Moving From Canada to Philly...Any Advice?

Hi Everyone! I am living in Canada but will be moving to Philadelphia early 2017. Wanted to reach out to Philly natives for some advice:

1) Was considering renting a place in University City....sticking within easy/short commute to UPenn. Keep getting mixed advice about how far into West/South Philly to venture. So what are my boundaries? I grew up in a rough NYC neighborhood so I have common sense but wanted to make sure to pick a nice spot from the get go.

2) Any other neighborhoods to consider with a short commute to UPenn?

3) Any favorite restaurants or pubs to recommend?

4) Nice spots (museums/neighborhoods) I should check out?

** Also, for anyone who has made the Cross Border move...recommend any good movers? Tips or tricks to cut costs? I am getting reimbursed but if I can cut some costs from the beginning then why not.

 
Best Response

I have lived in Phila my entire life outside of my 4 years away for undergrad. I'll give you my view on these questions. Also, I hope you're exited to be moving here, because despite what the NYC media think, Philly is an awesome city all around.

1-2) Since you're going to Penn and want a short commute, you're fairly limited on housing locations. If you want to walk you'll need to live in Univ City or Center City West. Center City is far preferable to me as a place to live but it'll be a ~25 min walk to campus. There is also a subway from 15th to 30th st call the Market Frankford line which give you more living optionality in Center City. Personally, I'd live somewhere around center city not too far from Market. I am personally not a huge Univ City fan and the further you go west in Univ City the more dangerous it becomes.

It terms of boundaries, I very rarely go north of Girard Ave except for a few specific locations. Everything north of Cecil B. Moore is a no-go zone, fucking Fallujah. South Philly is more mixed up based on neighborhood, but I don't go south of Washington too often. This doesn't count certain areas around south Philly that are fine like the Stadium complex etc. Also, stay out of West Philly.

3-4) Phila is the 5th largest city in the country so there are a zillion bars and restaurants. Just check out all the spots in center city and then move out into the surrounding neighbrhoods e.g. Old City, Northern Liberties, Queen Village, Fairmount, Society Hill, Headhouse Square, South Street, Grad Hospital etc The Phila Art Museum and the Barnes are great if you like art. There is plenty of touristy historical stuff, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross house etc Misc cool things: Reading Terminal Market, Good cheesesteak places (NOT Pat's and Geno's) those 2 are for tourist clowns, Fieldhouse and Xfinity Live are good spots for watching sports games.

Another thought: Make sure you meet people local to the area that you can go to the shore with in the summer. That's a big part of the Philadelphia culture so you don't want to be the outsider hanging out in the concrete jungle during summer weekends. The city is dead in the summer because people hit the shore points. I am hugely partial to Avalon, but there are a bunch of good spots. Also, def do some Atlantic City weekends, that's always a good time.

Hope this helps and welcome to the city of brotherly love. Don't worry the people may seem like hardo's/rough at first, but they def respect non-push overs so hold your ground haha.

 

This advice is spot on. I spent several terrible years in Philly around Olney & Broad. It can be war-zone you have to always keep aware when walking. So if the OP is from NYC then he should be OK, but where is he from in NYC? And more importantly when is he from, NYC started getting really safe in the mid-90s.

Fieldhouse is fun, I have a friend who still works there. Go to Chickie and Pete's too, to catch a game and eat some delicious food. The only great pizza is Lorenzo's on South Street. Almost forgot, don't forget the pretzel factory for late night snacks!

*Also if you catch a game at the Linc don't wear other team's Jerseys unless you want to get straight up assaulted and heckled unmercifully(not the fun goodnatured heckling)

 

Thanks for seconding my comments and good points.

I'd add on the pizza thing that's it's a super subjective topic, but my favorite pizza in the city is Santucci's on South St, other one's to try are Nomad's, Medusa (fishtown). I will agree though that pizza is not our strongest food category, but I think we are the best for sandwich style foods like cheesesteaks, italian hoagies, roast pork sandwiches. Not exactly LA style healthy, but you need to get them in sometimes.

