Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:thanks for all your responses! I'm not planning on kids atm (25 rn!).

How is Philly a has been city? It seems to be gentrifying over time (less so cause of wage tax), while offering character and value that NYC has long forsaken.

Philly is a has-been city in the sense that it was one of the most important cities in the US for a long time, and was actually quite prosperous up until about the 60s (give or take), at which point it began a long slide downhill as industries left, the tax base dwindled, and NYC siphoned off a lot of the wealth. Starting in about the 90s it began rebounding, with quite a gain in the last ten years or so. It is nowhere near where it was, but it has improved a lot. I used to live there and think there is a lot of great stuff about Philly. Living there with kids is complicated because of the schools. And there are other things I don't like about the general Philly attitude, and in particular, the outlook it can give people raised there. That is a more complicated discussion and one likely informed by my particular experience with friends and family who have always lived there.

Anonymous wrote:thanks for all your responses! I'm not planning on kids atm (25 rn!).

How is Philly a has been city? It seems to be gentrifying over time (less so cause of wage tax), while offering character and value that NYC has long forsaken.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:thanks for all your responses! I'm not planning on kids atm (25 rn!).

How is Philly a has been city? It seems to be gentrifying over time (less so cause of wage tax), while offering character and value that NYC has long forsaken.

You're OP - 25 years old, no kids? Then world is your oyster now. Baltimore is fun and cheap for a 20-something. I loved Canton. But in 6-8 years, married and having kids, your priorities may drastically change. unless you don't mind spending 30k+ per year for private school per kid when kids are school aged, you will likely move way out to the burbs and never buy an inner city row house. Having kids without a playroom or basement is rough too. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:thanks for all your responses! I'm not planning on kids atm (25 rn!).

How is Philly a has been city? It seems to be gentrifying over time (less so cause of wage tax), while offering character and value that NYC has long forsaken.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Baltimore are good for raising kids/teenagers?

I'm assuming if you can choose you care a lot about schools and could possibly pay for privates, so...
in Philadelphia look at Chestnut Hill and Germantown
in Baltimore look at Roland Park, Homeland, Tuscany-Canterburry, possibly Guilford

No offense, but Germantown is a terrible idea for a good neighborhood for raising kids/teenagers. Beautiful old houses, and certainly getting better, but massive street crime and quickly devolves into some very scary neighborhoods (e.g., Tioga/Nicetown). Chestnut Hill is very nice, but very expensive. West Mt Airy is good. For both, privates or charter are a must. East Falls has some nice areas, again with private school. Otherwise, I would say the suburbs are the way to go.

Philadelphia is full of those problems, don't kind yourself about it.

Chestnut Hill is very safe. So are many of the neighborhoods just south of Center City. We lived in Fitler Square for 10 years before moving back to NoVA and experienced zero crime.

Of course it is, but Germantown and Chestnut Hill, while sort of close to each other, are miles apart in terms of that dynamic. And plenty of the more center city parts of Philly are perfectly safe if you use a modicum of common sense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never move to Baltimore but would move back to Philly in a hot second. Better museums, parks, restaurant scene, shopping, airport, etc. The city schools aren't great and you'll definitely want to carefully scout the neighborhoods due to crime, but it's a great city.

I might agree if The Barnes Foundation wasn't stolen by the Philadelphia establishment. That tarnishes the apple, I'm afraid.

Anonymous wrote:I live in Philly. Those are all good neighborhoods. South Philly is the roughest of the three, but it's gotten a lot nicer in recent years. Lots of good restaurants.

Society Hill can be hard to buy into.

Do you need schools? The School District of Philadelphia is pretty dysfunctional, but there are a million private school choices.

Another neighborhood that kind of blends into Old City is Queen Village/Bella Vista.

Also, Kensington/Fishtown is hip/trendy, but Kensington is the heart of the opioid crisis, so I would avoid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Baltimore are good for raising kids/teenagers?

I'm assuming if you can choose you care a lot about schools and could possibly pay for privates, so...
in Philadelphia look at Chestnut Hill and Germantown
in Baltimore look at Roland Park, Homeland, Tuscany-Canterburry, possibly Guilford

No offense, but Germantown is a terrible idea for a good neighborhood for raising kids/teenagers. Beautiful old houses, and certainly getting better, but massive street crime and quickly devolves into some very scary neighborhoods (e.g., Tioga/Nicetown). Chestnut Hill is very nice, but very expensive. West Mt Airy is good. For both, privates or charter are a must. East Falls has some nice areas, again with private school. Otherwise, I would say the suburbs are the way to go.

Philadelphia is full of those problems, don't kind yourself about it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Baltimore are good for raising kids/teenagers?

I'm assuming if you can choose you care a lot about schools and could possibly pay for privates, so...
in Philadelphia look at Chestnut Hill and Germantown
in Baltimore look at Roland Park, Homeland, Tuscany-Canterburry, possibly Guilford

No offense, but Germantown is a terrible idea for a good neighborhood for raising kids/teenagers. Beautiful old houses, and certainly getting better, but massive street crime and quickly devolves into some very scary neighborhoods (e.g., Tioga/Nicetown). Chestnut Hill is very nice, but very expensive. West Mt Airy is good. For both, privates or charter are a must. East Falls has some nice areas, again with private school. Otherwise, I would say the suburbs are the way to go.

Anonymous wrote:We have a second home in Patterson Park in Baltimore, MD. My husband and I love the area. I have never lived in Philly but my husband has. He says that Baltimore and Philly are both good "second tier" cities (to DC and NYC) but that he would pick Baltimore because it has cheaper housing and is closer to DC (where he works). Don't listen to the negative stories about Baltimore. We lived in DC in the late 90s and Baltimore is safer now.