We are relocating to Philadelphia from Newark, NJ. I am seriously considering buying in Kensington. I know the reputation it has and have taken some trips down there and haven't been too disturbed by what I've seen. Like I said I live in Newark so Kensington was nothing new to me.

What I'm wondering about is the demographics of this area. What is the breakdown of ethnicities?

Concerning crime- what crime most plagues the area?

Please- no posts telling me how insane I am to move in the area.

I have been in what I guess is East Kensington for about a year. Nothing really bad to report (I have lived in the Bronx so it does depend on your frame of reference a lot). Cleaning up with the neighbors, you could find drug paraphernelia. There have been two shootings on my block in about as many years, both when I was not around, but little kids do live there. I live behind a house with a big dog in the yard and there have been no incidents. One of the contractors who worked on my house was mugged several blocks away though. House was egged on Halloween, but this is very common.

The maps at this website may be somewhat helpful: http://cml.upenn.edu/crimebase/

For the ethnic mix:
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/sa....html?_lang=en

Try either ZIP 19125 or 19134, depending on address, and then try plugging in address too.

Where I am it's decidedly mixed--white, Hispanic, black, Asian and combinations thereof.

Welcome to the neighborhood. I've lived close to Fankford and Alleghenny for about 4 years now. Its encouraging to hear that people are considering moving here. Don't listen to the people that put the place down. Its very easy to sit back and bash an area. I remember when Northern Liberties was totally ghetto, people said the same thing. As far as crime goes, mostly what I see are crimes of opportunity (someone left their purse on the front step and it was swiped) or a lot of domestic stuff. The whole breaking into vacant houses and steeling plumbing is ridiculous too. As far as violent crime, usually it can be traced to someone the victim knows. Dealers going after dealers or some sort of dispute among people that know each other.

Steeling plumbing is ridiculous? I am willing to bet that 1 out of every 5 homes in Kensington that gets rehabbed has at least one theft during the renovations if the home is vacant.

I posted a similar question yesterday. My curiosity got the best of me, so yesterday afternoon, I decided to throw myself into the mix by taking the Market-Frankford El to the Somerset station.

As I looked down from the platform, I wondered if I had made the right decision. There were certainly a lot of people hanging around at the bottom of the stairs, including a rather rugged looking couple yelling drunken slurs at one another.

When I emerged on the sidewalk, I think I did get a few glances from the "audience," but no one messed with me.

While traveling on Somerset toward Frankford, I was struck by how many people were on the street. It was a lively scene that was more than a little intimidating from the perspective of a white dude from the Pine Barrens. I think this was mostly perspective though, as no one even acknowledged my presence.

At the corner of Emerald street, there was a huge memorial of wreaths and flowers. For a second, I wondered how anyone could have gotten in a fatal car crash on such a small street. Then it struck me that this was probably the site of a shooting. According to Friday's Inquirer, there certainly was a shooting there at 5:10 PM on Thursday (which is exactly the time I was walking by the area--a chilling thought).

When I got to Frankford, I turned left to walk north. There were lots of people on the street, but I was allowed to walk through with no problem.

There were certainly some toothless, beaten-down people along the way. And though I'm slightly concerned at how well I seem to have blended in with that crowd, I'm glad they let me walk by in peace.

Ha ha...I meant ridiculous as in ridiculously chronic.

99.9 percent of the time people just kind of mind their own business. It is often times very insightly, trash strewn everywhere, people hanging out at all hours of the day and night. But on the other hand, if your looking for an affordable place to buy a house, you probably can't beat it.

Kensington is fine if you just stay away from the part closer to Frankford Terminal (K&A, etc) for now, and stay closer to the area near Fishtown and Northern Liberties. But that is just IMHO.

Everyone needs a home, and you can make almost any place home. Just protect yourself no matter where you go. I am sure there are other people looking for a place to live that are in the same situation.

Don't hang out on corners or stay out late at night. All the critters tend to come out more then.

where in kensington are you planning to move to?

In general I would stay east of kensington ave and east of frankford ave if possible. NKDC is doing some real good work in kensington. They work mostly I believe north of york and south of lehigh. This area is probably the most promising in kensington.

The 4-5 blocks above Girard between Front and 6th are also seeing a ton of development. Look on streets like Howard, Mascher, Palethorp, Master, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.

I second East Kensington too, though I think South Kensington (the area described above) is just a few short years away from being a completely stable neighborhood. It is just north of Northern Liberties, which is essentially Center City now, and has easy access to the El (@ front) and the new 42 trolley along Girard.

__________________
NUTTER 2007

Neverscared, re: coming from Newark to Kensington...

...Upon moving to Manhattan 12 years ago for college, I stayed in a hotel in Newark before moving into my dorm in Union Square the following morning. We were kept awake by gunshots the entire night. It was like a war zone back then. I remember saying to my mom in the morning, "Do you how the Sinatra saying goes, 'if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere'? I don't think he meant New York City...I think he was referring to Newark."

So in short, I think you'll be able to make it anywhere.

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