How is West Catharine Street Area? (Philadelphia, Washington: house, neighborhoods, to buy)

[Tabb]

My partner and I are moving to Philadelphia and are looking for a home. My ideal neighborhood is Filter Square, but we won't be able to buy there due to nothing available in our price range/square foot need.

There seems to be a lot of inventory on Catharine street. Since West Catharine is closer to Fitler Square we are considering that area. I believe that the area is called Naval Square?

How is this location in terms of safety, walkability, restaurants/cafes, dog friendly (we have 3 dogs).

[solibs]

Catherine St. is generally pretty nice. It can get a little shady south of Christian St. but that's more in appearance than in actual problems.

That area is generally called Graduate Hospital. Although now that Penn bought the hospital some people in the neighborhood feel they need to change the name of it. I've been hearing "South of South" more often. Naval Square is the name of the newly built, gated community on the other side of Grays Ferry Ave. that was built around the old Naval Hospital.

I don't have a dog so I can't tell you much about dog parks but I know there's a big one around 24th & Pine.

The area is great for basic conveniences and it's a strategic location for a night out in other parts of the city. The only neighborhoods you'll probably find a pain to get to are up to Northern Liberties or down to East Passyunk. There are three good neighborhood pubs in that general vicinity - Grace Tavern, Sidecar and Resurrection. You have turkish and thai food right around the corner and also that Balkan Kitchen place (never been there). The intersection of Grays Ferry Ave & South/Bainbridge is sort of the nexus of that neighborhood with a small supermarket, a hardware store, a vet, dry cleaners, all the basics.

There are a ton of buses too. The 17 runs north on 20th St., will take you up past Rittenhouse then down Market St. to Old City. It runs 24/7 and during rush hour is every 5 minutes and every 7 minutes for most of the day.

The 12 bus takes you around Rittenhouse, through the gayborhood and past Washington Square on its way to 3rd & Pine. The 40 runs on South St. down to 2nd. or in the opposite direction on Lombard and over the river into U. City - which is really convenient for most places worth going over there. There's also the 2 which goes up 22nd St. to Fairmount and beyond. Outside of rush hour none of these run with the frequency of the 17 so you'll want to check the schedule first.

[GraysFerryB4]

Solibs nailed it but I'd like to add. The East Passyunk Crossing area is becoming increasingly popular for same sex couples. You will find the prices lower and the neighborhood is better in terms of safety. I like GH but walk around at night or in the winter and it's not that good. Optimistically, I believe it is always getting better. You will not find as many new constructions or rehabs in EPC as the rows are smaller. GH gives you more for the money in terms of s/f. The dog park at 24th & Pine is very popular but about a 7 block walk from GH proper as its in Fitler Square ($$$$). I would also suggest you look into Collingswood, NJ (www.collingswood.com). It is a 12 minute PATCO train/subways from Philly and you will get alot of ground for 2 dogs. Its vibrant, same sex community is very welcome and it offers suburban feel with city proximity. A 3Br, 2bath house can be bought for under 300K. We've lived there 4 years and love it.

[Tabb]

Thanks for the info. We are excited about our move to Philadelphia!