Hey, Philly area HAMB guys... I am headed that way in a few weeks to check out the city. Not just in a tourist kind of way, but also to consider relocating there. First off, what to do or see while I am there? I mean other than obvious stuff. And what neighborhood might I check out? I haven't been there for years... And following that, what are you folks doing for garage/shop space? It seems to be a bit of challenge, from what I can figure out from 3000 miles away. Initial thoughts are that the Mrs. and I would prefer to live in the city (not 'burbs), but that sorta living doesn't usually come with two car garages you can work in... So, I am asking how I might pull that off in your city of bro love.
All depends on where you really want to live. In the better neighborhoods, Olde City for instance, you can pretty much forget about any work space. Of course the houses are going to be pretty steep too. In areas like Fishtown or down by the airport, which are a nice place to live, garages and full shops, sometimes leased on the cheap, are common. Myself, I'd rather live in one of the fringe neigborhoods as opposed to in the heart of the city for a whole bunch of reasons, mostly financial. This comes from a when I lived on Delancy Street, which is pretty much the heart of it all in the city. I fortunatly had my shop in the Northeast at the time for my toys. Now my first choice would probably be the Little Italy area, nice and laid back and friendly. Give me a Pm if you need some help. I have lots of friends in the biz that can hook you up with a place. Good luck. Always glad to see folks coming back to the area. And as you may know, Pennsy is way more friendly towards rods than California.
There is good-to-excellent public transport (called SEPTA) in Philly, so maybe instead of looking for central areas, look for things on or near the main transport lines too. It's a quick train ride to NYC and DC/Balt as well. Lots of people don't drive in Philly, by choice - it's not like NYC or Chicago but it's pretty decent coverage. If'n it was me I'd look at the older, nicer suburbs not too far from center city. I'd look for a house made in the 50s or 60s with a 2-car garage, not too far from the "park and ride" parking lot for the train, and (literally) go to town! And you want to avoid the high crime areas of course. Check out real estate values (http://www.trulia.com/home_prices/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia-heat_map/) and crime statistics ( http://spotcrime.com/pa/philadelphia ).
Relocating? Do you have a job in Philly yet? If so, can you give us a sense where it is in the city? It's a fairly large town and you really don't want to be on the far side of town from where you work. Traffic can be a pain in the ass if you have to cross the city twice every working day. On the other hand if your work place is along one of the public transit routes you might be able to locate close to that route or another that connects to it and get to work that way. As others have mentioned, some of the older suburbs are fairly close to the city and good places to live. Don't be surprised if you need to buy a place with a 1 car garage and room to expand it to a larger garage or to add a second, detached 2 car garage in order to really get the final configuration you need. You don't usually get a 2 car garage in most areas unless you move pretty far out into the suburbs and buy one of those large, recently-built "MacMansion" style homes.
When you're in Philly, check this out http://www.simeonefoundation.org/ For house-hunting, I'd consider the western suburbs, like the Media area. P.M. me if you have any specific questions. Good luck!
it depends on what you're looking for and how much you can afford to spend. Philly is a city of neighborhoods, and some are dramatically different than others. Lots of them are scary places to live. Forget about North Philly, east philly and most of west philly. Crime there is just too much. Northeast philly, roxborough, center city, Port Richmond and parts of south philly are the only livable areas. Garage space will definately be a problem wherever you go in the city. It probably won't be too hard to find a house with a one car garage , but two will be a problem. The music scene sucks..period Yes good bands come thru town, but mostly to the arena type venues. Parking is a nightmare, so much so that there's a nationally syndicated show about it, called Parking Wars. I'm somewhat jaded, but I don't think there's anything in the city worth seeing...maybe the Reading Terminal at 12th and Arch, it's cool, about 100 different types of food available. Bar scene is good, but like I said earlier...parking's a nightmare. I live in the Grays ferry section of South Philly. It's a racially tense working class neighborhood. The houses in my part (south Grays Ferry)go for about 120,000 and have garages, and I'm about a 10 minute drive from center city. The suburbs are pretty good, but be prepared to spend a lot of money for a house depending on where you want to live. The car scene is good if you like Camaro's and Mustangs. Lots of great diners in the area, and one thing I do like is that inner city Philly People are real straight up people..lots of older old fashioned working class guys. Pm me if you have any questions
Levitown ,Bristol ,Croydon ,Trevose and feasterville There The sburbs .Check into these places too .Im just trying to find a chance at a bigger garage .Check into northeast philadelphia Alot of nice neighborhoods there .....Also Bensalem ,Also what kind of job do you do and what are you looking for .Jobs are still hard to find and get here.....
Lots of good grub at the Reading Terminal Market. There are good and bad places as far as buying a home. Would really need to know a ball park of where your working. If you are commuting or going to use public trans.?
Second vote for the Simeone Foundation museum! Fantastic place! Also if you like GOOD beer, go to Monk's Cafe, or Eulogy Tavern.
Hey Scott I hope the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is good to ya. I love it here, except for the 2 feet of snow this year and also the second 2 feet... Your avatar is cool - the Gorn leader was a formidable opponent!
best advice I've seen is what chris stated above.. as his job allows him to see more than I would ever want.. there are a few homes in the Roxborough area with "smaller" 3 car garages. Perhaps one of the guys on the board from that area will chime in. like others I'm more partial to the suburbs and in particular the western suburbs for their schools (I have kids) and the quality of services there.. commuting from certain suburbs is easy via septa, going from suburb to suburb is sometimes a nightmare without a car.
My cousin has his mother in laws house up for sale. It's off of Allegheny Ave. just off of I-95. I don't have any details if it has a garage.
Thanks for your advice guys! It is a big help... The gig is actually one for my gal, so she gets some serious say in the whole process. We are headed east in a week, to get some idea of what her deal would be and whether it seems like a place we could see ourselves. We don't have kids, so schools are not a top motivator for us. We do have a herd of pets, so some room for 'em in necessary. And I got all of my junk... We'd both like to be able to be close to some dining and a decent hangout or bit of nightlife. Her prospective gig would be in Sharon Hill. Your tips really help, on neighborhoods and such...
The Jalopy Journal
