Apartment Search in Ardmore, PA
I looked for apartments today in Ardmore, PA. I had looked through neighborhoods around Philly and in its suburbs, and Ardmore struck me when I drove out the main line...it seemed like a really livable place, and I really liked the businesses there. It has a great coffee shop (with reliable wireless, and live music!), a trader joe's, a farmer's market (a bit upscale but it's nice that it's there), a very good sheet-music store, a very cheap paperback bookstore (sells below list price!), and lots of places to eat.
Everyone told me that this area is "very upscale" because it's on the main line.
I was pretty shocked when I looked at apartments in this area. All the places I looked were very close to the train station and central business district. My shocking observation was that the neighborhood actually seemed quite shabby when I started looking for places:
And the deal-breaker: the apartments I looked at were *VERY* shoddy. I looked at a total of 6 units, 4 of which were in houses. The most expensive ones were in an old high-rise apartment complex and those were tiny, and honestly, not in the best shape either. One apartment was actually great, looked great, and had a really awesome landlord. But I am very reluctant to take it after looking at the other apartments. I feel like...first of all seeing a half-decent apartment after a bunch of really horrible ones might make you think it's better than it really is...but secondly, I'm starting to doubt whether I really want to live in that neighborhood. $850 for a 1-bedroom. It was much bigger than I need too. That's pricey...if I'm paying to live in a pricey neighborhood then damn it, it better be a nice neighborhood. People better paint their houses--and more importantly--shovel their walks. And that's the annoying thing...the nice apartment was on a busy street with a narrow sidewalk that went right up to the edge of the street...and I thought, if I live here, I will be walking on this sidewalk every day. Do I want to do that? Not really.
Everyone told me that this area is "very upscale" because it's on the main line.
I was pretty shocked when I looked at apartments in this area. All the places I looked were very close to the train station and central business district. My shocking observation was that the neighborhood actually seemed quite shabby when I started looking for places:
- Most of the houses in the neighborhood needed some serious repainting.
- Few of the driveways were paved.
- The sidewalks and driveways in the neighborhood had, overall, a shoddy snow-removal job, as if no one was really looking out for the properties or neighborhoods.
- There were a lot of dead and unhealthy-looking trees about. While I personally love dead trees (yay woodpeckers!), I don't think they're a good sign for the neighborhood...and it looked like they were left out of negligence, not out of a genuine desire to help the natural ecology.
And the deal-breaker: the apartments I looked at were *VERY* shoddy. I looked at a total of 6 units, 4 of which were in houses. The most expensive ones were in an old high-rise apartment complex and those were tiny, and honestly, not in the best shape either. One apartment was actually great, looked great, and had a really awesome landlord. But I am very reluctant to take it after looking at the other apartments. I feel like...first of all seeing a half-decent apartment after a bunch of really horrible ones might make you think it's better than it really is...but secondly, I'm starting to doubt whether I really want to live in that neighborhood. $850 for a 1-bedroom. It was much bigger than I need too. That's pricey...if I'm paying to live in a pricey neighborhood then damn it, it better be a nice neighborhood. People better paint their houses--and more importantly--shovel their walks. And that's the annoying thing...the nice apartment was on a busy street with a narrow sidewalk that went right up to the edge of the street...and I thought, if I live here, I will be walking on this sidewalk every day. Do I want to do that? Not really.