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When are you moving? By the end of this year or early next year. (no rush)
Where are you coming from? Saucon Valley
Why are you moving? To experience life, leave the family nest.
Where will you be working? Remotely/From Home (I have a job as a programmer)
Have you been here yet? Couple of times (mostly to help friends move and a football game or two), but only for a day at a time.
Will you buy or rent? Rent for a minimum of a year to see how I like the city.
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? -
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? A studio apartment would work for me as I currently spend a lot of time in my small bedroom (working, sleeping, spending time). I'm hoping ~ $1,400 a month would be adequate for this.
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? No preference.
Do you have a preference of living in a NJ or PA suburb? In the city of Philadelphia.
(If you answered NJ - post your answers here: //www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...-philadelphia/)
Are you married or single? Do you have children? Single, no children.
Do you prefer public or private schools? I don't plan on having children at this time.
Do you have pets? No.
Do you want or need a yard? No thank you.
Are you keeping a car? I will NOT be taking my car. I plan to mostly walk, public transportation when necessary.
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? I'm a calm, quiet person by nature however I don't know how achievable that atmosphere is in the city that is walkable. I don't mind bustling activity as long as I can watch and not participate.
What do you want to be closest to? A grocery store with meats and vegetables (This is important to me).
Work - I work remotely/from home.
Shopping - I don't do a lot of window shopping, however something that has coffee, vitamins would be nice.
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.) - Yes, I would like that. I would utilize a grocery store weekly probably and some natural vitamin shop.
Nightlife - No thank you.
Train or subway stations - Not necessary to have near me, only times I would utilize this is probably for semi-annual events (Dentist/Doctor and/or family holidays).
Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? I have no preference either way.
Favorite Beverage - Craft Beer, wine, water? Water (I don't consume alcohol).
To sum it up, I'm a 27 year old male that is single. I am pretty simple and don't have many demands. I make $85k'sh salary, I prefer to pay reasonable, not excessive rent so I can save up money on the side. A studio apartment would be perfect for me as I am use to small spaces. My absolute main criteria: a grocery store (that has meat, vegetables) in walking distance.
After a little research, it seems that Washington Square West may be a good option for me. A lot is accessible with a car, especially a good amount of grocery stores.
After a little research, it seems that Washington Square West may be a good option for me. A lot is accessible with a car, especially a good amount of grocery stores.
Or Rittenhouse/Fitler Square.
Lots of options in the brownstones for studios and small 1-bedroom apartments. I prefer Rittenhouse to Wash Square as it's closer to the Schuylkill river trail and Rittenhouse Square. Supermarket options include the Rittenhouse Market on 18th and Spruce, as well as Trader Joe's on Market and 22nd. And there's a butcher's somewhere in the neighborhood that I've passed on foot a few times.
Washington Square is closer to both Mom's and Whole Foods.
No need for a car if working/living in Center City. A car will be a pain. You'd be better off with monthly parking in a garage somewhere.
Lots of options in the brownstones for studios and small 1-bedroom apartments. I prefer Rittenhouse to Wash Square as it's closer to the Schuylkill river trail and Rittenhouse Square. Supermarket options include the Rittenhouse Market on 18th and Spruce, as well as Trader Joe's on Market and 22nd. And there's a butcher's somewhere in the neighborhood that I've passed on foot a few times.
Washington Square is closer to both Mom's and Whole Foods.
No need for a car if working/living in Center City. A car will be a pain. You'd be better off with monthly parking in a garage somewhere.
Thank you for the information. I'd definitely check out a local butcher. Is there much of a price difference in terms of cost of living between Ritten house VS. Fitler Square VS. Washington Square West?
Thank you for the information. I'd definitely check out a local butcher. Is there much of a price difference in terms of cost of living between Ritten house VS. Fitler Square VS. Washington Square West?
Not really for comparables. I think Wash Square has more cheaper (smaller) apartments in less well maintained buildings. But there are options all over the place.
I should also point out the Reading Terminal Market has great butchers, and Wash Square is slightly closer. But Rittenhouse is just a few blocks further. A fancy butcher is the butcher's counter at DiBruno's, which has a Rittenhouse flagship and they've just opened up one just off Washington Square too.
The neighbhorhoods are separated by just a handful of blocks that it's a wash. You really can't go wrong with either. Washington Square is perhaps slightly more urban, and Rittenhouse south and west of the square is a bit quieter and has more greenery.
Thank you for the information. I'd definitely check out a local butcher. Is there much of a price difference in terms of cost of living between Ritten house VS. Fitler Square VS. Washington Square West?
Wash West is more reasonably priced than Rittenhouse and Fitler squares; the difference IMO is not huge but is noticeable.
As far as food markets are concerned, the prior poster left out two others: the Acme market across 10th Street from Whole Foods and — more importantly IMO — the Reading Terminal Market.
