnand in shambles generally. We work with in it.. The burbs have public schools that are many times safer, cleaner and much better. Conshohocken is very nice...

Here are some articles.

Philadelphia to close 23 public schools; Randi Weingarten arrested at protest (update)

Who's Killing Philly Public Schools? | Philadelphia City Paper | 05/03/2012

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

how about schools? Will your kids be home schooled,

Dude.

Literally, the 8th and 9th words in the OP are "no kids".

[drive carephilly]

OP - where in TN are you coming from? What kind of neighborhood do you live in now?

Work location, expected mode of transport, and what length of commute we're willing to stomach are key . . . keeping in mind that an "hour commute" by car in Philly rush hour is likely to get you 15-20 miles depending on the direction of travel. There's no hitting the cruise on the highways around here.

[Mchartman1209]

scosm: to answer your ?s:
-Is your husband is going to commute by public transport or by car? he is open to both options (if we live close to a train station he is willing to travel by train)

-How long of a commute is he willing to put up with? i would say 45 min or less

-What part of the city is he going to work in? he will work in Camden, NJ

Drive Carephilly: We are moving from a suburb near Nashville, TN. Traffic here is nothing to speak of and it is a relatively small town. There isn't much going on here which is why we are interested in being near the city or live in a suburb that has some fun places to eat/drink etc...

Honestly, we want to find a happy medium between city life and total suburbs. We would love to be able to walk to a nearby pub, restaurant or coffee shop but would still love to be able to have our cars and drive to a grocery store. I'm not sure if that's possible, but would love to know where to live that is closest to that description.

I have been looking for townhomes around our price range and found one in the city on Tilton St. Anyone know anything about that area? is it safe?

thanks for all the help/suggestions!

[frankgn87]

Originally Posted by drive carephilly

Dude.

Literally, the 8th and 9th words in the OP are "no kids".

My mistake.. Did not see that..

[drive carephilly]

Originally Posted by Mchartman1209

-What part of the city is he going to work in? he will work in Camden, NJ

Drive Carephilly: We are moving from a suburb near Nashville, TN. Traffic here is nothing to speak of and it is a relatively small town. There isn't much going on here which is why we are interested in being near the city or live in a suburb that has some fun places to eat/drink etc...

Oh, say no more.

You should be looking in Collingswood or Westmont in the NJ suburbs. They're right next to each other. Both are on the same subway line that goes through Camden and into Philly.

Westmont to Camden is 6 minutes on the train. Driving would be 15 minutes.

Collingswood is a dry town but Haddon Township is not (Westmont is technically just a zip code within Haddon Township). Collingswood still has lots of restaurants - they're just BYOB.

These images are from 2008 - there's a lot more going on there these days.
700 Haddon Ave. Collingswood, NJ - Google Maps