Moving from NYC to Philly (Philadelphia, Girard: apartment complexes, rentals, co-op)

[dwlcb92]

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I are looking to potentially move to Philly this coming November and would love some advice on neighborhoods. We're 24 and 26, from NYC (me) and Long Island (her), love craft beer, and have 2 cats. I'm more of a city girl and my girlfriend enjoys the outdoors, so we'd really like an area that's nice and green, near some outdoorsy stuff like hiking/climbing, but also within walking distance to a small, walkable downtown and within 30min commuting distance (public transport) to Center City. Additionally, it is pretty important to me to have a modern place, or at least a recently renovated place.

Questions and answers below! Also, feel free to reality check me if this is totally impossible on our budget — we may be able to stretch that budget a bit, but I'm being conservative considering we don't know how much we'll be making in Philly as compared to NYC.

Any neighborhood suggestions based on the answers and info provided?
Thanks in advance!

When are you moving? November 1, 2016.
Where are you coming from? NYC.
Why are you moving? High cost of living in NYC.
Where will you be working? Not sure yet.
Have you been here yet? Just a few times, planning to visit again soon.

Will you buy or rent? Rent.
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? No preference, but our budget is $1600.
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? We're flexible, but somewhere modern would be very nice.

Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb? Not sure. As aforementioned, we do want to be within 30 minutes of Center City (by public transportation). Also mentioned, we absolutely need to be within walking distance of a decent downtown area — some restaurants, bars (especially good beer bars), gyms, and good supermarkets are necessary. Other activities would be really nice.

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Committed relationship, no children.
Do you prefer public or private schools? N/A.
Do you have pets? Two cats.
Do you want or need a yard? Would really love one, but don't need one.
Are you keeping a car? Just one. Willing to pay for lot parking nearby as long as the price is not too steep (over $80/month is too steep).
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? A solid in-between. Ideally would like to live in a quieter area within walking distance to some bustle.

What do you want to be closest to?
#1 Train or subway stations
#2 Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
#3 Work
#4 Nightlife
#5 Shopping

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? My girlfriend and I are in a same-sex interracial relationship (black/Hispanic and white), so we'd like a diverse, welcoming neighborhood. Similar age would be nice, too — we are 24 and 26, so looking for a good 20s and 30s crowd.

Coke or Pepsi? Beer!

[BK_PHL_DEL]

I see a lot of similarities with my fiancee and I. We are both 29, I am from Brooklyn and she is from Massapequa. We are a mixed-race couple (I am Asian and she is White). We just bought a house a month ago in Fishtown and love the area. It is pretty hipster, essentially the Williamsburg of Philly (for now at least). Both of us have cars and the house has a parking spot, so one of us takes it, and the other finds street parking, with no problems. Wherever you end up living, get the residential permit sticker so you won't have to move your car every x hours. Look into Fishtown; there are a bunch of great food places on Frankford Ave and Girard Ave, and you have the MFL subway line that gets you to Center City in 10 mins.

For food places:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/food_department/Craig-LaBan-picks-his-47-favorites-from-Kensington-Fishtown-Phila.html

The Best 10 Restaurants near Fishtown, Philadelphia, PA

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by dwlcb92

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I are looking to potentially move to Philly this coming November and would love some advice on neighborhoods. We're 24 and 26, from NYC (me) and Long Island (her), love craft beer, and have 2 cats. I'm more of a city girl and my girlfriend enjoys the outdoors, so we'd really like an area that's nice and green, near some outdoorsy stuff like hiking/climbing, but also within walking distance to a small, walkable downtown and within 30min commuting distance (public transport) to Center City. Additionally, it is pretty important to me to have a modern place, or at least a recently renovated place.

Questions and answers below! Also, feel free to reality check me if this is totally impossible on our budget — we may be able to stretch that budget a bit, but I'm being conservative considering we don't know how much we'll be making in Philly as compared to NYC.

Any neighborhood suggestions based on the answers and info provided?
Thanks in advance!

When are you moving? November 1, 2016.
Where are you coming from? NYC.
Why are you moving? High cost of living in NYC.
Where will you be working? Not sure yet.
Have you been here yet? Just a few times, planning to visit again soon.

Will you buy or rent? Rent.
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? No preference, but our budget is $1600.
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? We're flexible, but somewhere modern would be very nice.

Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb? Not sure. As aforementioned, we do want to be within 30 minutes of Center City (by public transportation). Also mentioned, we absolutely need to be within walking distance of a decent downtown area — some restaurants, bars (especially good beer bars), gyms, and good supermarkets are necessary. Other activities would be really nice.