 

I have a large group of friends spread all throughout Philly. I'd say, by far, my favorite condo was my buddy's on Market Street in Center City - right around 20th. It's a solid location in terms of the people as well as the distance to anything you'd care about. I stayed there when I had commitments around UPenn and the walk is definitely doable, but it may not be one you want to do daily if your schedule is tight. With that being said, if you're driving it's no issue at all. Plenty of close night life ranging from diverse bars (e.g. McGillin's, Bob and Barbara's) to clubs (e.g. Coda, Rumor) and some I'd place in between (e.g. Howl at the Moon). There is also some more sophisticated areas to dine and go on dates within Rittenhouse (e.g. Parc Restaurant). Not to mention you're right in the middle of the best spots (e.g. Pagano's) for "Sips" during the summer (basically a huge Wednesday night happy hour with a long list of participating bars and restaurants).

 
shortstack:
Bob and Barbara's)

This made me laugh.

OP, if you're a hipster (although not many hipsters think they are for some reason) then there are some perfect bars for you in Philly: Bob and Barbara's, Trestle Inn, Johnny Brendas, Silk City, Standard Tap

I am def not a hipster and I have been to all of these places at least once. For that reason, the true hipsters would prob say they're totally mainstream and have a whole different list of places that I don't even know exist.

 

shortstack and adapt or die thanks for the time and detailed responses.

adapt or die I am definitely excited about moving to Philly, keep hearing really good things about it. No worries about the NYC media, I am the type to find something to enjoy about everywhere I have lived and Philly sounds like I wont have a problem with that. I am not a hipster either but I am willing to check them out.

Thanks again!

 

Glad to see some fellow Philadelphia natives on here...

Just to add a few things..depending on who you ask, Philadelphia gets a bad rep but it is by far one of the best cities in terms of being navigable and not running into the same people each night. There's a ton of great spots to hit up all over and not even in center city.

Some of my personal favorite spots:

Ashton Cigar Bar (cocktails and cigars) Del Frisco's (steak) Union League (if you meet someone who is a member try to tag along with them one time, it's an extraordinary place and there's nothing like it in Philadelphia) Spruce Street Harbor Park Chickie's and Pete's (bar food before a sport's game) Villadiroma (South Phila Italian) Dalessandro's (popular cheese steak place located outside city) Pod (Pan-Asian)

As far as University City goes, I haven't spent much time there but have heard great things and some of the places that adapt or die has mentioned are up and coming.

Also read an article that they are making some kind of outlet mall around 2019-2020 close to center city so you should enjoy it!

Planning on making the move to NYC once I graduate, but will definitely miss Philadelphia.

 

I'm surprised you didn't mention Butcher and Singer for steak. Their Delmonico Ribeye is absolutely amazing! You really can't go wrong with any Stephen Starr restaurant in Philly.

 

I think B&S is one of the best steakhouses I have ever been to. DelFriscos is great for drinks and food, but Butcher is just amazing for food. I've been to Barclay Prime and actually put that below both Del's and B&S for food.

 

Philadelphia is an amazing city that gets no love. Nothing can compare to NYC, but if you are looking to live in a city with tons of stuff to do, all the convenience of a big city and affordable, Philly has it in spades.

1) Food - amazing food city. IMO, top 5 in the US. Chinatown has amazing Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai, Malaysian, etc. South Philly has some phenomenal Italian. CC has everything and anything in between. U City has great ethnic food (think Ethiopian, Indian, Paki, etc).

I've had endless amazing meal in this city and love the food scene.

Check out FooBooz and UWISHUNU to get the 411 on everything going on.

2) Culture - One of the top art cities. The Art Museum is breathtaking and the Barnes is on of the best collections of impressionists and well known artists I have seen. Between the both of them you have a formidable art collection.

