MRG
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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If you choose Philly make sure you understand PA's state inheritance tax and it's impact to anything you want.
Philadelphia - should I retire there?
- Thread starter gretah
- Start date
Many thanks to everyone who responded!
To clear up a few things -
I spent most of my adult life in San Francisco and loved it. Then I moved to NW WA close to the Canadian border for work and to be near Vancouver for play and social life. I’ll be here for a bit longer.
Now I want a bigger city experience than San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver and I’d like to try the East Coast. Plus I can’t afford the HCOL and taxes in these west coast cities. I would love to live in Montreal but I think I would have problems with residency (at retirement age) and Canadian HCOL.
I would move to NYC if I could afford it. Philadelphia seems to have an interesting downtown with lots of museums and an interesting ballet company. Plus I could easily visit NYC and DC for more museums and ballet performances. (On the west coast, distances between cities are huge.)
PA’s 3% income tax rate is appealing. I hope to go to Spain or some other warm place for a month or so every winter.
Outdoors makes me sneeze and I’ve never been interested in sports. I miss the lifestyle of living in the heart of a city. I’m so glad most of my adult years were in San Francisco - I loved it. But HCOL drove me and virtually all my friends to other states.
I can’t wait to get rid of my car and use public transportation and Lyft. I hate driving, especially city driving.
I read every post carefully. To respond to a few -
Thanks for the good advice on renting first. Will do!
The rudeness and racism some of you report concerns me. I hate racism, especially. I heard there is a lot of racism in Atlanta which is one of the reasons I thought Philadelphia might be better.
Table service in San Francisco and Vancouver is good. Sounds like take away is how I would patronize PA restaurants.
I will consider CT. Thanks!
I didn’t realize Atlanta was less humid. If Philadelphia doesn’t work out, Atlanta is second on the list.
Amazon HQ2 has Atlanta and Philadelphia area on short list? I didn’t know that - thanks for the heads up! That could ruin affordable COL.
Thank you for the warning to investigate inheritance taxes in addition to state and property taxes. I’ll investigate.
To clear up a few things -
I spent most of my adult life in San Francisco and loved it. Then I moved to NW WA close to the Canadian border for work and to be near Vancouver for play and social life. I’ll be here for a bit longer.
Now I want a bigger city experience than San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver and I’d like to try the East Coast. Plus I can’t afford the HCOL and taxes in these west coast cities. I would love to live in Montreal but I think I would have problems with residency (at retirement age) and Canadian HCOL.
I would move to NYC if I could afford it. Philadelphia seems to have an interesting downtown with lots of museums and an interesting ballet company. Plus I could easily visit NYC and DC for more museums and ballet performances. (On the west coast, distances between cities are huge.)
PA’s 3% income tax rate is appealing. I hope to go to Spain or some other warm place for a month or so every winter.
Outdoors makes me sneeze and I’ve never been interested in sports. I miss the lifestyle of living in the heart of a city. I’m so glad most of my adult years were in San Francisco - I loved it. But HCOL drove me and virtually all my friends to other states.
I can’t wait to get rid of my car and use public transportation and Lyft. I hate driving, especially city driving.
I read every post carefully. To respond to a few -
Thanks for the good advice on renting first. Will do!
The rudeness and racism some of you report concerns me. I hate racism, especially. I heard there is a lot of racism in Atlanta which is one of the reasons I thought Philadelphia might be better.
Table service in San Francisco and Vancouver is good. Sounds like take away is how I would patronize PA restaurants.
I will consider CT. Thanks!
I didn’t realize Atlanta was less humid. If Philadelphia doesn’t work out, Atlanta is second on the list.
Amazon HQ2 has Atlanta and Philadelphia area on short list? I didn’t know that - thanks for the heads up! That could ruin affordable COL.
Thank you for the warning to investigate inheritance taxes in addition to state and property taxes. I’ll investigate.
mamadogmamacat
Full time employment: Posting here.
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LOL on the racism in ATL comment. This is the home of MLK and his family. The least racist place I have ever lived in you will find a whole lot more of that in PA in general than in ATL. All I can say to whoever you "heard" that from is "bless their heart" 
target2019
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I trimmed your responses to address three.
