Tips For Moving To Philadelphia

July 25, 2023 5:56 PM

I'll be moving to Philadelphia soon, and was wondering if anyone has interesting tips or helpful hints that would help make the transition easier. I'm moving from Las Vegas, so it's a big change. Details below.

I've lived in Vegas for 20 years, so I'm acclimated to the desert. But I originally came from the cold cold north (winters on the plains in Montana), so I'll readjust, and I love the snow and ice. Cold, snowy winters are what I'm looking forward to.

I'm moving to Philadelphia because it's a city I can live in where not having a car doesn't immediately turn you into a outcast. I gave up driving a few years ago due to eye issues. Now the last of my family has moved out of Vegas, so I can finally live somewhere I want.

Buying a townhouse in the Wynnefield area (on Woodbine Ave). Water radiator heating, no AC. I'll buy a bunch of window AC units, and plan on having more attic insulation blown in before winter (it's got about 3" right now).

I'm a mid 40s white male, with bad resting bitch face and a stocky build - personal safety isn't an issue with me, but it might be for family members if they're walking through the neighborhood alone. Not worried about crime, and I specifically asked the realtor for a diverse neighborhood. (Grew up in, and am in, a mixed race family - diversity is important to me.)

House stuff - termites are an issue? The inspection report says no active infestation, but signs of previous termite control measures. Also the floors slope slightly, which may be normal settling or may indicate that the support beams are rotted out and about to fail...? The townhouse was built in 1925, so I'd be amazed if it hasn't settled and shifted a bit.

Based on the inspection report, I have a plan for modernization and water mitigation over the next two years.

Here I have a catio for my cats, but I don't have a back yard to do that in Philly. So I'll have to figure out what to do. I got a bigger house than what I have here so they'll have more space. Probably keep the litter in the basement and cut a cat flap into the basement door. But I'll have to figure out something for bird watching and other enrichment. Anyone in Philly that wants to come by and play with them would be more than welcome - they're very people oriented, and I always like meeting people (so do they).

I'll be using one of the bedrooms for couchsurfing.com once I buy some furniture.

Since I don't drive, I think my biggest concern is deliveries. I usually just order everything shipped to me. UPS, Fedex, and especially USPS are great here. Even OnTrac is fairly reliable. Anything I should know about that in Philadelphia? The Chewy deliveries with cat litter are heavy, so I try to catch the Fedex drivers so they can just dump it off on the sidewalk. But any issues with heavy deliveries?

Usually I get my groceries delivered by Albertsons/Cardenas/Smiths. They just shop in store and hand it off to DoorDash. Seems to work okay, and I tip well. Any issues with deliveries like that?

Lyft/Uber? Here I rarely have to wait more than 5 minutes for a ride. Drivers are plentiful, but hopefully it helps that I always tip well and don't waste their time.

Public transportation? It looks like I'm within a long walk of a train or bus station to center city. I've lived in cities before, and miss having a functional bus/train system, so that should be nice. Any customs or dos/donts I should be aware of?

I work from home, and plan on transferring my Verizon and TMobile wifi internet to there. (Yes, I have both - because of work) So no commute.

I know that there's going to be a lot of culture shock and it'll take me a while to feel like I fit in. I expect some ups and downs as I adjust to life there. I've spent most of my life on the west coast, and some in rural western areas. So I'm already learning about the differences in communication and attitudes.

Apologies for the long ramble - I'm trying to get everything in up front and avoid question sitting. Thanks in advance for any advice, tips, insights, or just random stories about Philly.

posted by JustAnotherPerson to Travel & Transportation around Philadelphia, PA (11 answers total)

First, congratulations on your upcoming move, that's a big move and sounds very exciting.

As you obviously know, Philadelphia is a fairly big city, and has all the services you would expect in a city. So I don't think you'll have any concerns with things like deliveries, whether it's groceries, restaurant food, UPS, USPS, or Amazon. There are Amazon drivers everywhere, constantly.

Using Lyft and Uber is easy here. I live in the suburbs and recently got a Lyft to the airport at 4:30 AM and it was here in 15 minutes. During the day, even faster.

There's a Whole Foods in Wynnewood which is 3.5 miles from Wynnefield. If that's too pricey, there's a local grocery chain, Giant, one shopping center away. Possibly there are other grocery stores even closer to your house. There's lots of delivery services for groceries, don't think you'll have any problems with that. There's a Produce Junction right in the middle of Wynnefield, it's a great store with super low prices on produce. I doubt they deliver but maybe it's walkable for you.

Public transit is great. I don't know the specifics of Wynnefield but if you're near the bus or train, you'll be able to get to center city in under 20 minutes. You'll need a card that you can add money to, which can be used on all transit including trains. The transit agency is Septa and details are on their website.

Weather. You probably already know it's unbearably humid in the summer. Winters have been relatively mild for the last decade. Every 2-3 years it seems we get no snow whatsoever. This past winter was one of those years.

I've lived my whole life in the Philadelphia area so I can't speak to culture shock but I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm guessing you've been to Philly and picked it for a reason. I wouldn't worry too much about culture....you'll see for yourself and figure it out (I think) pretty quickly.

