Saberhead

Looks like I might be moving there in a couple months (west philly to be exact)....good city to ride in? Anyone been there/live there etc? Cool people?

adriano 

all your questions can be answered at phillyfixed.

MIN 

You will get shot and your bike will get stolen. Just sayin.

GestapoTactics

Philly is great to ride in.
pretty much flat, small enough to get anywhere fast, but i usually try to bring my bike inside wherever i go!

depending on the neighborhood, you an lockn your bike no problem (in my experience) but i always try and bring my bike inside for extended periods if possible. maybe im just paranoid.

ulugeyik

West philly is a good place for biking. There is a large community of bikers, a bike-co-op, various neighborhood bike stores etc. The trolley lines are bit of a pain in west philly, but you will learn to live with them. Center-city also has bunch of good bike stores. The city in general is improving in terms of bicycling but can be better. Be active and join the bicycle coalition, atleast get on their email list. If you are interested, join the bike-co-op too (neighborhood bike works). they run a nice "bike church" which open to the whole community.

The city is amongst the top in bike theft. So you have to secure your bike well and I mean really well and even for short periods of time if you ride to downtown, university city etc. There are parts where this is not necessary.

enjoy your stay. I just moved out of philly and I get "homesick" still.

also there was a recent thread here about where to go when you visit.

time bandit

its alright

AidanJ

Watch your back, or it will get stabbed.
Watch your bike, or it will get stolen.

Where in west philly are you going to be?
If you're going to be in university city, then you don't have to be on top watch because all the campus' hire a security guard for every other corner.
BUT on the other hand, if your going to be in west philly west philly, like deep west philly, and your a white boy, you're gunna get your ass jumped. Straight up. (Philly is more than 50% black, us whiteys are a minority, get used to it and love it)

West philly is hilly, not as hilly as parts of north philly (mt airy, manayunk etc.) , but still hilly. Not ideal for a SS/FG. I ride fixed, but live in south philly, where its flatter. South Philly, center city, and the southern part of north philly is pretty flat. The road in west philly are alright... However most roads in this city suck. Barely paved, lots of pot holes, construction everywhere. Its a jungle. Try not to get a flat in the wrong neighborhood.

Biking in philly isn't much different from biking in most cities. Cars are jerks, be aggressive.

That said, lock your bike up nice, and welcome to the city of brotherly love.

Meepers

west philly is not that bad. jsut don't be a d-bag and you'll be fine.

jimmk

philly is a great city for riding. As long as you properly lock up your bike, you really don't have to worry too much about theft. I've never had a bike stolen, been riding here for years. Great bike path from the art museum out to valley forge, and you will certainly see tons of fixed riders out in the city. There's a good bike shop in west philly at 50th and baltimore called firehouse, and a whole lot more around the city.

Meepers

eat at Vietnam! one of the best restaurants in the city. i love that place!

jimmk

true story, vietnam is awesome.

ilikebikes

[quote=GestapoTactics;8544668]Philly is great to ride in.
pretty much flat, small enough to get anywhere fast, but i usually try to bring my bike inside wherever i go!

depending on the neighborhood, you an lockn your bike no problem (in my experience) but i always try and bring my bike inside for extended periods if possible. maybe im just paranoid.[/quote]

No, your right, bring your bike in no matter where you ride in Philly (if you can) if you dont chances are pretty good that there'll be an empty spot where your bike used to be. Ive been in Philly from the day day I dropped out of the crotch, so you can believe what I say about it is true.

rrooster

Totally depends on where you are. University City isn't bad for riding, and southish West Philly (out around Clark Park) ain't bad either. Oh, and S. Philly's nice, a lot of open space. And people are about the same as anywhere else... some embody "the city of brotherly love", some "the city of brotherly f*ck off and die".

Where exactly in W. Philly?

flam

I'm in university city, and love it. Its no the flattest part of the city, but the hills aren't overwhelming, they're actually fun, given you're on the right end. I lock up my bike with a mini kryptonite, but its always on campus, so i'm not too worried. Overnight my bike is in my dorm. This is the only city i've biked in but its been enjoyable, hope you like it!

