Hello Philadelphia. This is my first post and my first time on phillyblog, so I hope I'm in the right place for a W. Mt. Airy post. I lived in W. Mt. Airy as a child, and I have wonderful memories of the place. I have been away from Philly for many years and am returning to the area from Boston at the end of Jan. I need to find a place to rent while I get to know the city again. I'm not sure if I'll be working near Penn or out in the burbs (Malvern). I will probably be doing contract work from home initially. I had thought of renting out on the Main Line (where I also lived years ago), but am wondering whether I should take a look at W. Mt. Airy, since it has always been so near and dear to me. People have told me it's not 'safe' anymore. What does that mean? Is that a code word for racially diverse, which it always was, or is crime a big issue? I have a friend who was held up at gunpoint in Chestnut Hill, and she and her husband left the area. I don't want to live in fear, but I don't want to *not* do something out of fear. I love having a neighborhood feel, and I'm not sure I'd have that as a renter on the Main Line. Maybe in Narberth? Not sure. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Welcome, fromIpanema! This is the closest thing to a Mt. Airy forum for now...we're still waiting for a G'Town/Mt. Airy/CH forum to be added.

I live right on the border with W. Mt. Airy and spend quite a bit of time there. From personal experience, I can tell you that W. Mt. Airy is quite safe...haven't heard of any problems there since I moved to the area (2 months ago). E. Mt. Airy has had some problems recently, but most of it still seems to be decent.

What type of place are you looking for?

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"If these walls could talk, I'd listen to the floor."--Rev. Horton Heat

I lived in W. Mt. Airy in the 70's, 80's and a couple years in the 00's.

The neighborhood is not much different. Yes, I felt better about leaving the door unlocked when I was younger but overall I still feel good about the area. No area is 100% safe but I feel better about W. Mt. Airy than any other place in Philly.

Perhaps I'm unaware having had a 10 year gap in living there but I didn't see signs of it being less safe.... except... there may be a fair amount of white flight. Not this generation, but maybe the next... I think the parents still live there but judging from Henry School... when I was of the age to attend, it was fairly integrated (though memory may fail me). Now it's 90% black. Seems to me the white kids are being trucked out to private schools.

The co-op is still there.

This neighborhood is fantastic. Your friend getting held up at gunpoint is incredibly random for Chestnut Hill. I live in closeby neighborhood - East Falls - and I'd let my wife walk home from the train at 10:00 PM if she had to - I feel that comfortable.

Sycamore, Ezra, Jeffrey: Thank you so much for your replies. They are extremely helpful. When I think of Philly, I think of my old neighborhood (McCallum and Mt. Pleasant), and I think I will seriously look at some apartments in that area. I am selling a condo in Boston and need to live someplace fairly cheaply for a year (due to my status as a freelancer initially). It's possible I could end up w/a job way out in the burbs, but I will not know this right away. I just need someplace to start from. I was on the web looking at apartments in the area; The McCallum and the Sedgwick something or other. They both looked lovely (on the internet, that is....). I will be in Philly in real life next month so will check them out. I am grateful for your replies. I will keep you posted.

I've heard good things about Sedgwick Gardens. I'm not familiar with The McCallum, but it looks nice. You might also want to try the complexes that straddle the East Falls/Germantown/Mt. Airy borders: Empirian Luxury Towers, Alden Park, Hathaway House, Park Heights and School Lane House.

Good luck!

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"If these walls could talk, I'd listen to the floor."--Rev. Horton Heat

Just adding comments to the places mentioned above^

I'm at Empirian Luxury Towers. It's not as bad as some people make it out to be, but I can't suggest anyone move in. My husband and I have been here since May 2000. God willing, we're buying by next May and we're outta here. School House Lane received many bad reviews for their lack of heat in the winter and rodent problems. Alden Park is always desperate for tenants since their prices are high for what's down the street from there. The building itself it amazing. I know a family @ Hathaway House. It's very nice there and priced reasonably. I checked our Park Heights when checking out the area and I didn't bother making an appointment. I spoke to a few tenants and they said management was horrible and even the new management was horrible. Check out some rating sites to see what other tenants are saying about their buildings. Googling "apartment ratings" should bring up a few.

I've looked at ratings sites, but I don't put too much stock into them...people seem to talk up the bad stuff more than the good.

I've been at Empirian for 2 months...so far, no complaints.

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"If these walls could talk, I'd listen to the floor."--Rev. Horton Heat

Ah, so you missed all the drama. There was a murder on my floor, I've seen blood dripped everywhere in the A side elevator, and I heard someone get held up in the parking lot in the middle of the night... it was right outside my window and my husband and I passed off the commotion as some drunk stumbling in. We found out the next morning that the noise we heard was someone was held up at gunpoint. Niiiiice. I met a guy moving out from the B side and he said it's horrible over there with the break-in's. I have to say though, it has gotten MUCH better.

I live on the B side...my floor is ridiculously quiet, other than my next door neighbors' kids. A couple that lives a few floors down from me told me that they were having a mice problem, but I haven't seen anything like that up here. The minute I find a mouse in this place, I'll be down at the office. And if that doesn't work, then it's off to L&I or the Health Department.

__________________
"If these walls could talk, I'd listen to the floor."--Rev. Horton Heat