Far Northeast Philadelphia (Franklin: big home, safe neighborhoods, new construction)

[flamiagirl]

Hello

Can someone tell me if far northeast philly is a good place to live and raise kids in? Schools, commute to CC (work). safety, property taxes, shopping, malls etc?
What train to take to CC and how long is the commute?

Are there homes with a good yard and patio for kids to play? Is it better to live here or other PA suburbs? South Jersey looks nice but taxes are a bit too high.
We are looking for a big home (4 br, 2-3 bath), reasonably priced, and a backyard, garage, basement etc.



Thanks

[mancat100]

Much of that area looks kind of suburban. The people who live up there seem to like it.

[jazzy jeff]

Originally Posted by flamiagirl

Hello

Can someone tell me if far northeast philly is a good place to live and raise kids in? Schools, commute to CC (work). safety, property taxes, shopping, malls etc?
What train to take to CC and how long is the commute?

Are there homes with a good yard and patio for kids to play? Is it better to live here or other PA suburbs? South Jersey looks nice but taxes are a bit too high.
We are looking for a big home (4 br, 2-3 bath), reasonably priced, and a backyard, garage, basement etc.



Thanks

The public schools are not going to be rated as high as the suburbs, but plenty of people do go through them, get an education and become successful. Plenty of options to commute to CC. Train or buses to the EL. As far as malls they got Franklin Mills, which you can get anything you may need. Mostly outlet stores with good prices. Last but not least, there are plenty of good safe neighborhoods in the Far NE.

[flamiagirl]

Thanks. What about the houses? Do they have backyard and fenced homes?
And how long is the commute to cc?
Would you recommend this area to someone working in cc but wants a more 'quiet' yet a little urban life?

[Snwmn5]

Originally Posted by flamiagirl

Thanks. What about the houses? Do they have backyard and fenced homes?
And how long is the commute to cc?
Would you recommend this area to someone working in cc but wants a more 'quiet' yet a little urban life?

The Far Northeast probably has the widest variety of houses of any area of Philadelphia. You can find everything from 1960's rowhouses to large, suburban style 4 bedroom new construction depending on what your price range is. Almost all of the houses have some type of yard.

Commute to Center City depends. If you're driving it would be more convenient to live closer to 95. If the traffic's not bad it can be a 15-20 minute drive, but it's usually a bit longer. If you take regional rail it's about 35 minutes on the train to Center City

[flamiagirl]

Originally Posted by Snwmn5

The Far Northeast probably has the widest variety of houses of any area of Philadelphia. You can find everything from 1960's rowhouses to large, suburban style 4 bedroom new construction depending on what your price range is. Almost all of the houses have some type of yard.

Commute to Center City depends. If you're driving it would be more convenient to live closer to 95. If the traffic's not bad it can be a 15-20 minute drive, but it's usually a bit longer. If you take regional rail it's about 35 minutes on the train to Center City

Thanks! We have a baby so we are looking at it long term. Big enough house, yard to play, garage etc

[rotodome]

I hate to be a wet blanket, but my advice, if you have a kid, is to pay close attention to what's going on with the Philadelphia School district right now. It's currently in turmoil due to a severe budget crisis. Libraries, programs and staff have been cut to the bone (and in some cases beyond).
For sure it's been a good option for many in the past (I went to Philly public schools myself), but that was then and this is now.

[Aimewitue]

There are options in the far northeast for better schools than just the philadelphia school district. Greenberg and Anne Frank are good district schools up there.Also Robert pollack elementary was a blue ribbon school not long ago.

You got a lot of good charter schools up there in the far northeast and you have really good private schools as well.

[rotodome]

Originally Posted by Aimewitue

There are options in the far northeast for better schools than just the philadelphia school district. Greenberg and Anne Frank are good district schools up there.Also Robert pollack elementary was a blue ribbon school not long ago.

You got a lot of good charter schools up there in the far northeast and you have really good private schools as well.

Not to discount anything in this post. But I still think that anyone with kid (I relate to this concern because have a kid too) owes it to themselves to look into what's going on with those schools 'right now' (ie: not in the recent past), and what's going on with them moving forward, if they are making a long term decision.
Central and Masterman (arguably the two best public high schools in the city, and the gems of the district) were only able to open their libraries this fall only because of a surprise large donation from an anonymous donor. Next year, who knows?

[LHM]

Originally Posted by flamiagirl

Would you recommend this area to someone working in cc but wants a more 'quiet' yet a little urban life?

Absolutely! But as others have said, be wary of the Philly school district and maybe look at private or parochial schools in the area.