I'm no expert, but I'm not a fan of north of market west of the medical center.

i'd say that this area somewhat lacks a community feel.

but safety wise, I'd have no problem living on this block or the surrounding blocks. i know/knew some folks that do and they never had any trouble. i wouldn't go any farther north than spring garden st.

there is some rehab and new construction going down on powelton ave. so that bodes well for the neighborhood.
i'd say it's poised for gentrification - it'll happen slowly but surely.

i wouldn't settle for anything less than a newly or recently rehabbed place. i believe the block you're referring to is all two-story rows - so for something new i wouldn't rent for any more than $1000/mo. and i wouldn't buy for any more than $210K

If you think of yourself as being one, it might work for you. But coming and going in the evenings will require knowing how to deal with street dealers for the foreseeable future.

West Powelton is in my book not that bad. It does have a little less "neighborhoody" feel closer to Market south of Powelton where you are describing. Along Filbert there are a fair amount of old small warehouse buildings beyond the usual rowhouses and twins. It gives it a slightly more empty feeling. Of course you can probably also see the bright lights of that Eckerd parking lot down a block from your front door also.

If they are "urban pioneers", I know a couple of folks who beat them to that status in the area by almost a decade. The owners of the Satelite Cafe actually live pretty close to there and have done so for around 8 or 9 years I think. Our moderator, Dave, lives in West Powelton not terribly far from there. Let's hear what he has to say.

West Powelton varies a bit but, in general, is a great neighborhood. I do live not far from that block (to the West) and I know -- and speak to -- almost all of the neighbors on my block. About half the block is school teachers, either retired or still working with a handful of self employed folks (mostly business owners) and a couple "other" (myself included). We also have a great block captain who's lived in her house since the 80s. The African and Indian families on my block are generally a little more reserved than people in the African American and white households, but I think there's a language barrier involved, at least in some of these cases.

As far as "dealing" and such, my neighbors have told me that there used to be some of that, but it's mostly gone. For the most part, the neighbors appear to have run the dealers out themselves, especially as more of them because homeowners rather than renters. Most of my block used to be owned by a large Philly investor who sold everything off over the past few years. He offered tenants the option of buying if they wanted to, and many residents on my block took him up on the offer. I think this has had a huge positive effect.

If anything, one of my largest concerns with this area is that it may get "gentrified" by snooty people who don't talk to their neighbors and lose the community feeling that currently exists. Fortunately, most of the newcomers so far haven't been like that.

As far as that particular block of Wiota, I'm not really familiar with it. It's not far from 40th St, which is fairly dumpy looking in Powelton for some reason. It's also not far from some significant new construction (there's a huge house being renovated near Powelton & Preston, as well as the new construction at 40th & Powelton and, supposedly, a triplex being built somewhere on Preston, off Powelton that was recently discussed in a community meeting).

West Powelton isn't "hip" and may never be, but I think it's a pretty solid neighborhood for a young couple or family that can't afford the huge houses out on the edges of Spruce Hill and Cedar Park.

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