Feel free to send me an MeFi Mail me if you have any more specific questions (or just add to this thread). Once you're settled in, you should set up a Metafilter Meetup!
posted by daikon at 9:19 PM on July 25, 2023

Welcome to Philadelphia! I haven’t spent significant time in your new area of the city but I have popped over there and it seemed like a fine location.

Porch pirates are a thing here so it’s something to keep in mind but other than that you shouldn’t have any issues with deliveries. There are many different grocery delivery services here. I’ve used one for years, it’s great.

No problems getting an Uber or Lyft at any time. My friend took an Uber from my place back to his hotel at 1am a few times during a week and he never waited longer than three minutes.

SEPTA is….fine, I guess. There will probably be a lot of bus lines and maybe few trolly lines around you. The back door of the trolly will only open if you step down first so be ready for a chorus of “STEP DOWN, ASSHOLE” if you don’t do that. It’s a rite of passage. Get yourself a SEPTAKey card for five bucks and register it online to get that money back in transit credit.

There’s basically two subway lines: Broad St Line runs North-South, Market Frankford Line runs West-East. Both have gotten worse since the pandemic so expect to see people jumping the turnstiles, smoking on the platforms and in the train cars, homeless people, people on drugs, and probably a few sketchy characters. Keep your head on a swivel and you should be fine.

Philly is a weird place and can be rough sometimes but we love our own. I’ll always remember that glorious week after the Flyers revealed Gritty as their new mascot. Local media had a field day making fun of him until the story was picked up by the national news and then suddenly everyone here decided that only we could make fun of Gritty so now we had to protect him with our lives.

Good luck with the move! Hopefully everything goes nice and smooth. Please feel free to MeMail me any questions if you want. I don’t have a lot of knowledge about your specific area of Philly but I’ll try my best.
posted by Diskeater at 9:54 PM on July 25, 2023

Welcome to Philly! As a car-less Philly native I think you sound well-prepared in terms of expectations.

(In Philly we call them rowhouses though;)

I use SEPTA almost every day and have been for many years. Yes, it has its issues, but there's always a way to get somewhere in city limits on it (and suburbs too). I use Google maps for navigating routes and times ans that works well. Just be aware of your surroundings, don't block doors, and expect some degree of chaos/noise on the buses and trains at times. You need exact change if you pay on board but getting a key card is easy and you can fil it up on line.The regional rail trains are more expensive but quieter, go out into the suburbs, and run less often. Busses and subways usually run fairly frequently if in the city.

I've never had any problem getting Uber or lyft anywhere I've been, in city or suburbs.

Wynnefield is a beautiful neighborhood, not a hipster-y area but filled with families and beautiful historical houses (as you probably know) I think it's a good choice. I live in the same general area, but closer to cemter city in west Philly.

Packages sometimes get stolen from porches.

There's so much awesome stuff in Philly! I've traveled around to some fascinating places and Philly is still among my favorites even though I grew up here. Feel free to message me with any questions or if you want to hang out!
posted by bearette at 4:38 AM on July 26, 2023

Hi! Philly girl and homeowner here.

Hullo beautiful kitties!! I've seen some people install a window-type catio. If you want bird watching, plop a bird feeder/house outside -- but expect the aggressive squirrels to take over.

my biggest concern is deliveries.
The biggest issue with deliveries in the city is theft. To an egregious degree -- sometimes people will follow the Amazon truck and steal it in under a minute. Though sometimes we have deliveries sit out for hours without issue... You'll want a Ring camera, preferably hardwired so you don't have to worry about the batteries (ours discharges really quick once the temps are close to freezing) and make friends with your neighbors so you can get a heads up. Delivery drivers are really hit or miss with actually knocking/ringing, so I always follow tracking as closely as I can. Amazon delivery day is your friend if you can plan ahead.

Usually I get my groceries delivered
You'll be fine. I've gotten deliveries from the suburban grocery stores in Jersey (I'm on the Delaware side of the city) -- Wegmans is my favorite grocery store, not sure if you're in their delivery area through Instacart.

Lyft/Uber?
You're good.

Public transportation? It looks like I'm within a long walk of a train or bus station to center city.
The bus from west Philly is a LONG ride to center city. You'll want the train. I believe your best bet is taking a bus to 69th street station and then taking the El to center city. The El = Elevated (nobody says that) = MFL = Market-Frankford Line = the east-west subway. It's a quick ride to center city. Usually safe, though the usual panhandling in major cities and sometimes drug use. The buses run on their own time, so don't plan to "just" make a bus because it might breeze by early, or might be late. Many of them have GPS now so you can see where there are using Google maps or the SEPTA app. Fares are paid through a "SeptaKey" -- special payment card you can pick up at the major stations, or you can do cash in a pinch. Best practices - know where you're going, get on quick, don't block the doors. For buses, you'll see people hopping in the back door and riding for free on busy lines, but if you plan to pay get on the front. If a bus is busy it will not let you on and it sucks.

Weather
Sorry to burst your bubble but we don't necessarily get snow, sometimes we do but the city itself often just gets a dusting or ice.

