Philly and metro-Philly neighborhoods

Colleges & Universities University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>Can anyone rate these areas in terms of safety, availibility and affordability of housing, and general ambiance?</p>

<p>University City, Powelton Village, Cityline, Overbrook, Wynnefield, West Philadelphia other areas, Center City, Art Museum, Society Hill, Olde City, Delaware County, Germantown, Roxborough, Manayunk, Mount Airy, Chestnut Hill, Montgomery County, North Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia, Other neighborhoods</p>

<p>I just copied and pasted these areas from Penn’s roommate search thingy…lol.</p>

2

<p>University City,- expensive but right on campus, alot of students and such from schools temple, drexel, and penn of course, very trendy and redone…hospital right in the area…its right across the river…
Powelton Village,???
Cityline, ritzy area about 10 mins away from campus easy access to Penn, where all the News stations are and has beatuiful views of the city
Overbrook, very urban not very popular for students that i kno of
Wynnefield, more suburban outside of philadelphia to the west…a bit more expensive
West Philadelphia other areas,
Center City, heart of philly, various options, about a 15-25 block walk from campus, the business district and shopping district are here too
Art Museum, i kno where it is and im seeing the Dali exhibit? its across the river from Penn and i kno alot of my friends from temple r looking for apartments there
Society Hill, the upper east side oh philly
Olde City, cobblestoned roads, very new england feel, very lots of clubs and a great atmoshpere, on the complete opposite side of Penn tho and very expensive from studio’s to restaurants, where they filmed REAL WORLD Philly
Delaware County, unsure, its a distance from campus
Germantown, it has its good n bad sections, the woman who interviewed my from Brown actually lived here n her husband is in Law school at penn
Roxborough, same as germantown
Manayunk, i love manayunk!!, very hilly, about 15 minute cab ride from campus its across the river n its not exactly in the city
Mount Airy,???
Chestnut Hill, part of the main line i think, lots of stores and trendy places, more expensive about 25 mins west of the city
Montgomery County, the burbs, very classy, northwest of the city bout 15 mins away, has the main line and i think schools like Swarthmore, Villanova, St joes, Haverford, Bryn Mayr ( sorry i kno0w i butchered that) , have various housing
North Philadelphia, i was always told not to go here
Northeast Philadelphia, this is where i live, no one from Penn really lives up this way…it has a suburban feel but at times u know ur in the city, various apartments and living options, its about 25 mins away from the city by car n 95
South Philadelphia, the brox of philadelphia, famous for cheesteaks, rocky and our great philadelphia accents lol </p>

<p>i know for a fact though that Septa (the bus and train system) runs all over the city and places mentioned…</p>

3

<p>Mount Airy - well i live there. it borders chestnut hill. it’s less expensive, and more diverse.
North Philadelphia - isn’t that bad. Good area to get cheap food, makeup & other stuff like that. mostly black.</p>

4

<p>If you want to be an active undergraduate, you really shouldn’t be going any further than University City.</p>

5

<p>Come to the Main Line! In college terms, that’s the area of Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College, Villanova U (all within 10 minutes of each other and in the same township/district). Preppy people if you’re into that. Depending on what you call expensive… $800/month rent for small apt? There are nice houses here.</p>

<p>It’s half an hour from the city though on the expressway. I live here, so I’m an advocate for it. But then again, I’d probably prefer to live in the nice part of Philly if I were going to Penn (as opposed to living at home).</p>

6

<p>actually, I am looking at penn for gradschool and would like to be in a less busy area that isn’t too far by transport from campus. Hmm…back home in ATL, you can get a nice one bedroom for about $660-700/month and be in a very clean and safe part of town. At Pitt, you can get decent places for about the same price or a little less. Moderate sized units. I would be looking for a place around that price range if possible…however I understand that Philly is very different from those other cities and I recognize I would probably have to pay a bit more. </p>

<p>I may want to settle down in the area once gradschool is done depending on job prospects…I have grown attached to the state of PA so Penn is one of my top choices for gradschool. I would love to visit Philly as well. Hmmm…maybe I can go there next spring break or during the summer before school starts. :)</p>

7

<p>Steer clear of the main line! I live there and I’ve lived here since I was 5. It’s a lovely boring place to raise a family, but it’s expensive, and boring. (You could consider “quiet” and “safe” as eupehmisms for “boring”).</p>

<p>If you love PA (and I certainly do), come to the Main Line after you’ve married someone and you want to raise a family. Until then, go out and be the young restless twenty-something you should be :-)</p>

8

<p>Okay fine, I see your point there JohnnyK. I know so many Penn Alumni, Professors, and workers who live around here… with the families, etc. I guess a lot of them settle here for the school districts, which won’t pertain to the typical Penn student until after graduation.</p>

9

<p>For less expensive but more of a commute, you can focus on Northeast Phila ( though the real estate section said lots of NY investors have been buying up the rowhomes & may begin charging higher rents) or Delaware County ( it is the first western suburb you will hit when leaving W. Phila via Walnut st.) It’s a bit worn down in some areas, blue-collar-ish like in Upper Darby, but some very nice sections too & a range of apts. homes for rent which may be cheaper than center city rates.</p>

10

<p>cool…thanks for the info</p>

11

<p>bonafide20- for a trendy, not toooo expensive, young, single crowd, consider Fairmount a.k.a Art Museum Area. There are blocks of converted homes that are now realy cool apartments. If you are in the Penn area, head to just the other side of Ben Franklin Parkway - look for Green Street and check out the area…you could easily ride a bike to Penn from this area. </p>

<p>Another new, trendy area is Old City (this is the are where the Real World cast lived). Old City is East of 6th Street - around Market. You could get to Penn from Old City by taking the L (subway/elevated train). There are tons of trendy bars and restaurants in this area. This is where Philly’s young crowd goes to hang out. </p>

<p>Society Hill is nice…but expensive…and not as young.
Manayunk, Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill are very nice…but wuld be a 30 minute train ride to 30th Street Station, near Penn. These are more family oriented communities. Manayunk would be the best of them for a young, single person - lots of bars, restaurants, gathering spot on weekends. Mt Airy and Chestnul Hill are full of tree lined streets and grand old homes. I don’t think any grad student would find a good reason to live there. Mt Airy is the home of all of the artsy, new-age, no nuke, PhD crowd…and has it’s own “downtown” and lost of nice new restaurants starting to open. Chestnut Hill is the home of the city’s old money…VERY old money…and lots of it.</p>