1) Rudeness and racism exists everywhere. What will happen is that you attract friends who have similar interests. I live across the river, in NJ. The first town we picked turned out to be a closed community (we found out later). When the children were still small, we jumped a couple of miles to a very diverse town. That made a significant difference with the attitudes my kids have now. They were exposed to many cultures as they matured.
2) Whatever has been said about table service is very narrow. I wouldn't let those things drive you to take-out (although it is cheaper!).
3) Phila. is not situated to allow for the kind of facilities Amazon needs. Phila. is constrained geographically by a river on the east, an airport, and western/northeast suburbs. I don't know what the Amazon list includes, but I do follow what Phila. is proposing. I just think there is a better fit for Amazon somewhere else, and that will be discovered.
In Phila. you do make seasonal adjustments to your activities. Evidently that is not acceptable to some.
Philly is a wonderful city, and I'm sure that Atlanta is, also.
ncbill
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Big cities are always going to be expensive.
Pick a college town close to (but not in) the big city for better quality of life:
Solid College Towns in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Allentown: school districts, university, costs) - (PA) - City-Data Forum
Pick a college town close to (but not in) the big city for better quality of life:
Solid College Towns in Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Allentown: school districts, university, costs) - (PA) - City-Data Forum
USGrant1962
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
OP can comment, but neither Philly nor Atlanta will be "expensive" to a "west coast city girl".
Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
Why not consider Boston ?
ShokWaveRider
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
MRG
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
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Wow. Have you been to PA college towns? I grew up in the areas they're talking about. Bucknell was just down the road as were State College, Scranton, Lewisburg, Mansfield, and Lock Haven. All nice little towns in the middle of no where.
However open attitudes, no way! You can still find references to a 60 minutes article from 20 years ago with interviews of people being referred to as "the influx" cause they didn't look like European descendants. We left that area when we turned 21, when I go back it's like a bad dream. I'm always thankful my DW and I escaped.
In the early 90s I spent a lot of time around Philly, Valley Forge actually, nice area with friendly people.
Huston55
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There’s an old political campaign saying (I first heard it from James Carville I think) that politically, PA is Philly in the East, Pittsburgh in the West...and Alabama in between.
ADR to PA & AL.
flintnational
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I have lived around Atlanta most of my life.
- 2 hours to the mountains
- 6 hours to the Gulf or Atlantic
- easy air travel direct to anywhere from ATL
- horrible traffic, but retirees can avoid
- diverse population (pick the neighborhood that fits)
- short drives to Nashville, Asheville, Charleston, Savannah
- I like the weather, enough winter but not to much
- close to the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs - beat Bama)
- low cost of living in the suburbs, housing and taxes are higher in town
-"Your Dekalb Farmers Market", a mecca for cooks and foodies
- college football, pro sports, new baseball and football stadiums
- multiyear growth and rising tech sector
- Georgia/Atl has become a movie/TV mecca, the DW participates as an extra
- 2 hours to the mountains
- 6 hours to the Gulf or Atlantic
- easy air travel direct to anywhere from ATL
- horrible traffic, but retirees can avoid
- diverse population (pick the neighborhood that fits)
- short drives to Nashville, Asheville, Charleston, Savannah
- I like the weather, enough winter but not to much
- close to the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs - beat Bama)
- low cost of living in the suburbs, housing and taxes are higher in town
-"Your Dekalb Farmers Market", a mecca for cooks and foodies
- college football, pro sports, new baseball and football stadiums
- multiyear growth and rising tech sector
- Georgia/Atl has become a movie/TV mecca, the DW participates as an extra
Bamaman
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I worked on the edge of Atlanta for a company headquartered in Lancaster County, PA--an hour from Philadelpnia. I had heart attacks anytime they mentioned transferring us up there.
Houses in swim/tennis communities in the Atlanta suburbs are large and the neighborhoods are in unbelievably inexpensive. Homes over 4,000 square feet can be bought for $250k all day long. We were a short distance from the incredible Lake Lanier.