You also have a city with deep history. They are about to open a brand new Revolutionary War Museum, on top of all the historic places throughout the city. Penn has a great museum as well.

3) Bars/Nightlife - You've got a shit ton of bars. You can go out any night of the week and find a ton of people boozing. Irish Pub, Drinkers, McGillens, all great dive(ish) bars. Tons of nicer places as well. Opa, outside, it the shit. Morgans Pier is awesome. Rooster Bar is my jam. I mean place is stacked.

4) Women - You get a great mix. You have Temple, Penn, Drexel in the city (plus some smaller places) so you get a mix of diversity. You have Nova, St Joes, Lehigh, LaSalle, all nearby so you get more local college kids. Lots of Med students and Lawyers. So plenty of educated professionals.

Not at the level of say NYC or Chicago, but if you are an educated professional making decent coin you are doing pretty well comparatively.

5) Travel - You are 20 minutes from the Philly airport. I consider Newark to be a second airport as well. Amtrak gets you to NYC in 80 minutes or DC in about 2 hours. You have the MegaBus and Bolt as well. You can be in AC in an hour or two which is always a rager. Being centrally located really, really helps.

6) Weather - more moderate than Boston or NYC. You are south PA so I think winter is mild and summer is nice.

7) Feel - It is a big city, but not overwhelming. I've been spending a lot of time in NYC and it is just a hassle getting around. Massive pain in the ass at times. You don't have that in Philly. You can live in CC and it is very urban or you can live in NoLibs, U City, Washington Square, etc and it will be quieter, more relaxing.

The city is also in the middle of a massive transformation. I am talking cranes and buildings going up everywhere. It is pretty cool to experience a city completely being transformed. In my time here I have witnessed maybe a dozen buildings go up. Another dozen are planned or in process. Very cool time to be here.

Congrats on the move. Get a roast pork, get a cheesesteak and eat some pretzels.

WingBowl in a month or so. Google it. You'll definitely want to attend.

 

I saw this and got excited to post, then I looked at all the detailed responses and realized I have very little to add without being repetitive. Philly is a great city, every time a friend comes to visit for the first time, they are shocked by how much better it is than their expectations.

Array
 

Hey @ai215" first of all your excitement and actually posting is enough for me to feel like every single response is spot on and this is going to be a great move!!!! So thanks.

Although, if you want to join in how about you let me know what is your go to thing to do when you have a friend visit for the first time? It can be touristy or it can be be super chill...I'm noting ALL these recs and trying them out during my downtime or if my friends visit.

 

I'll throw out a few suggestions for places that haven't been mentioned. The city is the best in the warmer months as there are tons of outdoors spots to grab a beer (Spruce Street Harbor, Independence Beer Garden, Morgans Pier, etc). Don't know if you're a sports fan, but definitely check out a Phillies game, Citizens Bank Park is a great stadium and on a spring/summer day head over early and hit up Xfinity or grab a few friends and tailgate before the game starts.

There's some cool places in Northern Liberties also: -Frankfurt Hall is a cool German-style beer garden in Northern Liberties, also in that area Barcade is a fun little dive with tons of old arcade games -North Bowl (and South Bowl) are also decent places to bowl and have a beer if thats your thing

I live in Old City so I spend alot of time in this area and theres some pretty good food/drink spots in the area. -Red Owl Tavern for a boozy brunch type deal -Buffalo Billiard's is my local watering hole... one of the few places I know of that has a 6-8pm happy hour -Also a bunch of popular night-out bars (a little too packed for my taste) like National Mechanics and Plough and the Stars in the area

There's also a ton of touristy/history stuff to do around the city with the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross House, etc.. Top of the Tower is an overpriced way to get a pretty sweet view of the whole city, but its nothing special besides the view

That's all I've got for now, but happy to answer any more specific questions you may have or shoot any recommendations over. Seems like you'll have a wealth of ideas to check out from this thread. Looks like Philly is pretty heavily represented here at WSO

