Center City neighborhoods for son 2, suggestions needed

[laKavosiey-st lion]

2 is heading back to the office next quarter so he asked me to join in the apartment search. He wants to walk to 30 st station. His office is near nova. Suggestions?
Moms and I would love it if he doesn’t get shot or something. Cheers.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

your post doesn't make a lot of sense. there are no Center City neighborhoods that are NW of the 30th Street Station. NW of 30th Street would put you in West Philadelphia. I'm pretty sure your son would not want to live in any parts of West Philadelphia.

Are you seeking info on Center City neighborhoods?

Or, are you seeking info on Philadelphia neighborhoods in the NW section of Philadelphia?

Please clarify

 

[BW Lion]

2 is heading back to the office next quarter so he asked me to join in the apartment search. He wants to walk to 30 st station. His office is near nova. Suggestions?
Moms and I would love it if he doesn’t get shot or something. Cheers.

Wut? There is nothing nice in walking distance of 30th St Stn. If his job is out the Main Line, that’s where he should look….. along the Purple Line past West Philly.

That way he can always go into Center City when desired.

2400 Chesnut is a consideration, but he would have to walk across the river to 30th Street, live with a bunch of college kids and the building is apparently under perpetual renovation.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

your post doesn't make a lot of sense. there are no Center City neighborhoods that are NW of the 30th Street Station. NW of 30th Street would put you in West Philadelphia. I'm pretty sure your son would not want to live in any parts of West Philadelphia.

Are you seeking info on Center City neighborhoods?

Or, are you seeking info on Philadelphia neighborhoods in the NW section of Philadelphia?

Please clarify

He’s trying to be close to the train station. Maybe the confusion is I think center city is everything south of temple.

 

[Joof]

University city and graduate hospital are right there plus Maybe the southeast part of mantua. I think filter square is the other neighborhood that connects with 30th st. Graduate hospital and that corner of mantua are probably cheaper then UCity. Filter sq would be the most expensive. If he’s walking he’d probably like graduate hospital. It has more of a natural feel to it due to the south street bridge as compared to all the traffic lights in ucity. Let me know if you want to chat in more detail. I have property in the area just south of graduate hospital and my friend and her parents live in graduate hospital

 

[CF Lion]

I used to work at 23rd and Chestnut in Center City West. Nice area walkable to both 30th Street Station and Center City. Her are some apartments there:

https://www.apartments.com/center-city-west-philadelphia-pa/?bb=8xw_gzklxHz3woM

 

[Tom McAndrew]

He’s trying to be close to the train station. Maybe the confusion is I think center city is everything south of temple.

gotcha.

The info @Joof posted and @CF Lion posted is good.

The people I know that live within walking distance of 30th Street Station all like it. The vicinity to Penn/Drexel as well as the proximity to Center City, as well as the Schuylkill River Trail providing access to the river and the recreation options north along the river, are quite nice.

There are lots of converted houses in the Graduate Hospital and the Mantua/Powelton Village area that are quite nice as apartments. It's hard to recommend any specific ones -- you just have to search what's available and see if you like the street, the apartment, etc. Parking can be an issue with some of them, so that's something to consider.

As for big apartments, some to consider include (random order):

- evo Philly at Cira Centre South
- 2400 Chestnut
- 2116 Chestnut Apartments
- The Riverloft Apartment House
- Roosevelt Apartments
- Locust on the Park
- Riverwalk Philly
- 2311 Spruce Street
- Cypress Court
- 2220 Spruce Street
- Brownstone Apartments
- John Fox Towers
- 23
- The Coronado Condominium
- 2121 Market Street
- The Murano Condominium

All of the above except for evo Philly ... are located on the Center City side of the Schuylkill River, whereas 30th Street Station is on the West Philadelphia side of the Schuylkill River. If he wanted to be on the same side as the train station, some to consider in addition to evo Philly ... include:

- University Crossings Philadelphia
- Vue32

There are a bunch more in/on the edge of Drexel's campus and in/on the edge of Penn's campus, that he could check on via Google.

The neighborhoods where the above buildings are located are quite good.

Enjoy the search.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

gotcha.

The info @Joof posted and @CF Lion posted is good.

The people I know that live within walking distance of 30th Street Station all like it. The vicinity to Penn/Drexel as well as the proximity to Center City, as well as the Schuylkill River Trail providing access to the river and the recreation options north along the river, are quite nice.

There are lots of converted houses in the Graduate Hospital and the Mantua/Powelton Village area that are quite nice as apartments. It's hard to recommend any specific ones -- you just have to search what's available and see if you like the street, the apartment, etc. Parking can be an issue with some of them, so that's something to consider.

As for big apartments, some to consider include (random order):

- evo Philly at Cira Centre South
- 2400 Chestnut
- 2116 Chestnut Apartments
- The Riverloft Apartment House
- Roosevelt Apartments
- Locust on the Park
- Riverwalk Philly
- 2311 Spruce Street
- Cypress Court
- 2220 Spruce Street
- Brownstone Apartments
- John Fox Towers
- 23
- The Coronado Condominium
- 2121 Market Street
- The Murano Condominium

All of the above except for evo Philly ... are located on the Center City side of the Schuylkill River, whereas 30th Street Station is on the West Philadelphia side of the Schuylkill River. If he wanted to be on the same side as the train station, some to consider in addition to evo Philly ... include:

- Cira Centre South
- University Crossings Philadelphia
- Vue32

There are a bunch more in/on the edge of Drexel's campus and in/on the edge of Penn's campus, that he could check on via Google.

The neighborhoods where the above buildings are located are quite good.

Enjoy the search.

