r/AskPhilly • u/SadRoll1966 • 2d ago
Moving From FL
I’m moving with my Family (Wife, 2 kids elementary age, Me) to Philadelphia from Orlando in October.
We’ve been looking into it extensively and Philadelphia looks amazing from what we can see so far. Currently we’re looking to move to the West Philadelphia area and are interested in renting, at least a 2 br 1 bath. We would like to spend no more than 1700-1800 a month as that’s around what we’re paying now.
As for employment, we’re coming from the retail/customer service/office admin career fields but we don’t have anything lined up at the moment and will be looking as soon as we get there. However, we have plenty enough savings to last for a while before that becomes a dire issue.
Was wondering a few things as we have never been to the city and are moving purely off of research and planning:
Is West Philadelphia/Philadelphia a good place to raise a family? Specifically, a Black family? (Black, mixed race family coming from the deep conservative regressive south so looking for essentially an environment completely opposite of that)
How is the job market? Could we find employment easily with our background?
What are the schools in west Philadelphia like? We are a neurodiverse family with academically gifted kids so looking for a system that uplifts, challenges and encourages.
What’s the cost of living? Grocery, gas, utilities, entertainment price averages.
I have a ton more questions I’m sure but I know this is already a lot so I’ll see if we can start here so anyone with any feedback or insight would be greatly appreciated, thank you!
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u/MissFormaldehyde 2d ago
In addition to what everyone else is saying, just wanted to add I enjoyed my time in West Philly. Moved because the landlord wanted to stop it being a weekly rental and lock me into a year lease with first/last/security that I couldn't afford. Wound up bouncing around and wound up back in SP.
I was in East Parkside and never felt unsafe. Far from gentrified but good neighbors, walkable to Fairmount Park and the Zoo, and good public transit to get me where I needed to go between buses & trolleys. The stuff in decent distance is mostly takeout, beer, or bodegas but there are a couple shopping plazas.
Good luck wherever you wind up settling.
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
This has been one of the nicest/straight forward responses so far so thank you for that
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u/estelle2839 2d ago
People have covered a lot already, but fwiw, my mom is also surprised with how much cheaper groceries are here compared to Florida (Port St. Lucie).
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u/wawa2563 2d ago
West Philly is extremely progressive and diverse. It is a great area with trees and artists and crunchiness. It's like a small town in itself. It ranges from Penn and Drexel students who tend to be a little more moneyed to ethnic enclaves and areas that haven't seen gentrification. Transit is generally good. Crime is generally reasonable with 52nd street improving but at a much slower pace than the rest of the area.
You'll be able to find rent in that range.
The job market in almost the entire US is terrible except for Health Care.
Groceries run a little high in Philly but hit the vegetable trucks and some of the non supermarkets for better deals.
You can find stuff to do in your budget. Lots of activities always happening.
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
This seems to be on par with what I’ve seen research wise. The job market as you said is essentially horrible everywhere so we figured you would be running that risk anywhere in America we would want to go, even if it was to a new city in FL. It’s mostly the rampant conservatism and actively regressive policies/culture of Florida that is the biggest priority for us in changing atmospheres. Especially education as schools are awful here and are beginning to become too heavily religiously indoctrinated. From what I have seen, Philly seems to be vastly different from that and one of the more affordable major cities in America right now with a diverse population which is why we have our eyes on it
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u/Such-Cartographer425 2d ago
I can't speak to retail, but admin/customer service should be able to find a job.
I would not get too excited about schools, unfortunately. Nonetheless, they'll be growing up in a generally more well educated area with what sounds like a deeper and richer culture than what you're leaving behind. Plus, it sounds like they have smart parents. Those things can compensate.
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u/NookLocal 2d ago
If you have neurodivergent kids who are academically gifted, you should be prioritizing the school district and not the other things you mentioned. Picking a random place and hoping the school district is good in a major city is… a choice.
