i want to move to Philly ... (Ardmore, Huntingdon: sales, lease, condo)
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I believe Conshohocken has a 1% wage tax. I'm not sure whether or not the locality in which Vanguard is located in (not Malvern) has one, but if they do, you'll only pay it once. You won't pay 2 local taxes.
It's not impossible that you could live in CC and tax public transportation out to Malvern. There's several train stations that are about a 5 minute drive from Vanguard's campus. I'm pretty sure that there are shuttles to and from the train stations.
any way that public transportation would keep my commute under an hour?
www.septa.org is the website for public transit. This isn't the easiest website to use but it gives you an idea of how easy it is to get downtown by public transit from almost anywhere. As far as nightlife, the best areas are all in Center City including north of Rittenhouse Square, the "gayborhood" just east of Broad St and the Old City neighborhood down near the Delaware River. I am not a drinker so I don't know what you are looking for there but if you just want to sit in a bar and have a few amost any suburban town has a small downtown with a few bars.
(I am quite sure that Roxborough and Manyunk are both located inside the city limits)
The shaded area below is the city and county of Philadelphia.
Last edited by bryson662001; 10-06-2009 at 01:28 PM..
conshi sucks. you dont want to be stuck there for a year. manayunk is yuppie heaven. more irish than than dublin. im irish. you can take the train from anywhere to your job. dont drive. fairmount and noli, northern liberties, are in the heart of the city. more to do 24 hrs a day. hippies. great times. your problem is the commute. take the train.phils are always sold out, but you can scalp tickets.
conshi sucks. you dont want to be stuck there for a year. manayunk is yuppie heaven. more irish than than dublin. im irish. you can take the train from anywhere to your job. dont drive. fairmount and noli, northern liberties, are in the heart of the city. more to do 24 hrs a day. hippies. great times. your problem is the commute. take the train.phils are always sold out, but you can scalp tickets.
yeah, the more i ask it seems like the areas you mentioned are a bit more my vibe. although, i would certainly classify myself as a "young urban professional" so i do wanna live in an area where other people are still in that collegiate mindset. in terms of the vibe in Manayunk, is it all upscale and clubby, or are there a few good dives/artsy/hippy-type watering holes?
i'll have to take a look at the Septa info provided and see how the train would be from NoLibs area to Malvern. i guess even if it did take longer it would probably be less painful than driving. at least a good get a nice snooze like when i ride the bus in CLT ...
so Conshy sucks? that's sorta dissapointing, i got the impression it was a bit more artsy/hippy than 'Yunk ...
that'd be awesome, thanks G Goo. i've read about Roxborough and it seems like a good location commute wise and is still very close to the city. any idea what the nightlife is like around there? i would assume most residents just hit up Manayunk ...
on the Phillies, are tickets relatively affordable? do y'all have bleacher seats? i'm a diehard Detroit Tigers fan and have really missed summer baseball the past few years. plus the Phils are good, so it'd be easy to become a fan
Roxborough is more of a middle class family neighborhood with not much nightlife. It is close to Manayunk which is certainly more lively, although not really my kind of place (I'm 37, married and about to have my first rugrat....that said, Manayunk was never my scene. I always saw it as a collection of recently graduated college students who aren't able to let go and grow up). As far as nightlife, restaurants, bars etc. are concerned, there is no substitute for Center City. If you could position yourself nearby you may be able to find an apt. in your price range. Maybe Bella Vista; Queen Village may be pushing it. Both QV and BV are fantastic neighborhoods with excellent restaurants, a nice selection of bars and a quick walk to Center City. Nice rowhomes w/condos sprinkled in. Admittedly, I haven't rented in a decade so I'm not much of an authority there. Please skip Conshy. If you are going to move to Philly don't you want to experience Philly? i understand price is an issue but see what you can find first....there is nothing in the suburbs that compares w/the city for a young single dude. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
Although the Phils have sold out 60-something games in a row they always have standing room only seats available. If you get to the stadium early enough you can find a spot along the concourse which is open to the field from all parts of the stadium. Plus the railing along the concourse has a nice ledge perfect for food-beer etc. Very generous of the Phils to include this design element. Beer and food selection is fantastic and relatively cheap. Good micros are 6.75 (if you are into that sort of thing....and if you are coming to Philly you should study up. This is a world class beer town). I was up in NY to see the Phils at Citi Field and that stadiums concourse is closed off to the field with the exception of the deep outfield. The railing doesn't have a ledge and only has cup holders spaced like 10 feet apart. Crap beer and food all waaaaay more expensive. We are pretty lucky with the Phils....team, stadium and stadium amenities.
