UPENN.....a wise choice?

[gatorf150]

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Hey I am kind of on the fence between UPENN and UF. I am used to "Gainesville" living where having a car is no problem and the apartments are plentiful, cheap, safe, and nice. Now I have been searching for a week online on the different websites listed on SDN looking for apartments or houses in philly. It seems from my consensus that you can only park on the street or in a garage. If you park in the garage it is $1500 or so a year. And if you park on the street you need philadelphia insurance which rapes you. Is there no such thing as an apartment with a parking lot or a house with a driveway. This is what I am used to and cannot seem to find anything like that. When I was in philly I stayed in center city and did not get to see much else. I would like to be close to the school and either walk or bike (but do I need to worry that my decent bicycle is going to get stollen). Do any students live in a certain area that is maybe I guess suburban (houses and driveways/garages). I am new to this whole "city" living so sorry for sounding ignorant of the lifestyle but it is just different. Now I love everything about UPENN and would gladly choose it over UF if I can make the living situation work comfortably. Also, my fiance and small dog will be coming with me. Please if anyone has any comments or advise I would really appreciate it. Either post it or PM me.
Thanks a bunch

 

[KiKat37]

I'm at Penn right now and I haven't seen anything around campus that looks like "an apartment with a parking lot or a house with a driveway"... Sorry! You may be able to find that in the suburbs, but it would 1) be far from school and traffic would kill you everyday 2) the rent would be very high.

As you said yourself, the only way I know is to park in a garage, which is very expensive, or park in the street and pay crazy insurance... Sucks..

But, the solution to your problem could be simple: don't take your car! You really don't need a car in Philly, especially if you are going to live on or close to campus. Everything you need is at walking distance and if you need to go somewhere far, the transportation system is pretty good.

As far as your bike is concerned... LOL ... you should most def. worry about it being stolen!! Just expect it! Well, I'm pushing it. It's not that bad... but, it's pretty bad. I know a lot of ppl whose bikes were stolen or somehow damaged.

Btw, the weather is terrible here. I would choose UF in a heartbeat! Just my two cents though... 🙂

Hope this helps...

 

[amnesia]

penn over uf?? pfft... penn is an ivy league. uf isn't.

 

[Dr. AYY]

Alright man, I understand your concerns but honestly get over the whole car thing 😉 . UPENN is one of, if not the best school in the country, don't let the fact that you can't have a car stop you from choosing the best possible education you can gain. Look, I went to UF for undergrad and I gotta say living in Gainesville has its perks 😀 (plenty of space, great weather) but if it were up to me this wouldn't even become a thread. I wish you the best of luck with your decision process, and I guess the best advice I can give you is make sure your decision boils down to which school you think is a better educational and sittuational (living etc.) match for you and your fiance. Oh yeah and of course the dog 😀

 

[51487]

In a sort of similar situation--I have gotten into UF but would prefer to attend Penn, I'm fairly certain...I'm excited about "losing" my car though--I've had it down in Miami and have disliked the inconveniences of owning a car...You don't need a bike @ Penn...Pretty sure SEPTA can get you most anywhere you need to go...As far as living close to the campus, the girl that hosted me for my interview was @ 2400 Chestnut which is quite nice in that it has a shuttle to campus (and is very nice) but that you could still walk in nice weather if you wanted...Its a little more expensive than I would like though...There's also the possibility of on-campus housing or other housing in West Philly which is probably cheaper than that near Center City...What do you think is too expensive?

 

[MWillie]

Penn isn't a rolling school, no one got in yet. Relax everyone.

Penn dental is a different story for a different forum.

 

[Uegis]

Haha, you probably made a bunch of people nervous by posting that you got into UPenn in the pre-allo forum. Congrats on getting into dental school though.

 

[coincidental]

Pretty sure SEPTA can get you most anywhere you need to go...

I would be careful about relying on SEPTA. They have a 70 million dollar deficient and to compenstate they are (1) Raising rates. Going one way will cost you about $6 (although it will vary by zone). (2)Cutting all off-peak and weekend services. So, if you don't leave by 7:00pm, you are stuck. For med students studying late, this could be a problem.

Bleah. SEPTA is really annoying. Never on time, eager to squeeze the very last cent out of everyone, never enough seats...boo SEPTA. 👎

 

[wends]

i dont want a lot for christmas
there is just one thing i need
i dont care about the presents underneath the christmass tree
i just want a upenn interview for my own
more than you could ever know
make my dreams come tru.......
all i want for christmas is uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu(penn)

 

[51487]

OMG lol...aaaah how will I get around Philly?!!?!!??!?!

 

[oniwindu]

Yeh, SEPTA doesn't really get you everywhere you need to go. It isn't reliable at all at off-peak hours, and in some areas, I would worry more about safety than anything else.

There are plenty, plenty, plenty of cabs in Philly. Cab fare isn't THAT much, and if you split the fare with other people going the same way, it sometimes ends up being cheaper than a round-trip ride on SEPTA.

Congrats on getting into Dental at both places! (UPenn is an awesome school!!!)

 

[gatorf150]

Hey....=) I didn't realize penn hasn't accepted anyone yet. Didn't mean to get anyone upset. Dental is rolling so we know Dec1. I jsut thought I would throw a post here since it seems more people look at this forum than the dental. Yeah I heard sometimes the SEPTA is unreliable. Anyway I found some pretty cheap apartments that look nice with a free parking lot like gainesville (lol) in southwest area. It is not too far from school 4 miles or so. It is called korman suites/ international city chalets. A good sized 1 bdrm (830 sq ft) runs 759 per month. And you can get a garage permit from UPENN for $1455 a semester. So break it down and you got a nice 1 bdrm for $880 a month and you can drive to and from school. Im gonna look into that when I go. How early do you guys think I should go up to look at apartments. Do they fill up pretty quickly?
Good luck you guys trying to get in PENN med maybe Ill see ya round!!!

