Anyone know any good tax experts who can help me file my taxes this year ?

Do you think the city will be a better or worse place to move to in the next 2-5 years?

in what sense?

Affordability, public transportation, crime, etc. In the early stages of planning a move in the time frame mentioned.

Much better. Half because the city is coming off a low (crime wave). The other half is because it seems to me that the city is allowing more residential construction in center city and decrepit industrial parks. Will a lot of it be luxury/for the middle class? Yes. But at least the better off aren’t competing with lower income households for the same housing. There’s also a chance that public transit improves but I’m not holding my breath there.

If you have a simple return, just visit an H&R Block. If you have a complex return, ask your boss’s boss where they get their taxes done.

I think a lot depends on the next Mayor. Kenney was focused on some... interesting things. The next Mayor's focus will decide a lot. But from a people standpoint, a lot of us are getting fed up with the status quo and demanding certain systemic changes. That's a positive.

I'd speculate that it'll be less affordable in that time frame, probably both for renting and buying.

Public transportation is a toss up for me: if the bus revolution is allowed to happen I think it could help SEPTA improve, but it's already been delayed at least a year so I'm not holding my breath. The risk of inaction is that SEPTA will go on a downward spiral whereby reduced ridership causes reduced funding, which exacerbates the issues that themselves result in reduced ridership, and so on.

I'm optimistic about crime, although if CoL becomes less affordable (which I expect it will) and if SEPTA does the downward spiral thing (I suspect it might) then our crime problem could be compounded. There's only so much cops and local politicians can do to affect this (although they could be doing a lot more than they are currently).

Worse. It's progressively getting worse since the pandemic. The opioid epidemic is insane. People are like zombies. There's trash, and heroin needles everywhere. And if you're a woman do yourself a favor and don't move here. The cat calling and harassment is daily.

Frankly depends on your income level, what part of the city you can afford, your stage in life, etc.

Do you even live in Philly?

It has deteriorated a lot since COVID, although it has improved since summer of 2021 which was the worst in my area in terms of crime. But it is not the same as it was before the pandemic, although nowhere is.I always encouraged people to move here and enjoyed living in Center City. I’ve been here since 2006/7. I would not encourage it now. If you have another offer go somewhere else. I don’t see the city improving, but that could depend on the next mayor. It could get much worse if the next mayor is ineffective. I am staying due to my job. Otherwise I’d move. I had planned to buy a property since rents are outrageous (for me) but I can‘t imagine taking out a mortgage for a home in this city now.

real estate values are going up, if that is an indicator you think helps.

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For 12 years, lived in East Kenzo and worked in center city. Moved out in January of 2022

I’m planning on moving to Philly sometime in May and will be in the city toward the end of March to tour apartments and sign a lease.

What would you suggest I look for when considering apartments that’s usually overlooked and could save me headache down the road?

Whatever you do, don't get an apartment with electric baseboard heating, especially if it's an old building. They were built with large windows and before electricity in some cases. Your electric bill will be over $200 dollars per month in the winter with that type of heating. Or if you do, be aware that you may be paying over $200 per month for electricity in the winter and budget accordingly.

You also need to be ready to pay on the spot. Depending on your price point the competition is fierce for apartments. If you are going to pay $2000 plus for a studio or 1 bedroom, though, probably you don't need to worry, as there are lots of them and less competition at that price point. If you want anything under $2000, you can't wait. This happened to me in 2014, long before the pandemic and the apartment bidding. I looked at some 30 apartments and the ones I liked, I waited a day or two and they were gone. I finally got my current apartment by giving them a check for the security deposit when they showed it to me, to hold it.

Insulation! Distance to groceries. Coffee shops/parks for when you need to get out of the house. How much trash is on your block on any given day. But most importantly, insulation.

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Visit the blocks around your apartments of interest during the day and at night (after 10pm if possible).

Thank you! That’s good to know

Hello! My partner and I are moving to Philadelphia in July and visiting the city/his family at the end of March.

