Places to live in Philly commuting to Ft. Washington (Philadelphia: store, furniture)

[chicagoliz]

When we were a little younger, we knew quite a few young people who worked at Merck and lived in Chestnut Hill. That would be a great commute to Ft. Washington, and it's a really nice place to live. But, it's not the same as living in Center City. I'd suggest at least investigating Chestnut Hill. It might or might not be for you.

[Snwmn5]

I would also recommend Chestnut Hill - especially within walking distance of one of the regional rail stops for easy access to Center City. Not at bad commute at all by car to Fort Washington from there.

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by inmyownwords15

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I would most likely end up driving to work. I have also heard and read good things about Fishtown, "NoLibs"(is that the hip thing to call Northern Liberties?) areas, just wondering if I could afford to live there. West Mt. Airy might be the move for me and I can head into the city when I want. I guess my main question and concern is, wanting to be able to get that "Philly" or east coast city vibe (whatever it is, not from here so I don't know) and experience in which I'd still be able to live within my means.

I agree with others that you should consider Chestnut Hill over W Mt Airy. This website gives a good overall description - Chestnut Hill - Towns of the Philadelphia Countryside — visitphilly.com

Conshohocken would also suit your needs except it is further of a drive. Places like Conshy, Manayunk, Fishtown, and NoLibs would give you more opportunities to meet people. Though Fishtown and NoLibs would be MUCH more of a drive and not worth it in my opinion. Fishtown is very hipster/artsy and NoLibs leans that way as well so if that stuff suits you, you'd be fine. Not particularly my thing living-wise, but I do go to those neighborhoods at least once every few months and enjoy my time there.

You mentioned affordability - you only told us how much you will make, not how much you can spend. It may help to answer the questions in this thread to better pinpoint suggestions for you -
//www.city-data.com/forum/phila...formation.html

[inmyownwords15]

Thanks again for the responses everyone. I will definitely look into Chestnut Hill. It actually looks like the type of neighborhood I envisioned with the "village-like" feel and still being a reasonable distance from the city.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by inmyownwords15

Thanks again for the responses everyone. I will definitely look into Chestnut Hill. It actually looks like the type of neighborhood I envisioned with the "village-like" feel and still being a reasonable distance from the city.

My fiancée and I are twenty-something professionals who live there and love it (and we have same-age friends right around the corner). "Village-like" is a great way of describing it. It's not a young professional haven, but younger people are scattered about along the Ave and on the East side (more so than the west due to cheaper real estate and more multi-family housing). There's a good mix of everyone, really, and in addition to boasting an extremely charming "downtown," the community is highly involved and very friendly. I was only hesitant to recommend it because it's not what most people our age are looking for.

If you want a quieter neighborhood with easy access to Center City (30 minutes by train) and the NW suburbs (20 minutes by car) that still has a nice array of things to do, Chestnut Hill is a good place. West Mt. Airy is very nice, but has a more limited selection of shops, bars, and restaurants, though there are some standouts, like Earth Bread + Brewery for beer and flatbreads and the Mt. Airy Read & Eat for a huge selection of vintage (and often hilariously politically incorrect) books.

You may also like Ambler. It's further by rail to Center City (40 minutes by train), but you're under a ten minute drive to Ft. Washington and will avoid the wage tax, to boot.

[inmyownwords15]

Originally Posted by ElijahAstin

My fiancée and I are twenty-something professionals who live there and love it (and we have same-age friends right around the corner). "Village-like" is a great way of describing it. It's not a young professional haven, but younger people are scattered about along the Ave and on the East side (more so than the west due to cheaper real estate and more multi-family housing). There's a good mix of everyone, really, and in addition to boasting an extremely charming "downtown," the community is highly involved and very friendly. I was only hesitant to recommend it because it's not what most people our age are looking for.

If you want a quieter neighborhood with easy access to Center City (30 minutes by train) and the NW suburbs (20 minutes by car) that still has a nice array of things to do, Chestnut Hill is a good place. West Mt. Airy is very nice, but has a more limited selection of shops, bars, and restaurants, though there are some standouts, like Earth Bread + Brewery for beer and flatbreads and the Mt. Airy Read & Eat for a huge selection of vintage (and often hilariously politically incorrect) books.

You may also like Ambler. It's further by rail to Center City (40 minutes by train), but you're under a ten minute drive to Ft. Washington and will avoid the wage tax, to boot.

Thanks for this. I think I will also look into the "East Falls" area as well.

Ambler sounds like a bargain, might have to check out that area too.

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by inmyownwords15

Thanks for this. I think I will also look into the "East Falls" area as well.

Ambler sounds like a bargain, might have to check out that area too.

East Falls is a nice area as well, although their "downtown" is smaller than some of the other neighborhoods. It'll be about a 30min drive to Ft. Washington, depending on traffic. But there is a train station on the Manayunk/Norristown line so it's very accessible to CC as well.

More info - East Falls Development Corporation

[inmyownwords15]

hey guys, I just wanted to give a little update.
I'm in the process now of looking into places and I made a little visit to the west mount airy area. I walked a bit of Germantown ave, grabbed some coffee and ate at the Earth- Bread+Brewery. I also drove around the neighborhood just to scope out the streets. I must say, the name fits this neighborhood perfectly, and the fall foliage did nothing but enhance the experience. This would be a great area for me since the commute to work would be less than 30 min and would still be able to get into the city. Will definitely give more updates if I visit any other of the recommended neighborhoods and if/when I settle in to a place.

[inmyownwords15]

Hi everyone, just wanted to update the thread.

I have decided on West Mt. Airy after I found a reasonably priced studio in the area. Very excited for the move next month.

Now for the furnishing, I need some tips on local places (Philly and surrounding areas) to get some reasonably priced furniture. Also, once I get the necessities down can anyone recommend local places to get Philly art?(paintings, prints, photography?)

[chicagoliz]

Originally Posted by inmyownwords15

Hi everyone, just wanted to update the thread.

Now for the furnishing, I need some tips on local places (Philly and surrounding areas) to get some reasonably priced furniture. Also, once I get the necessities down can anyone recommend local places to get Philly art?(paintings, prints, photography?)

There's a store called Nestology that used to be in the KOP mall, but moved to Wayne, PA that had lots of Philadelphia artwork and likes to support local artists.

For furniture, if you're talking regular, mass-produced furniture, there are all the typical places -- there's an Ikea in Plymouth Meeting, and there are places like Raymour & Flanigan all over the place.