Looking at Media, and Abington areas, moving to Philly this summer: (Springfield: 2014, apartment complexes)

[JBot]

When are you moving? -- Summer 2014
Where are you coming from? Iowa City, IA
Why are you moving? Wife has a new job (tentative)
Where will you be working? She will be working at the CHOP
Have you been here yet? We visited for her cousin's graduation from the Univ. of the Arts in April of 2012, so we got to see quite a bit of the University City/Center City places. Thanks to a buddy of mine who works in audio, we also got to see WXPN/World Cafe, and talk to one of their engineers briefly the day before NonComm.

Will you buy or rent? Rent for a year, maybe two, then consider buying.
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? Potentially, up to about 140K - 150K, depending on where we are in a year or two. We have a tentative salary, but it's not official yet.

If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? townhouse would be nice. (stairs for the cats) Condos or renting a house could be good too, as long as they're nice and quiet.

Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? Wife isn't thrilled about hi-rises.

Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb? PA suburb.

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Married, no kids. No plans to have kids.
Do you prefer public or private schools? N/A
Do you have pets? Two Cats.
Do you want or need a yard? Not really. (I don't like to mow)
Are you keeping a car? Yes, and possibly getting a second car.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? Quiet is very good.

What do you want to be closest to? Shops, restaurants, groceries, maybe a yoga studio. Would prefer about a half-hour commute to the CHOP/Center City area.

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? Would prefer to avoid loud undergrads. (since I will be doing audio work at home)

Coke or Pepsi? Is there liquor involved?

This is all very much forward thinking and being prepared for if/when we move this summer.

So, my wife's boss will be taking a job at UPenn, and setting up a lab at the CHOP. They asked if she was bringing anyone with her from here, and she mentioned my wife. So, while it's not 100%, it's very likely we'll be moving to Philly sometime this summer.

We'd like to avoid apartment complexes/thin walls with noisy younger people, as I plan to do some audio engineering work from home as a freelancer, so having a quiet room is important.

We plan to rent the first year or two, and then consider buying a place if it looks like we'll be there for several years. Our rental budget will be about $1100-1200 (about 25% of her gross income) Hopefully I can pull in some money on the side with my freelancing, but that will probably be sporadic for awhile. Depending on my wife's salary, once we get ready to buy, we may be looking at 140K-150K range.

As for me, I do some live recording work for local bands in my area, though I'm very much still a rookie. I'd like to try to swing some volunteer work at WXPN/World Cafe, as well as continue my freelancing recording in the area. So, having a very quiet apartment is -highly- important. I may occasionally have a vocalist over to record, and background noise may be a problem. I really like the idea of being either in the Media/Swarthmore or Abington/Jenkintown areas. A safe commute/neighborhood is also important, as my wife may be at the lab until after dark sometimes, and I may be out recording bands at night.

We have two cats, so 1.5 bathrooms would be highly preferable. Wife wants a W/D in unit, she's sick of sharing laundry space where we are now. 2-bedrooms minimum is a must since one will be turned into an office/home studio area.

A buddy of mine lived in downtown Philly for many years, worked at an audio company, and recommended areas like Media, Aston, Swarthmore, Wayne (though pricey) Jenkintown, and through further reading, I like the idea of being in the Media/Swarthmore area, or maybe up around Abington. Wayne/Villanova/Radnor/Bryn Mawr/Ardmore all look really nice too, but don't know about the pricing. Springfield, Haverford, and Havertown could work nicely too.

I know rent-wise, $1100-1200 a month isn't a lot to go on for some of the nicer areas. I've been looking at Craigslist a lot, and there are some ads that look pretty doable, but it's not always readily apparent how good they are. If everything falls into place, we may be out there in April to do some hunting for places to live.

So, any advice on specific places would be great, be it neighborhoods, or condos/apartments/townhomes/duplexes or even houses for rent. I think Media would be a great area for us, but I don't know what the prices are like. Rosetree Crossing/Media Station/Glen Riddle Station all look quite nice as far as apartment complexes go, and seem to have price ranges we could afford, looking at various rent finder sites anyway. On craigslist, we've seen a number of house rentals, 2-bed 1-bath (it would be a sacrifice on the extra bathroom given the cats) going for $1150/month which could work well, but those were in Wayne, and that seemed kinda cheap to me for that area, so I was a little suspicious.

Bottom line, is I guess we just need to get out there and look around. Thanks in advance!

[motherofpearls]

Narbeth/Penn Valley has apartment rentals on Hagys Ford road. I know several people who live there, have pets and are very happy. Its a safe, clean area close to CHOP. Rent is within your budget. People who live there are mostly professionals. Here, Hagys Frd, Narberth PA - Trulia 130-150K can even buy you a condo here.
Stay away from Abington area. Commute is brutal and it has some so-so areas. Have mercy t/w your wife's commute lol
Villanova, Wayne, Devon are expensive and far from CHOP. I wouldn't even look there given your criteria.

[JBot]

Thanks, Narberth was one of the areas I was looking at as well. As I understand, the R3 has a stop pretty close to the CHOP/UPenn, so we were hoping to find a place with easy access to that line. If she has to drive a little to a station first to take the train in, that's probably doable. There may be some commuting by car, but I think she plans to take the train the vast majority of the time. She'll potentially be starting a job as a research scientist, which I guess is a step up from her current post-docorate status, heh.

From what I've read on this forum, I was under the impression that Abington was a pretty decent area. Didn't realize the commute was that bad, though. I know it's bad in the Northeast, but didn't think it was too bad up around Jenkintown and stuff. Good to know.

Hopefully we'll get some time to get out there in April to look around, assuming everything falls into place, and the job is a definite go.