Are you married or single? Do you have children? Committed relationship, no children.
Do you prefer public or private schools? N/A.
Do you have pets? Two cats.
Do you want or need a yard? Would really love one, but don't need one.
Are you keeping a car? Just one. Willing to pay for lot parking nearby as long as the price is not too steep (over $80/month is too steep).
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? A solid in-between. Ideally would like to live in a quieter area within walking distance to some bustle.

What do you want to be closest to?
#1 Train or subway stations
#2 Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
#3 Work
#4 Nightlife
#5 Shopping

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? My girlfriend and I are in a same-sex interracial relationship (black/Hispanic and white), so we'd like a diverse, welcoming neighborhood. Similar age would be nice, too — we are 24 and 26, so looking for a good 20s and 30s crowd.

Coke or Pepsi? Beer!

BK_PHL_DEL posted a great reply... especially about parking and keeping your car which would be a bit more difficult, and expensive, in other neighborhoods adjacent to Center City and Center City itself.

You could look in University City(better for car ownership, I think) or Passyunk Sq in S. Philly.

I live in Spring Garden(next to Fairmount and Francisville).... just north of CC. I would recommend them too. Lots of families with young children, but, also plenty of folks your age.

There is Manyunk, further out from CC... but here we go again... with parking! Lol

All the places mentioned have good transit to CC. Spring Garden and Fairmount will give the closest access to Fairmount Park.

There are a few lgbtq people posting on this board too if you have specific questions.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

I think a lot of neighborhoods have what you want. I would look in Fishtown, Northern Liberties, Fairmount, East Passyunk, and University City by Clark Park. All of these neighborhoods have good restaurants, gyms, beer bars etc. You should be able to find a modern apartment in your price range.

[1timbo1]

I would recommend renting in University City until you figure out the city's many neighborhoods. University City is young, open-minded, very green and lush with trees, and very easy to access all of the trains via 30th Street Station. All of your ammenities would be in walking distance so long as you stay East of 48th, and south of Market. With your budget you should have no problem with a very nice 1 bedroom, or even a 2 bedroom. Do your homework though, because with the student population November may be a difficult time.

With nature and hiking in mind, Manayunk or Mount Airy would be my other suggestions. Both neighborhoods are adjacent to the Wissahickon Trails, which traverse many hundreds of acres of woodland inside city limits. You could literally walk out your door and be a few blocks from dense forest. Both are connected to the regional rail network but operate as their own walk-able neighborhoods as well, with grocery store, restaurants, etc. within the hoods.

[roma258]

I think the neighborhoods recommended so far are close, so let me just fill in some blanks.

Fishtown (lived there for 10 years, about to move)- young, rapidly gentrifying but still strong irish catholic vibe once you get off main drags. Strong hipster vibe, very white, but getting more diverse as more folks move in. Epic beer, food, social scene. Hipster central, but starting to get priced out. Not especially great when it comes to outdoors stuff, though bordering on the river. Parking is meh and getting worse. Oh about to get a nifty produce shop down the street. Always cool new stuff opening. Most of the hood close to an el stop.

Kensington getting a lot of spill over, but really block to block.

Clark Park/Cedar Park (West Philly)- young, diverse, strong college vibe, crunchy with some remnants of crusty punk/anarchist culture, though mostly mainstream liberal. Beautiful, leafy, victorian, Clark Park is a great hang, not super far from Belmont plateau. Strong GLBT community. Decent beer scene, but lacking compared to Fishtown/South Philly. Popular co-op for food. Trolley service is meh, 10-15 minute walk to subway.

Mount Airy (moving next month!)- older, well established, diverse liberal enclave in Northwest Philly. Even more beautiful and leafy than West Philly (imo), but not as dense and further away from center city. Well(ish) served by regional rail and buses. Borders the Wissahickon gorge with amazing hiking, rock climbing, mountain biking, 1800 acres beautiful nature couple blocks away. Couple good bars (Goat Hollow, McMenamins) and restaurants, concentrated on Germantown ave. Very strong lgbt community.

Passyunk Square- similar to Fishtown, except Italian instead of irish, dense South Philly vibe, awesome restaurant options and better ethnic food (Pho spots on Wash ave, awesome Cambodian/Indonesian/Mexican etc...) A bit more expensive.

These are my 4 favorite hoods in the city. Would happily live in any of them. All doable at your price point. Other options to explore- Queen Village, East Falls, Northern Liberties, Fairmount, Graduate Hospital.

[dwlcb92]

Thanks for the helpful answers, everyone! Great to know we're not being totally unrealistic with our preferences and our budget - $1600 in NYC basically gets you a shoebox so I wasn't sure. I'm definitely going to look into these neighborhoods further. As far as the hipster vibe goes, neither of us are really into super hipster or crunchy stuff and we're both pretty low-key in terms of partying/socializing.

