<p>Hi guys, I know I’m from PA but i have a question for the Philly residents… Best friends hubby just got a job in philly and they will be relocating down there… Looking to be in the manayunk-ish area… For right now they are just looking to rent an apartment as this is quite sudden and he starts his job in two weeks. They have two little kids - boy age 3 and girl age 1 as well as a small dog. Does anyone have any suggestions on where they should look?</p>
<p>Check out this site for Philly locals: [Philadelphia</a> Forum - Relocation, Moving, Local City Discussions - City-Data Forum](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/forum/philadelphia/]Philadelphia”>Philadelphia Forum - Relocation, Moving, General and Local City Discussions - City-Data Forum)</p>
<p>And this particular thread may help: [The</a> Apartment Sticky Thread for Philly (Philadelphia: apartments, renters, safe area) - Pennsylvania ¶ - City-Data Forum](<a href=“http://www.city-data.com/forum/philadelphia/1263885-apartment-sticky-thread-philly.html]The”>The Apartment Sticky Thread for Philly (Philadelphia: real estate, apartments, renters) - Pennsylvania (PA) - City-Data Forum)</p>
<p>I guess they decided they would rather rent a house then live in an apartment. They scheduled a couple viewings this week. They’re going to come stay here for a few days while they look instead of driving all the way back to where they are living right now.</p>
<p>fendergirl, send a PM to JHS or MichaelNKat. They both live/work in Philadelphia, are very familiar with the city and should be able to point you in the right direction.</p>
<p>Thank you. I know my way around the highways but I am not familiar with what is and what isn’t a nice area as far as where to live.</p>
<p>Not sure manayunk is where one would live with young children…are they planning to eventually purchase a home? …does he have a preference to driving to work,which could be very costly vis a vie parking,or would he be willing to take SEPTA…They could look to rent a townhome that has access to to Septa,many places to choose from…</p>
<p>Manayunk was recommended to my 20-something S when he moved to greater Phila for his first job out of college - cool hip place for the younger set. He didn’t choose it because (1) he wanted to roll out of bed and to his job which is in a northern suburb and (2) city income tax if you live within city limits, but not if you live in the suburbs which is what he chose.</p>
<p>yeah they eventually want to purchase a home (they owned a home where they live now but sold it about a year ago, so they have some down money towards a new home) but for right now just want to find an apartment or town home close to where he will be working till they get situated. i think he planned to drive to work but I am not sure… i told him he should ask the other people who work there what they do.</p>
<p>What area would you suggest for young kids?</p>
<p>My friend is 27 and her husband is 31. Kids actually aren’t 3 and 1 yet but they will be in 2 weeks. Dog is very small and quiet - don’t think I’ve ever even heard her bark aside from when the 3 year old sat on her like a horse. :)</p>
<p>If they want to live outside of the city but still want train service, Media is a great choice. It has a nice combination of hip and established vibe, plus a Trader Joe’s! AND, my youngest was born there!</p>
<p>Kathie, my H and I got our wedding license in Media many, many moons ago! :)</p>
<p>Realize if you work in the city, you pay the city tax…and even if you don’t work in the city,but live there you pay the tax…if you live in the burbs,many have instituted their own wage tax,whether you work there or just live there…this is in addition to property tax…we worked in Philly,then office was moved across the street into Montogomery county,and wage tax decreased significantly…the problem with Philly area, and PA,in general, is that taxes are perceived to be low,but when wage tax and other so-called fees( cars are inspected yearly at YOUR cost)…realestate transfer fees on both buy and sell of homes, some towns make you pay for sanitation collection,privatization of liquor that increases costs by 25+%, the costs are actually fairly high…</p>
<p>Having lived in NJ,and worked in NYC( wage tax was revoked), taxes are high, but very few of the hidden costs of living…</p>
<p>Manyunk – Fairly hip, although the mantle of hipness has pretty definitively passed to other parts of the city. If my kids were going to live here, they wouldn’t even look at Manyunk. The houses are small, the streets narrow and hilly, the attractions are a nice Main St. with lots of chi-chi shops and restaurants, a nice path along the river for strolling/jogging, a small multiplex movie theater you could actually walk to, and decent access to the big intra-urban park. The downside is lots of young punks drinking, relatively small, crappy houses, and the constant threat that a snowstorm will make travel on your street impossible. Also long-time residents who are ticked off about gentrification and can be rude to newcomers. It’s not where I would choose to live with children unless they were sub-school-age.</p>
