Relocating--Neighborhood within city limits near SEPTA? (Philadelphia, Drexel Hill: apartment, for rent, condos)

[nikmasteed]

Here are answers to the questions at the top of the forum. My fiance and I are planning on relocating to the Philly area with our infant (4-months now, about a year old when we move). Trying to research some potential neighborhoods in Philly.

When are you moving? late 2009/early 2010
Where are you coming from? Boston (lived in Boston proper for 6 years, now in city of Malden 5 miles out for past 6 months)
Why are you moving? closer to family, settling down
Where will you be working? me in Philadelphia, for her hopefully at one of the major hospitals in the city
Have you been here yet? yes, i grew up in the Philly burbs (Harleysville); have heard about some of the neighborhoods but that's what i need to research

Will you buy or rent? hoping to buy, but that may need to wait until 2010
If buying, are you looking for a house or a condo? How much can you spend? open to either; price range would be $200-250k; 1000+ sf
If renting, are you looking for an apartment, a townhouse or loft? How much can you spend? open to either; price range would be $14-1500/month; 1000+ sf
Do you prefer hi-rise or walk up? open to either, have lived in both; hi-rise might be preferred but not at all required

Are you married or single? Do you have children? engaged w/ a 4-month old, child will be about 1-year when we move; putting off marriage until we own a property
Do you prefer public or private schools? if public schools were at an acceptable level, we'd be okay with that; my understanding is that they are not in the city limits; once our child is of school age, if we were indeed in the city limits, we perhaps would consider moving to a suburb
Do you have pets? no
Do you want or need a yard? would be great; if not, needs to be near a nice park
Are you keeping a car? preferably not; we use Zipcar now in Boston and love it; would like a similar situation, but would own a car if it turned out we needed it
Do you prefer bustling activity or calm and quiet? activity is essential; nothing says u cant have activity and still maintain a level of calm and quiet

What do you want to be closest to? supermarket, SEPTA, a park would be the main things
Work
Shopping
Basic services (supermarket, drugstore, etc.)
Nightlife
Train or subway stations

Do you want to live with people of a similar age, race, religion or sexual preference or do you prefer a diverse neighborhood? no preference, as long as it is a safe neighborhood for a young child

Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi!


To elaborate slightly, we are in our mid-20's, and we are still undecided as to whether we will initially relocate to the city proper, or to a suburb about a half hour away (Abington area perhaps?). At this point I'd like to research the possibility of living in the city, since that is our preference. It may be unrealistic. We will either buy right away, or we will rent for a few months with the intention of buying in early 2010.

An ideal location would be a walkable, very safe neighborhood, within walking distance to SEPTA, where it is not absolutely essential to own a car. In our 6+ years in Boston, we have always been within a few blocks of a major supermarket, so that would be a strong preference as well. This area needs to be safe enough for a young child. Schools are on the radar screen a few years from now, but as I said we are more concerned about the next 3-4 years-- we'd be open to the possibility of relocating to an area with better schools in about 4 years (the housing market's gotta be better by then, right???)

I'm interested to know about South Philly and Northern Liberties as to a potential fit with our criteria, but please suggest other areas as well-- I don't know enough yet!!

Thanks to everyone in advance, and if anyone has suggestions on nice suburbs in the $200-250k range along SEPTA (preferably north of the city), that's great as well.

[nikmasteed]

IMPORTANT: i should also note that when I say SEPTA, I mean RAIL. Does not matter whether its Broad Line, Market Line, or regional rail. Bus lines are great as an alternative, but we do NOT want to rely on them.

[nikmasteed]

Nothing? solibs? am I looking for too much?

[akorosdc]

If you aim for the suburbs, like Abington, (or even the city neighborhoods on the edge of the 'burbs) you'll need a car. I'm not as familiar with the Center City neighborhoods, though there are plenty to check out (Queen Village, Bella Vista, etc) and seem to be pretty popular. You can also try Mt. Airy or Manayunk. If you like Abington and want to go the suburb route you can also check out Elkins Park or Jenkintown.

[maf763]

The $200-$250 range will knock you out of places like Chestnut Hill and many of the suburban communities near the regional rails. Within the city you can try Mt. Airy (19119) or Fox Chase (19111), both of which have train stations and are nice neighborhoods, though maybe not as much activity as you'd like. Outside of the city, you could try Ambler (19002), but that would be stretching your half-hour trip. If you could find your price range in Jenkintown (19046), that's a good choice for all your requests.

[solibs]

Originally Posted by nikmasteed

Nothing? solibs? am I looking for too much?

haha. sorry. I work crazy hours now and they're not always conducive to blogging.

I would certainly rent first to get a feel for the neighborhoods. I would suggest Passyunk Square first, adjacent East Passyunk Crossing second and third Spruce Hill.

PS comes in first because it's everything you're looking for. It's a big 'hood but i'd focus on the area between 8th & Broad and between Ellsworth and Tasker. Lots of restaurants, cafes, a big grocery store right in the middle of the neighborhood and walking distance to Whole Foods on South St, great parks, a really productive civic association, 23 and 47 bus to center city, Broad St. Subway a short walk away, plenty of kids in strollers and two great charter schools.

EPX is just south of PS and is more or less the same but it trends a little older, less multi-cultural (mostly italian), and you'll have to walk to the parks in PS.

In either neighborhood you should have no trouble finding a really nice house for rent in your range.

Spruce Hill is slightly more expensive, a lot more of a college town feel (UPenn) but it has all of the other stuff you're looking for - including the Penn-Alexander School. The only real drawback is that you'll probably wind up in an apartment as opposed to a rowhouse but that might not bother you. To buy a house it's probably out of your price range although there might be some 2 bedroom condos out there in the $200k-$250k range. The houses are usually in the 3000 s/f range and around the $500k mark.

[orrmobl]

Check out Media, Delaware County, Drexel Hill, Havertown, Ardmore.

Not sure what you can buy in Media but you can walk to Trader Joe's, the schools are very good, people are very friendly. They even have an accredited preschool that costs a whopping $250 a month - can't beat it!

[nikmasteed]

Thanks everyone for the suburb suggestions, I'll be sure to look into those further if we deem the suburbs as the right move. Thanks solibs for the PS and EPX info, and thanks for the consideration on schools. I'll look into them further!

[solibs]

Originally Posted by nikmasteed

Thanks solibs for the PS and EPX info, and thanks for the consideration on schools. I'll look into them further!

I forgot to mention - Philly has Zipcar but, for now, most of the cars are between Washington and Fairmount and out to 40th St. They're growing though so it's only a matter of time before there are more cars outside of center city.

PhillyCarShare has a ton of cars in most neighborhoods. Unfortunately, their new CEO is doing his best at running the company into the ground. Still, it might be worth the free membership as a back-up to Zipcar.

You can check either website to see where the cars are.

[nikmasteed]

Great, thanks for the tip. Zipcar started in Boston (Cambridge actually) so I think it's the city most heavily concentrated with Zipcars-- I mean they are EVERYWHERE. Like I mentioned I live 5 miles outside the city and there are still close to 10 cars within a flew blocks of my apartment. It certainly has changed exponentially in the 5-6 years I've been a member. They are expanding rapidly so hopefully they will have Philly covered pretty thoroughly soon. I'll check out what they have now in different areas and also look into Philly CarShare--cant beat free!