Commute to Center City (Philadelphia, Drexel Hill: apartment, to rent, home)

[katalin]

Hi, I am trying to figure out where to live outside of Center City. I like to live 30 minutes maximum driving distance with traffic to Center City. I am looking for decent areas with affordable appartments (980 $ a month). I looked at North East Philly, North Philly and Darby, any suggestions about these areas? Or do you have other suggestions also? Thank you.

[newmarlig]

Is there any reason you need to drive into center city? If not, I strongly recomend public transportation.

[MrGuwe]

do you want to still be in Philadelphia, or would you prefer a suburb? As newmarlig said, public transport is a great option here.

[katalin]

I don't mind staying in Philly, but not center city, also I like the suburb close to center city. Any thoughts on places to rent?

[FindingZen]

North Philly encompasses a huge swath of the city. The areas that are popular and/or moderately comfortable might include Fairmount, Fishtown and Northern Liberties. These neighborhoods also happen to border Center City. With your budget, Fishtown may offer the most options albeit renting in a converted home vs. a dedicated apartment building. This is not to say that there aren't other decent North Philly neighborhoods because there are...but they are, in short, exceptions in a sea of rules.


Northeast Philly also covers a lot of area. It's somewhat the reverse of North Philly in that it's easier to point out areas that are not so popular: Frankford, Bridesburg, Kensington come to mind immediately. They might be considered "Lower Northeast Philly". The further up you go, the more suburban the feel. But if you're looking at "far" Northeast Philly towards, say, Franklin Mills Mall and the Bucks County border, you may as well consider suburban neighborhoods such as Glenside, Abington, Melrose Park and Elkins Park over in what I call the "V" just above Philly.

Darby. In the words of Frankie Goes To Hollywood: "Relax; don't do it." Lansdowne, Drexel Hill Clifton Heights, Secane and Springfield would be better options IMO.

I third the recommendation to consider mass transit unless your employer will be paying for your parking.

[katalin]

I was told that Kensington is a bad area, is that true?

[templeu]

You could look at NW Phila - areas like East Falls or Mt. Airy. You could either drive or take a train from these places. I'm not sure what University City area rents go for - but you may look there. Agree with Tone, with your budget you can do better than Darby. A little further west - Landsowne or Drexel Hill, as Tone suggested would be better. The former is serviced by a regional rail line. If you're willing to look East, you could look at Collingswood NJ. You could either drive or take Patco from Collingswood and get into the city is < 30 minutes.

[veggirll]

Why would you want to drive into Center City? I'm in Mt Airy and literally 10 miles from work and a coworker in this area drives in and consistently takes 45 min to get there. I take the train and am there in 30 min w/o the stress of traffic Plus do you know if parking is free wherever you will be working? Daily parking in Center City is gonna run you a chunk of change.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by katalin

I was told that Kensington is a bad area, is that true?

I believe some here have said that Kensington in a transitional period not unlike what's happening in Fishtown and Northern Liberties before that. If that is the case, it's in the early stages.

[newmarlig]

OP seems to be ignoring the suggestions to take public transportation.