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That_Obligatior16 t1_jb4xn4p wrote

Thinking of moving into the city (33M, single, would like to sell my car and reverse commute 2x/week to work near a regional rail stop). I'm struggling to choose between two areas - E. Passyunk / Bella Vista or Clark Park area (Cedar Park / Spruce Hill). Gets pretty long winded below, TLDR What are your thoughts between those two options?

Here's what I've got comparing the two:

South Philly

-Seems very walkable (except for the huge suburban style Acme / CVS complex right in the middle)

-Seem to have more grocery options (including the Italian Market which is appealing to me)

-Lots of Mexican, Italian, and Vietnamese food

-Skews towards young families

-BSL access

-Not much green space or tree cover

-Area seems pretty psychotic about parking

-I would at least try to bike to Jefferson / Market East for my commute when possible

West Philly

-Lots of trees, green space, and Clark Park

-I run about a mile a day, and Woodlands cemetery seems perfect for that

-Lots of options for most kinds of food you can think of, especially Ethiopian and Halal

-Skews towards students, past about 42nd(?) it becomes more grad students and less undergrad

-Trolly access to the south, and El access to the north

-Seems more car friendly than E. Passyunk (wider streets, more gas stations, more hostile to pedestrians etc..)

-Neighbors collecting stool samples to prevent gentrification?

-Regional rail commute would start out of 30th street (I work on the Pennsylvania RR side of the network, making it slightly longer)

Both areas seem similar in terms of price. I've walked around both and they each seem relatively safe and pleasant - although I haven't been to either at night. I don't think I'd go wrong with either, but curios if you think I'm missing anything.

EDIT: added the part about wanting to not have a car

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alittlemouth t1_jb57qzw wrote

I spent a lot of time in West Philly during grad school, and live in East Passyunk now. I'd pick East Passyunk over West Philly any day. Parking is awful in both places. You'll find psychopaths who've lived in South Philly for 40 years putting out cones and raging when anyone moves them, and you'll find idiot Penn kids parking daddy's car wherever the fuck they want and leaving it there for decades in West Philly.

West Phily is subjectively prettier, with more trees and wider streets for sure. There are pockets of pretty in East Passyunk, and Dickinson Square, Columbus Square, and Jefferson Square are an easy walk. You can't beat the coffee shops and restaurants in East Passyunk - West Philly just doesn't compare. Same with grocery stores - depending on where you end up, you can get to three Acme's, a Sprouts, Whole Foods, and Giant within 5-20 minutes on foot. The Italian Market is right there for cheaper produce (that you should use ASAP) and meats/fishes.

I'm biased because I bought a house in East Passyunk, but I think it's the superior neighborhood., particularly due to local amenities and ease of access to the remainder of the city.

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uptown_gargoyle t1_jb5augo wrote

your description of Spruce Hill is right on the money. I've lived in that area for nearly a decade and I love it.

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Simon_the_Cannibal t1_jb5fgns wrote

>I don't think I'd go wrong with either, but curios if you think I'm missing anything.

I don't think you're missing anything, though for West Philly, if you're already taking the El / Trolleys, take them 1 / 3 more stops to City Hall (for Suburban Station).

West Philly has better access to Fishtown via the El, if nightlife there is important to you. South Philly has better access to the stadiums if you're interested in sports. By "better access" I just mean you don't have to change services.

Please also reconsider having a car in the city. There's no need for one unless you enjoy paying insurance premiums on a parked car.

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That_Obligatior16 t1_jb5itqu wrote

Thanks for the response. And I plan to ditch my car. A major factor in considering this move is that my car is close to the end of its useful life, but I really like my current state of not having car payments.

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[deleted] t1_jb66bob wrote

[deleted]

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That_Obligatior16 t1_jb6bb00 wrote

Found this from a couple of years ago: https://billypenn.com/2021/03/29/west-philly-poop-study-fecal-matter-gentrification-development-research-temple-gauthier/

Stood out as quite strange

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An_emperor_penguin t1_jb79kri wrote

The penn kids that let a slum lord organize them against affordable housing certainly have a lot of heart and time on their hands but, uh, not much more then that.

As for West Philly I felt ok being car free and taking the trolley to 30th when I needed to catch a train. You're right there's a lot of students but it wasn't only students. Also St Joes is apparently moving all the undergrads from the old USciences campus (42nd and Baltimore) to their other campus and making the Ucity campus grad students only

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