Moving to Philly, job in North Philly, where to live? No car. (rental market, neighborhood)

[thwanko]

Originally Posted by rosetattoo1976

thanks for the replies - this is really appreciated.


Am I on the right track there? Other suggestions from folks that don't live in Philly but claim to know it were Fishtown, Bella Vista and Italian Market. It seemed like Bella Vista and Italian Market were a bit off the commute path - from what I tested on Google Maps, it would be about an hour bus ride, where NL would be about 30 minutes. Fishtown I haven't looked into much, but will if it's suggested.

Fishtown would also have the residential features you're looking for, but would be a slightly further walk to the 57 and especially 47 than Northern Liberties. I imagine it would be reasonable from the southwestern corner of Fishtown. Probably still cheaper than Northern Liberties as well.

[Golabki]

Originally Posted by rosetattoo1976

thanks for the replies - this is really appreciated.

I've looked Northern Liberties listings, I know that is not the NE persay - but it seems to be in my price range and on the bus lines. I guess I have to admit that a hipster neighborhood is probably what I would want, since it passes the walk around at night, have local watering holes, etc.. test. I don't want to end up in a purely residential area, since part of moving to a new city is making new friends and meeting new people. The comparison to the Mission in SF is appreciated for suggestions, twanko, seems like you get what I'm going for a bit.

Am I on the right track there? Other suggestions from folks that don't live in Philly but claim to know it were Fishtown, Bella Vista and Italian Market. It seemed like Bella Vista and Italian Market were a bit off the commute path - from what I tested on Google Maps, it would be about an hour bus ride, where NL would be about 30 minutes. Fishtown I haven't looked into much, but will if it's suggested.

Don't take for granted that Northern Liberties is completely safe after dark, there's a lot of criminals who lurk there and in Fishtown. The barrio/ghetto is close.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Golabki

Don't take for granted that Northern Liberties is completely safe after dark, there's a lot of criminals who lurk there and in Fishtown. The barrio/ghetto is close.

Every.single.post.you.make.is.negative. Lol

[rosetattoo1976]

Ignoring Golabki on the safety issue - cities have crime, I've lived in them all my life and know not to walk down the street with my phone flying and diamonds dripping. That being said, my job is going to be on W Hunting Park Ave so I'd really prefer to know at least where I am living is safe and fun. ha.

I think I'm narrowing down to Fishtown or Northern Liberities or Port Richmond-- seems like both are pretty solid on all the things I want, and will be a safe area for a 30 something single woman and her toothless dog.

I keep hearing conflicting things about Girard Street, which seems to be a main drag for Fishtown... when I'm trolling Craigslist for places and mapping them, I like to know the general blocks to avoid, etc.. So, any advice in that area?

[lawrencea1]

For the Girard avenue thing anything east of the El (Front) is perfectly fine and to the west up until maybe 6th street it can get a little sketchy and that continues up to Broad street. But honestly even that looks a lot worse than it actually is. I think Girard will only continue to improve and just use street smarts especially past say 6th street.

And between Northern Liberties and Fishtown and Port Richmond. For both NoLibs and Fishtown they are more "hip" neighborhoods that are pretty much entirely gentrified (more so NoLibs) and are pricier than Port Richmond.

Port Richmond is a working class mainly Polish neighborhood and much cheaper than its neighboring counterpart but much much better than Kensington. If you decide Port Richmond stay East of Aramingo closer to the river because it get pretty bad fast especially once you get past the train tracks after the old northeast hospital. There is a little crime in Port Richmond but rarely violent crime it is usually like a car broken into a bike stolen and some fights but nothing severe usually. BTW the news loves to expand Port Richmonds borders and say "Shooting in Port Richmond" http://6abc.com/news/man-in-car-shot...chmond/711631/ I'm sorry but that is Harrowgate or maybe Kensington but defintely not Port Richmond. But also there are a lot of old timers in Port Richmond and hearing Polish on the street is very common.

Fishtown maybe stay east of Frankford but I've seen some new construction as far up as York-Dauphin so idk it is whatever you are comfortable with. Fishtown probably has the most hipsters if you are part of that crowd. The price of housing is definetly on the rise here. Fishtown has better public transit than Port Richmond with its proximity to the El without having to go through very rough areas. Fishtown for the most part is safe and probably similar rates for Port Richmond depending on where you draw you borders. Good luck and I hope this helped

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by rosetattoo1976

Ignoring Golabki on the safety issue - cities have crime, I've lived in them all my life and know not to walk down the street with my phone flying and diamonds dripping. That being said, my job is going to be on W Hunting Park Ave so I'd really prefer to know at least where I am living is safe and fun. ha.

I think I'm narrowing down to Fishtown or Northern Liberities or Port Richmond-- seems like both are pretty solid on all the things I want, and will be a safe area for a 30 something single woman and her toothless dog.

I keep hearing conflicting things about Girard Street, which seems to be a main drag for Fishtown... when I'm trolling Craigslist for places and mapping them, I like to know the general blocks to avoid, etc.. So, any advice in that area?

It's Girard Ave. The section near Frankford Ave up to Marborough St, in Fishtown, is fine. That's the part of Girard Ave, in Fishtown, I'm most familiar with. There's a terrific bar/club, Johnny Belinda's, right at the intersection of Girard and Frankford Aves.

[Golabki]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Every.single.post.you.make.is.negative. Lol

Just.giving.the.OP.a.heads.up. Lol

[Golabki]

Originally Posted by rosetattoo1976

Ignoring Golabki on the safety issue - cities have crime, I've lived in them all my life and know not to walk down the street with my phone flying and diamonds dripping. That being said, my job is going to be on W Hunting Park Ave so I'd really prefer to know at least where I am living is safe and fun. ha.

I think I'm narrowing down to Fishtown or Northern Liberities or Port Richmond-- seems like both are pretty solid on all the things I want, and will be a safe area for a 30 something single woman and her toothless dog.

I keep hearing conflicting things about Girard Street, which seems to be a main drag for Fishtown... when I'm trolling Craigslist for places and mapping them, I like to know the general blocks to avoid, etc.. So, any advice in that area?

Yes, cities do have crime, but some areas have more than others. OK, keep your head in the sand about where you'd like to move and the crime ... Anyway, there's nothing to avoid on Girard Ave, all of it running through Fishtown and the general blocks are safe at all times. Girard is actually safe all the way up to Broad. You should check out West Kensington, cheap AND safe.

[Golabki]

Originally Posted by kyb01

It's Girard Ave. The section near Frankford Ave up to Marborough St, in Fishtown, is fine. That's the part of Girard Ave, in Fishtown, I'm most familiar with. There's a terrific bar/club, Johnny Belinda's, right at the intersection of Girard and Frankford Aves.

It's Johnny Brenda's, not 'Johnny Belinda's.' And it's only 'terrific' if you're a hipster who likes overpriced, average food, boring, pretentious people and bad music. Negative enough for you?

And it's Marlborough Street, not 'Marborough.' lol

[rosetattoo1976]

this has all been VERY helpful, thanks everyone! Helps to make the move to a new city less intimidating.

I would love to look in Port Richmond, mostly because of price, but it looks like it would make my commute a two bus one, and I really want to stick to just one, thinking ahead about early mornings, later evenings, and weather.

I guess Northern Liberties or Fishtown it is!