Why would anyone want to move to a ratty, run down city like Philadelphia only to have a standard of living far, far less than in Atlanta. The only other city with comparable COL would be Houston, but their property taxes are high.
We had a second place in the NE Georgia mountains, 65 minutes from home. The 4500 ft. mountains are within eyesight, and it is a great getaway. We still get up there often, and it is just as beautiful as any place East of the Mississippi.
After traveling extensively on business to many HCOL big cities, I have never been envious of anyone living where taxes are out of sight and where real estate costs many times that of Atlanta.
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One the reasons I suggested Connecticut. We are right between Boston and New York with easy access to either by train or car. If one must live in one of the CT cities, I suggest New Haven, which has many museums and cultural events of its own, especially the ones connected to Yale.
I hear racism bantered around all the time. Is it that or rudeness? Philly is famous for its sports fan rudeness. Don't paint the broad brush on everything. East Coast is in your face. Atlanta is about as diverse as you can get. If you want East then live with it. If your feelings get hurt stay in the West.
BTW, Austin is the new Portland (or Seattle)
harley
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
NY/NJ/PA/and maybe MA (Boston at least) is in your face. Most of New England and all of the South understand about personal space.
calmloki
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
What was the old joke? second prize was two weeks in Philadelphia; first prize was one?
My tastes run toward not a city, so discount this post.
My tastes run toward not a city, so discount this post.
EastWest Gal
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There’s an old political campaign saying (I first heard it from James Carville I think) that politically, PA is Philly in the East, Pittsburgh in the West...and Alabama in between.
ADR to PA & AL.
I live in the so-called Alabama part of PA. That isn't true anymore. There is also a robust theater and music scene. Harrisburg has a thriving gay community as well. Many colleges here, not just Penn State up in State College. Not all of them are in the middle of nowhere.
But there isn't much public transportation in the area. There are liberal and conservative enclaves, and attitudes have changed significantly in the past 20 years. I found much less racism here than I did in California.
The more I'm here, the more I like it. Yes, PA has an inheritance tax. 4.5% if it's your kids paying it. 0% if it's a spouse.
But I wouldn't live in Philly, unless it was in the suburbs.
One of the best parts about living in the east is that it's much easier to travel to Europe from here.
Huston55
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
There’s an old political campaign saying (I first heard it from James Carville I think) that politically, PA is Philly in the East, Pittsburgh in the West...and Alabama in between.
ADR to PA & AL.
Good to hear that. It has been a while since Carville ran a campaign...
LRDave
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Maybe you should let the outcome of the NFL playoff game this coming weekend guide you?
So I currently live in Philly and love it. The major downside is the winter weather.
1) Philly is not a dump. Yes it's a big city so it has big city issues. One of the largest park system in the country (Fairmont park). Great neighborhoods with diversity and local flair. Lovely homes, although I'm not a fan of the new construction.
I live in Fairmont, I can walk down town in 10 minutes, have supermarkets, restaurants, targets, drug stores all within walking distance.
Traffic is a pain but once again its a major city.
Close to the jersey shore.
I'm a city gal, I did the suburban life when the kiddoes where in school. Hated it. Dull as dishwater.
1) Philly is not a dump. Yes it's a big city so it has big city issues. One of the largest park system in the country (Fairmont park). Great neighborhoods with diversity and local flair. Lovely homes, although I'm not a fan of the new construction.
I live in Fairmont, I can walk down town in 10 minutes, have supermarkets, restaurants, targets, drug stores all within walking distance.
Traffic is a pain but once again its a major city.
Close to the jersey shore.
I'm a city gal, I did the suburban life when the kiddoes where in school. Hated it. Dull as dishwater.
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I'm African-American, with 3 AA sons. I don't find the city to be any more racist than any other city. In fact Pa has a reputation, Philly on one end, Pittsburgh on the other with Mississippi in the middle.
My kid's have had way more issues with racism in philly suburbs than in the city. Villanova, Upper Merion, bucks county are much worst IMO than Philadelphia
My kid's have had way more issues with racism in philly suburbs than in the city. Villanova, Upper Merion, bucks county are much worst IMO than Philadelphia
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