We have our sights set on East Passyunk, Fishtown, and the Center City area. I would love to live in East Passyunk just based off all there is to offer in that community, but was wondering how Point Breeze, Newbold, and Lower Moyamensing are? We plan on looking at all these neighborhoods when we come visit, but know you can’t experience everything in a short trip so I come to you all.

A little about us, we have been car dependent our whole lives, but plan on getting rid of one when we make the move. Fiancé is a bartender and is already excited for the scene. I’m in the environmental science world and imagine I’ll have a commute. So being reasonably close to public transportation would be clutch. But we’re both really looking forward to being able to explore the city on foot. We have two Aussies and are pretty active with them, so close proximity to parks is really important to us. Though we will definitely check them out first before bringing them to see how other owners/dogs are.

Thanks in advance if you read this and can offer any input!

Wanted to give a shout out to u/decentchinesefood for being invaluable in my apartment search. He found the perfect apartment for us and has been coordinating and helping us along the whole process. 10/10, would recommend if you're looking for a local realtor.

Oh, also our rental budget is around $1800-$2000. We’ve already been looking at Trulia and Zillow in anticipation and know we can get a decent place with that. If there’s any other sites or realtors that you all recommend I’m all ears.

wow, sounds almost like Philadelphia is... a city

Thank you so much, u/helium_hydrogen!! :-)

It’s so freaking cool to meet people on here and then help them find an apartment or home. What a joy. Y’all seriously rule.

Fellow DCF fan!! I bought my house through him, he's so fantastic!

!! Hope you’re well, u/brahette! Thanks for the mention!

Back atcha! We'll have to grab a drink sometime soon!

> Point Breeze, Newbold

Block to block, but getting better. It's significantly less maintained than east passyunk, but if you're closer to broad it's easily walkable to everything east passyunk offers, as well as the subway and access to some good buses.

It feels very neighborhoody over here though, where if you find a good block you'll know all your neighbors and everyone looks out for eachother. I don't know if east passyunk is like that, but once grad hospital gentrified it went from neighborhoody to just rich out of touch people living in their own little castles with little interaction with the world around them.

Done a lot of leasing. Like, a LOT.

My biggest tip: how an apartment looks when you're touring it is what you're going to get on move-in day.

Is it the perfect place, but the paint is chipping, the tub is moldy, and the door handle doesn't click properly? Then it's not the perfect place. Because if that's how the owner leaves the unit to be marketed, you can guarantee that when you show up, bright and happy to move into your new apartment, it's going to look like that.

Oh, and don't believe them when they promise they'll clean it all up / take care of it. Just find a difference place that will actually treat you like a tenant. There are lots of 'em!

Don't get me wrong, you are required to have working appliances, working heat, etc. That stuff will be in tact. It's those small updates/details that won't change between your showing and your move-in.

>And if you're a woman do yourself a favor and don't move here. The cat calling and harassment is daily.

I'm a woman, and, while I can only speak for myself, I'm so glad I did myself the favor of not listening to comments like this when I was browsing this subreddit and considering moving here. Been here two years and haven't had any problems yet. I love it here.

TLDR: Mid-thirties couple looking for neighborhood suggestions for 3-br under $425k; adopting in next two years; most familiar with Fishtown, but probably too pricey for us; Richmond is of interest; bonus points for easy access to Schuylkill River Trail (runners), but don't know much about West or Northwest Philly; content with a good pub we can walk to and a decent sq ft.; high threshold on "safety."

My partner (born and raised in Philly) and I are planning on moving to the city in the next 3-6 months to be closer to his family and we'd love to get a little general advice about picking a city neighborhood in our price range. Our budget is about $425k for a 3-br or large 2-br. We'll likely be adopting a baby in the next two years, so a 3-br would be nice, but if we had to move again it wouldn't be the end of the world.