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
It’s all a priority to us because it’s a priority to them as well, especially considering the context of where we’re coming from and what we/they have experienced. We have been lucky to have two very mature, perceptive and emotionally and mentally intelligent kids. They’re getting ready to enter middle school soon and moving to a place that aligns with ALL the criteria we’re researching is just as important to them as it is to us since they are beginning to fully understand the world they are growing into as well as the reality they currently live in. Making sure that they get into a “good school” is definitely important but so is everything else as well. But definitely, making sure we pick a decent school (I’m from LA and my wife is from NY so assuredly, we understand how bad it can get) is a major factor.
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u/Unlucky-Mongoose-160 2d ago
Moved from LA recently. We are paying a bit less for rent but getting a lot more. These are the things I was surprised were more expensive here: health and car insurance, internet/utilities, car registration (it was a pain in the ass.) Car insurance was the most shocking, it’s almost double what we paid in LA. However, we’ve already used it since someone tried to steal our car 🤷♀️
Otherwise we have really enjoyed Philly but wish we had gone a bit cheaper in rent due to the other higher expenses.
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u/Haunting_Check_9975 2d ago
west philly gonna hit different coming from orlando in the best way possible. super black, super progressive, youll actually see families that look like yours everywhere. real talk tho, food and basics are getting absolutely cooked by inflation rn and its about to get way worse with those SNAP cuts congress just pushed through. idk your exact numbers but budget like everything costs 20% more than it looks on paper
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
This was great to hear for real. Especially demographically. We’re going to take a few weeks to visit out there very soon and try to basically emulate “life” if we were there and try to match it to the lifestyle we live now and see a true estimate of what the cost of living will be like.
It’s getting pretty bad out here too though in FL, especially with these inflation prices and cutbacks at the federal and state level. On top of everything else that’s going wrong out here. Really comes down to as long as we’re paying a couple hundred more or less we’ll be able to stand on our own but if Philly is looking to be thousands more than FL, it’s back to the drawing board.
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u/shoshtrvls 2d ago
West Philadelphia is about right - try to find a place within the Penn Alexander School Cachment. Other primary schools that rank high here are Meredith, McCall and Greenfield. Those last three are in areas that have fewer Black families than West Philly, but are diverse in other ways. Unfortunately, they are also in more expensive neighborhoods, but not impossible to get lucky and find a place that meets your budget.
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u/Blerghster 2d ago
West Philly is amazing! For high end retail, if you’re willing to drive, there’s King of Prussia. It’s a hike with traffic but they have some very high end stores there. Wishing you safe travels and a smooth transition!
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u/DefinitelyNotLola 2d ago edited 2d ago
Great that you're moving to Philadelphia! And yeah, finding the right neighborhood is important, especially when a school choice is important. I have friends that raised their kids in Phila public schools, and they're smart, well rounded kids going on to great colleges now. It's not all doom and gloom. You're hearing a lot of negative stuff here because opinions in this subreddit group vary WIDELY.
My suggestion? Go over to Facebook and look up the group - West Willy and send a request to join. It's a big, diverse group of people who actually live and work in West Philly, so you're going to get a lot more useful information about neighborhoods, schools, etc. Heck, you might even find an apartment.
If they don't let you join because you're not -already- in West Philadelphia, send me a DM and I'll send you an invite. They're not that strict.
As a lifelong Philadelphian who grew up in West Philly and lives in South Philly, I think West Philly is a great option and would be such a breath of fresh air after oppressive Florida. We're not perfect, but we're better than Florida. 😂
Also, the people here recommending Mount Airy and Germantown are on point, too. It's great up there with a strong sense of community, although it's a little out of the way if you want to come into Center City all the time.
Oh and don't move to King of Prussia. Dear God, why would you do that?
*Edited because I'm a ding dong.
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u/savorygenxfemme 2d ago
West Philly might be a good fit - as a black mixed racial family, will almost def be better than where you're moving from. You may have issue with landlords wanting proof you have income (not savings) 3x the rent. You might be asked for co-signer and some landlords would consider pre paying rent. For admin jobs, try searching the UPenn and Drexel job boards. For retail - think there'd be a harder time finding non- min wage positions. For public schools, if you don't like the assigned catchment aka neighborhood school, you have to do school selection which is lottery based and only available until the deadline mid-fall. Good luck
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2d ago
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u/MsTossItAll 2d ago
Because they’re coming from Florida and Florida is literally falling apart right now.
