Is there reduced tuition for people in the community at Temple or is that only for CCP?

The current leadership there (and I get this just from reading the news) seems to be misguided. They finally reconciled with their graduate student union and the president was supposed to move into a house near Temple but they haven't moved in there yet. Why pretend to care?

FWIW I don't think a food court in a residence hall should be open to the public, especially not in a dangerous neighborhood. That makes no sense. Let the people who are not staff/students of Temple who want to eat in there show ID (and have it be scanned or collected) or pay some kind of subscription to eat in there. If they know that their name and face is documented then most won't go in there or they won't act up. You can't get into any other building on Temple's campus without presenting an ID and signing in.

Except those that live surrounding it don't want it. I include myself in that and I live on the other side of Broad, about 10-15 minutes walk to where they propose to build this stadium. It would be much better in North Philadelphia (or keep in South Philly where it is). It would revitalize that area and bring more restaurants and businesses. It would actually be INVESTING in a part of Philadelphia that the city for the most part ignores.

Hello? North Philly SEPTA RR station? Some of the RR stop there and easy enough to get to Jefferson station and take one stop on a train or MFL. Amtrak stops there. MFL does too.

It doesn't rain enough to clean up the stench in Philly. I live here. Masks really help walking around outside. Maybe if you are in your car you don't realize it. But street sweeping is not enough, they need to WASH these streets and sidewalks downtown. Residential areas are probably not as bad.

They exist. Especially in the theatre and visual arts.

No. You need a car for East Falls, Mount Airy or Chestnut Hill. I have friends who live in East Falls and you can’t walk to the grocery store, although I guess you could get delivery. The three of these are like the burbs from a NYC perspective—or maybe Staten Island.

walk score for Chestnut Hill is 69. https://www.walkscore.com/score/Chestnut-Hill-Philadelphia-Pennsylvania/lat=40.0715789794922/lng=-75.2105865478516/?utm_source=searchpoint.net&utm_medium=ws_api&utm_campaign=ws_api

Much of the performing arts got shut down during the pandemic. Theatre is just coming back this year. It could never compare to NYC but it was 100% more active in all arts before COVID.

Well they ARE terrible for people from Philly. 25% of the people live on under $30,000 a year. Many middle class renters had to move last year because landlords in Center City were raising rents a few hundred dollars and they were being outbidded by people from more expensive cities. This is not a wealthy city, although there are people who can afford $1700 and more, it is HIGH for many people in Philadelphia. The city cannot even fill its jobs because they don't pay enough.

If you want less than 2K for more than 1 bedroom you need to consider S. Philly, North and West Philly, East Falls, Mount Airy, maybe Manayunk. $1675 might get you a 1 bedroom with a private landlord in Washington Sq. or Queen Village. You'll need a car for East Falls, Mount Airy or Manayunk.

Would you be getting jobs in Philly or WFH with NYC jobs?

You could also get a decent studio in CC between $1200-1500. In West or South Philly you probably can find a 2 bedroom for $800-$1000 per person with a roommate, and then save about $400-500 (depending on your utilities.

I had a root canal several years ago and it my case it was very complicated. I don’t think a student would have been able to do it—the dentist saved the tooth and added some kind of support and an implant. I also had a few cavities and a broken tooth, since I had no dental insurance for 10 years and hadn’t gone.

My current dentist is the professor of all those student dentists at one of the dental schools and has more than 20 years of experience, and it took nearly a year of visits to get my mouth fixed and the root canal took a few visits. The visits were only 60-90 minutes though. But I did not feel any pain at all and I felt safe with someone experienced. Even with my insurance I still had a lot to pay since their fees are high but it was worth it. I’ve been going to this practice since for about 8 years and have only had a couple of cavities in that time. What has helped me is switching to a battery toothbrush. Electric or battery toothbrush cleans a lot better. I don’t know if you have one. I have a dental cleaning every six months.

A student dentist would be okay for basic stuff (I did that when I was a grad student in another state) but I’d be reluctant to have a root canal done by anyone but an experienced professional. Others have vouched for the student clinics though.

Stay away from Manayunk and Roxborough. Manayunk has steep hills. I don’t think you can go wrong in Center City, especially if you work there too. You have the buses and it’s relatively flat. There are a lot of hi rises with elevators. You probably should check with a realtor to help you find an apartment. There is one on here “decentChinese food” that you could message.

