Thinking of moving to Philadelphia

[Anonymous]

OP, check out Havertown, Media and surrounding areas (Garnet Valley, Glen Mills), Wallingford, Ambler, and maybe also Cheltenham/Jenkintown. All are family-friendly communities, mostly with good rail and schools.

If you like NYC and the NYC burbs, I think you'll be happy up here. Philly is much more culturally similar to NYC than DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love some of those old houses in Philly and the Main Line suburbs but it would take more than that to get me to move there. Philly is such a dump and the surrounding communities seem very segregated with little diversity. I think you'd forever feel like an outsider there.

philly is pretty much the 6th borough if you know what i mean. All of the families I know that bought are/were working in new york, and commute back up there multiple times during the week while the other days working in the philly office of their firm (most of them consultants).

it is dumpy but it's getting better.

I find the food scene in philly to eclipse dc by a long shot.

Philly is mroe 'closed off' and 'angry'. It is an angry city.

But I think there's immense value there for the right couple/family/person.

On the Easterm Seaboard, Boston, NYC and DC have emerged as the winners, and Philly and Baltimore are the losers. You can get a great house for a bargain price compared to the other areas, but it's because the demand is low and the jobs don't pay as well. So you can look at house porn for a while, but then reality sinks in.

I don't think Philly and Baltimore are comparable and I've lived in both. Philly is huge relative to Baltimore, and the big employers are universities, medicine and pharmaceuticals. Industries are quite different, but pay in Philly is very good if you're in the right field.

Same if you find a job in Baltimore at Hopkins, T. Rowe Price, whatever is left of Alex Brown, etc. But there aren't as many of those jobs and the pay isn't as good asin other cities, hence the lower real estate prices. Basically both Philly and Baltimore are industrial cities that are too large for their current economies.

Not to belabor this point, but there are only a handful of big employers in Baltimore. There are a lot more in Philly. And the pay - at least for us - is better than what we were making in DC. So our housing price halved, for a much better house, while our income went up. Other services, preschool, etc., are no cheaper than DC, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm an accountant, so a job shouldn't be an issue. Not looking to make tons of money, just live a comfortable life. We live in the affordable part of Vienna in an old small home. Our neighborhood is amazing and that will be the hardest part to duplicate. Tons of kids, nice down to earth parents, schools and metro are walkable. I would love to find a neighborhood like that with good public schools. I gave a friend who recommended Glen Mills, which looks to have good schools. Anyone know that neighborhood? I really don't like DC as a city. It doesn't look like a city (when you've grown up outside NYC), and I hate politics. We love the outdoors, so also looking for good hiking and biking which should be just as good if not better in PA. Also happier that we would be closer to the ocean for weekend trips. Thanks for all of the neighborhood suggestions. As for price range, I'm not sure. Im guessing our HHI when we move will be about $125k and we will be down to one child in daycare. I need to run some numbers, but I think of like to keep the house under $400K. Thanks again for the advice!

I grew up in West Chester, not far from Glen Mills. It's a nice area. I don't know the school system for Glen Mills that well, is it Garnet Valley? I think that is supposed to be good. Commuting into Center City from there would be a haul, though. I'm the PP who suggested Lower Merion or T-E school districts. I think those would be easier commutes into Center City. Media was also a good suggestion.

[Anonymous]

OP here again. One more thing I forgot to mention. My DH wants the rural feel (lots of trees, not hearing road noise) while I want to keep our commute reasonable. I think one of you posted about an area that seems more rural, so I'll check that out for sure. We live in 1200 square feet now and I am really hoping our house can be a little bigger without spending a ton. Also, how is the commuter rail system there?

[Anonymous]

Commuter rail is great - SEPTA.

I'd start with Garnet Valley, Wallingford and Media. Swarthmore's possible but may be a little $ for your budget. Keep (higher) prop taxes in mind. All will give you the woodsy feel.

[Anonymous]

On the Jersey side, it's the PATCO hi-speed line. You could look in NJ too. Where are you commuting to?

[Anonymous]

I would recommend Collingswood and Haddonfield in NJ. Cute walkable areas. In PA, Wayne, haverford, swarthmore, lower merion are nice main line areas. They can have an old money feeling. I think Glenside would be great. Has a nice theater and its on the regional rail line for easy commuting. Bucks county has pennsbury and the council rock school districts. They are great and many people commute into philadelphia from there. It would be no crazier than many of the DC commutes.

The Philadelphia area definitely has a different flavor than the dc area. While dc has many transplants, many people in Philadelphia are born and raised. Their is a true philly accent and many unique traditions and local flavor. It can take awhile to break in, but it is worth the work.

