Born and raised in Bucks County for 18 years, went off to college to Boston and stayed there for 12. Now, at the age of 30, I figured it was time to give Philly a try.

The question: Where do I live?

Since I will be working from home, I can basically live wherever I want. Since I'm single and don't keep in touch with many friends from back in the day, I need to make new ones! Probably not that easy to rectify this by moving back to Bucks County...I figure living in Philly proper is best way to make this happen.

Looking for a 1-bed, around $1200. I've heard Chinatown, Center City, Old City, Rittenhouse Sq. Open to any other suggestions.

Also, again, only knowing a couple people in the area, what are the good ways to meet people?

It depends on what kind of city experience you want. You might also want to look at Northern Liberities/Fishtown and South Philly. you can probably find a house for $1200/month in South Philly or Fishtown at this point.

Rittenhouse Square is Rittenhouse Square. Chinatown is interesting and has a lot of new apartments and condos. Center City is generally full of Yuppies and suburbanites, as far as nightlfe goes, but there are still cool drive bars here and there.

Old City is full of people from Jersey. It's just miserable at night on weekends.

Northern Liberities is more of a Bohemian/hipster thing going on, as far as who lives there and what the nightlife's like.

South Philly's a bit quieter, but we've got a bunch of good bars and restaurants and a lot of art students and artsy picture.

I guess, in short, the city has changed a lot in 20 years, and you've got a lot more options than you would have had in 1990.

Well, I'm kind of a yuppie, in that I'd want a nice apartment, with hard-wood floors, new appliances, washer/dryer in unit (if possible), etc. haha. I might even consider taking in a roommate and looking for a 2-bed close to $2k if we had our own "space".

I looked at some cool lofts in the Chinatown (10th/11th & race/arch) a few years ago. they were pricey though. The thing that worries me about living in Chinatown are all the restaurants -- it's a breeding ground for roaches, rats and mice. I'd be a afraid of being infested with them if I lived above or near them.

It does depend on what type of experience you want.

Rittenhouse/CC proper/Broad St seems to have more of the "big city" hustle/bustle vibe (elevator buildings, doormen), if that's what you're looking for, while Old City and Society Hill are much quieter. As to Simon's comment about Old City and Jersey below, its only weekend nights that there is an issue, and that's mostly a non-issue when you live north of Market. I've actually found it to be a very engaging and neighborly place to live, and completely quiet during the week. Tons to do...movies, restaurants, galleries, pubs, shops, etc.

We live on a tree lined cobblestone street barely off the beaten path where everyone knows one another. We've gotten very close to our neighbors and also moved here not knowing anyone.

I moved to Old City from NYC, and there are tons of transplants here...seems all our neighbors came from someplace else, which makes it interesting and diverse (at least experientially). Our usual hangout spots are not frequented by the weekend crowds, so it maintains a n'hood feel but can be fun when you've got friends in town and a million options right outside the door.

I'm biased in case you can't tell. Rittenhouse definitely has a more upscale, established vibe but is much more desolate at night, and wasnt what we wanted. I've found Old City to be very vibrant in my experience. Society Hill is very beautiful, probably my favorite n'hood in the city if I was settling down, but it's very quiet and seems more family oriented. Also, you don't have many immediate options right outside your door aside from Old City, headhouse, or South St. Unless you live closer to the gayborhood, etc.

Pretty much anywhere in center city proper is going to be safe and you'll be able to meet people. The area that suits you best will depend on what your interests are. Good luck!