This Philadelphia institution alone should tip the scales in Wash West's favor: it's the descendant of the market stalls that gave Market Street its name back in the 1740s, and it's been part of the fabric of life in the city since 1892. You'll find three great butchers in the market: Giunta's Prime Meats, Halteman Family Farms (Amish) and Martin's Specialty Sausages, which also sells regular cuts of meat. You'll pay more than you would at the supermarket, and about what you would at Whole Foods, but you will get better quality IMO.
And contrary to what another earlier poster said, you won't need a car to reach any of these — they're within walking distance of just about anywhere in the neighborhood. If you locate along its southern edge, the 9th Street Italian Market also becomes an option; it's a further walk away but offers a variety of local merchants, including several butchers, a DiBruno Bros. cheese shop (the original location) and several specialty retailers offering ethnic groceries.
(To be fair, however, Rittenhouse Square has a weekly curbside farmers market on Saturdays from roughly April through November.)
Given your preference for quiet, however, I would recommend the "little streets" of Wash West. These narrow lanes run both north-south and east-west between the major streets. They're charming as all-get-out, and because they're so narrow, they don't get much traffic going down them. If you can find a rental on one of these streets, you should be set — and $1400 for a studio should enable you to afford most of the studio apartments on the market in Center City. There might even be a few one-bedrooms at that price.
--MarketStEl, RTM poster boy during an early-2000s marketing campaign. I still come down from Germantown to shop there. I lived in Wash West from the time I moved here in 1983 until 2011. I also write about real estate for Philadephia magazine.
It seems like you're just looking for a simple place that's safe and reasonably priced. South Philly would give you the best value (I would recommend anywhere north of Snyder and east of 22nd Street).
Manayunk should also be considered. Manayunk is known for its nightlife, but it doesn't seem like a non-starter even if you're not actively seeking it out. Alternatives include East Falls if you want something calmer, or Roxborough if you want something less aimed at 20-somethings.
It seems like you're just looking for a simple place that's safe and reasonably priced. South Philly would give you the best value (I would recommend anywhere north of Snyder and east of 22nd Street).
Manayunk should also be considered. Manayunk is known for its nightlife, but it doesn't seem like a non-starter even if you're not actively seeking it out. Alternatives include East Falls if you want something calmer, or Roxborough if you want something less aimed at 20-somethings.
Parts of South Philly would work, but given that the OP said this this in their first post:
Quote:
Are you keeping a car? I will NOT be taking my car. I plan to mostly walk, public transportation when necessary.
Manayunk, East Falls and Roxborough become less than ideal because many of the basic services in all three neighborhoods are not within walking distance of one's home.
Yes, one can take the 9 bus up Ridge Avenue or the 27 up Henry and walk over to Ridge to reach the supermarkets, but it's not as convenient as walking, and you'd probably want to make your trips infrequent (hello, granny cart; at least with social distancing, you'll be able to maneuver it onto the bus without hitting other passengers).
You can find a gas station, a corner store, and some very nice restaurants around East Falls' central intersection, but no drugstore, and I'm not sure where the dry cleaner is.
Manayunk's business district is almost totally given over to boutique shopping and adult-playground entertainment. The basic services are all up that very steep hill in Roxborough, and the 35 Manayunk-Roxborough Loop bus suspends service at the drop of a snowflake in winter. Well, you can go to the State Store in the shopping center where Ridge Avenue and Main Street meet and buy booze to warm you up then.
\Germantown, where I live, does better in this regard because it has two supermarkets, one on the main shopping street on the west side and another three blocks from me on one of the main east-side thoroughfares. Two more supermarkets lie just beyond its borders, and a fifth will join these at the southern edge of Mt. Airy sometime next year. It also has three drugstores, one next to both of the supermarkets and a third right in the middle of the neighborhood at Germantown and Chelten. The neighborhood also has three outstanding coffee shops.
But I'd still recommend the Center City neighborhoods first, especially since the OP's budget will permit them to live there. South Philly, especially east of Broad, would come next.
since 2005 I've lived in Rittenhouse, Washington Square west and now in Graduate Hospital. Given your preferences, I'd give a slight nod to Washington Square West. It used to have the price advantage to Rittenhouse (not sure anymore), and tons of coffee/grocery options in the area that folks already mentioned (Reading Terminal, Moms, Whole Foods and Italian Market). If you're on the younger side, it's also slightly more fun, even from an introverted perspective if you like just walking around exploring on your own. Those small side streets mentioned by others are great.
Parts of South Philly would work, but given that the OP said this this in their first post:
Manayunk, East Falls and Roxborough become less than ideal because many of the basic services in all three neighborhoods are not within walking distance of one's home.
Oh, absolutely agree. He's not looking for value, he's fine with a studio apartment. The most important thing to him is the walkable grocery with fresh produce. He's not going to have a car. Stay in the center city neighborhoods that have been recommended. It sounds wonderful to me, something I've always wanted to do!
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