I'm you're atypical broke, waiter type, rides a bicycle, doesn't own a car for 'green' reasons etc etc, i also happen to be caucasion (sp?). I'm looking to get into the homeowner gig and it seems kenso and fishtown the only thing left that a regular person can afford potentially. I'm not looking to flip properties, just looking for my own little piece of dirt to park my bike, and have a beer or two.
Long story short, can you folks give me a street-by-street of where to look? I have a girlfriend who'd appreciate being able to go outdoors at night. . .but we're not looking for the burbs, manayunk has been good to us, but too expensive to buy, and too far from the city and her work. Help?

Consider South Philly.

Not having a car and living in Fishtown would kind of suck. Grocery shopping might be a bit of a pain... I suppose you could make it work. Thriftway is close, but not so great.

I'm not sure what your price range is, but north of York is cheaper than south. We're in the no-name-zone between York, Lehigh, Frankford, and Aramingo, right near the Memphis Taproom. It's changed a LOT in the last 2.5 years! Personally, we are planning to move because we recently had a baby and we're not keen on raising a child here, but it sounds like it might work for you.

If I could do it all over again (actually, if we could've afforded it), I would've bought in South Philly in a heartbeat.

Yeah, you should def consider South Philly. Way back in the 80's I lived in SP without a car and biked everywhere and loved it. If the weather was really bad there are busses and the subway.

There are many safe & affordable neighborhoods to choose from. The convenience of SP cannot be beat for people without a car.

I'm not saying that Fishtown doesn't have its drawbacks in terms of not having a car, but I don't have a car, and it isn't that bad. I use public when it is pouring rain or phillycarshare occasionally, and I don't find it that inconvenient. My roommate doesn't have a car either, and he mostly gets by with public transportation--he's not complaining either. I would at least put it in the running with South Philly. Also, I bought my house in October 2007, and for the same price I would have been getting less and on rougher blocks in South Philly than I was in Fishtown - - not to hate on South Philly at all; if you can afford a nice place down there, then go for it, but it seems to me that you'll pay more for less than you would in Fishtown. I got a modest two bedroom with a basement that we finished and nice little backyard for BBQs, growing plants, and reading. Not a bad deal for the money.

It takes me 25 minutes to bike "downtown" and about 35 minutes to get to South Philly. It takes me just as long (if not longer taking the train or driving (which includes fighting traffic and finding a parking spot). This is to give you an idea about how "inconvenient" it is...

From what I've seen, prices in Fishtown and South Philly have been about the same for a couple of years. Down here, you can walk to the grocery store and it's 10-15 minutes to CC on a bike.

check www.realtor.com in your price range in zip code 19125. You can see exactly what you can get for the money. I would say the average price in Fishtown is about $250,000 right now but you can find something smaller for under 200. There are "green" options in Fishtown, like Rag Flats and even a geothermal HVAC studio-size condo, which my neighbor will have on the market soon, I think it will be listed close to the $200,000 range and it is one block to J.B.'s/beer and SEPTA.
Best Wishes!

There's quite a bit on the market in 19148 for less than $200K and and there's even some decent properties for less than $150K if you're willing to buy a fixer-upper.

you won't even need a bike in east passyunk, aka south philly,..... http://www.walkscore.com/get-score.p...+s.+12th&go=Go

Kensington and fishtown are great places to live, not that we don't have our problems. I don't drive and I have no problem getting around. I would suggest that you take a look at what septa routes would work for you and then look near them. I come home from work sometimes at 10 or 11 o'clock at night and I don't have any problems. I usually that the 25, 5 or 15 routes. I would also suggest that you come around on a Friday or Saturday night and check things out. There is a history of hanging on street corners here, so you should check that out.

Let me know if i can answer any other questions.

Donna Marie

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