My brother-in-law lived in Fishtown for a long time and that's probably the area we're most familiar with, but obviously it's a bit pricey and so the volume is low in our range. There's much more in the way of options a mile or two over in Richmond, which looks like one of the more promising options for us. But we're also not wedded to that side of town, and would love recommendations for pretty much any neighborhood that's in our price range and has a good pub — personally, I'd love somewhere with easy access to the Schuylkill River Trail (we're runners).

If you search on here for general info about certain neighborhoods that are, like, accessibly priced for us, you read a lot of stuff that seems possibly hyperbolic about how "dangerous" it is and how everyone is going to smash your car windows and crime you. We've lived in Flatbush, Brooklyn the last two years and we've (gay guys) never felt unsafe. I tend to think a lot of perceptions about "safety" in the city are filtered through perceptions about poverty and race — just because you encounter a couple people asking for change on your daily walk to the train or people congregating on a stoop with beers doesn't mean you're going to get crimed. So this is to say we're not especially sensitive to "broken windows," though wouldn't mind it if the neighborhood had a few things for fancy boys like us (a cute antique shop, a nice cocktail bar, a gay karaoke spot, etc.).

Very graciously appreciate general advice and thanks for your patience with an interloper.

If you have Instagram please follow watchoutphilly it reports on creeps. Stay safe out there.

Thank you! That’s what I imagined, we lived in east Atlanta for a year and it was very similar so I figured it’d be the same up there!

Definitely keep an eye out for Broad St.

Really appreciate your response.

Have you looked at East Falls or Manayunk? Both of these neighborhoods offer pretty easy access to the river trail, and the stretches of the trail passing through them are very popular with runners and cyclists without being too crowded (compared to the parts closer to Center City). Both would we within your price range, and they're pretty safe neighborhoods. East Falls has a little more of a suburban feel, and has fewer shops/restaurants, while Manayunk has a pretty thriving main street. Manayunk also has a reputation for having a lot of recently graduated college students living/partying there, but that probably varies block by block.

Don't know if you have a car, but parking in both neighborhoods can be a challenge, especially Manayunk. Based on your comments on safety, you may also want to consider that little pocket of a neighborhood where the old Pep Boys headquarters is (it's just southeast of East Falls, along Allegheny Ave). There's some new construction going up, so if you're looking for value you could probably get it there. That said, the neighborhood is in the very early stages of developing, so you'd be looking at 5 or so years minimum before meaningful improvement. Still provides easy access to the river trail, though.

Seconding comment that says East Falls/Manayunk.

A lot of my buyers like the space, trees, and park access that this side of the city provides. We have some good local stuff (restaurants, bars) to walk to - and the home prices are great. Mt. Airy is a good choice, too. East Falls specifically is a progressive and inclusive neighborhood.

$425K is going to get you much more in the Northwest than in Fishtown, frankly. Especially if you're interested in a driveway/parking spot or easier parking in general. Close to downtown Manayunk being the exception here.

The access to Kelly Dr./Schuylkill River Trail is undeniably convenient up here. Plus, the train stations run throughout Northwest Philly to get you to Center City in 15 minutes for the upscale dining and drink spots.

I would not recommend Port Richmond if you want to easy access to the SRT. 676 traffic and/or side streets to cross the city won't be fun - and all just to enjoy the trail.

I realized I stated "my buyers", but also "we". Yes..I am a realtor, but I myself bought in East Falls in 2021 after 10 years in Fishtown. We love it for all the reasons listed above. :)

It will likely continue to improve.

My wife and I (30's) are planning to move out of NYC this fall, and Philly is one of the cities we're interested in, enough that we are planning to come down next weekend and take a few days to explore.

I'm born and raised in Southern Brooklyn, so being part of a dense, walkable neighborhood is important, especially since I have zero plans to drive (so subway/rail access is vital). However, although my wife likes walkability, she's really mindful of living in a neighborhood with less population density, and ideally more easy access to nature. For reference, our current neighborhood population is about 30k/sqm, which is more than any Philly neighborhood I can see by zip code. I know this isn't exactly a science, but I'm trying to narrow this down to neighborhoods that might be <15k/sqm as a start.

