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before i begin, i apologize for the long post haha. just want to be thorough.
unforuntely, i've been recently let go of my job due to downsizing and have been on the job hunt just like the other 15 million americans who are unemployed. needless to say, it's been definitely frustrating as i'm hearing stories of people with masters degrees and professional certifications still waiting to hear back from positions they have applied for several months ago. and stories about an average unemployment timeframe anywhere from 6 mths to a year scares me. right now, it's been 1.5 months for me and i've received very little responses... well, solid ones anyway. my personal goal is to not be unemployed for 6 mths.
anyway, long story short, i found an interesting job that has its location in feasterville-trevose, PA which supposedly is a suburb northeast of Philadelphia. it's close to the NJ border between trenton, NJ and probably 20 - 25 miles NE of philly. i have absolutely have no idea about what the location is like and am wondering if anyone has any insight on that.
i really hope i land the job as i have a second interview this coming week. so, i have a few questions for those that are familiar with that area... but before you answer them, i am single without any dependents:
1. is it considered a nice area?
is it a classy area where everything is kept nicely and clean? or is it a run down area? i'm currently live in SW michigan where the town i live in is relatively nice, but there's really nothing going on here. buildings around here are relatively old but spaced out.
2. is it a high cost of living there?
i figure since michigan is a relatively low cost of living as compared with the northeastern states, i can imagine that i'd be paying a bit more to live there. i know feasterville-trevose is considered a "suburb" of philly but being not actually IN the city, is the cost of living still high?
3. i currently live in an apartment in michigan. what are the apartments like and prices there?
i am currently in a 1 bedroom apartment paying around $757 a month, which includes a garage and internet. the apartments around here that isn't around the campus areas are really nice, aside from a few places. the place i live in currently is really quiet and close to everything (ie. grocery stores, walmart, tire places, fast food, shopping, etc.) because it also snows in PA, although not as bad as MI, i would like to have a garage too if there's such a thing for apartments.
i really want to buy a house or condo, but i want to live down south to do that... haha. so in the interim, assuming i get this job, i'll probably stay in an apartment until i move again or somehow fall in love with the area.
4. what's the general mix of people there, demographically speaking?
where i live in michigan is a mix between college students and young professionals.
5. is there a lot to do around town?
is there a decent selection of shopping plazas, coffee shops, malls, grocery stores, bars, etc. that is decently close? or do i have to drive into philly for that? is there a local nightlife there?
6. is feasterville-trevose considered a growing town or is it just a po-dunk place in the middle of nowhere?
i'm looking for culture and knowing the demographics/stereotype of PA, i know there's a LOT of farms. i'm looking for a good place to live that is relatively modern and contemporary and do not have to drive a billion miles to get somewhere.
7. is that area hard to commute around?
i know the town is relatively close by to philly, although not IN philly. but still, is the traffic horrible if i had to commute (ie. drive) versus take public transportation?
8. if there's anything else you think i should know, please let me know!
i sincerely appreciate all of your inputs and suggestions in advance! thanks!!
Your only chance of finding a garage is to rent a private house, but honestly you're not going to find that in your price range. If you bumped it up to maybe $800-900 you could find a home w garage in NE philly's Mayfair section to rent. Otherwise you are going to be limited to 1 bedroom apartments in complexs w/o garages.
First off, welcome to the ranks of the Unemployed and relocating. You are not alone, that's for sure.
I can't answer most of your questions, but in our seach we did, stumble into parts of Trevose near 276 & 1. Definitely a cleaner, newer looking area than you will find a few miles down 1 toward NE Philly. There is a mall and plenty of shopping in that area. Suburban feel from the part we saw. Newer looking walmart, Best buy etc. and some newish office buildings. We only saw a little, bit but looked interesting and green.
That area is outiside Philly, so you won't have to concern yourself with the 4% wage tax and auto insurance will be less. Not an unsafe or scary looking area by any means IMO. Good luck with your job search.
We are in town again this weekend looking at homes and I would say you have all kinds of options for finding very desirable places to live within a reasonable commute of that area. Hope that helps.
I'm really wondering where you heard a stereotype of a lot of farms in PA. First I've ever heard of that. The Philadelphia area is one that is densely populated, there is no true middle of nowhere within the areas immediately surrounding the city. I'm sure there are plenty of farms here, but not a ton near the big cities in PA.
