Shit is expensive.

Roommate.

Honestly, 45k should get you a nice place and a decent lifestyle in any place on the east coast except maybe NYC. 30k is a little tighter. Depends on what kind of residual debt you bring to the party, too. Big car payment/credit card bills=smaller place.

D.C. is more than happy to disagree with you.

Are you talking about the Main Line? Because, y'know, good luck with that.

I got busted on by family members during a discussion when I told them I pay $820/month (even though that's a flat rate including bills and whatnot related to a pretty decent townhouse share in a nice, convenient, fairly bumpin' part of L.A.). Everyone was like "I PAY $300/400 A MONTH".

Yeah, and you're in the happening burgs of Clarksville, Arkansas/Waxahachie, Texas/etc. I'll take my expensive room over cheap rent and absolute fuck-all to do any day.

I guess what I'm sayin' is you take the good with the bad.

DC is absolutely expensive as hell, but I lived within the district limits for years in a very nice place with a decent lifestyle on much less than 45k a year. You just have to be smart with your money.

And unless you need to be out there, much of both Camden County and Burlington County in NJ are actually closer to the city than out there.

Different's not always a bad thing.

If you have a car, commute. You're talking about the priciest suburbs outside Philly. I'm working on a project exactly where you're talking about and I drive 45 minutes from NJ every day. There's also trains running from all directions. Sounds like you just don't have the lay of the land yet.

But if you're expecting "the South" prices, you're fucked.

But chicks in Philly will looooove that southern accent.

Basically, what Phil is telling you. The Main Line is godawful in pretty much every sense of the word.

Isn't CDI a she?

Then she'll make friends, won't she? SHUT UP JAKE I'M TRYING TO MAKE HIM/HER FEEL BETTER.

yo I can be your roommate gurl

Not with an avatar like that, you won't.

Depending on the restaurant/coffee shop/patisserie, you're wildly underestimating the kind of tips those good people rake in. They just have to be prepared to be verbally abused and condescended to by the good people of such towns as Wayne, Paoli, etc.

By the way, have you looked at places around Quakertown? It's much cheaper and a relatively short commute.

You can stay in my attic as long as you're cool about being quiet when my wife is home. And NOT quiet when she's not home.

F'realz, if you have questions you think I can answer about the area, holler. Do you have a car?

My Sister-in-law lives in Quakertown and from talking to her husband (who works in Philly), the price and commute are pretty great.

Yeah, I'm not too far from there myself. As an added bonus, it's also fairly near Bethlehem which has a pretty cool little downtown, annual music festival, annual celtic festival, etc. You may know it as the place they filmed the China scenes for Transformers 2.

I'm glad you told me that before I asked about your creepy obsession with Ewan McGregor.

But really, if you don't mind sharing, what's calling you to the Philly suburbs?

yo I can get you a drink gurl




(seriously, I'm done, I'll go away now)

You know, I hate to be the one curmudgeon-like fuck in the room here, but you are aware that you're complaining about being inconvenienced by having to go to a Laundromat and living in an apartment with less than ideal floorspace in order to accommodate a job you just got in the worst economy in seventy years, right? I, mean, fuck you should be singing selections from the Snow White soundtrack while throwing coins into the washing machine and living in a slightly cramped apartment.

Up to 50% of young Americans are unemployed or underemployed and the figures just get worse if you factor in the people who still live and breath but fall outside of the parameters of most studies. I have friends from college who have been looking for work for three years. Be grateful for what you have.

Get an apartment that may not be great, but get a month to month lease. Only settle in a little, then start looking for better opportunities from private landlords on craigslist. You can end up back in a situation like you have from there.

I lived in an apartment in Westchester (college town west of Philly) for $650 a month 10 years ago (worked in Berwyn and Exton). Not sure what it's like now. Apartment and neighborhood was fine and much better than the one above the video store I lived in downtown. A good friend lives in the Thornton area (south of Westchester) and commutes to Philly for a Navy job every day. He's looking to move closer on route 1.