[maf763]

It's not that bad from Abington. The West Trenton line goes from Abington/Jenkintown directly to University City. It's not a great commute by car, but easy enough by train.

[JBot]

Thanks. It's looking more and more like moving this summer will definitely be a go. Just waiting for some final pieces to fall into place with regards to their lab and the animal holding area. (plus my wife's boss is waiting to hear back on a definitive salary) We'll probably take a week's time off in April to head out and look at places.

I really like the idea of being in Media, and some of the apartments (Media Station, Glen Riddle Station, Rosetree Crossing) look nice, but...well...they're complexes, which usually means at least some bit of noise. The Elwyn/Media line looks like it will work really well for commuting to the CHOP. Might look at brokers like Century 21/ReMax/etc. to try and find homes or duplexes for rent.

How is Roxborough? I've recently seen some condo rentals at Green Tree Summit on Shawmont Ave that looked quite decent, and definitely fits our needs/budget. Very forested looking, which probably means having to drive to a station. Also saw a decent looking townhome that was closer to, I think the Fairmount Park side of Roxborough? Pechin St. But it was large, and had no central air, just window units so heating/cooling would be expensive. Apparently bike races also pass right in front of the place.

Also, How about Conshohocken (Conshy?) I think I've heard some decent things about that area.

Of course, I'm also keeping open all other considerations such as Ardmore/Narberth/Penn Valley, Main line, Haverford, Springfield, etc. Though, a decent size 2-bed on the Main line at 1200-1300 a month would be a major stretch I think.

I also contacted WXPN/World Cafe about volunteering, and they said they'd be happy to have me on board in some capacity. Hopefully helping out there will help me network a bit. Of course, I hope to continue my freelance recording ventures. Probably do stuff pro bono for the first year so I can build up networking and credentials before I start charging.

Just to clarify, 2-bed is a -must.- One room will be converted into a home music studio/mixing suite. My wife will have her deskspace either in a small den or the corner of the living room or something. I'd like to avoid large complexes if possible just due to noise of wall-neighbors or upstairs neighbors.

We are just keeping one car for now. Though eventually I might get a hatchback for my needs of transporting music/recording equipment around if -IF- I can build a solid client base.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Duderino]

Given your requirements, I think you're very much on the right track for the Media area. Assuming you'd take advantage of regional rail, it would be very convenient for your wife to get to CHOP. As a plus, it's also a very walkable town with lots of interesting shops and restaurants.

The Main Line area (e.g., Ardmore, Narberth, Penn Valley) is definitely a price-premium sort of area, due to high demand and the general affluence its residents. In other words, you'd definitely be paying more for any type of apartment compared to practically any other area in the Philly suburbs -- ESPECIALLY for a 2 bedroom. Not to mention, the apartment stock on the Main Line, due its to strict zoning, tends to be pretty lacking in options (and the options that do exist tend to be fairly dated).

Communities like Roxborough and Conshohocken may be a little more challenging in terms of commute to West Philly, but not out of the question. Notably, it would involve switching trains in Center City, which may become a hassle at times (timing is everything with public transit). Those areas may also be slightly more pricey compared to Media -- Conshy in particular.

Although it seems like you're focused on renting for now, I just wanted to note that you may be in for a bit of "sticker shock" coming from Iowa in terms of housing prices. 140-150K range will not get you terribly far in many areas; the median price for a SFH in the Philly region is currently just above 200K. Again, just something to consider for the longer term.

Best of luck to you on the move.

[JBot]

Thanks. And yeah, I realize that's not a lot for buying a house. But, going by the 2.5 x Gross salary for ballpark figures, that's where we would land currently. Now, maybe in a year or two, depending on the NIH pay grade/scale for neuroscience research scientists, she could end up making a bit more, and maybe we could afford more around 160-170K. (still not a lot) But most likely not right now.

The plan for now is to rent for a year, possibly two, and then see where we are in terms of what we can afford.

We've only been in Iowa for 5 years. I'm originally from NE Florida. She spent most of her time in North Carolina, went to UNCA for her undergrad, got her PhD at UF in Gainesville FL, and has been doing her post-doctoral work at UIowa. I'm pretty much a trailing spouse.

At least in Philly, we'll be closer to relatives. Her parents are down in NC around Charlotte, mine are in FL near Gainesville. However, I have a brother up in Astoria, so it will be good to be able to visit him on occasion.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by maf763

It's not that bad from Abington. The West Trenton line goes from Abington/Jenkintown directly to University City. It's not a great commute by car, but easy enough by train.

The Doylestown and Warminster/Airport Lines also go through Abington as well. All three lines converge at the Jenkintown-Wyncote stations. Abington is really fortunate to have so many stations running through it.

[JBot]

Thanks for the replies all.

We got official word back, and a hard offer that was significantly more than anticipated. We'll be moving out there in August. I think we've got a pretty good idea of what and where to look for places.

We'll be out there in April to scope out places on foot or maybe look at some realtors to show us some places. Narberth/Penn Valley look quite nice, and I've seen some nice listings that would work well.

Media and Swarthmore are great, but I don't see a lot of rental listings online other than than 3 apartment complexes, Rosetree Crossing, Glen Riddle Station, and Media Station. We're looking more towards townhouses or maybe a 2-story duplex. I'm sure we'll find something, though.

Heh, now I just need to get some ATA road cases for some of my equipment!

Also, as a bonus, our rent budget will be higher than anticipated. So we'd be comfortable looking at $1400/month, with $1500 being doable.

[G Goo]

Abington/Jenkintown/Glenside is a great, well-connected (by Regional Rail) suburban area. Not sure what so-so areas motherofpearls is referring to. Roslyn is probably the most "working class" neighborhood in the area, but it is far from so-so. It's hard to go wrong in Abington.