philadelphia | Imamother

amother

Sun, Dec 05 2010, 7:43 pm

Hello!

I am looking for some information on Philadelphia. There was one thread from about two years ago that I read but it didnt give me a very good picture.

So... B"H DH he has a job offer in philly. We know very little about the communities there. Can anyone offer some insight? I am kind of "NYish" (5 Towns) but am also pretty laid back. DH is OOTish (mainly from passaic/clifton went to an OOT Chofetz Chaim type school). It sounds like it should work out well. My biggest question is where should we live? I have been reading that there are 3 communities: Elkins Park, Lower Merrion/Bala, and Rawnhurst. Other than that I know nothing!

We are a youngish couple (mid twenties). We could love to be in an established community with other young couples and young families.

Any advice to get us started would be greatly appreciated.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

STovah

Sun, Dec 05 2010, 7:54 pm

Lower Merion is a really wonderful community - I know many people there who seem just the type you are describing yourself to be. It is an established community with shuls, schools, kosher food and a really nice kollel. There are lots of young couples there due to the proximity to the university. It is a pricey neighborhood though (not sure what the rentals go for there), but if you can afford it, I would say it is your best bet.

amother

Sun, Dec 05 2010, 9:16 pm

Anon because I live in Philly and don't want to give away my username just yet. Smile

We live in Bala Cynwyd, and it's AMAZING. We love it! We moved here a year and a half or so ago so my husband could attend med school, and there are a bunch of other couples here, young couples, in med school like us, or in business or law school, etc. Very laid back and chilled atmosphere, great community, great shuls...we were really pleasantly surprised! We would have moved here in any case, but the great community was a bonus! Oh, and we moved from NY as well, though my DH is OOT.

The rents are anywhere from $1100 or so for a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment to a 2-full bath, 2 bedroom at $1500. There are several apartment buildings all on the same street where most of the young couples live.

Do NOT move to Rawnhurst - dying community. And Elkins Park is very, very modern Orthodox with not many young families. Bala is where you want to be!

If you're interested, I can give you my email address, and help you out more from there with any questions you might have. And if you'd like to check it out for a Shabbos, we'd love to have you! We've had several couples/young families stay by us who were visiting the community for a Shabbos before moving here.

Good luck! Philly is great and we really, really love it. Smile

amother

Sun, Dec 05 2010, 10:40 pm

Thank you both so much for your posts! I really appreciate the information. It sounds like a very nice community! Amother, I would love to email you. If you wouldn't mind posting an email address that would be GREATLY appreciated. I could post mine if you prefer.

Thank you!

Soul on fire

Sun, Dec 05 2010, 11:21 pm

Actually Rhawnhurst ISN'T a dying community as 11 new families have moved here in the last year or so. Us included. However, we don't LOVE it here but it is a nice community of very welcoming people. Why don't you look into finding Shabbos hospitality in all 3 areas and see which you like most? If you have any serious questions about Rhawnhurst feel free to PM me.

Elyse

Mon, Jan 07 2013, 11:48 am

You may want to considera move to Cherry Hill NJ. We are a Warm Frum Growing Suburban community Just Mintues Away From Philly, with loads to offer...shuls, schools, mikvahs, restaurants, affordable housing, and much more! Just to give in example...2 bedroom condo rental $1150, 4 bedroom single family house purchase $200K. Feel free to e-mail me to find out more info. or to spend a Shabbat.

smiledr

Sun, Dec 29 2013, 8:03 pm

We lived in bala and hated it. We couldnt wait to move. A lot had to do with the fact that my husband worked long hours in his fellowship and I hated my job but we found the community to be very unfriendly. We hardly got invited out and we were very lonely. The supermarkets were expensive unless you went to the ghetto and the restaurants were horrible. The houses are quaint but small the school is ok. There were a lot if burglaries when we lived there plus a murder at a 7 11 and the starbucks was robbed. Bala is right next to the ghetto which is frightening .

bgirl33

Sun, Dec 29 2013, 8:36 pm

Wow. Had the opposite experience from the poster above as a medical spouse in Bala. We loved the community and were sad to leave when fellowship took us elsewhere. The shul is warm, welcoming (how many rebbitzens call when you haven't been to shul in a few weeks just to check in?) and we rarely had shabbos alone. The elementary school isn't really my cup of tea (a bit too under the sway of the yeshiva), but there are several options for high schools which will hopefully have a trickle-down effect. The new grocery store is fantastic- bright, airy, great produce, kosher bakery, butcher, deli counter and even sushi. 2 new fleish restaurants have opened in the past two years, and a new dairy place is set to open sometime soon. I won't speak to the racist implications of terming West Philly "the ghetto", but we never felt unsafe. Yes, there were some petty robberies while we lived there, but the same can be said of most middle-class or above neighborhoods (certainly true of my parents' community in New Jersey).

IMO there aren't really other options for living in Philadelphia if you're MO (Not sure if you are, amother, so can only speak to my experience). The Northeast is dominated by Israelis/yeshivish, and Elkins Park is dying. Cherry Hill might be an option, but the houses are significantly nicer in Bala/Merion, and the overall feel of the community is less commercial.

gila-rina

Sun, Dec 29 2013, 8:50 pm

bgirl33, Philadelphia isn't static. It keeps changing and evolving extremely fast. Since I moved out, 16-17 years ago, they opened 2 kolles + a night kollel. There lots of shiurim for ladies. The restaurants keep popping up and close down every few years. I hear the schools changed a lot, too.

Really, if someone wants information about Philly they need to speak to someone who is living there at the moment.

bgirl33

Sun, Dec 29 2013, 9:07 pm

gila-rina wrote:

We moved out over the summer. Info is very current.

amother

Sun, Dec 29 2013, 9:18 pm

smiledr wrote:

Its a shame we didn't know each other then. I could have sent you into the "ghetto" to hang out at my family's business (founded back in the days when Overbrook and Wynnefield really were ghettos -- Jewish ghettos), and meet some of his friends. I'm sure you would have enjoyed the experience.

Ghetto? Really. Who uses the word "ghetto" in 2013.

There's crime everywhere in the world. Sadly, there are murders everywhere in the world. Seriously. One of my siblings lives in the Land of The Really Rich Folks, with no "ghettos" anywhere in the region, and it turned out that a serial bank robber was living and practicing his chosen profession right in the 'hood. In my own 90% Jewish neighborhood, no "ghettos" in sight, growing up, a woman was murdered up the street, and all her fingers were cut off. Well, the adults all figured it was her husband, but who knows.

Sorry, OP, I can't be of help, as I moved away after college, and no one else in my family is frum.

Anon because I'm identifying my family business.

the world's best mom

Mon, Feb 02 2015, 6:53 am

I find it very interesting that everyone who mentioned Elkins Park said you definitely don't want to live there. I recently spent a Shabbos there and loved it. It had a very mixed crowd. There were a lot of MO, but there were Yeshivish people too. And they were all very close with each other, very welcoming and friendly. It's possible the community is dying, but I didn't notice.

The house next door to where I stayed was for sale. It was 6,000 square feet, and was selling for $389,000. Based on what I saw there, I would recommend looking into the community.

amother

Mon, Feb 02 2015, 7:32 am

I don't know if you still need info but I live in Merion (next to Bala) and love it. I love the mixture of Jewish communities, I love the ease of shopping, I love the degree of acceptance and interaction between the various synagogues and shuls. I like the small town feeling with big city amenities. Philadelphia itself is a very livable city and great for families. I have friends in Elkins Park too. I just like the vibe in my area.