A few questions about relocating and living to Philadelphia (Chester: apartment, lease)

[Ali51890]

Hi, I am looking to relocate and I am trying to find out some more information and facts before I make a decision on where to move.

-Does anyone know anything about the Community College of Philadelphia from personal experience or from living in the area? (Right now, a community college is what is best for me. Although, I would love to finish a bachelors in the future.)

-What is the job market like? I will be a full time student, but also on my own so I would definitely need full time. I would like to move away from my current field-retail IF possible (and definitely after I graduate college.)

-What is the job market like for people with associates degree? My major is business.

-What is housing like? I would need an apartment, room to rent, just something inexpensive. I would prefer to live alone. I don't mind a studio apartment. I just need something inexpensive because it will just be solely my income.

-Safety. What are some places to avoid? Places that would be safe for a 24 year old woman. (I'm definitely not scared of much and I have common sense, I just don't want to live in the worst part of a city wherever I do move.)

-How is cost of living?



Some background information on me.

-I am 24

-From Mobile, AL

-My father was from Philly, but it has been a long time since I have been visited. Although this summer I will be visiting for a couple of days.

-Most of my work experience is retail (currently a of the part time managers of a store), however I have done childcare (2+ years) and data entry.


I would really love to have you respond to this post if you feel like you could enlighten me in any way! Thanks!

[Ali51890]

Originally Posted by Ali51890

Hi, I am looking to relocate and I am trying to find out some more information and facts before I make a decision on where to move.

-Does anyone know anything about the Community College of Philadelphia from personal experience or from living in the area? (Right now, a community college is what is best for me. Although, I would love to finish a bachelors in the future.)

-What is the job market like? I will be a full time student, but also on my own so I would definitely need full time. I would like to move away from my current field-retail IF possible (and definitely after I graduate college.)

-What is the job market like for people with associates degree? My major is business.

-What is housing like? I would need an apartment, room to rent, just something inexpensive. I would prefer to live alone. I don't mind a studio apartment. I just need something inexpensive because it will just be solely my income.

-Safety. What are some places to avoid? Places that would be safe for a 24 year old woman. (I'm definitely not scared of much and I have common sense, I just don't want to live in the worst part of a city wherever I do move.)

-How is cost of living?



Some background information on me.

-I am 24

-From Mobile, AL

-My father was from Philly, but it has been a long time since I have been visited. Although this summer I will be visiting for a couple of days.

-Most of my work experience is retail (currently a of the part time managers of a store), however I have done childcare (2+ years) and data entry.


I would really love to have you respond to this post if you feel like you could enlighten me in any way! Thanks!

I am not sure if I stressed this, but if I do decide to move to Philadelphia it is where I want to settle down and start a life.
Therefore my main concern is what is it like to find work in Philadelphia with an AA in Business?

[Sagelee]

Hi, Although everyone's experience is different, I would move elsewhere. I feel perhaps a more socially acceptable diverse city is your best bet. I am from a diverse city and felt the need to move here to try it out and the worst mistake I have ever made, many have experienced the same as I. Perhaps if you want me to enlighten you I can. I don't want no one to ever go through what I have, although everyone is different.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Sagelee

Hi, Although everyone's experience is different, I would move elsewhere. I feel perhaps a more socially acceptable diverse city is your best bet. I am from a diverse city and felt the need to move here to try it out and the worst mistake I have ever made, many have experienced the same as I. Perhaps if you want me to enlighten you I can. I don't want no one to ever go through what I have, although everyone is different.

Not trying to pry but I would be curious to know about some of the issues you faced. I'm a gay African-American woman and haven't experienced a ton of negativity. But I'm a native Philadelphian and that alters my perceptions.

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by Sagelee

Hi, Although everyone's experience is different, I would move elsewhere. I feel perhaps a more socially acceptable diverse city is your best bet. I am from a diverse city and felt the need to move here to try it out and the worst mistake I have ever made, many have experienced the same as I. Perhaps if you want me to enlighten you I can. I don't want no one to ever go through what I have, although everyone is different.

Maybe it would help the OP if you gave any sort of insight.

What diverse city are you from? Why did you "feel a need" to move to Philly?

To the OP- My brother went to two private Colleges as well as CCP and he always says the best Professors he had were at CCP-for whatever that's worth.

[Ali51890]

Originally Posted by 2e1m5a

My brother went to two private Colleges as well as CCP and he always says the best Professors he had were at CCP-for whatever that's worth.

Thank you. I have done a lot of research, and of course there have been some mixed reviews but most of them seem to be positive about the Professors at CCP which very important.

