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Veterinary Science Graduate Programs from U. of I.
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primatevetjess

primatevetjess

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Hey guys! I've been offered a residency position at the University of Pennsylvania. I'm extremely excited and love the program, but am trying to decide between UPenn and another institution. I was hoping to get some perspective about living in Philadelphia and while I can do Internet searching, the best info is first hand.

So... how do you like living in Philly? Are there a lot of outdoorsy activities (hiking, camping, backpacking) close by and easily accessible? What about culture (art museums, events, etc.)? And of course, always important, are there a lot of great restaurants (mostly interested in diversity of restaurants - Indian, Thai, sushi, etc.)?

Thanks for any and all input!
 
I don't have any input... but congrats on landing a residency! I'm super excited for you! 😀 :woot:
 
jjohnston said:
Hey guys! I've been offered a residency position at the University of Pennsylvania. I'm extremely excited and love the program, but am trying to decide between UPenn and another institution. I was hoping to get some perspective about living in Philadelphia and while I can do Internet searching, the best info is first hand.

So... how do you like living in Philly? Are there a lot of outdoorsy activities (hiking, camping, backpacking) close by and easily accessible? What about culture (art museums, events, etc.)? And of course, always important, are there a lot of great restaurants (mostly interested in diversity of restaurants - Indian, Thai, sushi, etc.)?

Thanks for any and all input!
Click to expand...

Yayyyy!! That's awesome!

I don't go to UPenn...but have spent quite a bit of time in Philly and have a ton of friends who live there. Valley Forge is really nice to hike around (my friend just got married there too!). Tons of culture and museums. Old City is a lot of fun, and the Barnes and the Franklin Institute are really nice museums. As for food...tons. And they do restaurant week 2x a year...so you can eat at fancier places for crazy cheap every once in a while 🙂
 
jjohnston said:
Hey guys! I've been offered a residency position at the University of Pennsylvania. I'm extremely excited and love the program, but am trying to decide between UPenn and another institution. I was hoping to get some perspective about living in Philadelphia and while I can do Internet searching, the best info is first hand.

So... how do you like living in Philly? Are there a lot of outdoorsy activities (hiking, camping, backpacking) close by and easily accessible? What about culture (art museums, events, etc.)? And of course, always important, are there a lot of great restaurants (mostly interested in diversity of restaurants - Indian, Thai, sushi, etc.)?

Thanks for any and all input!
Click to expand...

Culture is definitely a plus. There are a lot of museums and stuff to explore in Philadelphia.

Restaurants are actually pretty good and diverse in Center City, but the choices in University City/W. Philly where you will probably be living are really lame. Center City is a 5-10 minute subway ride away. Some people do live there and commute to Penn but it is more expensive that way. Some people live on the edge of so can have 1/2 hour walk to Penn and still enjoy the city life.

Outdoorsy stuff: Depends on what you call easily accessible. Everything is about an hour or more away. A/C and the beaches an hour away. Horseback riding out in the horse country... an hour away. Skiing a couple hours away. etc. Not that much right here....

This is a real city.. 5th largest city in the country so you get the pluses and minuses. There is some crime around... not a lot and not too bad if you don't go to the "wrong" areas.. Prices are not cheap (but better than Calif)... It can be smelly and dirty and rats. etc. And if you are from CALIF you will find the people here a bit disgruntled, mean etc vs californians IMO.

It is really convenient location, Penn is a great university, and the people at the hospital are really good. I think it is a good choice, just not "perfect".
 
jjohnston said:
Thanks for all of the input so far!



It's a lab animal medicine residency in ULAR 😀
Click to expand...

You should talk to GellaBella. She did a rotating position I believe at ULAR this summer. She might have some good input about the people there etc.

She also likes Philly more than I do (and is generally a happier, nicer person I gues).
 
StartingoverVet said:
Culture is definitely a plus. There are a lot of museums and stuff to explore in Philadelphia.

Restaurants are actually pretty good and diverse in Center City, but the choices in University City/W. Philly where you will probably be living are really lame. Center City is a 5-10 minute subway ride away. Some people do live there and commute to Penn but it is more expensive that way. Some people live on the edge of so can have 1/2 hour walk to Penn and still enjoy the city life.

Outdoorsy stuff: Depends on what you call easily accessible. Everything is about an hour or more away. A/C and the beaches an hour away. Horseback riding out in the horse country... an hour away. Skiing a couple hours away. etc. Not that much right here....

This is a real city.. 5th largest city in the country so you get the pluses and minuses. There is some crime around... not a lot and not too bad if you don't go to the "wrong" areas.. Prices are not cheap (but better than Calif)... It can be smelly and dirty and rats. etc. And if you are from CALIF you will find the people here a bit disgruntled, mean etc vs californians IMO.

It is really convenient location, Penn is a great university, and the people at the hospital are really good. I think it is a good choice, just not "perfect".
Click to expand...

I was gonna post but SOV said exactly what I would have said.
 
I just wrote some about Philly in the "factors when choosing a school" thread 🙂
 
StartingoverVet said:
I grew up here. I was just surprised after living in Socal for a decade how much I got used to the easy going atmosphere.
Click to expand...

Hahaha...I usually miss the east coast atmosphere when i'm not here. Never feels like home until you hear someone say "imma cut you". So endearing. :laugh:



(I only kid JJ...this really is the best coast)
 
Not going to share my feelings on Philly, but,

YAY YAY JJ!!! Super excited for you! Major congratulations!
 
