small town girl moving to Philadelphia, in need of friends

[PlatanitoChip]

Hey friends,

I just got accepted into Chestnut Hill college, which is in Philadelphia. I live across the state near Pittsburgh, which is also where I did my undergrad. I haven't been to Philadelphia and I've never lived alone or in a bigger city. How do I go about finding a roommate or making social connections so that I have some friends or a bit of a community when I arrive?

[Max Kim]

On 7/25/2024 at 10:06 AM, newinhere said:

Hello everyone, I'm an international student who's about to start a PhD at Temple. I was thinking about renting an airbnb for the firsts day when I'll arrive in Philly, then I'll start to visit some apartments in person. Does anyone have any up to date recommendations for housing? Like FB groups or websites? 

Thanks in advance.

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.