<p>If you want to be near Manyunk, but not necessarily in it, there are lots of good choices:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Northwest, along the river and up the ridge, is Roxborough, which is basically the suburbs of Manyunk. Less cool, more families, nicer housing for less money, greener. </p></li>
<li><p>You can go across the river to actual famous suburbs in Bala, Merion, Penn Valley – considerably nicer and more expensive, except for the few blocks just across the bridge. This is one of the best school districts in the world, Lower Merion – a great place to buy a house if you can afford it and want to raise a family in old-fashioned suburbs.</p></li>
<li><p>Southeast along the river is East Falls, home (once upon a time) of Grace Kelley, Arlen Specter, and Ed Rendell. Nicer housing than Manyunk, but probably not cheaper.</p></li>
<li><p>North up and over the ridge, on the other side of the park, is Mount Airy, one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city for families, and one where there are actually decent public elementary schools. There’s a really wide range of housing, from multimillion-dollar mansions along the park to very affordable twins. Multi-ethnic and politically liberal (unlike Roxborough).</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My friends are rather liberal on most things (though they tend to keep their views to themselves) and are a bit ethnic… a bi-racial couple… I would hope that the neighborhoods would be okay with that considering it’s Philly but I don’t know. They are going to go look at places this friday and saturday while I watch the kids for them. the almost 3 year old called me to tell me he was coming over to my house… he was soooo excited that you couldn’t understand what he was saying it was all rushing together, lol. All I could make out was that him and his sister were coming over and that he couldn’t wait to show me his “big boy pants” (recently potty trained) and play outside. and he wanted to know if he could sleep in my room (he likes that I let him stay up later then his mommy does… shh don’t tell that’s what friends are for…)</p>
<p>They are now looking in the roxborough area too as it’s a bit cheaper like you said then Manayunk. I think my friends hubby is remembering loving Manayunk because his old band used to play at a lot of clubs in that area. I think they are going to be a bit limited in what they are looking for… Hubby will be working in philly and doing a lot of traveling throughout the city for his job… best friend works from home so she will need an area to set up her computer and whatnot in a space where she can still keep an eye on her kids.</p>
<p>Have they looked in NJ?.. Collingswood, Haddon Heights, Haddonfield, Moorestown? All near PATCO lines, all nice areas, though Haddonfield and Moorestown is known to have a fantastic schooling system and family area, though both are a little more on the conservative side while the first two are less conservative.</p>
<p>At this point, I don’t think a biracial couple would have any real problem in Roxborough or Manayunk, although that would not have been true 10 years ago. Mount Airy is a totally different story – it has been house-by-house integrated for 50 years, and until relatively recently it was one of only two or three neighborhoods in the city where a biracial couple and their kids could live without facing a lot of hostility. That’s one of the things that has been changing fast, though. Now, it would be a fairly short list of neighborhoods where they wouldn’t be welcome. But in Mount Airy they would be the norm, not an exception.</p>
<p>If the husband is working in Center City, public transportation is a lot easier from Mount Airy, too.</p>
<p>I didn’t even think anything of the whole biracial thing when they were looking at a place… thought didn’t even cross my mind… we’re a pretty mixed group of friends… I wonder if they thought about it or not. Hopefully they check out the area before they settle on a place. You can’t even tell by looking at their kids… They look “white” but with a slight year round tan and loose curly hair. We always joke that their son looks more like me then either of them. Her hubby always asks me how I managed to get my DNA in his wife, lol!</p>
<p>Friends found a house in between manayunk and roxborough. 3 large bedrooms, an office, and it has a yard for the kids to play in. They are pretty excited.</p>