Why people on this site trying to make it seem that most Philadelphia neighborhoods are good neighborhoods? (Lancaster: 2015, crimes)

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by 2002 Subaru

The wave doesn't necessarily have to go through
Port Richmond first. There have been quite a few houses selling for 200K plus (with more coming), which is a big leap from just a few short years ago. No, they're not Fishtown or Fairmount numbers (and never will be), but there's a rowhome on Richmond, sans parking, pending for 234K. That's nothing to sneeze at for a neighborhood like this. People are taking notice ...


Bridesburg may 'technically' be geographically located in the NE, but it's never been considered part of the NE. More like a suburb of the Riverwards, but the Riverwards nonetheless.

If home values are your biggest concern Germantown and Bridesburg are neck and neck in average home value. Of course Germantown has a much wider scale with everything from well-kept mansions for $500,000+ to tear down rowhomes for $20,000. Size doesn't have everything to do with price of course though-3 br rowhomes on my block have sold for over $150,000 while a few blocks away there is currently a 5 br 3 story renovated home asking $125,000.

Bridgesburg has a ways to go before it is ever "hot"-there is just not enough there to bring people in and the homes are not the most desirable out there.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by moneymkt

I would consider these neighborhoods good for someone moving to the city for the first time.



Fairmount-Between broad and 20th from spring garden to fairmount ave

To clarify that's not Fairmount; it's Spring Garden. Fairmount starts, going west, at 20th and Fairmount Ave, or Corinthian and Fairmount Aves.(next to ESP). It extends past the Perlman wing of the PMA and includes the PMA since it sits on Fair Mount. It touches Brewerytown along Poplar St.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by 2002 Subaru

I think some of them are trying to protect their property values or are hoping to help them increase. I agree with you, btw, and I have no idea why some of them get so freaked out (angry) when I post crime stories. Seems they have no conscience when it come to sugar coating (lying) what life is really like in some neighborhoods.

I can only speak for myself but I don't think I sugar coat the situation in these neighborhoods. But I'm not going to ignore family members, whom I care about, who happen live in not great city places. I'm not afraid when I go where they are.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by moneymkt

I always hear crime stories about Germantown and Olney so not sure why someone would consider those sections of the city good areas.

How about listening to someone who posts here, very regularly, who actually lives in Germantown instead of stuff you "hear"?

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by 2002 Subaru

I think some of them are trying to protect their property values or are hoping to help them increase.

A lot of posters don't own, or are buying, property; they're renters.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Avalon08

I've been reading this thread for a long time (former Philadelphian) and I don't recall anyone advising people to move to Southwest or being unrealistically rosy about the city's neighborhoods. If anything, I've seen people like yourself acting like it's got the worst crime rate of anywhere. Believe me, when I moved to FL and listened to the news, it made Philly look like Mayberry.

Another example. Birmingham, AL, a small city by comparison, has worse crime than Philly.

[moneymkt]

Originally Posted by Phillyfinest

We basically saying the same thing. You basically repeating what i said in the original post. I mentioned University city and the surrounding areas.

40th to 45th from Haverford to Lancaster ave is not university city

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by Phillyfinest

Lol some of you cant read between the lines. I meant most cities are not like Philly. Philly bad areas are spreaded all over the city where as other cities it is only one or two areas you have to avoid. I'm basically saying there is more bad neighborhoods in philly than the other major cities

I don't read between lines well. I'm more of a bull in a china shop. I still don't think Philly is different from other cities in that respect.

You can go here, here, and here. Don't go there, there, or there. It the same everywhere.

[2002 Subaru]

Originally Posted by 2e1m5a

Bridgesburg has a ways to go before it is ever "hot"-there is just not enough there to bring people in and the homes are not the most desirable out there.

You must not know Bridesburg very well to say that about the houses. There are small rows, larger rows, small twins, large twins, large singles, houses with private parking, houses with garages, it's very diverse in it's housing stock. Lets not forget that location, schools and safety mean a lot, too, and Bridesburg has all three.
And, yeah, property value is important, it's what'll keep the riff raff out and attract a better class of working people. I'm happy you enjoy Germantown and that the home values are similar, but they're two different worlds. I'll enjoy my world, you enjoy your's.
Anyway, we shall see ... a lot of people have cars and the neighborhood is close to everything. Not everybody wants coffee shops and 'hip' bars and restaurants all over the place. Plus, a lot of people don't care about public transportation and/or bicycles.

[PhilliesPhan2013]

For the past few days, I've been thinking about how to properly answer this question. The answer has been within me the entire time, but now I think I can word it properly.