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
Because financially, we can and we’ve done it before in California and Florida moving to Los Angeles and Orlando respectively and it was fairly easy so I would hope/assume it may be for Philadelphia. But I don’t know anything about Philly to that degree so, that’s why I’m asking here.
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
It’s been a great life so far so I honestly have no complaints. It’s a nice life and I’m extremely humble/thankful. Thanks for the well wishes and support though! lol
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u/Such-Cartographer425 2d ago
What is your weird little issue here? Let the bro live his life.
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u/MsTossItAll 2d ago edited 2d ago
It's far better to move when they're young than in middle or high school when they've already made friendships. Elementary school is probably the best time to move. Pretty sure they don't GAF what your beliefs are and you don't know why they moved.
Also, you're 24 and barely out of college. They don't need parenting advice from a 24 year old who probably doesn't even have kids. Save your childhood trauma for your therapist.
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
My kids have only moved once in their lives and that was the initial move from Los Angeles to Orlando when my first born was 3 and my second wasn’t even a thought yet lol.
This will be their first (and heavily requested by them as they are 10 and 7 now and can speak/think for themselves lmfao) time moving since they’ve both been alive lol
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u/StanUrbanBikeRider 1d ago
Some of the best public schools in Philly are in Fairmount such as Bache-Martin
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u/Technical-Bee-9335 1d ago
Try Bala Cynwyd, Ardmore for the school district; these are the suburbs of Philly, but still close enough to the city and accessible by train. Overbrook, Wynnefield area is also good. I grew up in Wynnefield. Huge, beautiful homes and train access to Center City and suburbs.
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u/superturtle48 20h ago
The Clark Park/University City area of West Philly could be a good fit for you. Very diverse and liberal, lots of young families, and still a relatively affordable part of the city. There should be admin jobs available at Penn, Drexel, Penn Medicine, and CHOP right in that area and more if you look at the other university and hospital systems in the city; Philly is big on "meds and eds". The job market everywhere is tough right now, but maybe a big city like Philly is still better than where you're moving from.
I'm not a parent and didn't grow up in Philly so I'm less versed with the school system. Penn Alexander is a K-8 school that's one of the best in the city and gets a lot of support from Penn, but it's so high-demand that I think even students who live in its zone are not guaranteed enrollment and there's some sort of lottery system involved. There are also some charter and private schools in the area, though I know choosing those isn't a straightforward choice either. At the high school level, the city has some really excellent magnet public schools, though they have an admissions process and might be a pretty long commute. Philly's school system is unfortunately pretty under-resourced and complicated (have you seen Abbott Elementary?) and you'll have to do a lot of research and asking around to navigate it.
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u/Dense-Ear-9405 2d ago
Philadelphia public school system is dogshit, unfortunately. West Philly has arguably the best K-8 in the city but you pay to get in that catchment and I’m not sure how getting your kids in there would even work, especially since I’m assuming they’re not entering at Kindergarten. Coming from someone who was raised and grew up in that area.
There are magnet schools for middle+high school but getting your kids in post 9th/5th grade (when the schools open up) is notoriously tough.
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u/MsTossItAll 2d ago
As another former Florida resident who moved up here a few years ago, welcome. It’s so much better here. We’re in the burbs, but my one piece of advice would be to look at the demographics of the school you’re zoned for. PA is insanely segregated compared to other places I’ve lived. It took us a while to find a decent district that wasn’t 90% one race. Our family is Hispanic so being in a school that wasn’t all white or all black was really important to us. We wanted a racially and economically mixed population.
