Californians planning to relocate to Philadelphia - are our expectations realistic?! (Wilkes-Barre: townhouses, neighborhood)

[Mayvenne]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Well, suggestions continue to be offered, true, but is two weeks really "long after the OP disappears"?

That's usually well within the timeframe of someone looking for a place to live in a city they don't know.

It is puzzling, though, that the OP hasn't checked in or reported on the progress since May 6.

True. I don't usually look at posting history but since you mentioned that- this is the only posts OP has done is on this thread. Granted as you say sometimes a contemplated move is how people find their way to this forum and the rest can be history. I guess it remains to be seen.

[DXBtoFL]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

What about Ardmore (19003)? or, for that matter, Wayne (19087)?

Those are the Main Line's other two downtowns, with Ardmore being the liveliest and largest of the three.

And if walkability and convenient access to Main Street-style amenities are criteria, strike Gladwyne from that list. The community has a cute village center with a supermarket and a well-known inn, but that's about it for the amenities, and unless you live right on top of that village center, it's not walkable at all. Not to mention that it's the only Main Line community with no train station (well, there isn't one in Penn Valley either, but that community doesn't even have a village center like Gladwyne does; instead, it poaches off Narberth Borough's northern border on Montgomery Avenue).

I would add Mount Airy to the list of city neighborhoods I think they'd be happiest in, and I wouldn't rule out East Mount Airy's more affluent (and more heavily African-American) north half (Gorgas Lane and above) either, even though it's farther from the Wissahickon Park.

I suspect OP is more hypothetical than real. People with a housing budget of 2.5-3M don't go online boasting about it. And it's pretty unusual to be moving from California to Philadelphia in that price bracket unless recruited for a senior finance or healthcare role, at which point a full service concierge relocation team would be assisting OP, rather than us. But let's assume she's real. People who are used to multi-million dollar housing (beyond your increasingly ubiquitous $1.5M upper middle class dual-doctor couple's Toll Brothers' exec McMansion in the burbs) are used to a certain standard of environment and amenities as well as housing quality. And wanting like-minded people around.

There's nothing available in East Mount Airy, even the very nice upper part, that wouldn't feel like a big step down. But the big houses along the western fringes may work for OP.

I also don't see a slightly hippy-dippy, yoga practicing, liberal California couple from the Bay area or LA being interested in Wayne, not even the older houses near the downtown area. Most of Ardmore is ordinary but there is a nice bit north of Ardmore Station that might work. A comfortably large and updated stone colonial could tick the boxes.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by DXBtoFL

I suspect OP is more hypothetical than real. People with a housing budget of 2.5-3M don't go online boasting about it. And it's pretty unusual to be moving from California to Philadelphia in that price bracket unless recruited for a senior finance or healthcare role, at which point a full service concierge relocation team would be assisting OP, rather than us. But let's assume she's real. People who are used to multi-million dollar housing (beyond your increasingly ubiquitous $1.5M upper middle class dual-doctor couple's Toll Brothers' exec McMansion in the burbs) are used to a certain standard of environment and amenities as well as housing quality. And wanting like-minded people around.

There's nothing available in East Mount Airy, even the very nice upper part, that wouldn't feel like a big step down. But the big houses along the western fringes may work for OP.

I also don't see a slightly hippy-dippy, yoga practicing, liberal California couple from the Bay area or LA being interested in Wayne, not even the older houses near the downtown area. Most of Ardmore is ordinary but there is a nice bit north of Ardmore Station that might work. A comfortably large and updated stone colonial could tick the boxes.

I completely agree on East Mount Airy. It's nice, but not nice for this price range. And to your point, it's not just about the housing. There is a mix in EMA that would not support the total package that the OP is likely looking for. I think the mix is a good thing, but there are plenty of cheap housing and apartments close to any of the larger, nicer houses in the neighborhood. Plus the schools are not great and the private options are outside the neighborhood. Parts of Chestnut Hill could certainly work, if the OP wants to send their kids to private school.

[DXBtoFL]

Originally Posted by AJNEOA

I completely agree on East Mount Airy. It's nice, but not nice for this price range. And to your point, it's not just about the housing. There is a mix in EMA that would not support the total package that the OP is likely looking for. I think the mix is a good thing, but there are plenty of cheap housing and apartments close to any of the larger, nicer houses in the neighborhood. Plus the schools are not great and the private options are outside the neighborhood. Parts of Chestnut Hill could certainly work, if the OP wants to send their kids to private school.

Let's play this House Hunters a bit more. A liberal California couple. Which one would they go for?

