Relocating to Philly from Chicago (Philadelphia, Chester: 2015, foreclosed, how much)

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by strussell

Interesting...housing and childcare is def less expensive but maybe other things costs more??

Don't listen to that poster, Philly is not more expensive than Chicago. Chicago definitely has a higher COL especially when it comes to housing.

[acenturi]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

Don't listen to that poster, Philly is not more expensive than Chicago. Chicago definitely has a higher COL especially when it comes to housing.

Suggest do a "little" research before making such a profound statement:

Cost of Living Index for Selected U.S. Cities

PayScale - Cost of Living Cities - Chicago Illinois and Philadelphia Pennsylvania for Computer Programmer

[Becca8377]

Originally Posted by acenturi

Suggest do a "little" research before making such a profound statement:

Cost of Living Index for Selected U.S. Cities

PayScale - Cost of Living Cities - Chicago Illinois and Philadelphia Pennsylvania for Computer Programmer

I did. The websites I used said quite the opposite. As someone who looked at moving to both Chicago and Philly at the same time, Philly was much cheaper than Chicago.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

Your expectations are very different from what Philly is. I'd suggest you first visit and then make a list of what you want.

$400K doesn't buy much this part of the country. Even if you increase your budget expect a lower standard of living to what you are accustomed to in Chicago (see other Chicago vs Philly threads, this is a highly debated topic).

In addition, you may want to consider not working at CHOP because commuting into the city is not fun. You're better off, if you can avoid public transport and have a short commute by car, especially with the young kids who need to be dropped and picked at the daycare place.

The job opportunity will be at Drexel not CHOP, btw.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by strussell

I see options around $400K in the areas mentioned above. I understand that getting a single family home with a yard is going to limit the urban environment we are used to but we would like to be in a somewhat walkable community still.


Do you think Philly is more expensive than Chicago? We were thinking our cost of living would decrease significantly. I could never get a home here for $400K unless I moved 35-40 miles outside the city giving me a 1.5 hour commute. And it also looks like childcare is a lot less expensive. We pay $40K a year for 2 kids in childcare now.


And why do you suggest avoiding public transportation? Is it not very reliable?

That poster probably never uses Septa, admits to not coming into Philly very often. So he's not the person who can discuss anything about local pub trans.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by strussell

I understand that the Lower Merion School District is quite good. How does Havertown's and Media's school districts compare? It looks like we can get a lot more for our money there but it is further out.

Put simply LM has a high school that's virtually brand new. Haverford Twp' s sole high school is nearly 60 years old.

[Burger Fan]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

Don't listen to that poster, Philly is not more expensive than Chicago. Chicago definitely has a higher COL especially when it comes to housing.

This is always a good rule of thumb when it comes to that particular poster in these threads. Just bizarre.


Philly has a moderately cheaper cost of living than Chicago, but its not by a lot. There are searches you can do that will break this down that I cannot link to.


$400K will buy you PLENTY in just about any philly suburb outside of some of the more ridiculous main line areas. The commute is the only issue (schools in most suburbs outside of a handful of the inner burbs in bad areas are excellent) but that is easily rectified by staying close to the regional rails.


Havertown/Haverford and Media areas are both good places to start. I'm less familiar with Ardmore, Narberth, etc but there should be things there within the price range as well.

Originally Posted by kyb01

That poster probably never uses Septa, admits to not coming into Philly very often. So he's not the person who can discuss anything about local pub trans.

exactly. Regional Rail is designed to take commuters from the outer burbs into center city and surrounding areas and not much else. It's almost exclusively patronized by professionals, has conductors on all cars, is quiet, clean, reasonably priced, on time a VERY high percentage of the time, and there is usually a "quiet ride" car designated during peak hours to allow those to read and work in peace who need it. Took it for years and love it- wife still does.


There is currently an issue with the manufacturer that caused about 100 cars to be pulled and components replaced that is impacting commutes, but this is the first time anything like that has happened and will be resolved by September. There is no reason to avoid public transportation here. The Market/Frankford EL and the Broad Street Line are less pleasant, but they're designed for a completely different type of user.

[1ondoner]

Public transport sucks, no matter which city in the world. That's why there are taxis in the city and uber is gaining popularity.

My goal in life is to avoid using public transport, including commercial airlines.

Originally Posted by kyb01

That poster probably never uses Septa, admits to not coming into Philly very often. So he's not the person who can discuss anything about local pub trans.

[Faith2187]

Originally Posted by narb06

Philly is less expensive than Chicago, but that doesn't mean you can get everything you listed above for $400k. An (imperfect) analogue to Lower Merion is Evanston, and you will know that if you want to live in a walkable neighborhood close to transport in downtown Evanston, you pay a lot more than a house near the Skokie border.

It's not actually. As the number of bedrooms increase, and you start selecting certain neighborhoods, you start see a more narrow line between the COL in Chicago versus Philly. In fact I would say that to live in some of the more expensive areas in Chicago you would pay less than what you would to live in some of the more expensive nice suburbs in Philly. Sure a studio or 1 bedroom in an area where public schools aren't great is less expensive in Philly, but once you add on two additional bedrooms and factor in good public schools, how close or far it is to the city--it begins to cost more.

Unfortunately the OP would have a challenge trying to find a 4 bedroom house for 400k that has good public schools and is close to the city. Especially in the areas she mentioned. She may be able to find a home in Media that is around that price--but it wouldn't be very big.

Op since it's just you and two kids, maybe you can consider a 3 bedroom townhome for now? That would increase your options. Since you cannot afford private schools, and want good public schools--Ardmore, Media, Haverford, and Narbeth are your best bets. If I were you I would consider a 3 bedroom townhome at that price point in those areas for now... If 4 bedrooms is a must, I think you would need to up your price-point or be willing to spend more time in traffic(or catch public transportation) to get to work.

[Faith2187]

Originally Posted by Becca8377

I did. The websites I used said quite the opposite. As someone who looked at moving to both Chicago and Philly at the same time, Philly was much cheaper than Chicago.

Interesting... How did you compare the cities? I have lived in both(Chicago and Philly) and I have to say that it largely depends. As I said in another post--philly has cheaper rentals and homes if you don't FACTOR into neighborhoods, public schools, and more than 2 bedrooms. However, once you factor in those things--(finding an area with quality public schools, getting an apartment or a house with more than 2 bedrooms, and commutability to the city with traffic) Chicago actually is slightly less expensive than Philly. There was even a thread that was recently posted earlier this week, where it compared the cost of apartments in each metro. Interestingly enough Philadelphia WAS less expensive to get a studio, and 1 bedroom, but than once you added in 2 bedrooms and 3 bedrooms, Chicago was LESS expensive.

For instance I know a few suburbs with decent schools in Chicago where the OP could get a 4 bedroom home for probably 450K, with decent schools nearby, and a commute under an hour to the city via car. However, in Philadelphia that's a challenge... There are great schools districts in suburbs on the mainline, but those are arguably very expensive compared to some of the great schools in Chicago suburbs... Heck I grew up in an upper middle class suburb in Chicago and I believe that our house was a newer modern 5 bedrooms, 3 bath very large house, and it was in the mid to upper 500's in terms of how much it cost. The school district we went to was rated 10 on great schools and was nationally known as a great school district(as was the suburb we lived in at the time). The OP would have a difficulty finding that in the areas on the mainline that have great public schools. Just saying.