 

[paco]

Staying with a student host in Center City, I thought walking was very reasonable from either Center City (maybe 15-20 min) or West Philly (~10 min). Just get a cheap bike that is junky enough that no one would ever want to steal it, and you're all set. Housing costs seemed nicer than most big cities and Philadelphia was better than I expected. A very livable city. Of course I was only there a couple of days. Parking along the street in West Philly I heard is fairly easy, but I think it might be a bit tougher in Central city.

 

[GATORade]

Southwest, the Swamp, Grog House, the weather, the ladies! Oh how I miss Gainesville. Stay in Gainesville while you have the chance! It’s a real world out there, and it’s nothing like Gainesville!

 

[brucecat]

I think the apartments you mentioned are over on City Line Ave. You can get a cheaper place there, but it's going to be a pain getting to school everyday because there's not much access to public transportation there, and if you decided to drive, finding parking will take forever...
I would suggest, like others here, to leave your car at home, or just park it on the street and use it sporadically. Enjoy living in the city. Philly is a very walkable city, and SEPTA is not that bad--just get a weekly pass, $18 for unlimited use of subways, buses, trains in the city. And don't listen to the hype about the proposed hikes. That never affects weekly or monthly passes; it just affects the people who rarely use septa and buy one ride at a time.
If you absolutely need your car, try looking at the northwest neighborhoods of philly--manayunk, roxborough, west mount airy, chestnut hill--rents are reasonable and apts. are more likely to have parking.

 

[51487]

So break it down and you got a nice 1 bdrm for $880 a month and you can drive to and from school.

hmmm does the original 759 include utilities...I've heard these can be as much as an extra 200 per month....AAAAH!

 

[gatorf150]

hmmm does the original 759 include utilities...I've heard these can be as much as an extra 200 per month....AAAAH!

No the $759 was without I can't imagine $200 a month for the electric. I mean I guess if you have tons of windows and the walls are paper thin but still the apartment is small so you could get away with one of those portable heaters.

 

[Uegis]

No the $759 was without I can't imagine $200 a month for the electric. I mean I guess if you have tons of windows and the walls are paper thin but still the apartment is small so you could get away with one of those portable heaters.

My friend live in Center City. She pays 120 bucks a month for electricity alone, and she never turns on the heat or AC. She doesn't even have a TV!! Only computers and appliances. So yea, its expensive for utilities. She was shocked after never paying more than 50 bucks a month in college.

 

[DrRads101]

When in Rome my friend.....

Why bring a car if you are going to live in a huge city? Makes no sense. It sounds too much like you are trying to hold on to what you are comfortable with rather than embracing what is smart for you.

 

[missmod]

Most Penn students who live downtown will rely on SEPTA in the mornings, and no matter how much money gets cut, they will always run buses at 7-9am. After class, there is a free Penn bus (Penn bought a whole bunch of them off the New York City MTA...) that runs every 20 minutes and it circles around campus, center city, and west philly (all the way to 50something street, i think). Transportation should be the least of your worries. If you are at the Dental school, parking in West Philadelphia is relatively easy. For every block that is permit-only parking, there is a block that is for any regular out of state car. There are also houses and buildings that have their own garages and parking lots, tho you will probably have to pay extra for that.

2400 Chestnut is a good place to live only because lots of Penn grad students live there. Otherwise, it is the biggest ripoff downtown. I live in a 1 bedroom high ceiling apartment downtown (20th and Walnut) for $650 a month and only pay 30 dollars in utils because my landlord actually bothered to upgrade the stove, fridge, and appliances that use up lots of energy if they are old.

 

[51487]

what is the availability like with the cheaper apts, do u know? does penn help u find one or are they pretty much like "go have fun"

 

[Neuronix]

I live in Center City in a 1BR Apt that costs $850/mo. Parking is $170/mo in this part of town. Then again, I live in the most central, most happening part of town, so I'm paying for it. I commute in every day by SEPTA, and I think it's plenty reliable, the problem is that its future is in question right now and pretty big rate hikes are in the works 🙁

So anyways, you can really live in alot of places and get to and from Penn. In your case, I would really recommend living West Philly, and not in Penn's apartments. They suck, and they're overpriced for the location. Look for ads in West Philly on the Philly Weekly (http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/?inc=classifieds&type=1) or Penn's Off Campus Living site. They will give you ideas, but most listings will be for like 1-2 months from now. Parking is not a big issue in the majority of West Philly. It's also not a big deal in many parts of center city, but since the dental school is fairly west and you're not someone who wants to be in a big city like me, I wouldn't worry about living in center city.

If you have more questions let me know. I wouldn't worry about this too much. West Philly isn't the ghetto it used to be and it isn't as bad as some people make it out to be. As for 2400 Chestnut--ridiculously overpriced. They advertise the $80/mo parking, but their apartments are $200/mo more than most things in the area. So, do the math on that one.

Oh, and missmod, that sounds like an awesome deal you got. Are you sharing that place or something?

 

[kcrd]

Where I live (around 46th and baltimore), it is fairly easy to find parking, and you can find a huge one-bedroom apartment for around 700/mo. Walk to school - only about 15 mins. If you are concerned about your car, several of the houses have garages you could rent. It might take a little bit of calling around to different real estate agencies, but we found a nice big garage 2 blocks from our house for 100/mo.

 

[kcrd]

for apartments in west philly near upenn, try www.urbanbye.com and www.odonnellre.com

a good rule of thumb if you want a nice place is to stay east of 48th, north of chester or springfield, and south of sprurce. closer in to campus you can go as north as walnut, and as south as woodland.