Thanks for the input guys, it helps. I also went and read the "Factors when choosing a school" thread. I'm not too worried about the grumpiness of people on the East coast. I've lived both in L.A. and on the East coast, and I find that everyone's grumpy - in L.A. they're nice to your face and grumpy behind your back, while on the East coast they're just upfront about their grumpiness 😉 But I do have to remember to watch out for those classless sports fans, haha!

Thanks for the congrats, cuit and kakuru, I'm pretty excited. I may or may not have screamed and cried a little when I got the email.
 
bunnity said:
Um how did I not know about this?!
Click to expand...

Haha. I think because I've only mentioned it once or twice. I haven't even brought a kit down for myself yet. I always forget to ask my dad to bring one home with him cause our shop is up in Hamburg, which is probably like 2 hours from Philly.
 
orca2011 said:
Haha. I think because I've only mentioned it once or twice. I haven't even brought a kit down for myself yet. I always forget to ask my dad to bring one home with him cause our shop is up in Hamburg, which is probably like 2 hours from Philly.
Click to expand...

well if you ever have some extras... just sayin
 
jjohnston said:
Hey guys! I've been offered a residency position at the University of Pennsylvania. I'm extremely excited and love the program, but am trying to decide between UPenn and another institution. I was hoping to get some perspective about living in Philadelphia and while I can do Internet searching, the best info is first hand.

So... how do you like living in Philly? Are there a lot of outdoorsy activities (hiking, camping, backpacking) close by and easily accessible? What about culture (art museums, events, etc.)? And of course, always important, are there a lot of great restaurants (mostly interested in diversity of restaurants - Indian, Thai, sushi, etc.)?

Thanks for any and all input!
Click to expand...

No input, but CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I'm late, but thanks for all the congrats 😀 It's definitely an exciting time! Also, I formally accepted the residency position at UPenn and am very excited to start the program July 1. :soexcited:

Here's a silly questions - does Pennsylvania have a separate state board exam? I know most states do, but some don't and I can't seem to find a straight forward answer.

Also, does anyone have input on public transportation? I'm thinking of living a bit outside of the city and taking a train in.
 
jjohnston said:
Also, does anyone have input on public transportation? I'm thinking of living a bit outside of the city and taking a train in.
Click to expand...

Congrats on your residency position!!

I am not at Penn, but I did live in and outside of Philly for 3 years before I moved for vet school. The SEPTA regional rail system is actually pretty decent, though not as good as the MetroNorth system in the NYC area, in my opinion. Your commute could definitely vary a lot depending on how far out of the city you live and how close to a SEPTA station. For example, when I lived in West Chester I used either the Malvern or Exton SEPTA station (both a 10-15 min drive) to occasionally travel into the city (mostly I would just drive in) and the ride in to Phlly was close to an hour. Not a commute I would want to do twice a day, though plenty of people do it. However, I have a friend who lives in Marcus Hook and uses SEPTA to commute to Drexel, and his commute is a lot shorter/more convenient and less painful. I believe all regional rail lines stop at 30th street station, which is an easy walk to Penn (there is also a trolly you can take a few stops from 30th St to Penn if you don't want to/can't walk/it's pouring rain/etc). Not surprisingly, the trains can be pretty crowded at peak times, but that's pretty par for the course with commuting anywhere. Here's a good map of the regional rail and subway lines: http://www.septa.org/maps/system/index.html

I spent more time living just outside of Philly than I did living in the city, so if you have any questions about specific areas feel free to PM me. I had (and still have) friends who live in all directions within the 30ish mile radius around Center City and spent the better part of 3 years driving all around the suburbs, so I'm at least somewhat familiar with most of the towns in the area.
 
Well... Septa is Ok.
I doubt you will want to walk from 30th street on a daily basis, unless you want to add 20 minutes to your commute each way. There is also a stop at university city station on the regional lines which is 33rd and spruce, only a 5-6 block walk to the hospital (1/2 as long) as well as the trolley stops which are very close. There are trolleys every couple of minutes during peak, so that is a better choice (only a 1-2 block walk to the hospital).

A lot of people get fed up with Septa because driving really ends up being quicker in too many cases, unless you are really careful to live close to a major line. The subways are really not convenient to most "nicer" places to live, and you will probably be taking the regional rail so be careful to be close to one of those stations.

In some cases it can be just as easy to commute from NJ as it is to commute from the Philly suburbs.

I mean, if you are not living in Philly, you are going to end up needing a car anyway, so might think about driving in from somewhere decent. A lot of students commute by car, and surprisingly few of them by subway/rail. I think that probably tells you a lot as well. Parking is clearly the biggest issue... but it is certainly available.

I think in the end, commuting by Septa is the choice if you want to save money, not convenience or time, which I personally find annoying ( I mean, a train should be faster than my car, shouldn't it?).
 
Thanks for the tips, guys. That's kind of what I figured, as far as it not being terribly convenient or time saving. I'll probably just end up driving.

SOV, you didn't answer my first question! Is there a Pennsylvania state board exam?
 
jjohnston said:
Thanks for the tips, guys. That's kind of what I figured, as far as it not being terribly convenient or time saving. I'll probably just end up driving.

SOV, you didn't answer my first question! Is there a Pennsylvania state board exam?
Click to expand...

I don't know for sure. I will ask a 4th year for you. I believe yes because I remember some Docs in the hospital can't prescribe rabies shots without a PA license, so I assume there is an exam to get that license.
 
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