Oh and BTW, anymore, there's no better place to meet beautiful young women than a Phillies game! Much different than when I was a young(er) man. (I know, I am making assumptions here but I figured I'd play the odds!)
Roxborough is more of a middle class family neighborhood with not much nightlife. It is close to Manayunk which is certainly more lively, although not really my kind of place (I'm 37, married and about to have my first rugrat....that said, Manayunk was never my scene. I always saw it as a collection of recently graduated college students who aren't able to let go and grow up). As far as nightlife, restaurants, bars etc. are concerned, there is no substitute for Center City. If you could position yourself nearby you may be able to find an apt. in your price range. Maybe Bella Vista; Queen Village may be pushing it. Both QV and BV are fantastic neighborhoods with excellent restaurants, a nice selection of bars and a quick walk to Center City. Nice rowhomes w/condos sprinkled in. Admittedly, I haven't rented in a decade so I'm not much of an authority there. Please skip Conshy. If you are going to move to Philly don't you want to experience Philly? i understand price is an issue but see what you can find first....there is nothing in the suburbs that compares w/the city for a young single dude. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.
Although the Phils have sold out 60-something games in a row they always have standing room only seats available. If you get to the stadium early enough you can find a spot along the concourse which is open to the field from all parts of the stadium. Plus the railing along the concourse has a nice ledge perfect for food-beer etc. Very generous of the Phils to include this design element. Beer and food selection is fantastic and relatively cheap. Good micros are 6.75 (if you are into that sort of thing....and if you are coming to Philly you should study up. This is a world class beer town). I was up in NY to see the Phils at Citi Field and that stadiums concourse is closed off to the field with the exception of the deep outfield. The railing doesn't have a ledge and only has cup holders spaced like 10 feet apart. Crap beer and food all waaaaay more expensive. We are pretty lucky with the Phils....team, stadium and stadium amenities.
ha ha, ok maybe Manayunk is right for me. i'm still a bit unable to "let go" completely of my undergrad days ... although i did graduate in '06, damn. but i wanna be amongst people who aren't opposed to getting sh*tty on a wednesday night, or bust out with some beer pong whenever, so maybe this is the place for me. seems like getting to CC is easy too by train. i'll take your word on Conshy, the Philly experience is a big reason why i am making the move, so if that won't cut it i'd like to know up front ...
but i am probably getting ahead of myself, i need to plan a trip soon to see a few of these places in person. love to hear that Philly is a good beer city, would you happen to know if any thing from Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI) gets out your way? i can't live w/o a Two Hearted Ale IPA every now and then ....
ha ha, ok maybe Manayunk is right for me. i'm still a bit unable to "let go" completely of my undergrad days ... although i did graduate in '06, damn. but i wanna be amongst people who aren't opposed to getting sh*tty on a wednesday night, or bust out with some beer pong whenever, so maybe this is the place for me. seems like getting to CC is easy too by train. i'll take your word on Conshy, the Philly experience is a big reason why i am making the move, so if that won't cut it i'd like to know up front ...
but i am probably getting ahead of myself, i need to plan a trip soon to see a few of these places in person. love to hear that Philly is a good beer city, would you happen to know if any thing from Bell's Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI) gets out your way? i can't live w/o a Two Hearted Ale IPA every now and then ....
I had a Two Hearted Ale on tap at my local pub up in Mt Airy just a couple weeks ago. Founder's from Michigan is my favorite brewery and it can be found everywhere. Same with Bell's. For many micros and Belgians Philly is their only market outside their local area. Philly loves great beer. Our locals are great too....Yards, Victory, Philadelphia Brewing, Sly Fox, Weyerbacher, Stoudt's, Flying Fish, Dogfish Head. And the brewpub scene is growing....Dock Street, Earth, Triumph, Nodding Head. Philly is not a good beer city, it is the best beer city on the East Coast, arguably the best in the country. I would argue that there are more beer geeks per capita here than anywhere else in the country.