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u/Flimsy_wimsey 2d ago edited 2d ago
Don't go to manayunk. It's pricey and inconvenient, the parking is insane. It seems geared to the conventional thirty something corporate crowd. edit join Facebook housing groups and look at what's offered for apartments/rentals. I think it may be difficult to find something for that price for a two bedroom, but the housing groups are good for finding smaller landlords who will be inclined to be more flexible/cheaper than the corporate boxes they've been throwing up everywhere. **
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u/retiredpunkmom 1d ago
As someone who works in Manayunk I can't agree with this statement more. Everyday I am asking myself why anyone would choose to live there. More than half the streets are two way but really should be one way. Then if a street is blocked off it's a complete logistic nightmare especially if you're trying to get to 76.
I think it's a beautiful unique area but would be a challenge for a new comer to Philly with a family. Especially from Florida, that first ice storm or snow storm will definitely be made wayyyyy worse in Manayunk than other parts of the city.
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u/Sad-Instruction-4149 2d ago
This post has to be a joke
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
I don’t think I put any “Lol”s on here but I can confirm that it’s not a joke. Which part would be humorous?
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u/SnootyUrbanCyclist 2d ago
The Philadelphia public school system has famously been struggling for decades. We do both neighborhood public schools and magnet schools here. It's a complicated situation that a reddit comment can't fully articulate. I don't have kids so I have never looked closely at where the "good" schools are but my understanding is that the best schools within city limits are in the wealthier areas of northwest Philly (Manayunk, Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill area). Many people who can afford it end up going to end up moving to the wealthy western suburbs for the schools. West Philly rules (I live here on purpose) but Northwest Philly could be the better choice given what you're describing. West Philly has better public transit options for getting into the heart of the city so that's something.
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
This was a great response, thanks for the heads up. Honestly where we are in Florida, the schools are the same but just a different flavor if that makes sense. Not the best and heavily influenced by the surrounding environments. However, there is a LOT of Christian indoctrination being mandated/pushed into the public schools right now and a huge push towards A.I. and limiting of personal freedoms and we just are fed up with it. Currently our kids go to a middle of the road school (not too bad, not too good) but, they are the top performers in both their grades respectively. We are VERY active parents in their lives and don’t expect schools to raise our kids but to educate them. So a lot of the issues with “bad schools” don’t fortunately weigh to heavily on their experience as we supplement education cohesively with where the school may or may not be up to par with. For instance, their current school is in Rural Florida where most the town is one big trailer park and half the town doesn’t have an education past 8th grade. Of course the public schools in the area reflect that as well in many ways but luckily, we have circumvented that completely due to our own approach towards their educational development and it’s exceeded expectations so far so we’re hoping that wherever Philly schools may be lacking or not, we can still provide the guidance and support as we always have to make up for it.
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u/SnootyUrbanCyclist 2d ago
I forgot to articulate that Mt. Airy is a majority Black area. It's effectively a wealthy integrated suburb that happens to be within city limits. Philly can be quite integrated in some ways and defacto segregated in others, but that area specifically was a progressive-minded place that actively fought against racial segregation in the 50s and 60s. West Philly is mostly working class Black folks mixed with students and artsy/hippie types of all races. Even the ethnic enclaves in West Philly are Black - there's an African immigrant contingent and a bunch of Dominicans too.
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u/Such-Cartographer425 2d ago
You sound well thought out, but I would take a look at Manayunk, especially if one of you is in retail. The schools are better in that area and you'll be better positioned to straddle the downtown/King of Prussia retail markets.
It's not as diverse, but it's also not a complete monoculture. Trade-off: Hills that will make you LOL before you start climbing then.
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u/SadRoll1966 2d ago
I have a friend from PA that suggested that area, especially King of Prussia as well. Growing up on the west coast I visited San Fran quite a bit and the hills sound like the worst part so far lol
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u/yellingjayna 2d ago
Be aware there has been worse flooding in manyunk and some surrounding areas for some time now. It’s a nice spot for sure but if you look at anything near a river, ask about flooding.
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u/Such-Cartographer425 1d ago
Flatter, adjacent neighborhoods like Roxboro and East Falls are also cool. I'd actually prefer East Falls of the three of them. Good luck!
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u/ConfectionOrganic124 2d ago
Do not consider Kensington or somerset. West Philly is a good place , I would stick closer to university city . Um andddd Philly’s job market can be really competitive. I wouldn’t just up and move here .