Philadelphia: sleeper hit?

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Where in NY? I'm from Roch.

I'm in the Buffalo Southtowns (East Aurora) now. Mostly moved to be near family due to childcare concerns. Loving the summer right now, we will see how I feel once winter hits

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

I never lived in the philly suburbs, though I did live in Mt. Airy for about half of my time in Philly. However, I generally agree which is why I emphasized the importance of being deliberate where one lives. The problem, as I experienced it, was as I get older friends start to disperse and visiting your friend in New Jersey, Ambler or Media is often extremely inconvenient in a way that is not necessarily experienced in other metro areas. when living in Mt. Airy I met my (now) Wife. We loved taking of advantage of Philly's amazing restaurant scene. Typically this meant driving (or ubering) to Center City, Fishtown, and South Philly which could easily take an hour to get to despite only being ~9 miles away. We were uninterested in moving to any of those places because (1) we enjoyed living below our means in Mt. Airy; (2) we were uninterested in the lack of green space and (3) it would have meant a nightmare commute for her. If the above scenarios don't apply to you and you are confident yours friends will never move then by all means move to South Philly or fishtown. I certainly loved my time in East Passyunk.

I am not saying this to bash philly but as something that should be kept in mind when deciding whether or not to move here. If you want to live without a car in Philly you have to be very deliberate about where you choose to live and consider what your day to day life will look like. What will your route home look like? Are you comfortable taking the bus and subway? Are the type stores you regularly go to in a convenient location of where you will be everyday? Similar questions need to be asked if you are planning on moving WITH a car as well? If you like to frequently go to target at 8pm on a Wednesday is it going to bother you that you may have to park several blocks away when you come back? Etc.

Surprised you never used Regional Rail to go into Center City.

It doesn't run as frequently as the buses and subways do, but it is a viable option for travel between Northwest Philly and Center City, including for going out — with the caveat that if you want to take it back home, your night on the town will end around 11:30 p.m. so you can make it back to Jefferson or Suburban stations for the last trains out.

It is not, however, a viable option if what you want to do is live a true low-car or car-free lifestyle, OP. But I didn't get the impression you were aiming that high.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Surprised you never used Regional Rail to go into Center City.

It doesn't run as frequently as the buses and subways do, but it is a viable option for travel between Northwest Philly and Center City, including for going out — with the caveat that if you want to take it back home, your night on the town will end around 11:30 p.m. so you can make it back to Jefferson or Suburban stations for the last trains out.

It is not, however, a viable option if what you want to do is live a true low-car or car-free lifestyle, OP. But I didn't get the impression you were aiming that high.

I used Regional Rail frequently, especially as a means to get to work. I particularly liked when I worked in one of the Penn Center Buildings and could take the elevator up to my office from suburban station.

As you note it wasn't nearly as convenient for late nights or weekends Was also not useful for getting from my house in NW Philly to somewhere like Fishtown.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

I'm in the Buffalo Southtowns (East Aurora) now. Mostly moved to be near family due to childcare concerns. Loving the summer right now, we will see how I feel once winter hits

Wait. You haven't experienced the winter in Buffalo yet?

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Wait. You haven't experienced the winter in Buffalo yet?

Moved here in April so we caught the tail end of it. Although I have been here during the winter many times I haven't yet experienced a full winter as a resident. I have been here during multiple snow storms but I imagine that is not the same as experiencing a full winters worth of snow.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

Moved here in April so we caught the tail end of it. Although I have been here during the winter many times I haven't yet experienced a full winter as a resident. I have been here during multiple snow storms but I imagine that is not the same as experiencing a full winters worth of snow.

Oh boy.

I've always said that the hardest part about living up there are the 1 month more of winter you get in the beginning and the 2 months more you get at the end.

[skintreesnail]

The winters around Western NY are either a winter wonderland or a world of misery. I remember an ice storm one year that knocked power out for like a week. very pretty, but lots of falling trees and sucks not having heat, water, light, a stove. We got gas after that I think. Sledding on chestnut ridge is fun. I will say that the summers even it out though; I'm in Lewiston now and it's been glorious here compared to hot and steamy in Philly. And the lakes/falls/gorge trails are beautiful. Grew up around the finger lakes and it's always nice to come back for a visit. Too car oriented for my liking though, and too many folks drink and drive. Buffalo has made strides lately though; the outer harbor parks are great; love the hammocks along the meadow path looking over the lake. And canal side seemed hopping; they have an old carousel house there now and are building a canal barge. I think there is a Ferris wheel in riverworks, but didn't get over there. They need more housing down there though and amenities like grocery stores (I think they did open one, but the need more).

For the OP, I agree that Philly is in a pretty sweet spot and has pretty much what you're looking for at a low cost for a big NE city. I agree that if you go carless, you need to plan out where you are living. if you work remote it shouldn't be too difficult though. I was car free for a decade before I had to buy one to reverse commute to the suburbs. Haven't had to do that for 8 years or so, but still have the car

I live in graduate hospital, neighborhood south of Rittenhouse, and everything I need is within walking distance. I use the car maybe once a month if that, and that's really only because I have a kid and need a car seat. Otherwise most places are located around transit and you can rent a car/carshare otherwise. If you live anywhere in center city or most places in greater center city (between Girard and Tasker I think?) it's probably possible to live car free. Otherwise, as others have said you probably need to to some research to make sure it will work.

Biking I think is pretty decent; the Schuylkill river trail is great, and they've been extending that south to Bartram's garden, and then the Delaware river has a new trail as well. Not to mention all the trails in Fairmount/Wissahickon. I wish the city didn't balk so much at bike lanes on the street, but the Pine/Spruce bike lanes are pretty convenient to get across center city between rivers, assuming there aren't cars parked in them. University city is pretty good as well with bike lanes.

For hiking we are really close to the Poconos and not to far from some other the other northeast mountains like Catskills and Adirondacks. There are lots of hilly parks close as well, and the beaches. Maybe you should try renting a place for a while to get a sense how you like it? Since you're on your own it doesn't seem like it'd be too bad an idea.