You are basing your opinion just off of statistics, since you weren't even living here. A mayor is more than just crime statistics. They are the leadership, public face of a city, they choose the police commissioner in Philly, and many other things related to quality of life in a city. What and how we experience life in a city is important. You can look around your neighborhood and see if businesses are booming, more are starting up or they are closing. You can gauge how safe you feel, how many bums are on the street, etc. These are quality of life issues, and of course they are subjective, but they matter, and these are the mayor's legacy. Most people when they decide to move or stay in a city, they are considering quality of life issues, not statistics of what was going on in the world or other cities in the nation.

Okay. So it seems that you are attributing all the positives in cities during 2008-2014 to ex-President Obama then. It was a much better time for sure.

Back to Nutter. Was he better than Kenney? Check. Better than Street? Check. Better than Rendell? (Maybe not--I wasn't here before Street so I don't know, but people say Rendell was a great mayor). Better than Rizzo? Check--so racist that people wanted his statue removed. Better than Wilson Goode? Check. (MOVE bombing was his claim to fame).

That's going back about 40 years, and other than Rendell, Nutter was one of the best. Granted, the bar is low for Philly, but it is a city with a lot of problems.

Were you living in Philly from 2008-2016? If you were you at least saw the physical changes that were made in Center City (can't say that North Philly experienced the same) during that time. I moved to Philly in 2006 and it had changed for the better, including decreased crime in 10 years. The number of restaurants, businesses had increased in Center City as well.

They switched to short term rentals within The last 2 years and those who rented apartments long term have to leave.

There are some scans on craigslist so be careful there. Trulia and Zillow have rentals, but some small/private landlords are on Craigslist.

I think historically it has been, but for me, there is a really different feel when you cross over Washington Avenue. Also considering how expensive Bella Vista is, and the construction of some high rises in the past 10 years, it is not the same as it was. I lived in Bella Vista over 15 years ago, and although I still like it a lot, it's more like a bridge between Center City and South Philadelphia, IMO. And when people say South Philly, I don't think most are including Grad Hospital or Bella Vista, both which have been gentrified significantly. But whatever you want to call it, Bella Vista is nice, and I'd live there in a minute if I could afford it.

For me, Bella Vista and Grad Hospital are not South Philly. Maybe they used to be--but I think there's a definite boundary now with Washington Avenue. Hawthorne is Bella Vista and not sure what Whitman is! Where is it?

I've always used Turbo Tax. The Wage Tax is taken out of my paycheck so I think there was a somewhere to put that through Turbo Tax--local taxes. I never have done a separate return for the Wage tax. (And I have filed in PA/Philly since 2006).

If you have a business, you should have a business license, and can file your business taxes either on paper or online. I've always filed on paper, although once I think I filed online--that whole process has changed--before it was very antiquated.

If your wage tax is not taken out of your paycheck you can pay that (Earnings Tax) online:

https://www.phila.gov/services/payments-assistance-taxes/taxes/income-taxes/earnings-tax-employees/

Whatever you do, don't get an apartment with electric baseboard heating, especially if it's an old building. They were built with large windows and before electricity in some cases. Your electric bill will be over $200 dollars per month in the winter with that type of heating. Or if you do, be aware that you may be paying over $200 per month for electricity in the winter and budget accordingly.

You also need to be ready to pay on the spot. Depending on your price point the competition is fierce for apartments. If you are going to pay $2000 plus for a studio or 1 bedroom, though, probably you don't need to worry, as there are lots of them and less competition at that price point. If you want anything under $2000, you can't wait. This happened to me in 2014, long before the pandemic and the apartment bidding. I looked at some 30 apartments and the ones I liked, I waited a day or two and they were gone. I finally got my current apartment by giving them a check for the security deposit when they showed it to me, to hold it.

It has deteriorated a lot since COVID, although it has improved since summer of 2021 which was the worst in my area in terms of crime. But it is not the same as it was before the pandemic, although nowhere is.I always encouraged people to move here and enjoyed living in Center City. I’ve been here since 2006/7. I would not encourage it now. If you have another offer go somewhere else. I don’t see the city improving, but that could depend on the next mayor. It could get much worse if the next mayor is ineffective. I am staying due to my job. Otherwise I’d move. I had planned to buy a property since rents are outrageous (for me) but I can‘t imagine taking out a mortgage for a home in this city now.

We losers!

I agree. But unfortunately, that's what is being constructed.

June and July in Center City have the most turn around due to the universities, but probably more should start to be vacant (for a day or so) starting in May.