I'm not sure what SW Michigan means. Like Kalamazoo? In comparison, Philadelphia, being a much, much, much bigger city has a much bigger surrounding region with the population and traffic that comes with that. So, keep that in mind.
Feasterville-Trevose is not 25 miles NE of Philly. Its immediately outside of NE Philadelphia, which is a section of Philadelphia, shares borders with the city. It is about 20 miles outside of Center City Philadelphia, but as far as being actually far from the city, its not at all. Its a nice area, partly residential, partly commercial. Has more newer built homes. It has a good deal of families in it, not college students. There would be some young professionals, but not sure how many or how young. It will not be similar to living in a college town.
Its got good proximity to some of the area malls, grocery stores, and other shopping. There are a lot of businesses in this area. Many stores, gas stations, car dealerships, restaurants, etc.
I would say you can count on not getting a garage with an apartment unless you move into a larger building that has a parking complex with it and I can't say I've seen many in that area.
I hope this has answered some of your questions. Possibly I'm getting the wrong idea from your post, but I just want to be clear, this area is by no means remote. Its suburban and partly residential, but its not far out, its not remote. Its an immediate suburb of Philadelphia and has the characteristics of being such.
thanks for the replies. the stereotype i heard about PA just came from a few of my friends that have lived there - pretty much around the amish community but they've lived around central PA where i'd assume there was a lot of farmland.
i am currenty living in kalamazoo and the town here while "clean", is also very sporadic in terms of social life and shopping. just like vegas, there's about 1 street that goes down pretty far with all your restaurants and shopping but that's it. there are some nice areas here but there are a lot of pronounced ghetto areas too, which makes nighttime a bit scary in some areas of the town. i definitely know philly is a lot grander in scale obviously but i just prefer the suburbian lifestyle, not the city. i just want to have the convenient access to get into the city without physically living in the city. being a suburban extension of philly, i hope that it's considered safe and a good/comfortable area to live in. i'm glad feasterville-trevose isn't remote... the last thing i want to do is have to drive a long distance just to get to a grocery store.
regarding a garage, i'm just looking to see if there would be one because i am a car fanatic. i have a bunch of car parts lying around in my current garage and would just like a place to put them. i wonder if they offer townhome-like places around the area for a relatively affordable price (renting initially).
on a side note, i'm hearing about a wage tax of some sort. what is that all about? would that apply to me if i lived outside of the city?
feastervile is a nice area. It has everything you want in your list.. Stay out of Philly to save on car insurance and city wage, like it was already noted. You can find an apartment in your price range but forget about a garage.
Well a townhome rental is likely a two bedroom at least, so that's higher rent, and even then, I wouldn't say you'd get a garage. In my experience, rented townhomes that are smaller tend to have assigned parking spots, more than garages. Its going to be difficult to find in your price range.
No, not car ports. Car ports aren't that common here. Its going to be a parking space most likely. Uncovered, but if you're lucky, assigned and off street. If you want to look into renting a larger townhome then you might have luck finding a 2 bedroom townhome with a garage, but it won't be for $800/month. A garage is just not something you are going to get for that price.
If you are that stuck on a garage, you may need to look in another area. So, like in NE Philly, you can probably rent a home, maybe find a duplex, and find one with a garage. Not sure about cost, but its more likely to find in NE Philly closer to your budget, even Far NE, than in Feasterville. But then you would be living in Philadelphia, have the wage tax, and the city services.
i guess i'll have to see what's all around the area, especially hearing that there are a lot of new residential buildings (apts and houses) being built. it's good to know that feasterville-trevose seems like a decent, comfortable place to live that is not too far from the city but not actually in the city.
can anyone speak to the commute distance? jasmineflower mentioned that since the town is essentially an extension of philly, traffic may get bad even around the outskirts of the main city. i'm comparing that with my current situation where i commuted roughly 13-15 min to work and that was a breeze - no major highways i needed to drive on. i imagine that to be different especially with a place that's roughly close to the city.
do people generally live in feasterville-trevose and commute to philly or do they commute from a different suburb?
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my personal goal is to not be unemployed for 6 mths.