Mod cut - single listings are not allowed

What's your vote? My guess is they'd narrow it down to either the Rittenhouse/Fitler or Penn Valley property.

[Lenses & Lights.]

Originally Posted by selhars

I don't get the connection.

You're skeptical of posts from out-of-towners with very few posts stating that they'd like to move to Philadelphia -- because -- people answer with helpful ideas?

One has nothing to do with the other.

And lots of threads get posts a long time after the initial topic was started.
Sometimes it's intentional.
But I tend to thing that people just don't notice when the thread was started.
-------

Well..., within the 12 years I've been apart of CD, I've seen it often in the Philadelphia forum. Not every OP but more than enough, and it seems as though posters claiming to be New Yorkers or Californians who have questions about relocating to the city get lots of responses with only a few posts.

That's fine and we'll, but many of them just drop off the CD map for good without any updates on their final choice, actual visits, etc.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by DXBtoFL

Let's play this House Hunters a bit more. A liberal California couple. Which one would they go for?

What's your vote? My guess is they'd narrow it down to either the Rittenhouse/Fitler or Penn Valley property.

If you've followed me enough on this forum, you know that I have some contrarian views.

One of them is that income diversity is a good thing. This idea is a hard sell to many, especially as one climbs the income ladder.

I'm also a committed integrationist, and one of the big weak points for white liberals is that they talk a better game on this subject than they walk. And I consider most of the explanations why rationalizations.

It's on the racial/ethnic diversity front that Ardmore stands out, as I think I may have said upthread. And it certainly has the largest and liveliest of the Main Line downtowns. I interpreted some of what the OP said in the initial post to mean they want urban amenities within walking distance of their home. Ardmore excels there, and if the part south of Lancaster Avenue is too declassé, there are homes to the north of Montgomery Avenue that would meet their walkability requirements.

[ZWRMama]

Wow! This feed took a wild turn!

[ZWRMama]

I logged back in to ask some questions on private schools, and noticed these comments. To clarify - never have I posted an anonymous question to be "boastful", and this is almost laughable as anyone in West LA would consider our budget more embarassing than brag worthy!
Oddly I find the overly skeptical responses incredibly endearing, as it does reflect some of the more hardened and jaded people we're come to meet since moving to Philly! We've also met so many wonderful, down to earth people - which makes us confident we made the right choice.
Not that it matters, but we were leaning towards Chestnut Hill, but nervous about making the investment- so we ended up renting about 2 blocks from Rittenhouse Square. Now that we've learned that we love it here, we're going to take the plunge and we're planning to purchase a fixer in CH.
I appreciate all of the helpful information we recieved here prior to making our decision. Thanks again, all.

[Wells5]

OP are you aware of the extra wage and income taxes that you will pay if you live within the City of Philadelphia? Every municipality and school district in PA taxes wages- usually at a combined rate of 1%. But the City of Philadelphia taxes wages at 4% and the Philadelphia School District taxes unearned income (interest, dividends, business profits, capital gains) at 4%. That is the only entity in the state allowed to tax unearned income. Those are flat taxes- no exemptions and no deductions. Combine that with PA's flat tax or 3.07 and we're talking about a lot of money.


If you need info on private schools, my advice is to get a copy of the "Porter Sargent Handbook of Private Schools." It's no longer printed but you can get a used and pretty up to date copy on Amazon. All the info you will need is there.

[bridge12]

Originally Posted by Wells5

OP are you aware of the extra wage and income taxes that you will pay if you live within the City of Philadelphia? Every municipality and school district in PA taxes wages- usually at a combined rate of 1%. But the City of Philadelphia taxes wages at 4% and the Philadelphia School District taxes unearned income (interest, dividends, business profits, capital gains) at 4%. That is the only entity in the state allowed to tax unearned income. Those are flat taxes- no exemptions and no deductions. Combine that with PA's flat tax or 3.07 and we're talking about a lot of money.


If you need info on private schools, my advice is to get a copy of the "Porter Sargent Handbook of Private Schools." It's no longer printed but you can get a used and pretty up to date copy on Amazon. All the info you will need is there.

For some, the lower property taxes and amenities found in Philadelphia outweighs the higher wage taxes. I know that's the case for us - sure we could move to Wayne or wherever the eff, but we'd lose the ability for a short walk, bus or bike ride to hundreds of restaurants, cultural amenities, trails etc. I realize that's not part of the calcuation for everyone but sounds like it should be part of the OPs.

Despite the highish income taxes, Philadelphia arguably offers the best urban bang for your buck in the U.S.