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Old 03-20-2010, 01:33 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,938 times
Reputation: 10

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Hi everybody --
I've been living in NYC for 30 of my 35 years, and this June I finish my Master's Degree in Media, and I feel overwhelmingly like it's time to move out of town for a NUMBER of reasons. Mainly, I desperately crave peace, quiet and privacy when I'm "at home," and I get VERY excited when I visit the suburbs and see the standard of living as compared to the city.
However, since I work in media I'll likely still need to commute to NYC often and ideally would like to be equidistant to NYC and Philly so I could work in either market.

I've seen a lot of great advice on these boards,and I have a short list that includes checking out Bucks County (Yardley, Langhorne), Abington, North Philly/Glenside (although it might not be quiet/removed enough & too "urban") and a few other places, but mostly these were advised for people who were married & with children. Then there was West Mt. Airy & Queen Village, but I'm concerned about my new area being too "city." I'm looking for a much gentler home environment than I've dealt with in NYC.

So considering my demographic: mid-30s, single, black, gay (but conservatively so), upwardly mobile, income around $80k looking to rent first & own eventually - are there better places to check out than the ones I mentioned?

ANY assistance would be most helpful...I'll be beginning to take drives to check out areas in the nex couple of weeks....

Thanks!
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Old 03-20-2010, 02:44 PM
 
Location: a swanky suburb in my fancy pants
3,391 posts, read 8,780,794 times
Reputation: 1624
You sound to me like a perfect candidate for Central NJ, within 20 miles of Princton. Philadelphia won't give you peace and quiet, it is a pretty fast paced city and a Philly suburb is no better than a NY suburb. Other than the obvious fact that NY covers more area the two cities and their suburbs are remarkably similer.
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Old 03-20-2010, 06:50 PM
 
Location: Philadelphia,New Jersey, NYC!
6,963 posts, read 20,538,899 times
Reputation: 2737
you'd love wash west in philly. compared to new york, its pretty much a suburb
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Old 03-20-2010, 06:58 PM
 
Location: Sanford, FL
596 posts, read 1,707,095 times
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West Mount Airy would be a great fit for you. It's liberal, quiet and a beautiful suburban-style neighborhood with nice architecture and lots of trees/greenery. Your real estate dollar goes further than the city proper (even though it's still within Philadelphia). Transportation options are good with great access to regional rail trains that would provide easy access to 30th Street Station and Amtrak connections to NYC, as well as BoltBus and MegaBus which pick-up across the street from the station.

Another option I'd recommend is New Hope, in Bucks County. Again very liberal with a sizable gay community but with a distinct rural/suburban feel. It provides easy access to NYC and Philadelphia, and the lifestyle I think you're after.

Good luck!
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Old 03-20-2010, 08:37 PM
 
8,983 posts, read 21,169,137 times
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Keep in mind that a commute from downtown Philly to NYC would be 90 minutes on Amtrak or two hours via SEPTA/NJ Transit. So if you have to be in New York virtually every working day, that could get old.

In terms of a convenient commute in a relatively conservative environment, Yardley and Langhorne would each fit the bill. You may find more blacks a bit further down in Bensalem, also in Bucks County.

Bucks County as well as Mercer County, NJ are probably the true equidistant locations between Center City Philadelphia and Manhattan.
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Old 03-21-2010, 12:00 PM
 
5,969 posts, read 9,563,055 times
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Collingswood NJ

Collingswood | Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia
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Old 03-22-2010, 08:15 AM
 
43 posts, read 158,613 times
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Visit New Hope, PA in Bucks County and see what you think.
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Old 03-22-2010, 09:56 AM
 
11 posts, read 22,264 times
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Mt. Airy fits your needs.
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Old 03-22-2010, 10:27 AM
 
8,983 posts, read 21,169,137 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ded-tired View Post
Mt. Airy fits your needs.
It would be perfect except for if the OP has to commute to NYC most days. As you may know, all of SEPTA's commuter rail feeds into Center City. So that would be, say a 20 minute ride from Mt. Airy to 30th Street and then a 1.5-2 hour ride up to NY. I'm not sure how much relief there would be to drive from Mt. Airy over to the Hamilton NJ Transit station, either.
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Old 03-22-2010, 02:47 PM
 
388 posts, read 1,095,079 times
Reputation: 95
New Hope all the way. New Hope is pretty much the gay burb. It is north of Philly so the commute to NY is reasonable.
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