This really ends up boiling down to either Northeast Philly (along the Delaware River, ie: Wissinoming, Tacony, Holmesburg, etc.), Northwest Philly (Manayunk, East Falls, Mount Airy, Chestnut Hill, etc.), parts of South Philly, and farther out suburbs (which I don't really prefer).

We'd probably rent for a year or two ($2k/month max) before buying (would like to stick around $350k but could go up to $500k in a perfect situation), to make sure we actually like living there before we fully commit. I don't care to have a big house, but my wife really wants the detached single-family home with a small backyard kind of deal, and I know in a lot of neighborhoods that detached homes will just not only be not in the majority, but more expensive.

Would love thoughts on which neighborhoods would be a good fit in terms of balancing population density/walkability, and whether I'm heading in the right direction in terms of the areas of Philly on our radar. Thanks!

Have a friend that had a 400 dollar heating bill for a 600 square foot apartment… right on on insulation!

Check out Manayunk!

Rented a cheap $450 bedroom in a huge 6bd 2ba West Philly house, gorgeous architecture and amazing location. But it was old and drafty and utilities almost touched $150 per person in the summer/winter lol.. Now I'm super wary of unfinished basements and shoddy doors that lead to the backyard.

Pretty hard to square walkability with low density, but East Falls/Manayunk sounds about right.

While you can survive in Northeast Philly without a car (I didn't learn to drive until I moved to the burbs at 25), it's not ideal. I'd probably strike it from your list.

Will your wife have a car, even if you don't drive?

Looking to relocate from Jersey and we've found a rowhouse by Girard and Broad. I like that it is close to the train and between Fairmount and Fishtown. I have been to the neighborhood during the day and it seems ok? However, based on a budget, its one of the only areas we can afford. We also have a 2 year old.... is this a bad idea?

Would like any suggestions for in person Italian language lessons/classes around center city.

Good tip!!

A tip for not sounding like a noob: Philly does not have "sides," this isn't Chicago, there isn't a "south side of Philadelphia" or a "west side of town." It's West Philly, South Philly, Northeast Philly, etc.

Also, the blue line is the el, the orange line is the subway, there is no Metro.

Absolutely. There's obviously a pretty strong correlation, so there's some give and take finding the balance of fairly walkable but not super crowded. For sure going to check those neighborhoods out. Thank you!

Check out Passyunk Square/East Passyunk while you're here. Typical demographic seems to be early 30s. Lots of restaurants, some bars, grocery stores, and it is right on one of the main subway lines. I just moved here a few months ago and love it. We rent a 2bed/2 bath for 1750 a month. Also, I have a car but it is more of a nuisance to have than convenience. I can get just about anywhere in the city by train or bus, and that includes the many excellent parks that are here.

Edit to add: detached homes are not common in this part of the city, but some townhouses may have backyards or at least patios. It's a good place to live short term and get a feel for the city before deciding on a more permanent solution.

Yeah I think the only way Northeast Philly works is along the train line; I'm sure it's possible to make it work, but it's pretty limiting.

My wife will have a car which is definitely helpful, but I would never want to force her into driving me around a bunch, so I think access to transit will always be a high priority. I work in a standard white-collar career and would prefer a hybrid job if I had the option, so I'd probably be commuting into the Center City at least a few times a week.

I would recommend the Melrose/Girard estates or passyunk areas. Very deep in south Philly and old school but still nice and clean and safe feeling. Lots of families and dogs. We have a couple (M/M) across the street that moved from Asbury park and like it here. Not close to the trail but running at FDR/ the navy yard is a possibility. You would definitely be able to get a house for under 425k. I bought a 3 bed 1 bath rowhome in 2021 in Melrose for 260k. Good luck!

You can see population density by census tract here: https://mtgis-portal.geo.census.gov/arcgis/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=2566121a73de463995ed2b2fd7ff6eb7

Most of the nicer parts of South Philly are 30,000 to 45,000 per square mile (a few going above 45). Under 15,000 per square mile and close to nature and close to rail is going to be hard. I'd say Mt. Airy or Germantown, but you are dealing with Regional Rail which is relatively infrequent (not like living along the Broad Street Line or Market Frankford Line).

