Job relocation to Philly, housing & commute advice. (Philadelphia, Lansdowne: apartment complex, rental)

[chiefbuckshiner]

Hey everyone, I'm gonna try and hit the high points here and any information is greatly appreciated.

I'm transferring to the Philly area, I work with Amtrak. My home station will be 30th St but I could end up anywhere from Zoo to Paoli or further West. I'll be in Wilmington, DE for 6 weeks starting on Feb 9th.

I'll be looking to rent and I'm around the 35-40K range right now, so nothing too fancy. I'm a simple southern girl. I do have dogs though. Style of housing doesn't really matter to me (high rise/walk up) but walk up would be better. I'll probably just be doing a studio or 1 bedroom, wanna keep housing cost as low as possible within reason.

I do have a 13 year old son who will be visiting from time to time. I also will have my car but would prefer to use public transportation as much as possible.

I don't party and I like to be able to at least get to some peace and quiet. Love the ocean or any water really. I was looking into Delaware, Jersey and Penn, just not sure if one option would be better than the other for me. I am a vegetarian though so I hope there's more options in the Philly area than there are down here in the south.

Sorry for the long post but any information you guys can give me would be awesome. I know nothing about that area at all, at least until you get down to Salisbury, MD, lol.

[orrmobl]

Something in the Media/Swarthmore/Wallingford (Nether Providence) area may work - liberal areas as compared to other places - you may just find your people there...also University City/areas of West Philly but it will cost more/be more dangerous/dirty noisy etc...

There are bodies of water near Essington (also hear the planes landing and taking off from airport) and an apartment complex near a scenic park with pond in Ridley Park.

All of these places are closer to the city limits which gives you much better public transportation access but also keeps you located centrally between Wilmington and 30th St. Paoli and West would average about 45 minute drive to get there...

[solibs]

The city is very veg. friendly. Even in the burbs most places are accommodating. It's definitely a lot easier than in the south.

You didn't say how long you wanted your commute to be but since you have a car you could really live just about anywhere. How much do you want to spend per month?

[chiefbuckshiner]

Originally Posted by solibs

The city is very veg. friendly. Even in the burbs most places are accommodating. It's definitely a lot easier than in the south.

You didn't say how long you wanted your commute to be but since you have a car you could really live just about anywhere. How much do you want to spend per month?

Good to hear that the city is veg friendly, thanks.

I don't really have a preference how far my commute was, at one point down here I had a 2 hour commute one way to work which was 100 miles. However, like I said, I'd like to stay either close to public transportation or within 10-15 minutes of a public transportation stop on the outskirts of town.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by chiefbuckshiner

Good to hear that the city is veg friendly, thanks.

I don't really have a preference how far my commute was, at one point down here I had a 2 hour commute one way to work which was 100 miles. However, like I said, I'd like to stay either close to public transportation or within 10-15 minutes of a public transportation stop on the outskirts of town.

Check on Craig's list for Philadelphia & search for Haddonfield. You can take the PATCO line to 8th & Market & transfer to the the Market-Frankford El to get to 30th St Station.

[tiakathryn]

The area is absolutely full of more vegetarian options than the south. Family in south and recently returned to the area, I was shocked how many more spots have opened up.

For the money, in this area, you have a lot of options.

It depends where you are most comfortable. City neighborhood "quiet" or country suburbanish "quiet".

If you tell more about what you are looking for, types of neighborhoods, what you want nearby (walking distance) and the like, you'll get some to check out. Biggest, is what is the ideal budget and of course, since you have dogs - do the hunt with them in mind - larger dogs - go with a slightly larger apt in a neighborhood etc. CL has still some ads but without a lot of usable data lately unless you are in the area. DO SEE THE PLACE FIRST. PSA just because three folks have recently moved out to the area (PA and Jersey) without doing this and been shocked at the fact that a landlord out and out lied about the conditions or neighborhood etc. Save a headache, imagine you'd be able to do this given where you'll be working. Hopefully

How often will your son be up? If it's every week, you may be better off looking into a neighborhood spot with cheaper rents but a lil more space (not hard to find in the area with work looking).

Amtrak goes through but the commute can seriously add up to travel on public transport with train changes on say septa, then a bus (or two ) into where you'd need to go. Do some of the normal train schedules to say paoli and you'll find the distance isn't far, but the train stops very frequently so the commute will add up a bit. With two hours one way possible depending on where, the other factors are more important, what you want to do with the rest of your time. Give a lil more info on what type of neighborhood and the like and I'm sure some great leads would come to you from the forum.

And welcome! PS: Check out singapore restaurant in Philly when you do come up. Superb vegetarian / vegan - from a lifelong vegetarian who recommends this spot mostly to those who love meat. So far, they actually love it as much as me. Even the southern relatives;-P Jersey also has a bunch and the burbs of both have hidden spots that are great.

[kyle19125]

You might consider Lansdowne, an inner-ring suburb that has a liberal bend. It's very close to the city yet maintains a quiet suburban feel. There's a nice newer Farmer's Market here as well. The Lansdowne Train Station is serviced by the SEPTA R3 which is a pretty quick trip from 30th Street Station. There are a lot of vegetarian/vegetarian-friendly restaurants in Philly and living here you'll be quite close. I attached some sample rental links below. Good luck!

Quiet Apt. In Suburbs 10 Minutes from University City/Center City (http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/apa/995101578.html - broken link)
Large 1 Bedroom - Picturesque Lansdowne - R3 to UofP,CC (http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/apa/1008242178.html - broken link)
Renovated Large Apartment, See Pictures!!!!!!! (http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/apa/1003897625.html - broken link)