On friday afternoon i decided to drive down to philly from buffalo for the weekend. Just a spur of the moment type thing to check out my potential new city. I really tried to get a good feel of Philly this trip and covered a lot of ground. So here are my impressions and some questions that maybe you all can help me out with.

IMPRESSIONS:
The thing that was most striking to me was how varied neighborhoods are from block to block. One minute you can be in a good neighborhood and go two blocks further and it looks like hell. The best example i can think of this is the area around 13th and Bainbridge. Yet just 4 or 5 blocks away the area seems perfectly fine.

Went around queen village and bella vista and have to say that those areas were both great. They seemed pretty safe, had a lot of young people walking around and close to everything you need. If i could afford it there I may have to look seriously at that area.

Went to NoLibs andhave to say it didnt do it for me. Theres the bars and clubs and whatnot but it still seems somewhat desolate and not a lot happening.

now for some QUESTIONS:

1)I was staying in west philly with some friends (43rd and Baltimore). Ive heard alot about this area being not too great but from what i could tell it seemed actually nice. Maybe this is U. City and im just mixed up. What would that area be considered? It seemed very convenient to just about everything. Transportation right outside, close to groceries, coffee shops and a couple little restaurants and bars. Do most of you consider this area safe and if so where does it stop being safe?

2)What is the area around the low 20's and lombard considered? Seemed like some nice places there and plenty of 20 somethings. I saw a lot of homes that looked like they were being/had been renovated around there. Is the area safe?

3) what are the southern boundaries of queen village and bella vista?

4)After going there and seeing just how widely neighborhoods vary from block to block made me realize that safety is a concern. Especially since i will not be bringing a car to escape to outside my front door. I guess i realized i dont have the "balls" i did in college living in bed-stuy brooklyn. What areas are (semi) affordable and safe for a mid-20s white guy?

5)Do people have problems with apartment ads saying something is in a given area and its actually outside the area or in a total fringe/crappy neighborhood? Im wondering because i see a lot of ads for places that say the neighborhood name but no specifics about location.

6)Anyone get around a lot by bike? Any problems with this? It seems like philly is small enough to bike across the city relatively quickly. Id be going to W. Philly often to visit friends and it seems like a quick hop from some of the other areas.

All in all i have to say i really liked my visit. If i could sum up Philly i would say that it seems like a small NYC. A lot of the housing is similar (at least to brooklyn), it has very distinct neighborhoods, has all the unique and interesting type shops and restaurants, and all the young "hipsters" (i dont necessarily know if thats a good thing). Any input or comments you have would be great! Thanks in advance.

That's usually considered part of Univeristy City- but it's trending into West Philadelphia.

Safety isn't a function of where you are - it's a function of where the criminals aren't. Nice neighborhoods can be deceiving, and blue collar neighborhoods can be safer.

That's around the southern edge between Rittenhouse and "southwest Center City". Also close to filter square.

Usually down to around Carpenter

Most places you're going to find for rent in Philly are safe, but as you said, that can change on a block by block basis.

Affordable is easier to quantify- you can find places for sale under $150,000 in most areas of the city, and $1,200 per month will find you a decent place in almost all neighborhoods - size increases as you move out from center city - the rent for an efficiency highrise in Society Hill will get you an entire townhouse with a yard in blue collar neighborhoods outside center city

That's the Real Estate Agent's way of guaranteeing the prospects come through them (I'm an Agent) - rather than sending prospects directly to a landlord who might decide to cut you out on the deal. When you work on commission you get protective about working for free... You only get burned once in fronting money for ads and showing renters, only to get cut out- and have to fight to get paid.

The bigger problem with apartment adds is that they may only be "trolling adds" - The apartment may be rented out, but a landlord is looking for referrals. If you're paying for a 4 week add and you rent on week 1, people often leave the add in to generate other leads.

One of the guilty pleasures of riding a bike is beating rush hour traffic on the main roads. There's a reasonably good system of bicycle lanes and flat straights. Most of Philly is flat enough that you can get around easily.

Hal

I think this is why people who aren't familiar with the city and who don't know where to look have a bad impression of Philadelphia. They drive through the city quickly and completely skip Center City via the Vina Street Expressway and see only the ghetto areas. People who have seen the nicer areas generally have a good impression.

That area is fine.

That's the Graduate Hospital area. It's also fine.

I get around by walking so I'm sure its bikeable. At over 130 sq. miles, Philadelphia isn't small (I notice a lot of people have this impression). It is jsut that msot of the places most people will want to be are pretty much concentrated in and around Center City. The further reaches of the city contain some interesting areas (Manayunk, Chestnut Hill, parts of NE Philly, etc.) but you can take public transportation there.

Jeffcon, this is the Graduate Hospital area...it used to be really bad, now it is really coming along...it is like a construction zone over there, I was trying to buy around there, but for what I was looking for I had to live on the fringes of the grad hospital area which was fine for me, but for girlfriend, she might have not felt too safe.

Grad hospital area is adjacent to rittenhouse sq, by far the most expensive area of the city to live in, I am amazed that it took so long for grad hospital to be "discovered".

__________________
Philadelphia SEO consultants | Ringtones|Contact Lenses

Bella Vista - depending on who you talk to Bella Vista can be centered around Catherine or Christian- which means the oldest core in the area would be the intersection with Passyunk.

Queen Village is usually a little further south- Washington Street may be a good dividing line, since it's a larger street.

Hal

FOR southwest cc, i wouldn;t stray south of catherine unless you ocnsider yourself a pioneer. watch out for chinese take out places that are open all night. anyways, most of the areas you mentioned are fine. norhtern liberties wil look vastly different in two years (assumuing blatstein's project gets off the ground.) go down some of the side streets and you find whole blocks being renovated. not to mention the condo and apt. buildings being built/renovated in the area. still, it is removed from cc. balt. ave is safe and what is mroe amazing is to realize how much that area has changed int eh past five to 7 years. I have my eye on that area to philly for its proximity to the western burbs, public transit, and big homes. it also has a nice feel to it.

QV is Front to 6th, South to Washington
BV is 6th to 11th, South to Washington.
Passyunk crosses Christian at 6th. Between both neighborhoods.

__________________
Jason
Lynn Swann 06'

"Individualism is absent when other peoples' standards, not reality and reason, are ones primary guide."

So what are the boundaries for graduate hospital, and what area technically is say south street on the east side of broad street give or take a few blocks.

I walked around this area late the other night and south of south street looked menacing. A lady walking with her groceries asked me to get the police at the station on south street as a man at a phone across the street was trying to rob her. I said sure and kept cruising... In general that wasn't the only mayhem I noticed. During the day i've never even really noticed the area as an iffy one.

__________________
Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard. - H.L. Mencken

the area just below south is a bit questionable west of 11th. i think there is a housing project there. i think that is why south form 12th to broad is relatively undeveloped. it seems to finally be changing though.

That is the exact area i was referring to as seeming very sketchy. Its like all of a sudden it turns from fairly decent looking Bella Vista fringes to a desolate ghetto. And the strange part is that it seems like its only a few blocks in size and then you get to the grad hospital/southwest center city which doesnt look half bad.

What is the "Blatstein project" that i keep hearing about in NoLibs?