Appreciate this.

Moved here last year and this will be the first time I'm filing Pennsylvania taxes. Turns out TurboTax does not do Philly local taxes. (Don't know if other software does; I haven't tried yet.) How do people deal with this? Do you just file local taxes separately, by hand?

Will definitely check it out, thank you! I had that area in mind (and other neighborhoods that are maybe too crowded but centrally located) to see even though I know it's not a long-term living option, because it feels useful in getting a sense of the city overall.

This is a super useful tool that I had no idea existed, thank you! It's so much better than looking at data at the zip code level, which is somehow too large an area and can include multiple neighborhoods with completely different layouts.

I just checked my neighborhood in NYC and it's about 78k/sqm so 30k/sqm feels like a ghost town to me haha.

I've always used Turbo Tax. The Wage Tax is taken out of my paycheck so I think there was a somewhere to put that through Turbo Tax--local taxes. I never have done a separate return for the Wage tax. (And I have filed in PA/Philly since 2006).

If you have a business, you should have a business license, and can file your business taxes either on paper or online. I've always filed on paper, although once I think I filed online--that whole process has changed--before it was very antiquated.

If your wage tax is not taken out of your paycheck you can pay that (Earnings Tax) online:

https://www.phila.gov/services/payments-assistance-taxes/taxes/income-taxes/earnings-tax-employees/

There’s no Philly return if your employer takes it out which most do. If your employer hasn’t been taking it out (for example, you work out of state) or you’re self-employed, you are supposed to pay quarterly through a separate process.

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I actually just had this done literally yesterday lol by a local company. They figured out all the paperwork for me, but I still have to file it through the Philadelphia Tax Center website (or I can mail it). I'm not sure if I can just upload the paperwork or if I have to fill it out line by line but I have to do it (not the tax preparer).

As others noted, you'll want to double check first that your employer wasn't taking the wage tax out. If they did, you don't need to do anything. If they didn't, then yes you need to file.

The whole quarterly payment thing is insane to me - you basically just blindly send the city money without filing anything at all. Then come tax season is when you actually figure out if you overpaid or underpaid. I switched jobs last year and Job 1 was NOT taking the money out, but then Job 2 was. so I had half a year I had to figure out lol

Funnily enough, you have to do the exact same thing if your self-employed or otherwise don't have your federal taxes withheld. Just send them money every quarter. (there is a form to help you estimate it since federal is more complicated, but you don't file the form, just send the money with a little piece of paper saying how much money you're sending) Had to do it for my first year filing taxes and it def stressed me out.

This tool is great, I agree.

Having lived in NYC for years, I can relate to the shift. You'll get used to the lower density though.

I don't know if 15k is a good threshold personally (too low) and maybe you'll discover that by looking at census tracts and Google street view that you could settle on a neighborhood with 30k for example.

Also, I wouldn't focus on single family unattached. There was a Washington Post article from a few years ago that showed housing typologies per city and Philly I believe has both the lowest proportion of single family unattached (even lower than NYC) and the highest of single family attached (either attached on both sides or just one). We're a row home city, there really aren't that many apartment buildings comparatively and a lot of the existing apartments are in carved up row homes. Even if you don't like townhomes (attached on both sides) maybe consider twins, which are homes that are attached on one side only.

I don't know what kind of work you do, but be aware that jobs in Philly are not nearly as abundant as in NYC. If finding a job is a prerequisite for moving here, depending on what you do, it could take a while. My job is pretty specialized and it took me a few years to find the right one and move. And if I wanted to leave my current job, I'd likely have to move. There was a Pew study on this a few years ago... the "next job" is a big reason people leave Philly; they come here for one position but when it's time to move on, can't find another. Something to consider if in-person work is a goal for you.

