What's That Smell?: A Thread for Philadelphia Boarders

Let's talk Aguachile Alley

Postby struttin' evil mushroom » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:12 pm

hello

we are casually considering moving at some point in the next year and we both like Philadelphia (in addition to other places including maybe staying in DC who knows really)

where should I set my rental alerts to see what kinda places we could afford/where is cool to live. we've spent a ton of time in South Philly and center city but I have no real sense of the rest of the city or what anything else costs
User avatar

struttin' evil mushroom
 
Posts: 5842
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:23 pm

Postby Spoilt Victorian Child » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:33 pm

We live in Washington Square West and it’s pretty much perfect. It is fairly expensive but nothing like DC I assume.

We previously lived in the Queen Village/Bella Vista/Headhouse Square area and we liked it there too.

If you’re looking for higher rents Rittenhouse and Society Hill are obviously very nice.

I don’t really know about anywhere else.
User avatar

Spoilt Victorian Child
ok
 
Posts: 39880
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:49 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Postby guy forget » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:33 pm

I don’t think this is a popular opinion itt but I really loved living in Roxborough in NW Philly the 4 years I was in town. It’s still cheap (we paid $850 for a two bedroom), there is quick transit to center city, and you’re near what is IMO the city’s best park (Wissahickon). So, while I don’t have much to compare it to, and while obv I don’t know what you want in terms of price/amenities, I’d say don’t discount the NW just cause it seems far. It never felt like the suburbs (and it’s not, though I’ve read heard people dismiss it as such) nor did I ever feel far away from everything in center city.
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby guy forget » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:35 pm

All that said, if we HAD stayed in Philadelphia we were looking at Queen Village/Bella Vista, W Philly off Baltimore Ave, and Fishtown, all more centrally located. But those neighborhoods would have also been a decent amount more expensive.
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby neopolitan » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:37 pm

We live south of the Passyunk Square area, in relatively deep South Philadelphia. But it's very cheap ($800/mo mortgage) and we love our house - which was solidly built and hasn't caused us any issues. But basically everyone else we know has decided to live in Port Richmond/Kensington/Fish Town.

Since you're renting, and since you're already familiar with Center City / Passyunk area, you should look around Fishtown/Kensington to see if that's your speed.
I reduced the temples of Elam to naught; their gods and goddesses I scattered to the winds. The tombs of their ancient and recent kings I devastated, I exposed to the sun, and I carried away their bones toward the land of Ashur.
User avatar

neopolitan
 
Posts: 2403
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:28 pm
Location: Philadelphia

Postby jewels » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:38 pm

I loved my time in bella vista, it’s walkable to just about everything. I miss it.
gold and glass wrote:When you get to heaven, do you get to see a list of which gimmicks belonged to who?
User avatar

jewels
 
Posts: 29159
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:33 pm

Postby guy forget » Thu Jul 18, 2019 3:42 pm

I hope you all don’t mind me posting in here like I’m still around or anything, I just miss Philadelphia and think about it a lot is all
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby jewels » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:00 pm

Not at all!
gold and glass wrote:When you get to heaven, do you get to see a list of which gimmicks belonged to who?
User avatar

jewels
 
Posts: 29159
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:33 pm

Postby Merciel » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:01 pm

All of the above are solid recommendations. What counts as "cool" and "affordable" is pretty subjective though, so if you want more personalized recommendations I'm going to need a checklist of what you specifically care about.
User avatar

Merciel
Hipinion Dog Lady
 
Posts: 31591
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:06 pm
Location: dog dog dog

Postby walt whitman » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:07 pm

we lived in fishtown but it is way, way overpriced and undergoing severe gentrification. we moved in and a few months later the building across the street was demolished and rebuilt as some condo shithole over the next 9 months. this happens on every block in f-town nowadays, it seems. i honestly think the neighborhood is overrated and there's still not much to do there.

then we lived in the gayborhood whose rents were comparable in price to fishtown and the area had way, way more stuff going on. we were blocks away from broadstreet and pretty much everything is easy to get to from the center. parking is impossible, however. (i often had to park ~1 mile away from the apt, and got so many terrible tickets and towed)

if you want to live in philly, don't own a car.
“Short film, Long film, It’s ALL film!” - Walt Whitman
User avatar

walt whitman
 
Posts: 9646
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 3:26 pm
Location: a castle of narcissicism and insecurities