Array
 
  1. Philly is a GREAT food town. Take advantage of the BYOBs -- Little Fish, Pumpkin, Will, Han Dynasty, Mercato, and Melograno are a few good ones. Little Fish is my favorite, awesome date spot.
  2. I'd consider Graduate Hospital as a place to live. Right across the South St. Bridge from Wharton and not as ritzy as living on Rittenhouse Square (which may not appeal to some).
  3. As others have mentioned, Philly is top notch for the arts, particularly Impressionism -- check out the Art Museum and the Barnes Foundation.
 

Absolutely loved Melograno until I got drunk and destroyed their hostess stand trying to open a beer bottle ha ha.

I love, love, LOVE, Porchini. Talk about a true, Italian family feel. BYOB as well. Two brothers run it and it is amazing.

Second Grad Hospital. Quiet and nice, but close to everything. I've lived all over the city and it is amazing how the feel and experience changes. Really cannot believe how the city is not on more people's radar. Just wish the city government would pull its head out of its ass and lower wage and business taxes. If that ever happened this place would light on fire with development.

For anyone interested in the ongoing development of this great city, check out the below link:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/tags.php?tag=philadelphia

 

Oh nice, a thread where I'm relevant! You've received a ton of great answers so far but I'll chime in. We really need another Philly happy hour - I think the last one I went to was in 2013?

1) If you're going to school in UC it probably makes sense to live there. I see a lot of people throwing around 52nd st as the western most boundry before it starts getting really dicey but would probably recommend not going west of 48th for somebody new to the city. Am not too familiar with UC though. Or you could live anywhere that's a short walk to Market St. in Rittenhouse or Logan Square (the former is better for bars/restaurants, the latter has a more "corporate" feel and is a bit empty after hours). There's a trolley that runs underground with a number of stops that'll take you over to UC, or you could live in Old City or Washington Square West and take the El over. See a map of SEPTA: http://www.septa.org/maps/system/ - the green line is the trolley, the blue line is the El (or "MFL," short for Market-Frankford Line, which runs above ground after it goes west of I think 46th or so and is also elevated headed NE after Spring Garden). Grad Hospital and Fairmount are also good choices, as others noted, if you want a more quiet, laid-back neighborhood feel but still be close to points of interest.

2) Just realized I started rambling and answered this in #1

3) So many, I could go on and on. I like Smith's, Sky Garden, Independence Beer Garden (in general our beer garden game is out of control, obviously a warmer month thing, though), Good Dog Bar, Irish Pub, Locust Rendevous, Race St Cafe, City Tap House... this could be its own thread, honestly.

4) All of the museums are great - Art Museum, Franklin Institute, Barnes, Academy of Natural Sciences, the museum at UPenn whose name escapes me, the Mutter Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, the Rodin Museum; really, they're all top notch.

All in all, welcome to the city. I love living here.

 

I knew a guy, in west Philadelphia born and raised. On the playground was where he spent most of his days. But I think he moved to Bel Air or something. I can try tracking him down and get some advice on where to live.

26 Broadway where's your sense of humor?
 

TippyTop11 Oh yeeeeah I think I knew that guy but he got into one little fight and his mom got scared so she sent him to live with his uncle in Bel Air. Nice guy...maybe I should email him or something. Let me know if you track him down.

 

Live in Rittenhouse/Fitler square, which is the section of center city south of Market Street, north of South Street, west of Broad Street, and East of the Schuylkill River. You can walk across the river to Penn or hop on the subway at Broad & Market.

This is one of the best areas in the city and where the majority of Penn grad students live.

 

Would agree, not the biggest Fishtown fan myself, very close to the heroin capital of the east coast and the hipsters / young professionals there make good mugging targets at night. Only things that get me up to Fishtown these days are Frankford Hall (for OP's benefit, another great beer garden) and that new restaurant, Wm. Mulherin's Sons, which is excellent.