Culture
Philly has a rep as a unfriendly city, but really not true. We're a blue collar city, a little ball-busty, a little dirty. But if you need help figuring out how to get somewhere or your grocery bag breaks in the middle of the street, people will stop to help. Your resting bitch face will fit right in.

We love our sports teams, but don't have anything against the Vegas teams so if you're a sports fan feel free to wear your gear. But it would be better if you become a Philly sports fan because they're the best.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:17 AM on July 26, 2023

i left philly in 2014, but it is HUMID AS FUCK in the summer. be prepared for that coming from the desert!

check into the internet situation. where i lived in CC, from 2002-2014 (the years i lived there) comcast was the only option.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:50 AM on July 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Wynnefield is a slightly isolated pocket, im not sure how well public transit is going to be for you.

Philadelphia all transit map has a complete map of every route. Check it for what bus routes are available.

The cynwood train line barely runs, m-f only and every 4 hours? Thats was worse than i expected.

For buses, the schedule is merely a frequency suggestion, but you can live track where the buses are on septas realtime transitview on the web, or app. septa realtime the market Frankford el and Broad street subway are the fast ways to get around town, but you are a bit aways from them.

Septa key cards to pay for transit.

Reddit Philadelphia has a fairly comprehensive wiki on all sorts of things.
reddit Philadelphia's wiki
posted by TheAdamist at 11:20 AM on July 26, 2023

The Bala Cynwd line is basically useless, but you may be close to Overbrook station which is on the Paoli Thorndale line and runs quite often, about 10 - 15 minutes to Center City.

You'll also be super close to Fairmount Park which is just fantastic. Summer outdoor concerts at the Mann Center are always fun, too.

Hymie's Deli is close by.
posted by Eddie Mars at 12:41 PM on July 26, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks for all of the awesome info! I'm pretty happy with the decision to move now, just a bit concerned about not being too close to good transit. But I'll figure that out.
posted by JustAnotherPerson at 7:49 PM on July 26, 2023

Welcome to Philly! It’s great here!

I am a car-free person who’s spent a decent bit of time near where you’ll be living. I also live in a different neighborhood that is…not super renowned for its transit friendliness, and more or less make it work. Getting around where you’ll be will take some patience and planning but isn’t insurmountable.

If you’re near the Lancaster Avenue end of Woodbine, your best bet for getting to center city will be the 10 trolley, which goes straight along Lancaster. It runs more frequently and has a lower fare than the regional rail. (More on that in a second). Above ground it operates like a bus where you pull the cord for your stop, but it eventually enters a tunnel to go underground to center city, at which point it typically stops everywhere. There’s a few weeks every summer where the trolley tunnel gets shut down for track work and everything is chaos as the routes are diverted, but you’ve just missed that stretch this year—congratulations!

You may be near Overbrook regional rail station, which will get you to center city slightly more quickly than the trolley but for a slightly higher fare. The thing about the regional rails is, their schedules were—still are—designed primarily for pre-Covid commuter hours. This means hourly, maybe twice hourly at best, service on weekends and holidays, no late nights, etc. Overbrook station is on a line that also includes some of the wealthiest areas in greater Philly (people will call that whole stretch “the main line”), so it gets a little more service than some other areas, but you’ll still need to plan your timing carefully if you take the regional.

Finally, you‘ll be near a handful of buses. Which ones you’re closest to depend what stretch of Woodbine you’re on/near. I’m most familiar with the 65, which will take you either to 69th street station (connection to market-Frankford line and many buses, movie theater, H-mart, excellent Mexican and Central American food) or to the Germantown area of Northwest Philly (many small historic house museums, hiking in Wissahickon Creek park).

Know that most bus/trolley stations don’t have good shelter from the elements. Some are little more than poorly marked signs on a utility pole. Plan well for the weather and watch carefully for the route markers.

You will want to get yourself a septa key card early and register it, which will allow you to add money online. Keycards are available at all the major septa stations, and also at a variety of other businesses. The septa key web site has a comprehensive list/map. I also highly recommend getting the transit app and shelling out for the paid version. In my experience its real time tracking is much more accurate than the actual septa app.

The grocery chains you listed aren’t local to Philly. Your best basic, middle of the road delivery option is probably ShopRite, with Wegmans as a slightly fancier option. (I alternate between these two). Avoid Acme, it’s overpriced for the quality you get.

Again welcome, and seconding the idea of having a meetup once you’re here and settled in.
posted by ActionPopulated at 11:32 PM on July 26, 2023

I would recommend getting a termite treatment and keeping that up, but don't stress about them, it should be fine after that.

Septa goes quite far out of the city and also connects to regional amtrak trains so it's easy to get out of the city too.
posted by sepviva at 9:07 AM on July 27, 2023

Philly is really friendly in a rude sort of way. Do yard work outside if you have a yard or sit on your step and say hello to your neighbors and they’ll watch out for you. Most outside cats in my part of the city are strays and we made our cats indoor only when we moved in to the city from the suburbs. Buses are pretty friendly and I take them everywhere. It’s a sprawling city and Wynnefield is out there. Welcome!
posted by Peach at 12:17 PM on July 27, 2023