Edit: found the link later. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2019/09/whos-leaving-philadelphia-and-why "36 percent of movers with a bachelor’s degree or a higher level of education cited jobs as their reason for relocating, three times as many as cited any other [reason for leaving]"

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This x1000000

lol yeah it also stressed me out not having anything to go along with the money I was sending. Just here ya go, here's a few thousand bucks hope it's what I owe. But at least now my new job is taking it out so I won't have to worry about it in future years. My old job couldn't even get me in the right state, I wasn't going to attempt to have them add the city tax on too lol

I got a job opportunity to move in to Philly. I'm brazillian and it'd be my first time living abroad and about 1 year total spent there to begin in March. Estimated sallary is to be 4k/month and I was wondering if it's enough to live comfortably or will I have any difficulties. Any recommendation of places to rent? To eat, to shop, etc?

Thank you for your help.

This is the experience of both me and my wife. very limited job.

But on the flip side I was talking with a friend who took a Philly job and is trying to expand his team here and he keeps telling me about how when he did this in NYC, he had lines of highly qualified people lining up, but here, he isn’t getting many applicants and they tend to be lower quality.

That’s just a single anecdote, but I know for me and my wife, the jobs we did get, they acted extremely grateful that we took them and spoke openly about struggling to find people.

I get the feeling that it’s less dynamic all around. Less quality openings and less quality applicants.

Along those lines, me and many of my “moved here for a job” friends have had numerous conversations about how much easier it is to be considered “great” here.

we all were fighting tooth and nail to in NYC to be considered average, and here it’s really easy to be the company superstar. Good place to be a “big fish in a small pond” not that Philly is that small of a pond, but at least for the industries that my social circle works in, Philly isn’t the the city for that industry the way NYC is for finance, Bay Area for tech, LA for Hollywood, etc.

You named a few areas, and the vibes / attitude / politics of those areas can vary by quite a bit. Without knowing you, it’s hard to recommend which is best, but it’s hard to imagine how some of these places end up on the same list.

Your price points will make buying into places like Chestnut Hill or the nicer parts of Mt. Airy hard, unless you take on a project or get lucky. Both are also much less urban than the others, but each have their little commercial areas that are walkable. But, to get to downtown by transit, you’d need to take regional rail. It’s nicer than subway/El, but less frequent and costs more. Wissahickon is an absolutely gorgeous piece of nature though. There also actually a small neighborhood called Wissahickon up by Manayunk that maybe you’d want to add.

One issue with the Northeast is that if your plan is to take the El as your transit option to downtown, you’ll pass through the part of the city most ravaged by opioids on your way between the the NE and center city. you’ll definitely see some shit during those stretch of stops.

I saw no mention of West Philly. Some parts are rough, but parts closer to the universities are popular, and it’ll definitely have more trees than, say South Philly.

Definitely visit. There’s some neighborhoods that have great walkability, restaurants, relatively low crime, etc. that lots of people love but can be a lot of concrete and brick with not much trees or much in the way of nature.

It kinda depends on how much nature you need.

Like will street trees, a city park, and the running path along the river cut it? Or do you need like legit Forrest / creek (like Wissahickon, pennypack park, etc.)

I lived in NYC for a long time in many neighborhoods in many Burroughs.

Please remember that Philly‘a crime and homicide rates are much higher than NYC and, and I hope this doesn’t come off the wrong way, but living in Flatbush may not carry as much weight as you think.

That being said…

East Passyunk is popular. People like South Philly. There’s also the Gayborhood. I don’t know how those areaa are for your price point.

There’s a pretty good LGTBQ+ scene in West Philly, esp. around Clark Park.

In the more Fishtown adjacent areas, Port Richmond and Olde Kensington maybe places to consider.

But, even with your high threshold comment, know that if looking over there, as you get further away from Pt Richmond / Fishtown and move closer towards Kensington & Allegheny, you will experience more of the spillover effects of the opioid epidemic. More package thefts, car break-ins, encampments, squatters, dirty needles, calling 911 on someone suffering an overdose. Similarly, the experience on the El gets worse as you go up. I think generally, stay south of Lehigh, or, if north of Lehigh, east of Aramingo.