Postby walt whitman » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:08 pm

the ambient anxiety of car ownership in philly was probably the worst part of living there.
“Short film, Long film, It’s ALL film!” - Walt Whitman
User avatar

walt whitman
 
Posts: 9646
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 3:26 pm
Location: a castle of narcissicism and insecurities

Postby guy forget » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:15 pm

That’s a plus of the NW too, car ownership was comparatively doable for us. We never had any issue finding street parking on our block and if we got home late from somewhere had to park at most a 5-10 minute walk away.
Last edited by guy forget on Thu Jul 18, 2019 7:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby guy forget » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:25 pm

That said, we still got two tickets, a break in, AND a car door smashed off by a SEPTA bus with a month of moving in so “comparatively” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby FourLegsGood » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:29 pm

I just bought a home in Brewerytown and I’d really recommend it. You’re close to downtown and Fairmount Park, it’s not overpriced (yet) and Girard Ave has a lot of cool shops and bars.
User avatar

FourLegsGood
 
Posts: 13838
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Ultra Ninja Secrets

Postby struttin' evil mushroom » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:49 pm

thank you everybody! i am like, honestly a little touched by the thoughtful recommendations so ty, seriously

Merciel wrote:All of the above are solid recommendations. What counts as "cool" and "affordable" is pretty subjective though, so if you want more personalized recommendations I'm going to need a checklist of what you specifically care about.


it'd be nice if i could be near a park. green space is nice. ideally it'd be a short (~5') walk to at least a few neighborhood restaurants, maybe a decent bar. ideally the place where we lived would not be falling apart.

we probably have money to live anywhere that isn't, like, rittenhouse.

that's basically it.
User avatar

struttin' evil mushroom
 
Posts: 5842
Joined: Sat Feb 04, 2017 7:23 pm

Postby guy forget » Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:05 pm

That sounds like Roxborogh or W Philly to me
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby ueckerist » Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:47 pm

mites check pms
Hopefully, people will take a general look at this and see what's the lesson.
ueckerist
 
Posts: 6191
Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2009 1:23 am
Location: juuuust a bit outside

Postby jewels » Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:51 pm

I didn't have a problem owning a car in Bela Vista. Parking sucked on the weekends, but even then you could find something. I suppose it's probably gotten worse in the last 8 (!!!!!) years.
gold and glass wrote:When you get to heaven, do you get to see a list of which gimmicks belonged to who?
User avatar

jewels
 
Posts: 29159
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:33 pm

Postby emotional fascism » Thu Jul 18, 2019 6:29 pm

guy forget wrote:That sounds like Roxborogh or W Philly to me


Mount Airy > Roxborough.
User avatar

emotional fascism
 
Posts: 10837
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:59 pm
Location: non-exist-ent

Postby guy forget » Thu Jul 18, 2019 6:31 pm

You can’t really walk to anywhere in Mount Airy though (right?). Rox you can head down the hill to Main St for food and drinks.

Germantown has some parts that might fit the bill too
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby Merciel » Thu Jul 18, 2019 7:00 pm

That does sound like West Philly (meaning: near University City, not near 52nd and Market where people still get shot every weekend).

Bella Vista/Queen Village have nice pocket parks and proximity to Washington Square Park/Spruce Street Harbor Park, so if by "green space" you mean a walkable park and not a bike trail park, that's another option.

Fitler Square too, although that's not much of a price drop from Rittenhouse.

Car ownership is fine if you're willing to pay for garage parking. I think it's well worth the money to not deal with the stress and hassle of street parking. But really not having a car at all is ideal.
User avatar

Merciel
Hipinion Dog Lady
 
Posts: 31591
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:06 pm
Location: dog dog dog

Postby swamp angel » Thu Jul 18, 2019 7:13 pm

emotional fascism wrote:
guy forget wrote:That sounds like Roxborogh or W Philly to me


Mount Airy > Roxborough.


East Falls was always my favorite of the outlying neighborhoods, but I feel like the Trump era has probably done bad things to the longtime residents.
User avatar

swamp angel
 
Posts: 12643
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:10 pm
Location: amish paradise

Postby swamp angel » Thu Jul 18, 2019 7:15 pm

Merciel wrote:That does sound like West Philly (meaning: near University City, not near 52nd and Market where people still get shot every weekend).

Bella Vista/Queen Village have nice pocket parks and proximity to Washington Square Park/Spruce Street Harbor Park, so if by "green space" you mean a walkable park and not a bike trail park, that's another option.

Fitler Square too, although that's not much of a price drop from Rittenhouse.

