Oh man-- nobody get me started on how much i LOVE west philly. The thing is, Penn is barely in west philly. University City is basically a college town unto itself. But if you ACTUALLY get out a little bit beyond U-City there are wonders to behold! Tampopo! Honest Tom’s! Lil Pop Shop! MARIGOLD KITCHEN!!! Clark Park <3 The architecture of those homes is SO charming. It was a trolley cart suburb for Philadelphia’s elite for it’s first hundred years and it still bears the beautiful buildings to reflect it. I just love it out there so much. The amazing Ethiopian food at Abyssinia! The trendy bars that would make even the most staunch brooklynites jealous! The coffee shops? Tiny, little, baby coffee shops like Earth Cup. The brunch! SO MUCH BRUNCH! West Philly is a special, special, special place! And honestly very safe if you use standard street smarts. I felt safer in w. philly with Penn Police patrolling into the west 40s than I ever have harlem, crown heights, bed stuy. etc.
The areas of west philly that are genuinely experiencing crime and hardship don’t start until about the W. 50s and realistically even the most adventurous Penn students don’t venture beyond 44th or 48th street. But even in the areas that are 10 and 20 blocks from where students usually hang out there is so much amazing Philly to explore and some cautious exploration is to be encouraged! And then to penn’s north is just drexel which is safe and to the east is the river and Center City which is pretty much as safe as any other major city.
Point is, i love west philly.