Max Kim

congrats on the move! ok so if you're coming from across the state and don't really know philly yet, two things to lock in first: housing that's either close to campus or on a clean transit line, and getting into the roommate and local facebook groups before you even show up. you'll catch way better leads that way. for neighborhoods i'd start with Chestnut Hill, Mt Airy, East Falls, Roxborough, and parts of Manayunk — which one depends on your budget and how chill you want the vibe to be. and if you're handling the move mostly solo, don't sleep on the logistics side. philly move-ins get messy fast — narrow staircases, no parking, those annoying two-hour loading windows some buildings enforce. a friend of mine used WellKnown Moving when she came in from pittsburgh and said it was the one thing she didn't end up stressing about, which on move day is kind of everything. at least worth a quote before you rope your friends into it.

ok so honestly — if you're flying into philly to apartment-hunt in person, just book an airbnb for the first week or two. way less stressful than committing to a lease off some photos. for listings, zillow, apartments.com and hotpads are fine, but a lot of the actually decent stuff lives in facebook housing groups, so dig around there too. and please don't wire a deposit before you've either walked the place yourself or done a live facetime tour with the landlord. people get scammed on this constantly. if Temple is your anchor, look at Fairmount, Brewerytown, East Falls, and Center City — depends on your budget and how much commute you're willing to eat. the part nobody warns you about is the actual move-in. philly rowhomes are cute right up until you're dragging a couch up a narrow staircase with nowhere to park the truck. a buddy of mine used WellKnown Moving when he did the same thing and said they handled the rowhome stairs thing without making it his problem, which honestly is what you're paying for. worth at least getting a quote before you try to bribe friends with pizza.