Living in Philly

Why all the way there? You should try to find something closer to the campus.

Haha, walking malls, coffee shops, parks?

Your priority should be to live in a place where you don't get shot. Live one block in the wrong direction from UPENN, and good luck to you.

I would see if there is some housing near Drexel or Penn campus, but watch for the '40th street boundary'...you get any higher than 40th street, and you'll get lots of cheap stuff but don't expect it to be the safest place. On the other side, from 30th street to 40th street are Drexel and UPENN campuses, which are good places if you can find something. Then there's a river, and across from that you'll have center city and rittenhouse square, which is expensive. (I am exaggerating a bit about getting shot, but only a bit ).

Personally, unless you want to walk to/from a mile or two each way, I'd either get housing right near campus, or move a bit farther away and take public transportation.

If you're going to be in the post-bac, I doubt you'll be in class more than 2-3 days a week, and that too for only a little bit, so don't be afraid to try to find something nice for cheaper in the surrounding suburbs and take the EL to Penn.

I agree with Lokhtar to some extent. North of 40th Street things can get dicey pretty quickly, but like any area of the city, sound judgment and common sense will almost always keep you out of trouble.

Rittenhouse Square is unbelievably expensive. I mean, it's absolutely unaffordable, unless you are extremely wealthy -- if you are, it's a beautiful place. But if not, I would suggest the neighborhoods of Mantua and Powellton, near Drexel. The area between Chestnut and Spring Garden Sts. and 40th and 30th Sts. will be cheaper than anything you'll find right next to Penn. It's a vibrant community, ethnically diverse with a manageable crime rate and peace and quiet most hours of the evening. It's a 10 - 15 minute walk to Penn from there, much less if you wisely procure a bicycle.

I'm not sure what a "walking" mall is -- but no large cities, at least on the East Coast, have shopping malls in them. That's kind of a suburban thing. But the University City area has great shops, bars and restaurants.

I agree with most of whats been said here. There are some nice places at 3131 Walnut and 39th and Chestnut - all high rises. There is a new building at 40th and Chestnut that I hear is nice. If you head towards downtown, it is true that it gets more expensive, but take a look at Craigslist to see what "expensive" means. I have lots of friends that have found amazing deals or have found fairly reasonable rent. You don't have to live right in Rittenhouse where the high rises are to live in Rittenhouse - there is plenty of housing nearby. I'd say take a look on Craigslist to get a sense of pricing in that area - there are plenty of students living near there so it's affordable somehow.....

Close stuff:

http://www.4wallsinphilly.com/cc/westminster/westminster.htm
http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/apa/646818453.html


You can also live in South philly and commute. Again, it depends on how many days you expect to be on campus. If you're going to be there only three out of seven days, a 10-15 minute commute is nothing, and you might as well save a lot of money.

This is a website that I used too when I moved to Philly to get a sense of what is available in terms of off campus housing. Students have rated their landlord and places where they lived.

http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/offcampusliving/index.php

Why so short? In a nice area, generally they'll want longer leases.

Yeah, for real. Exactly how long are you saying? Is this just a summer session thing? If you're honestly going to stay there for a month, you should probably just stay in a hotel -- or in your car.

If it's going to be for the full summer, you're better off checking craig's list. Penn and Drexel students will be subletting their apartments for summer vacation, so you could pick that up. But they'd (obviously) be coming back at the end of August, so you'd have to find a new place if you needed to stay any longer.

If you are looking for something that short, like NewmansOwn said, check craigslist. But make sure you check out the place before signing a lease or renting the place. Last year, I found a place in philly and was moving from california. I thought i'd save some money by just looking at the pictures the land lord gave me of the place. Well, now the lease is over and i'm counting down the days before I move to a new place. Also, if the rent on craigs list is super cheap, be very wary.