Yeah, I grew up in the Lehigh Valley. My brother commutes from Allentown to King of Prussia every day. Long drive.

I commuted over an hour to school for 2 years (Easton, PA to Dover, NJ) and then over an hour towards Clifton, NJ for a couple years from PA for a job. Anything under an hour should be doable and Philly is surrounded with a ton of nice suburbs in many directions within that commute time. Valley Forge area is nice. Not sure about the cost of living. King of Prussia might be too pricey.

Don't apologize for nothing. You're not making that much money right now compared to the cost of living. The key indicator isn't that you actually have a roof over your head but that you can save money incase of a disaster such as loss of employment, car breakdown etc...

Laundromat's aren't there as a public service, they make a shit ton of money off of poor shlubs who don't have a washer \ dryer. I had to use them for about two months while I was finding a place (and wasn't sure if it was gas or electric and didn't want to commit to buying without that knowledge) and it cost me on average ... $20 to use the machines each week. The washer \ dryer I bought was $150 for both (used, in the paper)... lasted 6 years until I gave it away to someone.

Save every penny you can until you have at least 6 months worth of rent (not including roommates) and utilities and every time you hit the supermarket for food, buy 2 extra cans of food that way you can build an emergency food supply. This may take you 6 months but that feeling of fear will fade as each month passes.

This is especially important if you move away from where you have roots (friends, family, a social network). By the way, incase you aren't already a memeber, join AAA.

Yup, especially if you're commuting.

My attic has an air hockey table, air conditioning, a small library and a Phantom of the Paradise helmet. You'll be fine.

Having a car opens up your living options. Seriously, moving to a whole new place and then confining yourself to one area is going to make it even more miserable.

Ah, well, I guess you're not so bad, then. And you're partial to Maker's Mark, so that also helps the rage.

Now that you're leaving the South for actual civilization--I kid, I kid--you might want to try a few drinks with some of the more modern ryes instead. It adds a little kick to a Manhattan.

This is a great point to make. You won't learn the best way around the local rental market until you actually live there, make a few friends, attend one of Phil's famous Monte Hellman tattoo parties, etc., particularly in a big market like Philly. Logistically it's sort of a pain in the ass to have to consider moving again, but it may allay some of your worries now to think about that first place as just a stepping stone.

If I had to move to Philly, I'd be afraid too.

A Phantom of the Paradise helmet? Can I move in?

This is no fucking joke. I can't believe how much this shit costs at Park La Brea and I feel like I'm putting $5/$10 on the stupid laundry card every time I do laundry and the crazy woman two houses down is currently washing every single item in her ungodly mass of pink towels/bedding and it's already eight o'clock and I've been waiting for two hours fffuuuccckkkkk

Jake has become punctuationally challenged.

My ex's mom lived there. The cost of living is ridiculous (in no small part because a lot of the people there are trying to portray themselves as the cream of society and, thus, spend way above their means).

It might be time to get married. You get to split the bills, plus: sex. As much as you can talk her in to.

You just thinkin' out loud, Sammy?

Dude CDI is a girl I can't believe you didn't know that.

I just wanted to second this as being really, really good advice. Having a 6 month cushion on LIFE is very important, both financially and mentally.

Have you tried negotiating those loan payments to a lower amount? An extra hundred bucks or two a month in your bank account can be a huge help.

Nah, I've been married 1/2 my life. It's good for me, but I'll still make an easy joke when given a chance. CDI can head up to CT and marry some hot chick there if she wants. It's not that far from Philly.

My buddy had an apartment in that area. Course he was a genius working for Lockheed Martin.

I bought a 7$ crab cake today!

Now, Princess, you didn't read the thread before you posted, did you? 'Fess up.

Even if it was on topic, a $7 crab cake doesn't seem that expensive.

What if it was a really small crab cake?