Hey there,
I'm a new Philadelphian. I moved here in June when I started my new job. I knew nothing of where to live so decided to look close to my work. So now I live in Germantown a couple blocks from the stained glass studio I work at. But it kinda sucks. I love my apartment, hate my landlord and I al utterly bored. I thought living in the city would mean wlaking to places to do things. But here the steel gates roll down at night and it's ..well, blah.
So Fairmount is pretty cool. I like the art there and the water and the North Star Bar, so that's where i want to live.
Anyway, I'm looking for an apartment, as much as possible for $600/month. What I need is a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bath. I'm not picky about most other things. My neighborhood right now isn't the safest, but I wouldn't move anywhere less safe of course.
I'm also willing to share. So, if anyone has any unpublished leads, extra rooms, friends of friends, I and my fellow readers would be much obliged.
My search thus far has been cynically browsing the classifieds, checking craigslist.org, and looking for realtors. I shall soon take a drive down there and look for Rent signs.
My lease ends in June, so I have plenty of time. Too much time? Too many expectations? Too little funds? Please answer these ponderings and I shall be forever in your debt, near-stranger.
Au Revoir
-Chris

I think it might be hard at $600, but maybe on the periphery of Fairmount or in Brewerytown, or the east side of Spring Garden. Sharing might be the way to go. I always found places through Philly Weekly, which puts its listing online the night before the paper comes out. You might try Weichert or JMH for rentals in the area. The last time I looked for a rental in Fairmount was a year ago and I couldn't believe what was being asked for the quality I was seeing, but there were better things to be found. Be persistent. Good luck!

Try the Philadelphia Craigslist: http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/

Does anyone know of any community bulletin boards up around Poplar and Fairmount? I've been told that's the best way to find a great apartment.
-Chris

The only one I can think of off-hand is at Red House Bagels, which is on 25th - about a half block north of Fairmount Ave. I know they frequently have postings for apartments or rooms for rent. I haven't been in recently, so I can't say for sure if anything is listed now...

__Jason

You can try the bulletin board at Whole Foods, or if they don't mind your looking at it, there is one in the Lifesport Gym on Fairmount Avenue. I'm not sure about it being the best way to find a great apt. though -- seems like craiglist would be better, but good luck. Oh, you can search some of the area university/college off-campus living sites online.

Yes, I'd use the oneline sources and also, of course, Philly Weekly.

There is another actual physical bulletin board outside the corner grocer at 26th and Brown, though.

This is the old-fashioned, low-tech way to find cheap rents: walk or drive around the neighborhood where you want to live and look for hand-lettered For Rent signs. Ignore the realtor signs. They are meaningless. The "homemade" signs can be the pre-printed For Rent signs (usually red)--if they have hand-lettered info, call them or look around for someone to talk to... These will be the landlords who are looking to avoid paying a realtor fee or for an ad in the paper. Their rents will almost always be below market. This has been the way to go for cheap apartments for a long time--the person who gave me the advice told me she'd been doing it since the 60s. It has always worked in my experience. The other piece of advice is to ask around the commercial establishments--maybe not bars or restaurants, but pharmacies and cleaners and such. They ofter have rentals above the store that are cheap...good luck!

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CFn, Lisle (rhymes with weasel)

That is a good idea. There's a house listed for sale through a realtor that looks great to me and I remember seeing a "for sale by owner" sign on it just a few weeks ago. We can't afford it, but I have to wonder how much less they were asking when they were trying to sell it themselves. Even it were 5-6% less, we could have considered it.

Eagle, where exactly do you live in G'Town? The area's not overly walkable yet, but there are lots of things to do within a short bus or train ride of the area. Fairmount is a great neighborhood, but G'Town is getting there...don't sell it short.

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