I appreciate your saying so — I'm definitely aware that NYC, where say a violent crime rate is concerned, is actually one of the safest cities in the US and that Philly is a different beast. Wasn't trying to diminish gun violence as a problem there.

It's still not something I'm super concerned about, personally, as a factor guiding where I'll live. This is more to say that I don't automatically assume that a working-class neighborhood is "dangerous" because of broken windows, and my chances of getting murdered anywhere outside of Kandahar (gay guy) are pretty low.

Is one cathedral square in a good neighborhood?

Highly depends on where close to Girard and Broad. South of Girard and west of Broad is basically an extension of Francisville and pretty decent. North of Girard and west of Broad is very much transitional right now, with a lot of rehabs/new construction mixed in. West of Broad on Girard itself is maybe a bit iffy, mostly depending on how close to Broad you are.

If you're looking east of Broad, I can only imagine it'd be up along 12th or 13th, which are OK at best.

The good news is that at least one major project is going in at Broad and Girard (mixed-use at the southwest corner) with potentially more on the way, so that whole area could be in for a rapid shift in the next five years. There's also good childcare at the Columbia North Y at Broad and Master (our little dude did daycare/pre-K there).

people of philly, question about phone coverages

What does everyone use for phone coverages and is fast or slow? Specifically interested in T-Mobile vs at&t vs Verizon and mvno plans like mint mobile, us mobile, visible+, boost infinite and Google Fi and how they hold up in the city

Is South Philly ok for a family? Are there a lot of drugs around? Would I need to worry about my 13yo getting jumped?

We currently live in NYC but we are in an extremely safe neighborhood where it is normal to walk around with headphones on.

I'm thinking about moving to Philly - I currently live in Brooklyn (and have lived in NYC for around a year).

One thing I love about NYC is the neighborhood bar culture - where you can walk into a bar and see the same people, have fun conversations, and have a good community. Is this something that happens in Philly also? Does every neighborhood have a nhood bar, or only some of them? I lived in Detroit, MI, before this, and it wasn't as present there.

yes neighborhood bar culture is a thing here

South Philly is fairly large. Do you have a particular neighborhood/cross streets in mind.

that's kind of tough because the detached house thing doesn't mix with the close to mass transit areas. Maybe like Fairmount close to city and close to the river and fairmount park but you won't find a detached house there. It looks like 21k/sqm.

It's in the Logan Square neighborhood, which is a nice and safe area near the Art Museum (caveat that it's in Center City so use common sense).

Well it depends. Is that 4K take home or gross? The toughest thing is rent. You’ll qualify for a studio in any part of the city but if you want something bigger, then you might need to limit certain neighborhoods or rent a condo or apt. from a private landlord who won’t strictly apply that you need to earn 3x the rent. Otherwise it’s enough. Where would you be working? In Center City? University City?

Except salaries can be considerably lower in Philly. This is probably the REAL reason they can’t get that many qualified people. They don’t pay enough. This is particularly the case for staff at the universities in Philly and city government. City of Philadelphia apparently has lots of vacancies.

Thanks for replying. It seems like the areas we can afford are in central south, east Oregon, and Marconi plaza.

There are plenty of safe areas in South Phlly. Hawthorne, Whitman, Bella Vista, Grad Hospital, Passyunk Square, and East Passyunk Crossing are great options.

For me, Bella Vista and Grad Hospital are not South Philly. Maybe they used to be--but I think there's a definite boundary now with Washington Avenue. Hawthorne is Bella Vista and not sure what Whitman is! Where is it?

No ideia, the job only says 4k monthly and it's from AIESEC so they didn't share who is the contractor in the job description, unfortunately. I asked their members for more details, but I'm without answers at the moment.

Yet I thank you for your help. I'm not expecting a big place because I don't have children or wife. A small room with bed, window and a place for a PC is enough in general in terms of luxury.

Where could I search for rents before actually going to Philly? Craigslist?

