Considering Relocating to Philly from Los Angeles (Philadelphia, Harrisburg: houses, new construction)

[rowhomecity]

Originally Posted by kyb01

rowhomecity, you should have included Doyletown. It has Septa access to the city. Since you mentioned Bradley Cooper, the singer, Pink, is from Doylestown.

I love Doylestown, its so charming. The only reason I did not list because I thought the commute would get old fast. Even with SEPTA access it can be a LONG commute. But its still a great place! And if OP doesnt mind the commute I recommend. Although I am not sure if it has the diversity/proximity to diversity they informed in a later post.

[1ondoner]

This!!

Originally Posted by acenturi

Philly has one of the largest and best organized Chinatown's in the country, which also contains several Japanese establishments. You will not, however, find an equivalent to LA's Little Tokyo, unless you move or visit NYC.

Some people get carried away bigly when putting in a word for Philly

[PBToast]

I work in a STEM field and my workplace is almost 1/3 Asian. I work near the NE edge of Philadelphia, near Chestnut Hill. Many of the Asian people I work with choose to live in Upper Dublin in Montgomery County. I believe so they can have their kids in that school district. That being said, it's still only listed as 8.5% Asian. However, Media is only 3.5%. Upper Dublin encompasses parts of Ambler and Fort Washington and Jenkintown, some of which have been mentioned.

Although we do have a few Japanese people, it's mostly a Chinese crowd. They tend to have a lot of large group gatherings and picnics and be very active socially. Not sure if this is helpful or not.

Jenkintown is a short train ride to center city.

[rowhomecity]

Originally Posted by 1ondoner

This!!



Some people get carried away bigly when putting in a word for Philly

Lol. I mean their might only be 4/5 other cities that have a bigger chinatown. Obviously. NYC. But D.C has been wiped out for the most part. Its a shame but its gone.

Then obviously L.A and San Fran. I will say Seattle. and Chicago. And then after that. There are not really that many that can compare. I love Chinatown. One of my favorite parts of the city. Philly metro actually has a pretty sizable Asian population overall.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

This information is 100% insightful. As the other poster stated above, Philadelphia has one of the most active and well organized Chinatown's in the USA and there is a great deal of Japanese establishments/influence. (although it is predominantly Chinese.) I know SEPA has quite a sizeable asian population overall (no where as large as SoCal, but still sizable for the Northeast). I would research and reach out to some Japanese culture centers in the region and maybe get some feedback on pockets of Japanese communities.

I know the lower mainline (ardmore/wynnewood/narberth), does have a decent Asian population. But do not quote me on that. The closer to the city you are, the more diverse you will find the population.

With that I probably recommend : #1) Narberth/Wynnewood/Ardmore #2) Media Area #3) Chestnut Hill/W. Mt. Airy (in the city). #4) Jenkintown as the #1 areas. As they all are closest to the city. The further out from the city you are, generally the less diverse. BUT most of SEPA (southeast Pennsylvania) is progressive and quite accepting of everyone. You will find it more progressive than the midwest.

To give you an example in Ardmore they have this great Japanese Market. Maido! A Marketplace of Japan

I'm going to register a mild protest over your recommendation of West Mt. Airy without mentioning East Mt. Airy.

East Mt. Airy's southern half is more working-class row homes, true, but its northern reaches (above Gorgas Lane) have many fine larger homes that are the equal of those on the other side of Germantown Avenue. Service on the Chestnut Hill East Regional Rail line is also a little faster than on the Chestnut Hill West line, and it's more frequent on weekends.

Germantown itself also has several areas where you can find attractive, large, attractively priced homes with good neighbors. Community spirit in Germantown runs high, and if any big-city American neighborhood stands a chance of making income diversity work, Germantown is it, though this is an experiment in progress. The neighborhood is mostly African-American, with a sizable Caribbean-American contingent, but you will also find white residents pulling together with their black neighbors to make the neighborhood better. (I live in East Germantown. Northwest Philly in general is one of the city's gems.)

Mt. Airy has a reputation for integration dating back to the 1960s, when local real estate agents drew a line in the sand against blockbusting and white flight. The neighborhood today is roughly 65/35 African-American/white, with a very small Hispanic and Asian presence, but it retains that diverse, everyone-welcome character.

