Philly a good choice for me? (Philadelphia, Reading: rent, find a job, salary)

[Provelkative]

Hello! Yeah, it's another one of those "I'm thinking about moving and want to ask the same annoying questions" threads.

I'm curious what your general impressions are for my scenario and what your advice would be. I'm 29 and currently live in St. Louis. I came from a small farming town and every move I've made has been more urban than the last place and I've learned that I really love cities. I'm a little burned out with my current job and this city and don't want to become a 9-5 lifer 30 miles from where I grew up. Long story short, I feel I'm approaching a point in my life where if I'm going to pack up my stuff and move to a new place, it needs to be sooner rather than later. My goal is to expand my horizons and get out of Missouri so I can gain perspective if nothing else. My lovely girlfriend is also excited for the adventure and we're looking for a new city to call home. I have a masters in physics, am currently in a PhD program (flexible enough to let me continue to work remotely), and have been working as an engineer in the semiconductor industry for 3 years. This means I need to find a technical job. Her job will probably let her telecommute, so that's not an issue.

So, would you say Philly has a reasonably healthy technical economy? I would need to make ~$85-90k to maintain a comparable standard of living. Do you think that's a reasonable expectation for someone with an advanced degree and ~3 years experience, or is that a pipe-dream? Do you think Philly is a good choice of a city for people looking to "scale up" their urbanity and gain some life experience? NYC/Silicon Valley seem too expensive. Other places have weather that's too cold/extreme for us (i.e. Chicago, Boston).

The plan would be to start applying for jobs ASAP and then hopefully visit the city when being interviewed. I would want to move sometime after January. We want to live in the heart of the city, but that only works if I can find a job that is close enough to the city to make the commute reasonable and get a salary capable of paying for that lifestyle.

So is this a crazy idea skewed by a romantic notion? Would I be better off looking at a different city? Do you anticipate me needing to change some of my "wants" to make the rest of the things happen? Knowing what you know about your experience in Philly, if you were someone that spent their whole life within 30 miles of St. Louis, would you make the move come hell or high-water and figure out the rest as it came? Thanks in advance!

[kidphilly]

Philly is a larger more urban city than St L. But I think a lot is related to job opportunities. I don't work in that field so am hard pressed to comment on what opps may be there. Also some or many jobs might require a reverse commute to the burbs ( I do the drive come days and is probably an hour to many job centers.

Best of luck but would check it out first and maybe also look at some other options so not to limit yourself.

Best of luck on your search and plans

I love Philly and many do, some hate it so check it out first It is in some ways a more affordable urban adventure (Chicago is too) Philly is little more EC feeling and Chicago a little more MW feeling love both cities personally

[FromGA]

Originally Posted by Provelkative

Hello! Yeah, it's another one of those "I'm thinking about moving and want to ask the same annoying questions" threads.

I'm curious what your general impressions are for my scenario and what your advice would be. I'm 29 and currently live in St. Louis. I came from a small farming town and every move I've made has been more urban than the last place and I've learned that I really love cities. I'm a little burned out with my current job and this city and don't want to become a 9-5 lifer 30 miles from where I grew up. Long story short, I feel I'm approaching a point in my life where if I'm going to pack up my stuff and move to a new place, it needs to be sooner rather than later. My goal is to expand my horizons and get out of Missouri so I can gain perspective if nothing else. My lovely girlfriend is also excited for the adventure and we're looking for a new city to call home. I have a masters in physics, am currently in a PhD program (flexible enough to let me continue to work remotely), and have been working as an engineer in the semiconductor industry for 3 years. This means I need to find a technical job. Her job will probably let her telecommute, so that's not an issue.

So, would you say Philly has a reasonably healthy technical economy? I would need to make ~$85-90k to maintain a comparable standard of living. Do you think that's a reasonable expectation for someone with an advanced degree and ~3 years experience, or is that a pipe-dream? Do you think Philly is a good choice of a city for people looking to "scale up" their urbanity and gain some life experience? NYC/Silicon Valley seem too expensive. Other places have weather that's too cold/extreme for us (i.e. Chicago, Boston).

The plan would be to start applying for jobs ASAP and then hopefully visit the city when being interviewed. I would want to move sometime after January. We want to live in the heart of the city, but that only works if I can find a job that is close enough to the city to make the commute reasonable and get a salary capable of paying for that lifestyle.

So is this a crazy idea skewed by a romantic notion? Would I be better off looking at a different city? Do you anticipate me needing to change some of my "wants" to make the rest of the things happen? Knowing what you know about your experience in Philly, if you were someone that spent their whole life within 30 miles of St. Louis, would you make the move come hell or high-water and figure out the rest as it came? Thanks in advance!

We moved to the Philadelphia area (suburbs) from earlier this year, and really like it here. You should definitely look into it. About the city -- it is one of those places where you can walk to many places. The other (weekend) day we drove in from our suburban abode, parked near Chinatown, ate at Chinatown, then walked to Liberty bell. Another (weekend) day, we first went to Dilworth Park / Love Park area, then walked to Reading Terminal. A 10 minute walk can get you to umpteen places in Center city. There are many other up and coming areas where prices are more affordable.

I will let more experienced residents fill in the details.

[RightonWalnut]

Philadelphia would be a perfect match for you guys I think. Philadelphia has far more going on than STL, and is much larger and active.

Philadelphia is very urban, walkable, has great nightlife and food. Give it a shot!

[Cnote11]

Sure beats St. Louis by a LONG shot. You'd do well to move to Philadelphia.

[Ms_Christina]

The only thing I can think of is you won't be working in the city. There are opportunities like Lockhead, CSC, etc... They are located outside the city or DE and NJ. But the commute wouldn't be out of the question.

If you live in the city make sure you calculate an extra $200 per month per car for parking. Rent does not include parking at most places.

You could always live in the city with a commute for a year then move more towards work if you wanted. Who knows where you end up right?

[Provelkative]

Thanks for the thoughts and advice so far!

[Leon2014]

Originally Posted by kidphilly

Also some or many jobs might require a reverse commute to the burbs

Odd are 99% that any science & research job outside Eds & Meds will be in the suburbs. The business environment in Philly pretty much chased everyone away. Except the non-profits that don't pay anything. And the few giant corps that can muscle preferential tax treatment. Everyone else is long gone.