[Anonymous]

OP here. So besides jobs in downtown Philly, is there a "Tysons" of Philly? King of Prussia? Also...talk to me more about Philly bring insular. I've lived in Boston and hated how everyone stuck close with their high school friends and it was hard to break in. That's something I love about DC - tons of friendly people looking to make friends. Granted, some move away, get assigned to a foreign country, but I love how easy it is to make friends here.

[Anonymous]

And by Tysons, I mean a concentrated area of jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. So besides jobs in downtown Philly, is there a "Tysons" of Philly? King of Prussia? Also...talk to me more about Philly bring insular. I've lived in Boston and hated how everyone stuck close with their high school friends and it was hard to break in. That's something I love about DC - tons of friendly people looking to make friends. Granted, some move away, get assigned to a foreign country, but I love how easy it is to make friends here.

Philly native here (from one of the aforementioned Bucks County school districts no less). Yes, Philly will have the same vibe (hanging with high school friends). I really see the effect when reading through my facebook feed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love some of those old houses in Philly and the Main Line suburbs but it would take more than that to get me to move there. Philly is such a dump and the surrounding communities seem very segregated with little diversity. I think you'd forever feel like an outsider there.

philly is pretty much the 6th borough if you know what i mean. All of the families I know that bought are/were working in new york, and commute back up there multiple times during the week while the other days working in the philly office of their firm (most of them consultants).

it is dumpy but it's getting better.

I find the food scene in philly to eclipse dc by a long shot.

Philly is mroe 'closed off' and 'angry'. It is an angry city.

But I think there's immense value there for the right couple/family/person.

LOL. Interesting description. Most people in the Philadelphia area have a backbone and feel real emotions so I guess they might seem "angry" to DC milktoast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in hatboro. The schools are good. There's a lot of new housing developments but the old houses are nice. You can take the train in...but parking at the station sucks.

I went to Upper Moreland!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Frank Rizzo was the worst Mayor! I grew up in Philly while he was Mayor and he was a neighbor of mine. He was a racist, sexist and homophobic who believed in excess police force to keep people ( minorities) in line.

I've heard of him while I was reseraching the MOVE incidents. Just googled him and stumbled upon this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HWHhev-aag

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love some of those old houses in Philly and the Main Line suburbs but it would take more than that to get me to move there. Philly is such a dump and the surrounding communities seem very segregated with little diversity. I think you'd forever feel like an outsider there.

philly is pretty much the 6th borough if you know what i mean. All of the families I know that bought are/were working in new york, and commute back up there multiple times during the week while the other days working in the philly office of their firm (most of them consultants).

it is dumpy but it's getting better.

I find the food scene in philly to eclipse dc by a long shot.

Philly is mroe 'closed off' and 'angry'. It is an angry city.

But I think there's immense value there for the right couple/family/person.

LOL. Interesting description. Most people in the Philadelphia area have a backbone and feel real emotions so I guess they might seem "angry" to DC milktoast.

I went for an interview in Philly once (it is a place that has offices in DC and SF and I interviewed in the SF office just before hand).

Same position, just different office, but same organization. Long story short, there were a couple of annoying things they had me do (not related to competence or testing but more HR related) that the SF office didn't and was very nonchalant about.

I made a comment asking why I had to do this, SF didn't make me do it. And this angry overweight italian-american woman whose face looks like she lived a real hardscrabble life retorts "this is Philly, not California!"

That's another thing OP - check it out, philly is one of the fattest cities in the country. Landwhales guzzling down cheesewiz on their cheesesteaks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love some of those old houses in Philly and the Main Line suburbs but it would take more than that to get me to move there. Philly is such a dump and the surrounding communities seem very segregated with little diversity. I think you'd forever feel like an outsider there.

philly is pretty much the 6th borough if you know what i mean. All of the families I know that bought are/were working in new york, and commute back up there multiple times during the week while the other days working in the philly office of their firm (most of them consultants).

it is dumpy but it's getting better.

I find the food scene in philly to eclipse dc by a long shot.

Philly is mroe 'closed off' and 'angry'. It is an angry city.

But I think there's immense value there for the right couple/family/person.

LOL. Interesting description. Most people in the Philadelphia area have a backbone and feel real emotions so I guess they might seem "angry" to DC milktoast.

I went for an interview in Philly once (it is a place that has offices in DC and SF and I interviewed in the SF office just before hand).

Same position, just different office, but same organization. Long story short, there were a couple of annoying things they had me do (not related to competence or testing but more HR related) that the SF office didn't and was very nonchalant about.

I made a comment asking why I had to do this, SF didn't make me do it. And this angry overweight italian-american woman whose face looks like she lived a real hardscrabble life retorts "this is Philly, not California!"

That's another thing OP - check it out, philly is one of the fattest cities in the country. Landwhales guzzling down cheesewiz on their cheesesteaks.

CA pussies might not fit in either.