Northeast - Thinking of moving to philly...thoughts?

Hi. My wife graduates in one year and I want to move to a bigger place where I can advance my career as a chef. There is a restaurant in Philly called Vitri Ristorante, a quaint Italian restaurant, but rated the best in the nation that I am thinking about pursuing a job with.

Its address is 1312 Spruce St Philly.

So I am wondering a few things. First off what is the cycling like in that area, including the surrounding areas? Where is a good place to live that I could commute to and from work from? What is the cost of living like, super expensive or decent? Would you recommend moving to the area?

Thanks everyone.

Philly is a great medium sized city very fun active good riding all around.where ya from..Philly aint cheap.
:thumb:

It's a good starter city-- I'm here for school, and coming from NY find it a little boring. I live right near your ristorante, in a cheap little studio. Housing is all across the board, depending on your standards, you can get a decent big place for mad cheap if you don't mind people getting shot across the street from time to time.
The biking scene is rather nice. There are a lot of rides, official and unofficial, weekly and monthly. Fixies are very in. It's an easy commuter city, being flat, small, and not too traffic-y. I wouldn't even consider needing a car. The cops don't bother bikers, as a rule. There are a good number of bike lanes, too.
Good luck! Feel free to PM me for more info.

Have you ever been to Philly? It's about as far from Berea as you can get. I don't know about riding in the city, but Bucks County, north of Philly, is a great place to ride. Post in regional forum in roadbikereview.com if you haven't yet. Also search for clubs in the SE PA area and contact those folks. Best of luck with your career!

What is the closest town outside of philly that is a nice place to raise children, also affordable?

I am only a visitor to philly, but it is a good bike town. Bike lanes are in places and expanding. There is the Itallian market on the south side, and it is a very nice market. Large and full of choices. I didn't see allot of orangic stands, but still allot of produce, meats and cheeses. The Reading station has some nice
organic stands and a very nice tea stand in which I bought a staple tea for myself, but not found in the regular stores. You can spend days and or weeks in the museums. Bike trails lead out of the city, along
the schuylkill river, and through some very nice forested areas abound with other trails. I use my bike downtown whenever I visit. Philly is a very nice town. I grew up in cities, so I tend to like cities and even though I know most have some issues, Philly is a nice town on that scale. If you get bored, you can go to New York to the north or Baltimore, Wash, D.C. to the south, all within a days drive. The Jersey shore in the warm weather is also close. r

What is the closest town outside of philly that is a nice place to raise children, also affordable?

The greater metropolitan area has 6 million people within a 30 mile radius...which is about 2800 square miles. There are probably a hundred towns that could be considered "close" and "nice place to raise children"...what's your definition of affordable? If you want to bike commute to 13th and Spruce you'll probably end up in the city. Even the inner ring suburbs are a pretty fair distance from center city.

On a recent visit I noticed lots of bikes and bike commuters downtown as well as bike lanes. I was jealous because my town, Baltimore, has no bike lanes.
Onan

Don't go into the city unarmed. Crime is rampant in the city, and there are no competent politicians there that will do anything about it. Go west of the city if you have to live in the area.

^^ But not West Philly. Except for small gentrified pockets around Penn, it is frightful.

You can try out in Western Delaware County or anywhere in Chester County, if you can afford to live there.

If you are adventurous you can look in the King of Prussia and take the MUP into Manayunk and then work your way into the city via Kelly Drive etc. You would be looking at an hour plus commute, but the good side is that there is local rail service that goes into center city if you need to go that route. Some of the buses have bike racks but if I remember bikes are not allowed on local rails.

As others have said, if you haven't visited Philly for a week or so, I would recommend doing it. While there are numerous good parts about the city, there are plenty more crappy places.

Overall there are a lot of bicyclist out there and numerous road and MTB groups in and around the city.

I've lived in Philly for almost 6 years now, and I must say that it is a great place, especially for biking. It is a very afforable city and has some amazing neighborhoods (West Philly near UPenn, Norther Liberties, Center City, South Philly). The issue with Philadelphia is that blocks are hit or miss, and I do agree that a lot of West Philly is legitimately frightful, but you just don't have to go there. The city is huge and there are plenty of other places to live and go. Also, if you're into biking, you could look in Manayunk but the King of Prussia area is too far (30 minute drive in basically no traffic, and there is never no traffic on 76). I would suggest the city itself because a lot of the suburbs are really expensive.

Totally agree with sj123. OP, if you can get a job with Marc Vetri, you're golden- he's a fabulous chef, and his restaurant is one of only a couple 4-star establishments here. I'd strongly consider living on the east side of the Schuylkill River (between Front and about 25th or 26th) just because it will be easier for you to get to Center City (especially with the South Street bridge being closed for the next couple of years). Like sj says, there's no need to come out here to West Philly if you don't work out here- it's just as expensive as Center City, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties, or Old City, although it is quieter.

For the rest of you, it's a CITY, people! All cities have their warts, and Philly is certainly no exception. But the benefits of living here (as opposed to KOP or some other suburban outpost) far, far outweigh the costs.

I piped in earlier, and I am only a visitor, but I too think Philly is a great biking town. I also like museums of art, and an outdoor market as many blocks long as possible. You can hit the trail behind the museum of art and be gone for hours on a bike, with lots of trees. Head north and see valley forge. When I visit I park the car and never take it out, because I can get everywhere on a bike. I am used to driving in the traffic, and if that is a concern, follow the sinage for bikes.