AidanJ

NEVER ever never lock your bike up at 30th st station.

Saberhead

Im not sure yet, I know itll probablly be in the University area? My boyfriend lives in New Jersey and I live in Seattle, and we both cant agree on anywhere to live so we both know people in philly, so I guess thats gonna be it. Ive been there a couple times but never got to ride aroud. We were thinking NY city, but I dont know if we can afford it...

If not Philly, then Miami! Yeah right, I would love that but my bf would not.

I remember there was place called South Street? Or something like that? It was a little neighborhood with a bunch of shops and stuff? I think we were trying to get a place around there...
PS-You guys have amazing sandwhiches.

AidanJ

There is a street called south st, and I'm not surprised your jersey boyfriend took you there. South street is full of jersey f*cks. If you plan on living in philly, don't tell anybody in philly your dating a jersey boy.
We (jersey and philly) got major beef.

Living on south st is expensive, but a few blocks away is becomes more and more affordable if your going south (or more expensive if your going towards the city).

By sandwiches, do you mean our hoagies or cheese steaks. Thank you either way.

skinnyland

everything good is east of the river.

rrooster

You think you'd like Miami, but you're wrong. In fact, your preconceived notions of Florida, based solely on Orlando, are wrong. Sorry, haha, I'm from the state.

And yeah, what was said about S. Street, its pricey as sin. Find someplace on Washington Ave, though, and you can get a decent apartment for not too much.... and all the vietnamese and mexican food you can stand.

Saberhead

Haha, well hes got beef with Jersey himself. He wanted me to move there originally but I wouldnt ever do that. Philly is more a middle ground for both of us. If he was down to move to Neward Id consider it, but not Long Branch.

Sandwhiches-both! They rule! So good!
If you ever come to Seattle, our fish is really good.

Also..How expensive is expensive? Meaning like a one bedroom apt is gonna cost around or above 1000$?
Either way, if not in that area, then well be in west philly. I wanna try and get into the physics department at Drexel.

There were some cheap places in north philly, but everyone was warning me not to do that, and most said south philly (Fishtown) was good too?

time bandit

fishtown is NE of center city. its ok. id stay away from apts in "north philly" (north of girard, west of front) or west philly. (past 50th st. above market or below chester) untill you get a better feel for the city and dont want to generally worry about your saftey everytime you walk out the door

Saberhead

Seattle can be in some areas as hilly as San Fransisco so Im sure its decent over there. That was something I remember taking note of when I went out there, is it super hilly? i hope i like it too!
People out there seemed pretty nice. The crowd we hung out with out there was more wild than what Im used to out here on the west coast.
Ive lived up and down the west coast since I moved here from the UK and there seems to be a difference in attitude between west coasters and east coasters, but you get wild people/mellow people everywhere I suppose. You guys sure know how to party!

Saberhead

Ive lived in ****ty areas in Los Angeles for a long time before I moved up to Seattle, so Im kind of done with the being scared when I go outside stuff, so Im definitly not looking for an area where I feel that way. Ill take all of your guys' advice when we search for a place.

Meepers

my girlfriend lived in west Philly, around $700, my friend lived on 2nd and market around $1200-$1500 (depending on if you have a car, or different unit), my ex for a Brown Stone off of Gerard(3 bedroom i think) $1800 (i haven't talked to her in over a year, so i am sure it's more now) and another friend in WAY WAY WAY North Philly (about a block from not even being in Philly anymore) he pays jsut under a grand (he told me how much, but i that was a while ago) for a studio (i think technically it is a one bedroom, but there is no kitchen and they only have a mini fridge. it is all opnen air. about 12" ceilings and one 8" wall. but they use the front "Room" as their Art Gallery, Exclamation Gallery.").

whiskyrebellion

If you can get a 3 or 4 bedroom house in south philly and some roommates you could be paying as little as 200 bucks a month.