Car ownership is fine if you're willing to pay for garage parking. I think it's well worth the money to not deal with the stress and hassle of street parking. But really not having a car at all is ideal.


Can’t bury an actual post because of my dumb toop
User avatar

swamp angel
 
Posts: 12643
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 4:10 pm
Location: amish paradise

Postby guy forget » Thu Jul 18, 2019 7:17 pm

Rox def had a slightly more Trumpy vibe than much of Philly when I lived there (so, not bad all things considered but id see the occasional bummer stickers) but isn’t East Falls a lot less white? That’d probably help politically. Might be another neighborhood to consider, but I don’t know how much is really walking distance around there.
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby chandler » Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:22 am

I just moved to 13th and Lombard, which is roughly wash sq west/gayborhood. Rents are pretty expensive around here but both my gf and I have zero transportation costs which really helps. Wouldn't want to own a car again in CC without off street parking, echoing everyone else. Fishtown is fine btw
i've been getting really into pestcest too lately. haven't really been able to find much good ant stuff, though. anybody have any links to some good biting vids/pics?
User avatar

chandler
 
Posts: 11516
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:15 pm

Postby chandler » Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:25 am

And yeah, there's not much in East Falls besides decently priced residential areas. It's ok if you're not too interested in the night life aspect of CC
i've been getting really into pestcest too lately. haven't really been able to find much good ant stuff, though. anybody have any links to some good biting vids/pics?
User avatar

chandler
 
Posts: 11516
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:15 pm

Postby emotional fascism » Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:28 am

guy forget wrote:Rox def had a slightly more Trumpy vibe than much of Philly when I lived there (so, not bad all things considered but id see the occasional bummer stickers) but isn’t East Falls a lot less white? That’d probably help politically. Might be another neighborhood to consider, but I don’t know how much is really walking distance around there.


yeah, East Falls is definitely more a blended neighborhood than Rox. East Mount Airy is really nicely blended too - I can't say I lived in a more neighborly part of the city. Totally integrated, mutual respect, and just overall clean and pleasant place.

but yeah it's a bit more isolated than Rox, but I was never much of a Manayunk person so it was no loss to me to have to go to McMenamins on Germantown Ave vs whatever bro-fest was happening on Main St at the brewery.

we live in Glenside now and as far as suburban alternatives to the city, it's really perfect. taxes suck, but wife and I were paying almost $9k in wage tax and property tax when we lived in South Philly anyway.
User avatar

emotional fascism
 
Posts: 10837
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:59 pm
Location: non-exist-ent

Postby guy forget » Fri Jul 19, 2019 8:46 am

Yeah I recognize that main st Manayunk is not everyone’s idea of a good time, but when we wanted a drink and some cheap food and didn’t want to take the train into the city it was just fine for us. Def not as cool and way more full of college kids from St Johns and Phila U than most anywhere in CC of course.
“known expert”
User avatar

guy forget
 
Posts: 29940
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 6:39 pm
Location: brought down by a perfidious Ba

Postby jewels » Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:01 am

Glenside is really cute.
gold and glass wrote:When you get to heaven, do you get to see a list of which gimmicks belonged to who?
User avatar

jewels
 
Posts: 29159
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:33 pm

Postby chandler » Fri Jul 19, 2019 9:19 am

Nick cave used my shoulder to keep his balance when he came out into the crowd during a show at the Keswick. Glenside is cool
i've been getting really into pestcest too lately. haven't really been able to find much good ant stuff, though. anybody have any links to some good biting vids/pics?
User avatar

chandler
 
Posts: 11516
Joined: Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:15 pm

PreviousNext

Return to Aguachile Alley

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: 3D Dog Avatar Guy, A WOMAN IN TROUBLE, Althea, beardhurts, becky, bluelips, brent, Brother Kenny, buttre, CelticFC#1, chewy, creedence tapes, Cronos, dan, Dirty Penny, dragon jeans, endoskeleton, Eyeball Kid, flimsy, Flossed Out, goldsoundz, Google [Bot], hbb, i am rich, Kevin McCallister, Kuma, Littlelulusfanclub, Milk, mne, mondrary, No Good Advice, oh! it's max!, papi chulo, patchwork, powderfinger, rankoutsider, Red Donuts, resum, rex, rich uncle skeleton, sky cracks open, speakers, sultanpepper, Tackleberry, tgk2, That Demon Life, transitive, walt, xxx-xxx-xxxx and 297 guests