Philadelphia is a city of nearly 1.6 million people. All of these people packed into Philly's 142 square miles of city area all have different dispositions, worldviews, and a general sense of how they view their life. In my opinion, the way that someone views the place that they live can be an extension of how they view life. I have always been (and always will be) a strong optimist. I tend to view life through an optimistic lens, and I generally see the positive aspects in a stronger light than the negative ones. By extension, I tend to view the city the same way. Not everyone is a strong optimist, which is why I encourage a new resident of ANY city to visit and get a feel for themselves. Words typed out by strangers online can only do but so much to answer questions that individuals have to answer themselves, as we do not all share the same points of view, levels of fear, outlooks on life, etc.

With this said, however, I have two main problems with what the OP typed. The first issue is with how the OP mentions that someone is either from Philly or the suburbs, a nice area like Center City, or simply out of touch with reality if they do not believe that Philadelphia is rough as a whole. The OP goes on to say that they have lived in the ghetto for most of their life, so they know what they are talking about. That statement is full of pretentiousness and discounts the value of the opinions of others, which there are many of in a city of nearly 1.6 million people. As a fellow ghetto-dweller, I believe that this city is on a positive trajectory. I was born in 1995, and was a boy when this city reached its nadir around 2005. Back then, the city felt much more violent, there seemed to be many more abandoned homes and vacant lots, and the city had reached a low-point in terms of population. My mom saw all of this and moved my family to the suburbs in 2006, where I would remain for eight years. Now, in 2017, I ditched Delco as soon as I saved enough money, left it for the Templetown/Cecil B. Moore neighborhood of North Philly, and never looked back. Why? Because I can feel that North Philly is getting ready for a big comeback. Almost every neighborhood in Lower North Philly has improved considerably, there is a solid plan to develop a second business district centered around North Philadelphia (BSL and Amtrak/SEPTA)/North Broad, and Upper North Philly remains a bastion for the middle-class. North Philly still struggles with abandonment and poverty, but I generally see it as on the upswing, West Philly has dramatically improved, and it seems like the border of "University City" continues to creep west (it's not considered by some to be as far west as 50th Street). This is not to discount the dangerous neighborhoods (mainly north of Market), but West Philly isn't that bad in my opinion. To say that Germantown "as a whole" is a bad neighborhood is ignorant at best. Have you ever retrained at Queen Lane? What about Wister? Have you ever taken a stroll down Germantown Avenue to take in the beautiful architecture and historical sites? Pretty much all of South Philly east of Broad is nice, and west of Broad is changing its rough appearance quickly. Parts of the Lower Northeast have admittedly declined, but I have noticed that it has become increasingly diverse with foreign immigrants, a demographic that tends to take care of their neighborhoods and become civically involved.

The second problem that I have with the OP's post is that it is all qualitative. There is nothing wrong with posing a qualitative assessment of what they may have witnessed; however, I have noticed that the OP has not posted one quantitative statistic to back up his qualitative claims. I would like to see the source that states that "80%" of North Philly is bad, "60%" of West Philly is "VERY" bad, and that Germantown "as a whole" is bad. Also, which category of safety has measurably decreased, and as compared to what? Where is the baseline to compare the data? Are we talking about murder, rape, assault, or vandalism? Which crime class are you defining as "safety"? In reality, I'm not too concerned about crime, as it seems to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods on certain blocks. Calling entire sections of the city "bad" also discounts the hard-working, nice, law-abiding people who happen to be living in poverty. I would motion to state that the VAST minority of Philly citizens commit the VAST majority of crimes. Unlike you, OP, I have quantitative data to prove that Philly is heading in the right direction. The city's population has been growing for the past 11 years, job growth has outpaced that of New York and San Francisco in terms of percentages, tax revenues for city governmebt have been reported to be up, and the rate of poverty slightly declined. I also have factual news stories about foreign corporations looking at Philly for their U.S. HQ, politicians likely to support Philly's omnibus tax reform legislation, tourism reaching an all-time high in 2016, and the flow of investment dollars coming in from outside of the Philadelphia area. Qualitatively, I see new homes popping up across the city, young parents with strollers, hear people committing themselves to the city and neighborhood public schools, and the city taking action to become a more urban, sustainable place.

In closing, the OP states that it is misleading to describe certain parts of the city in a positive light. I very much disagree with that, and would counter by saying that the OP is being misleading by providing statements that lack factual evidence. In the end, we all have different views of the city that we still call home, and anyone who is interested in moving here should visit and make the call themselves instead of entirely relying on the opinions of anonymous people.