 

I've been crushing Parc recently. They put up the Xmas lights and it is so on point. Le Diplomate in DC is awesome as well.

Davios is a great spot. Really good northern Italian. Banana Leaf is a fav or mine. OMG. Dim Sum Garden has amazing dumplings. Dan Dan is relatively new and their food is great.

Man, I am starving right now.

 

As someone who grew up in NYC, went to Penn for 4 years and has been back to Philly 2-3 times a year since (7+ years and going strong) I will say it's probably tied for my second favorite city in the US (with Chicago). adapt or die comments are spot on. The only caveat I will give you is that the women in Philly...are not the best looking. I'm not sure what it's like where you are in Canada but the decline from NYC is rather dramatic.

 

coreytrevor good to know! You guys are very thorough..I now have a team to check out while knocking back a couple of cold ones at some nice spots. @ai215" thanks for the outdoor spots, will definitely reach out if I need more specific info. Hugh Myron thanks for the public transport tips and the welcome!

 

University City has definitely experienced tremendous growth, transformation and revitalization over the last decade or two and there's still more to come. Haven't seen Manayunk mentioned. It's in the city, but kind of outside on it's own. Main Street in Manayunk has a bunch of bars/restaurants and there are street festivals throughout the spring/summer/fall. It's a mix of recent grads/young professionals and college kids from St. Joes, LaSalle, Temple, Villanova, Drexel, etc. The Norristown line stops right off Main so transportation to and from is easy. Other things to mention about the Greater Philly area are the surrounding suburban communities. King of Prussia - largest mall in America in terms of retail space(?), they recently finished conjoining two sections of the mall. There's also the Cherry Hill Mall over in NJ and various smaller communities in the surrounding area with it's own set of restaurants/bars to explore. There's the Main Line which is one of the wealthiest old money areas in the U.S., some ridiculous properties out there but there's a bunch of companies based around there and King of Prussia as well as a bunch of restaurants. Atlantic City within a 1-1.5 hour drive if you want to check it out - not quite the same since it's downturn. There are casinos around Philly and they've stolen foot traffic from AC over recent years - Valley Forge, SugarHouse, Harrah's, Parx. You have the whole Jersey shore for some summer beach time, or you can head south toward MD/DE/NC. Easily accessible sports arenas as others have mentioned. Schuylkill River Trail if you're into running or biking. If you're into outdoor adventures, there's the Poconos, which is an easy drive for the snow season.

 

Et aut recusandae consequatur. Aut tempore aut rerum ut animi quia ipsum voluptatum. Consectetur non hic quo nihil.

Optio porro aut ea doloremque nisi maiores architecto. Rem libero est sint saepe vel amet. Reprehenderit numquam sit et laudantium non qui sit. Ad saepe quas eveniet cum nostrum eum.

At magni enim quo in vel ad. Est occaecati rerum quas natus. Nesciunt optio eum porro delectus dolorem hic.

Soluta fugit ut omnis magnam vitae quis quia similique. Nemo eum neque ut tenetur sit delectus fuga.

 

Iusto excepturi est vel sint quos aut. Repellat voluptates sunt pariatur autem. Quam accusantium velit quas voluptas ut laborum. Animi qui explicabo mollitia qui.

Voluptatem maiores sit eos rerum in consectetur sed. Est voluptatem consequatur vitae. Error dolor quia doloribus explicabo quo illum labore. Molestias libero id dignissimos vel qui hic.

Nisi aut consequatur maiores voluptatem consequatur. Fuga tempore sapiente aliquid aspernatur architecto ipsum inventore. Et et minus exercitationem tenetur velit assumenda. Sunt veritatis consectetur quia reprehenderit qui odio eum. Ea et voluptas occaecati occaecati vel magni. Quia rerum nisi quia beatae cum debitis ratione.

James M Wong

Career Advancement Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. (++) 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

March 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (202) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (144) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
9
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”