Thank you so much Tom. Cheers

 

[Fortheglory612]

Would he consider getting an apartment closer to or on the main line? Not sure how old he is and if he would prefer living in the city but there’s some nice restaurants and apartments within walking distance of ardmore and Bryn mawr and Wayne although it is pretty family oriented there are still a lot of grad students and young professionals. The R5 is right there to take you downtown. Media is also nice. Conshohocken has a lot of young professionals as well. Good luck with the search. I’m sure he will find something nice

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

He’s 24. wants to do the city lifestyle. His big bro lives in echo park, he spends a month or three the past 2 years living with him, fell in love with the urban lifestyle.

 

[Sharkies]

Wouldn't recommend living near 30th Street Station... would recommend instead to live closer to Suburban or even Market East... Hell, I lived at 2nd and Market (Old City) and commuted to Radnor for 3 years, the flexibility in being able to hop on the MFL to Norristown Highspeed Line or use Regional Rail is what I wanted. If his office is walkable to Norristown High Speed line stops (Villanova has 2), then this is what I would recommend.

Edit: my apartment was Trotter's Alley.. but a bunch of nice places in Old City are run by these guys: https://brandywinecm.com/apartments/ - if he wants nightlife, Old City is great. Plus, its walkable south to New Wave & For Pete's Sake, my favorite bars in the city

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

Wouldn't recommend living near 30th Street Station... would recommend instead to live closer to Suburban or even Market East... Hell, I lived at 2nd and Market (Old City) and commuted to Radnor for 3 years, the flexibility in being able to hop on the MFL to Norristown Highspeed Line or use Regional Rail is what I wanted. If his office is walkable to Norristown High Speed line stops (Villanova has 2), then this is what I would recommend.

Edit: my apartment was Trotter's Alley.. but a bunch of nice places in Old City are run by these guys: https://brandywinecm.com/apartments/ - if he wants nightlife, Old City is great. Plus, its walkable south to New Wave & For Pete's Sake, my favorite bars in the city

Thank you very much.

 

[Tom McAndrew]

Wouldn't recommend living near 30th Street Station... would recommend instead to live closer to Suburban or even Market East... Hell, I lived at 2nd and Market (Old City) and commuted to Radnor for 3 years, the flexibility in being able to hop on the MFL to Norristown Highspeed Line or use Regional Rail is what I wanted. If his office is walkable to Norristown High Speed line stops (Villanova has 2), then this is what I would recommend.

Edit: my apartment was Trotter's Alley.. but a bunch of nice places in Old City are run by these guys: https://brandywinecm.com/apartments/ - if he wants nightlife, Old City is great. Plus, its walkable south to New Wave & For Pete's Sake, my favorite bars in the city

I'd concur that living in Old City is popular with the young ones, and it's easy to get from there to 30th street via the Market-Frankford Line. If @laKavosiey-st lion had asked about areas further from 30th Street Station, I would have recommended that his son check out that area.

Beyond that, I'd mostly disagree with what you indicated. @laKavosiey-st lion has indicated that his son wants to live in the city. so living out on the Main Line or anywhere along the Norristown High Speed Line is the opposite of what he wants to do.

There aren't a lot of options for living right at 30th Street Station, which is understandable as the real estate is pinched by Penn, Drexel, the train tracks, and the former US Post Office buildings. That said, I think you're not giving a lot of credence to apartments around Graduate Hospital/along Market and Chestnut. There are no shortage of young folks living there, with a large number of them working or studying at Penn or Drexel, and walking/bicycling across the bridges to their job/classes. It's a nice area, and there is a large number of 20 somethings there.

 

[TiogaLion]

There are buses from the east side of the Schuylkill river but they've been completely unreliable ever since covid hit. Right now they don't have enough bus drivers so you never know if a bus will be coming along. It has to clean up at some point, but don't count on it real soon. The Fairmount neighborhood around the Eastern State Penitentiary is really nice and if the bus is operating it's about 15 minutes.

Trains and subways are very reliable. Try Rittenhouse Square or Logan Circle areas and he could take the Market St line to the train station but it's very expensive to live in these areas.

Better yet, since he's only 24 and wants to live in the city he should work in the city. Virtually every company is hiring so he should live where he wants for now and put up with the hassle until he starts a new job with offices in center city. Problem solved.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

Better yet, since he's only 24 and wants to live in the city he should work in the city. Virtually every company is hiring so he should live where he wants for now and put up with the hassle until he starts a new job with offices in center city. Problem solved.

He’ll be in the office a few days and home a few days.

 

[Sharkies]

Beyond that, I'd mostly disagree with what you indicated. @laKavosiey-st lion has indicated that his son wants to live in the city. so living out on the Main Line or anywhere along the Norristown High Speed Line is the opposite of what he wants to do.

Tom - sorry, meant to say along the Norristown High Speed line is walking distance to his office... from there, yes, he would take that and transfer to the El... My commute from Old City was 2nd and Market Subway, transfer at 69th to NHSL.. Since I was in Radnor, I bought a zone 3 and could use the RR if that was pulling up just as I was leaving the office... if not, I would grab the High Speed Line - this flexibility meant I never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride into the city no matter what time I left the office.

If I took RR, I would take it to Market East and then just walk from there to Old City to get home. Did not mean to indicate that he should live near the High Speed line.

 

[SundaySilence]

2 is heading back to the office next quarter so he asked me to join in the apartment search. He wants to walk to 30 st station. His office is near nova. Suggestions?
Moms and I would love it if he doesn’t get shot or something. Cheers.

Suburban Station is at 16th and Market, a very short trip to 30th Street Station. From there he could take the train to Villanova and walk through campus to Lancaster Ave. He could also pick up what we used to call the piss and whistle (no idea why) through Upper Darby With a stop at Villanova.

Suburban Station is close to many apartment choices including Rittenhouse Square.

 

[laKavosiey-st lion]

Thank you.