We did a bit of research, and so far (based on your guys' great suggestions), we're looking into the following. Does anyone have any recommendations of apartment complexes in these areas (assuming we don't do a by-owner rental or a house), and are they all quite safe?

- Fairmount
- Spring Garden
- Fishtown
- Northern Liberties
- Queen Village
- East Falls
- Mount Airy

One concern about University City I have is that it'll be overrun with college kids. We are young, but we both graduated 4 years ago and we're thoroughly over the college scene, so not sure about living there. However, we are willing to visit and look into it in the interest of keeping our options open.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by dwlcb92

Thanks for the helpful answers, everyone! Great to know we're not being totally unrealistic with our preferences and our budget - $1600 in NYC basically gets you a shoebox so I wasn't sure. I'm definitely going to look into these neighborhoods further. As far as the hipster vibe goes, neither of us are really into super hipster or crunchy stuff and we're both pretty low-key in terms of partying/socializing.

We did a bit of research, and so far (based on your guys' great suggestions), we're looking into the following. Does anyone have any recommendations of apartment complexes in these areas (assuming we don't do a by-owner rental or a house), and are they all quite safe?

- Fairmount
- Spring Garden
- Fishtown
- Northern Liberties
- Queen Village
- East Falls
- Mount Airy

One concern about University City I have is that it'll be overrun with college kids. We are young, but we both graduated 4 years ago and we're thoroughly over the college scene, so not sure about living there. However, we are willing to visit and look into it in the interest of keeping our options open.

No, in the more residential parts of UC(west of 42nd/43rd Sts) it is not overrun with college kids. One of things that started to happen 20 years ago, which led to UC's revival and continuing renaissance, was a move by Penn to create more and attractive on-campus housing which is still going on. Long story short UC proper became more attractive to older couples/people and people with children. Also there are no Penn frat houses, afaik, west of 40th St, so you would not be dealing with that kind party "atmosphere" in most of UC.

In Spring Garden look into Museum Towers at 18th and Spring Garden St. They are in the midst of a large expansion project. Also perhaps the Granary at 19th and Callowhill St. It's a new building.

[BK_PHL_DEL]

Originally Posted by kyb01

In Spring Garden look into Museum Towers at 18th and Spring Garden St. They are in the midst of a large expansion project. Also perhaps the Granary at 19th and Callowhill St. It's a new building.

I carpooled with my friend who lived at the Granary and it is awesome inside. It was built a couple years ago and the apartments inside are all new - engineered hardwood, new appliances, cabinets, everything. There are a ton of dog owners and doctors/nurses living there that work at the hospital nearby (Hahnemann). Her rent was I think $2,200 for a 1BR though. But there will be a Target across the street soon and a Whole Foods that is moving a block away, so it is a prime location. Plus the river trail is within walking/biking distance.

We looked at Queen Village during our house hunt and we loved the area, but parking was very tough, even for one car. I went by after work a couple nights, getting there by 6PM, and it was a little tricky to find parking. You can pay for parking by the 95 overpass but it might be pricey.

[roma258]

Originally Posted by dwlcb92

Thanks for the helpful answers, everyone! Great to know we're not being totally unrealistic with our preferences and our budget - $1600 in NYC basically gets you a shoebox so I wasn't sure. I'm definitely going to look into these neighborhoods further. As far as the hipster vibe goes, neither of us are really into super hipster or crunchy stuff and we're both pretty low-key in terms of partying/socializing.

We did a bit of research, and so far (based on your guys' great suggestions), we're looking into the following. Does anyone have any recommendations of apartment complexes in these areas (assuming we don't do a by-owner rental or a house), and are they all quite safe?

- Fairmount
- Spring Garden
- Fishtown
- Northern Liberties
- Queen Village
- East Falls
- Mount Airy

One concern about University City I have is that it'll be overrun with college kids. We are young, but we both graduated 4 years ago and we're thoroughly over the college scene, so not sure about living there. However, we are willing to visit and look into it in the interest of keeping our options open.

Solid list, as someone already mentioned, University City is not really overrun by college kids past 42nd street. Part of the reason is Penn has partnered with the school district on the local elementary school (Penn Alexander), giving urban parents a rare viable public school option, creating a huge rush of youngish families to the area. You'll definitely run into student rentals here and there though. Mostly grad students.

As far as safety, all those areas are pretty safe by Philly standards. Meaning you can walk around at most times without too much concern, but be aware of surroundings and stuff does happen time to time, like in any city.

A note on finding apartments- Philly is not really an apartment city, especially once you get out of Center City. Rowhouses are the dominant housing stock. Plenty of investors/developers specialize in renting those out (for better or worse). My Fishtown rowhome is under agreement with such an investor. So unless you specifically desire apartment living, I'd suggest expanding your scope to rowhouse rentals as well.