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There also plenty of Philly suburbs that aren't row houses. Those Philly examples by the OP aren't very appealing looking, but I don't object to the lack of space, or think it as an obvious plus, just a personal preference.
Agreed while Philly proper may have the highest proportion of rowhomes of any city the region is extremely diverse in housing styles, many quite spectacular
Even on the rowhomes, there are wonderful stylings and awful ones within the city itself
When it comes to the bulk of rowhomes in the Northeast, there are airlights and straight thrus. Airlights have rooms only at the front and back of the houses, so that all rooms have windows (bathrooms are central but have a skylight.) They come in 16 and 18 foot widths, all standard depth. Garage at the back of the basement, fronting an alley. STraight thrus are generally a bit older, weren't built past 1940ish, and have three rooms in a line, so the middle rooms are dark and have no window. The square footage on these is larger, but the layout is old fashioned and cramped.
Interesting distinction, that I hadn't heard before. A couple of row houses I've been in Brooklyn are "straight throughs". The room without windows gets used as a spare room, maybe for a guest over, or a living room extension with a bit more storage (keep your books). The one I'm thinking about in particular with the doors open and the adjacent rooms' window allowed a nice crossbreeze and air to flow, keeping it well ventilated even though it was on the top floor. One of the adjacent rooms was a dining room but got converted to a second bedroom, so now to enter the kitchen without traipsing through the bedroom, you'd have to go through an exterior hallway. Square footage small by modern standards, particularly with the converted bedroom, but cozy and felt solid. Guess is around 700 square feet, but it's a guess.
The postwar suburbs weren't "treeless" for very long, often only in the initial "shovel", construction stage..
I just find that idea that some Philly residents object to the planting of trees on shadeless streets because of their being potentially "dirty" is absolutely comical; the city is often nicknamed "Filthydelphia"...
And personally would not choose to live there again
Rowhomes are fine, but to me the neighborhood is more important, in that living in proximity to a desired lifestyle is what interests me most
To the OP, the Far Northeast in Philadelphia is pretty similar to many parts of Staten Island in many ways for better or worse
Interesting... I agree that the neighborhood is more important, and it's also a choice for someone if they'd rather be able to walk to things more or drive to things more, to which I choose the latter. Thankfully, we have plenty of places for everyone.
Your neighborhood reminds me of some of the relatively newer parts of Brooklyn, such as this street in Bensonhurst. But yes, I agree that the Northeast Philly area does seem to bear a lot of resemblance to Staten Island, in terms of housing styles, street layout, demographics (supposed, based on what I've learned in this thread) and distance from the city center.
Some of Philadelphia's most desirable neighborhoods are downright tenement-feeling to me. I'm looking at $300,000 row houses in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill, and the back "yards" are concrete alleys and garbage cans and rickety looking decks.
No thank you!
Totally agreed, I think I would legitimatley freak out living somewhere like that...every time I go to my aunt's house in Montgomery, NJ (basically an exurb of NYC at this point) and I park in her 10 (!) car driveway, I get pretty jealous lol. Dunno if I would want to be that far from everything though, a closer in suburb would suit me just well with the right amenities, quietness and lot size.
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Originally Posted by MassVt
I d have to agree with your sentiments about the second link, esp with many of the models having no side windows. I don't think that these models will age well, and I wouldn't want to live in them, either..
Yup, they're generally known to be crap...most established people around the south shore find them to be an eyesore, and I've known several people who have lived there in the last decade who promptly moved out as soon as they could. It provides a decent "starter home" platform for many people who would like to live on the south shore, as prices are in the high 100s/low 200s which is practically a bargain for this area...
Interesting... I agree that the neighborhood is more important, and it's also a choice for someone if they'd rather be able to walk to things more or drive to things more, to which I choose the latter. Thankfully, we have plenty of places for everyone.
Your neighborhood reminds me of some of the relatively newer parts of Brooklyn, such as this street in Bensonhurst. But yes, I agree that the Northeast Philly area does seem to bear a lot of resemblance to Staten Island, in terms of housing styles, street layout, demographics (supposed, based on what I've learned in this thread) and distance from the city center.
Yes, we all get to choose where we live
This is my current neighborhood (still rowhouses but I have spent about equal parts of my life suburbia as well)
Also that image from Bensonhurst looks like it could be right of Northeast Philly. Most of Philly will look more like BK or Queens than Staten Island with the exception of the FAR Northeast which is what your initial images were
On rowhomes to me these are worst, not so great neighborhood, small interior (tiny bathrooms, closets, kitchen), no space and few amentities
Also that image from Bensonhurst looks like it could be right of Northeast Philly. Most of Philly will look more like BK or Queens than Staten Island with the exception of the FAR Northeast which is what your initial images were
On rowhomes to me these are worst, not so great neighborhood, small interior (tiny bathrooms, closets, kitchen), no space and few amentities
Ugh, that second link looks hellish to me lol. Your current neighborhood on Spruce Street actually looks really nice...if I was going to go with the urban lifestyle, I'd definitely look at a relatively quieter block like that...so long as I could secure decent nearby off-street parking.
Ugh, that second link looks hellish to me lol. Your current neighborhood on Spruce Street actually looks really nice...if I was going to go with the urban lifestyle, I'd definitely look at a relatively quieter block like that...so long as I could secure decent nearby off-street parking.
This is more my type of neighborhood I'm looking for..
Just one point on the nabe you posted (the your type). I would never do a split level of which most of that neighborhood looks like. Mostly built in the 60's and 70's but can completely understand understand someone who wants space/yard no doubt
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Dunno if I would want to be that far from everything though, a closer in suburb would suit me just well with the right amenities, quietness and lot size. 