Manayunk sounds like a good fit for you. Keep S. Philly in mind (Queen Village, Bella Vista) you may be pleasantly surprised.
I had a Two Hearted Ale on tap at my local pub up in Mt Airy just a couple weeks ago. Founder's from Michigan is my favorite brewery and it can be found everywhere. Same with Bell's. For many micros and Belgians Philly is their only market outside their local area. Philly loves great beer. Our locals are great too....Yards, Victory, Philadelphia Brewing, Sly Fox, Weyerbacher, Stoudt's, Flying Fish, Dogfish Head. And the brewpub scene is growing....Dock Street, Earth, Triumph, Nodding Head. Philly is not a good beer city, it is the best beer city on the East Coast, arguably the best in the country. I would argue that there are more beer geeks per capita here than anywhere else in the country.
Manayunk sounds like a good fit for you. Keep S. Philly in mind (Queen Village, Bella Vista) you may be pleasantly surprised.
yeah i read a lot of good stuff about S Philly. seems like rent is pretty affordable down there. i really just need to head up north and see some stuff for myself, maybe try to the drive out and see how that goes ...
pretty pumped to hear Philly is such a good beer town. FYI, if you're ever down in NC, Asheville has the best beer in the Carolinas
First, sorry about the Tigers. I was pulling for them. I'll forgive the Twins if they can embarrass the Yankees.
I spent a lot of time in Charlotte when I lived in NC and have seen how much things have changed in the last 10 years so, if you're bored with things there now, moving to the suburbs here won't change any of that. If you want city life, go for it, settling for city-lite doesn't work.
To clarify, the city wage tax is 3.9%, not 4.2%. It's been going down .1% each year as the city restructures the way it collects taxes. Also, if you're moving up here you better be getting a nice cost of living increase along with it.
About neighborhoods, up until August I used to drive, every morning, from PHL up to Jenkintown via 76 and Route 1. In the mornings there is never any traffic between Center City and East Falls. The backups start at Green Lane in Manayunk and stretch out to KOP. If you drive in Charlotte you know traffic. It's not much different here. My point is, living in Manayunk might save you a few minutes on your commute but probably not worth it. Parking there is just as bad if not worse than most center city neighborhoods. Manayunk looks like someone took a rowhouse neighborhood and threw it on a Swiss mountainside. When it snows or there's ice in them thar hills you have to leave your car where it is or, when you get home from work and can't get up the hill to park it you leave it at the bottom. I don't hate Manayunk but I'd suggest that be your last resort. It's easy to get into Center City for work but not so easy to get to the 'burbs. You will quickly tire of the Manayunk nightlife and find that it's not so easy to go out to other parts of the city, enjoy a few beers, and get home again.
If you like NoLibs, go for it. You won't be disappointed. While I agree with a previous poster that 2nd and 3rd Streets are mostly white and mostly professionals/artists I disagree that most people are 20 somethings. There are A LOT of empty nesters living there and a growing number of families with small children. Also, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Streets have long had a diverse mix of black, white, hispanic.
I recently had to make a couple of trips to Great Valley. These were all late evening on the weekends and the trip took me about 45 minutes to/from my house in South Philly. With traffic it's not unusual for the trip to take 90 minutes. If you're considering commuting on the R5 I know that SEPTA and Vanguard have shuttle buses that run from Paoli and Malvern Stations to the different offices. I would expect that trip to take about 80 minutes from living room to desk. Find out what Vanguard offers in terms of TransitChek. Makes a big difference in the wallet.
You might want to consider West Philly, maybe close to 30th St. Station. Lots of college kids, plenty to do, but also really close to Center City so it's a short bus ride/cheap cab ride home. A monthly Amtrak pass to Paoli is only $20 more than a monthly SEPTA pass and it will significantly reduce your travel time.
Having to make car payments and buy a monthly regional rail pass? man, that makes me cringe just thinking about it. But i guess it's still cheaper than filling your tank twice a week. I'm coming up on 10 years with no car. That's about $60,000 I haven't spent on cars and even more in my pocket if you count interest (although I spent most of it on travel anyway so . . .) It's one of the great things about living here.
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