Well im wl'ed at the one (the only) school that I would ever really go to over Temple. So i also dont want to have to commit to a lease too early only to find out later that I got pulled off the wl. I dont know how long i should wait though.I wonder if mid july would be too late to secure a nice room at the very least.
East fall is good, there is regional rail that goes through there (30 minutes from T.U.), and the previous poster is correct view areas first. Most of it is fine. Some higher value properties there. Up the street from the park and bike trails.
Okay, I just got back from Philly last night. I looked at 6 places in various areas. All were on the periphery of Center City (except one in Manayunk). I suppose after looking that I'm partial to the city. For those that haven't been, places that seem out of the way on a map are still closer than you think. And you can find things for a decent price if you move away from the actual center of the city. For example, I found a 4 bedroom for $1200 in the Italian Market area. It was 6 blocks from an Orange line station, newly remodeled and it was in a pretty cool neighborhood. Also, Northern Liberties is nice and more affordable than, say, old city/society hill. Lots of students and young professionals in Northern Liberties and Art Museum, lots of personality in the Italian Market, and everyone I met kept telling me University City is a great place for students because its affordable and near transportation. One thing that I've been hearing on LSD is how some of the places I've just mentioned are sketchy. For the most part I didn't find this to be true. I took 3 days to see 6 places and I walked around all the neighborhoods. I wanted to really feel them out. South Philly is pretty cool. Lots of families and shops, plus you get that Brooklyn feel with the rowhouses (although its definitely more a Philly feel). Italian Market had alot of personality and seemed like a neighborhood. The actual market that Genos and Pats is on is cool, although that's, I guess, called Bella Vista. Still cool though and a good mix of demographics with mainly Asians, Hispanics, and Caucasians. Northern Liberties was a boat load of art galleries and funky cafe/bar/restaurants. Also lots of students and young professionals. Art museum seemed yuppieish and was pretty with tree lined rows and lots of dog walkers.In all these places there were areas that you didn't really want to walk through with $50 bills hanging out of your pockets. But, for the most part they seemed safe and surprisingly friendly (people were talking to me about the neighborhood and striking up conversations everywhere I went). My opinion is that, sure these places are not as 100% secure as Rittenhouse or the suburbs, but the bad looking spots are pretty recognizable so if you avoid them, you'll find that these places are actually really cool areas. One thing I'm not sure about however, is parking on the street in these areas. Being physically safe is one thing. But, I didn't have a car with me so I never parked anywhere. I guess I hear tell of peoples' cars getting broken into in Northern Liberties and Italian Market and South Philly. Maybe somebody can confirm this.Another thing is that alot of these places are deceptive. Northern Liberties, especially up near Girard, looks scary. But, once you walk around and realize its all college students who live there, and start to notice that the neighborhood has lots of people out walking dogs and perusing art galleries, and see BMWs parked outside at night, it starts to seem less sketchy. Other places can look okay but seem sketchier with bums crawling out of the woodwork and berating you if you don't give them money. But all in all, this deceptiveness seems to be on the edges of these neighborhoods and away from main roads. Anyhow, I know I sound like a real estate agent. But, I thought I'd let you all know that there is affordable stuff in Center City. Have a good one.
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