I agree, especially for her particular situation, but if I were an investor, I'd be buying in Kensington and Frankford.

Agree wholeheartedly, although by above Frankford, do you really mean above Margaret-Orthodox and Bridge-Pratt?

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Real Estate Practitioner & Quasi-Intellectual
ERA Aarch Realty LLC
Urban Green Partnership

Thanks, Zur.

Yeah, I'd invest in Kensington but I wouldn't feel comfortable living there right now.

Beyond that, you tend to get cheaper homes the further you get from the city with these neighborhoods. If you want to be closer to the city but get a smaller place, you'll want the Fishtown section above York Street, below Lehigh. Port Richmond is cheaper...and then Bridesburg is a bit cheaper than that...but not terribly so.

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Resident of Fishtown, Moderator of Fish/No. Libs/Kenzo forum, Real Estate Agent-Prudential Fox & Roach

The best buy and safest area for the money is the Northeast.

I moved to Philadelphia 4 years ago. Fishtown was just getting started. We were sort of priced out of CC proper. We thought we'd give Fishtown a look. We visited and hated it. When you compare the prices for these areas to Germantown and Mt Airy you get a lot more in the NW areas. I think Mt Airy and Germantown have come further along than even Fishtown. We just kept thinking Fishtown was a lot of money for not being that close to CC. I still find myself tempted and drive by some listings but it still looks like a dump to me. My home has appreciated faster in Mt Airy than homes even in Fishtown and my neighborhood is much more beautiful. We have more stores and shops than Fishtown. I keep hearing the hype and wonder if I am missing where the good blocks and fun stuff is. When I go it looks very similar to how it looked 4 years ago. I admit it sounds great but i have yet to experience its greatness.

Well Mt. Airy has BEEN much better than Fishtown for....ever. In terms of crime and safety, I think you're way better off in Fishtown. I considered moving into this mammoth and gorgeous and ridiculously cheap house last year in Mt. Airy and considered heavily the fact that I'd be much less secure walking my dog at 11pm at night...AND I'd be looking at a 35 minute drive into the city versus a 5 minute one. Or a commuter pass 30 minute ride versus a cheap 3 stops on the el 5 minute one. Fishtown IS really close to the city. It IS really close to No. Liberties with much more to do than Mt. Airy in terms of restaurants and nightlife. Especially nightlife. I sort of think of Mt. Airy as where I may want to go when I'm settled down with a family and kids and want to grab a nice meal out every two weeks rather than a few nights a week.

That said, I think Mt. Airy is beautiful and if you're into trees, well, there's absolutely no comparison. If you want a big yard and a parking space, there's no comparison. However, if proximity to the city is important to you and/or public transportation and you fall into that certain demographic, it's worth it. You definitely get more yard, more parking and a most times, a bigger house in Mt. Airy for the money and DEFINITELY more in Germantown.

If you ever want a tour, let me know. I most times will give tours to people that I'm working with that are new to the area even when they don't request one because there's a lot of cool stuff one could easily miss...and this area is also ripe with history that makes it a bit more interesting than meets the eye.

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Resident of Fishtown, Moderator of Fish/No. Libs/Kenzo forum, Real Estate Agent-Prudential Fox & Roach

Oh but another thing, there's nothing in Mt. Airy for $130K or under. Nothing. The comparison becomes valid when someone is thinking of buying a house around $225K-$400K. For some people, spending that type of money should mean they get a yard, trees, parking and 2000+ sq. feet. For other people, it means it's got to be close to everything, be safe, etc. It just means different things to different people.

No value judgment on who's right or wrong in this. I just had a young couple who came to Fishtown for the first time (without the famous Brooke tour) and thought it was horrible and couldn't imagine living here...in the $185K and under range who thought S. Philly had more going on and felt safer there. There was no convincing them to make an appointment with me and drive them around and they thought I was absolutely insane that I love living here. Hey, I guess that's why it's cool that we're a city of neighborhoods...there's one cut out for just about everyone to love!

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Resident of Fishtown, Moderator of Fish/No. Libs/Kenzo forum, Real Estate Agent-Prudential Fox & Roach

You must be joking right?There might be a couple ok blocks in Mt Airythat are half decent but the rest is very trashy.What exactly do you mean when you say there is much more to do there?I've worked in the area plenty of times and I just don't see what you are talking about.Not to mention the fact that you are surounded by Terrible neighborhoods.

The northeast has went down a great deal in the last few years.Ten years ago I may have agreed with you but today it's a much different place then it used to be.

mt. airy has more than a cuple of ok blocks but I'd question teh appreciation factor as well as the safety factor. and the point baout proximity to cc is way off. mt. airy isn't easy to get to. that's not bad, but they aren't equivalent areas. it's pears to papayas.

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Has anyone rented in Fishtown/Kensington/other neighborhood prior to buying? I did this in NYC and it worked well (in fact my partner and I bought the apt. we were renting from our landlord)--would recommend something like that if possible. Rents all over Philly seem incredibly low after NYC.