[toobusytoday]

I read the OP's post a couple of times and don't see any preference for diversity. Not that it isn't important, but that she is not making it a priority.

Ali51890, My suggestion would be to get a short term lease and find a job and then enroll in college. Is your current employment a chain store so you could just relocate? Do you have a ballpark amount you think you could spend on housing?

[Ali51890]

Originally Posted by toobusytoday

I read the OP's post a couple of times and don't see any preference for diversity. Not that it isn't important, but that she is not making it a priority.

Ali51890, My suggestion would be to get a short term lease and find a job and then enroll in college. Is your current employment a chain store so you could just relocate? Do you have a ballpark amount you think you could spend on housing?

Although I grew up in Alabama, diversity wasn't a huge issue in my city, I went to the most diverse high school in the state and am very accepting of everyone...I really didn't even give the diversity thing much thought because it should be a natural part of life.

I really appreciate your reply. My store is a chain store and I would be willing to relocate if possible. After talking to my boyfriend he encouraged me to rethink getting a roommate or renting a room. I wouldn't mind it because I do need to save on expenses. I really don't want to pay more than $600 with a roommate, which seems to be the route I would need to go.

[PLyons13]

Originally Posted by Ali51890

Hi, I am looking to relocate and I am trying to find out some more information and facts before I make a decision on where to move.

-Does anyone know anything about the Community College of Philadelphia from personal experience or from living in the area? (Right now, a community college is what is best for me. Although, I would love to finish a bachelors in the future.)

-What is the job market like? I will be a full time student, but also on my own so I would definitely need full time. I would like to move away from my current field-retail IF possible (and definitely after I graduate college.)

-What is the job market like for people with associates degree? My major is business.

-What is housing like? I would need an apartment, room to rent, just something inexpensive. I would prefer to live alone. I don't mind a studio apartment. I just need something inexpensive because it will just be solely my income.

-Safety. What are some places to avoid? Places that would be safe for a 24 year old woman. (I'm definitely not scared of much and I have common sense, I just don't want to live in the worst part of a city wherever I do move.)

-How is cost of living?



Some background information on me.

-I am 24

-From Mobile, AL

-My father was from Philly, but it has been a long time since I have been visited. Although this summer I will be visiting for a couple of days.

-Most of my work experience is retail (currently a of the part time managers of a store), however I have done childcare (2+ years) and data entry.


I would really love to have you respond to this post if you feel like you could enlighten me in any way! Thanks!

I personally would suggest living in the suburbs and looking for a job (great market) in center city. From the suburbs, you could commute into the city, but still have a lot of great amenities within distance of your home.

There is also plenty of job opportunities in the suburbs as well, so you wouldn't be limited to the ones in the city.

As far as school is concerned, I believe there are other community colleges outside of the city.

Not sure it that helps.

[Burger Fan]

Originally Posted by PLyons13

I personally would suggest living in the suburbs and looking for a job (great market) in center city. From the suburbs, you could commute into the city, but still have a lot of great amenities within distance of your home.

There is also plenty of job opportunities in the suburbs as well, so you wouldn't be limited to the ones in the city.

As far as school is concerned, I believe there are other community colleges outside of the city.

Not sure it that helps.

I would reccommend against that, actually. Since OP sounds like he's going to be looking for work in retail while going to school and on (presumably) limited funds, living within the city where public transportation is more robust is going to make more sense here. Within a big chunk of the city, driving is optional for your day to day needs. That's not the case for most of the suburbs, outside of *maybe* upper darby (which has its own issues).

Here's my input for the OP: the job market here isn't bad (PA in general is on an upswing, if I recall) but it's far from booming- and I hate to say this but your associates degree won't do you much good here. At present it's not treated significantly better than a high school degree, and there is still a glut of college graduates with four year degrees competing for entry level positions. You will almost certainly be working retail or a similar job if you relocate here with your background, though these positions are fairly common and easy to get.

community college of philadelphia itself isn't terrible, but it's not going to open any doors for you. It's best used as a stepping stone to a four year degree at one of the state schools which will accept your associates degree as equivalent to two years within their own system due to an agreement that's in place. There are a lot of these, but West Chester University is the closest geographically. Temple University is not part of the state system (it's state RELATED, and thus more expensive), but I would be surprised if they didn't have a similar deal going on with CCP.

I spent several years as a recruiter with a number of agencies in the area, and currently work for the state of PA as an HR analyst, so this is where my impression on the job market and the usefulness of your degree is coming from. Hope it helps.