So does its more middle-neighborhood outer portion, the section many call Cedarbrook to the residents' dismay. The homes here are moderate-sized row homes of the type most commonly found in the Central Northeast, but the blocks are well kept. This part of Mt. Airy is 95 percent African-American and has one of the city's highest rates of homeownership. The (Indian-American) VP for Government Relations for the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors lives in this neighborhood; I met him as we were both headed from the Route 18 bus to the subway at Olney and I occasionally run into him on the bus still. You're further away from the cool Germantown Avenue business district and your closest major shopping is a mall-turned-plaza just over the Montgomery County line in Cheltenham Township, but it's still fairly convenient. There's a cluster of Korean restaurants and shops, including an H Mart supermarket, about two miles down Cheltenham Avenue from here around where Broad Street and Old York Road cross it, and the strip continues east from there. The H Mart also carries some Japanese items.

And the OP is moving from LA. Some Midwestern cities are pretty progressive places too, but they're not relevant for this discussion.

[Nn2036]

There is a big Vietnamese area in South Philly around Washington Ave.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by rowhomecity

Lol. I mean their might only be 4/5 other cities that have a bigger chinatown. Obviously. NYC. But D.C has been wiped out for the most part. Its a shame but its gone.

Then obviously L.A and San Fran. I will say Seattle. and Chicago. And then after that. There are not really that many that can compare. I love Chinatown. One of my favorite parts of the city. Philly metro actually has a pretty sizable Asian population overall.

To give some perspective to it, Phila.'s Chinatown is usually dated to 1871 when a laundry in the 900 block of Race St opened.

And, OP there are assorted other Asians living in the Phila. area: Koreans, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Indonesians and Philippinos.

[chessimprov]

To get a good sense of where Asians are, you can go by where there are Asian grocery stores.

SE Philly (there really is no "SE" Philly but if there was one, this would definitely be it.)
4th and Oregon


Cheltenham- Hmart at Broad and Cheltenham Ave.?

Upper Darby- 69th St.area- small Hmart

NE Philly- Rising Sun and Adams Ave.- Farmer's Supermarket and tucked away Ben City off of Whitaker

Assi plaza- North Wales, PA

Chinatown- 3x3 block or so; 10th and Race approx. the center of it.

North Philly- Olney- 5th St. between Tabor Rd. and Cheltenham Ave.
-mostly Korean

South Philly- between 5th and 6th on Washington (big store), 12th and Washington, 16th and Washington
-mostly Vietnamese


Olney is probably the only one where it's very working class and I think grittier than all the other ones mentioned. worth visiting those places. Living is a completely different animal though.

[rowhomecity]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I'm going to register a mild protest over your recommendation of West Mt. Airy without mentioning East Mt. Airy.

East Mt. Airy's southern half is more working-class row homes, true, but its northern reaches (above Gorgas Lane) have many fine larger homes that are the equal of those on the other side of Germantown Avenue. Service on the Chestnut Hill East Regional Rail line is also a little faster than on the Chestnut Hill West line, and it's more frequent on weekends.

Germantown itself also has several areas where you can find attractive, large, attractively priced homes with good neighbors. Community spirit in Germantown runs high, and if any big-city American neighborhood stands a chance of making income diversity work, Germantown is it, though this is an experiment in progress. The neighborhood is mostly African-American, with a sizable Caribbean-American contingent, but you will also find white residents pulling together with their black neighbors to make the neighborhood better. (I live in East Germantown. Northwest Philly in general is one of the city's gems.)

Mt. Airy has a reputation for integration dating back to the 1960s, when local real estate agents drew a line in the sand against blockbusting and white flight. The neighborhood today is roughly 65/35 African-American/white, with a very small Hispanic and Asian presence, but it retains that diverse, everyone-welcome character.

So does its more middle-neighborhood outer portion, the section many call Cedarbrook to the residents' dismay. The homes here are moderate-sized row homes of the type most commonly found in the Central Northeast, but the blocks are well kept. This part of Mt. Airy is 95 percent African-American and has one of the city's highest rates of homeownership. The (Indian-American) VP for Government Relations for the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors lives in this neighborhood; I met him as we were both headed from the Route 18 bus to the subway at Olney and I occasionally run into him on the bus still. You're further away from the cool Germantown Avenue business district and your closest major shopping is a mall-turned-plaza just over the Montgomery County line in Cheltenham Township, but it's still fairly convenient. There's a cluster of Korean restaurants and shops, including an H Mart supermarket, about two miles down Cheltenham Avenue from here around where Broad Street and Old York Road cross it, and the strip continues east from there. The H Mart also carries some Japanese items.

And the OP is moving from LA. Some Midwestern cities are pretty progressive places too, but they're not relevant for this discussion.

For the record. I love Mt. Airy. East and West.

[hkdman_35]

Thanks again for all of your help!!! I was offered the position today so my wife and I are discussing it now. It looks very positive that we will be moving.