What about central south, east Oregon, and Marconi plaza?

I thought South Street and down was considered South Philly? And Whitman is bounded on the west by Sixth Street, on the east by Front Street, on the south by Bigler Street, and on the north by Snyder Avenue.

Depends where in South Philly. I live in Passyunk Square, and I feel very safe here (as a petite woman), and I'm planning on raising at least one kid here (expecting my first next month). There are tons of families here.

I haven't seen drugs around (besides the obvious alcohol/cigarettes/weed), but I haven't gone looking for them either. I'm sure they exist.

I think historically it has been, but for me, there is a really different feel when you cross over Washington Avenue. Also considering how expensive Bella Vista is, and the construction of some high rises in the past 10 years, it is not the same as it was. I lived in Bella Vista over 15 years ago, and although I still like it a lot, it's more like a bridge between Center City and South Philadelphia, IMO. And when people say South Philly, I don't think most are including Grad Hospital or Bella Vista, both which have been gentrified significantly. But whatever you want to call it, Bella Vista is nice, and I'd live there in a minute if I could afford it.

They seem nice, I just haven’t spent enough time in those areas to know if they’re walkable enough for someone moving from NYC. Usually I’m just driving through.

Hello, I know I've missed moving Monday by two days now, but I posted a while back about moving to Philly and you all were extremely helpful. Now that the move-in date is fast approaching, my gf (28f) and I (28m) have decided on moving to Graduate Hospital! I am very optimistic about finding a great place to live, but I was wondering if there are any streets to avoid in the area, or is the area pretty much safe? We live in Saint Louis currently, where one street is perfectly safe and then you turn the corner and it's murderers row. So I know a thing or two about general safety practices haha. Thanks!

Thanks good to know

That’s good to hear! Where we live now there are projects and whatnot but the overall vibe is that people are happy and they get along with each other.

So I’m guessing a 13 year old walking or taking public transit to school in center city alone would not be out of the ordinary?

No problem. What i do know about Marconi Plaza is that it's safe and has nice houses. There is also a subway stop at Broad and Oregon that you can quickly take into Center City.

Thanks that’s good to hear. I’m excited to get down there and look around.

I don’t have any personal experience to speak of, but I get the impression that that’s normal!

Based on the two hour delay the other day, the subway was packed like sardines with a bunch of late elementary to high school kiddos going to school on their own. I felt like odd man out being a grown ass adult at 9AM.

Question regarding rentals: do the standard patterns around rental seasons apply? I was hoping to move this summer and looking for places, and not seeing a whole lot of rentals available for then that aren't targeting towards college kids.

In particular I'm looking for 2 and 3BRs. Seems in particular the only postings I see as far out as August are studios and 1BRs. Not sure if the market is just that slim or I'm just preparing too early.

West is gonna be booming too because Penn and Drexel focusing on density and inching their way west. I work out there and I see more and more changes every day.

It's very block by block, BUT graduate hospital is nothing to worry about. You'll be fine. This subreddit likes to fear monger. I am in that area pretty often and have never felt worried. It's also visually really nice looking.

There are some scans on craigslist so be careful there. Trulia and Zillow have rentals, but some small/private landlords are on Craigslist.

I would kind of caveat that that area isn't much of a "neighborhood" in the sense of community -- there are some high-rises but it's mostly hotels, the Parkway itself, museums, etc. But in terms of safety, which I think is the main question -- yeah, it's pretty safe.

Moving to Fishtown— best internet? I’ve read Verizon

Marconi Plaza area is nice and definitely safer than a lot of other neighborhoods in South Philly. Central South and East Oregon both sound like made up realtor neighborhood names because those are general locations. The area north of Oregon Ave is called Lower Moyamensing. I would avoid the entire stretch from 8th St to Front St. 9th St to 11th St is decent and 12th St to Broad St is the nicest part of that area. South of Oregon Ave is similar but that area is called the Stadium District. Proximity to Broad Street is key if you want to use the subway.

Thanks very much for this info

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