I saw the loft today. The loft of my dreams. It's 1500sf of light-drenched space, with a wall of South-facing windows, a quirky, bowed hardwood floor, endless cathedral ceilings crossed by huge old beams, a washer-dryer hookup, an enormous bathroom, a kitchen twice the size of mine, and a glorious exposed-brick wall to frame views of Philadelphia from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge all the way across the entire city skyline. It's got remote-controlled access to the parking lot. It's got a dog run.
It's also at 5th and Cecil B. Moore.
Sigh. I took Mom with me, and while we both fell in love with the unit-- the penultimate of the six or so we saw-- we were both freaked out slightly by the no-man's-land of the neighbourhood: vacant lots, burned-out buildings, all that. I was told it's Northern Liberties, but it's not-- it's just plain North Philly, and it's NOT a safe place at ALL. I could probably grit my teeth and do it, but my Dad said, "I'd worry about you every night."
"I have a dog!"
"I'd worry about the dog, too!"
I want a loft now, though. I want one badly. Perhaps outside the city, to the West, if I could. But where? Or maybe a house, with a yard for Clue. Again, though-- where? Sigh.
It's also at 5th and Cecil B. Moore.
Sigh. I took Mom with me, and while we both fell in love with the unit-- the penultimate of the six or so we saw-- we were both freaked out slightly by the no-man's-land of the neighbourhood: vacant lots, burned-out buildings, all that. I was told it's Northern Liberties, but it's not-- it's just plain North Philly, and it's NOT a safe place at ALL. I could probably grit my teeth and do it, but my Dad said, "I'd worry about you every night."
"I have a dog!"
"I'd worry about the dog, too!"
I want a loft now, though. I want one badly. Perhaps outside the city, to the West, if I could. But where? Or maybe a house, with a yard for Clue. Again, though-- where? Sigh.
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Date: 2007-02-21 05:18 am (UTC)ROTFL!
That sounds like something my father would say.
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Date: 2007-02-21 06:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 03:04 pm (UTC)But no one ever said I was sane :)
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Date: 2007-02-22 07:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 05:29 am (UTC)Industrial neighborhoods take time to gentrify. They become very expensive once they do, but you have to be willing to urban pioneer it until it happens.
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Date: 2007-02-21 06:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 06:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 05:32 am (UTC)It MIGHT be in a keystone opportunity zone, an empowerment zone, etc. etc. etc.
These things mean: no or reduced taxes, benefit programs, etc. for businesses..
tell you what.. I'll move in with ya and protect ya... :D hah. oh geez I wanna live elsewhere.
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Date: 2007-02-21 06:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 06:46 am (UTC)Obviously all the programs are different but here's a quote from:
http://koz.newpa.com/what.html
"Keystone Opportunity Zones are defined-parcel- specific areas with greatly reduced or no tax burden for property owners, residents and businesses."
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Date: 2007-02-21 05:38 am (UTC)*hugs*
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Date: 2007-02-21 06:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 05:52 am (UTC)http://www.google.com/maps?q=http://www.slackware.com/~msimons/phactorymap.kmz
There's a lot of cool stuff in that area. go to http://www.nkcdc.org/ (it's a little outside of their territory, but not by much.)
It's also relatively near all the good stuff happening at Norris Square. (Norris Square Civic Association, etc.)
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Date: 2007-02-21 06:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 06:48 am (UTC)It's... _fill-in-the-blank_
[ ] Fishtown
[ ] Northern Liberties
[ ] Norris Square
etc. etc.
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Date: 2007-02-21 05:59 am (UTC)As my best friend John (who just moved from Philadelphia to Camden) told me, "North Philly is great, as long as you don't mind the gunfire, crack-heads, and general filth and run-down-ed-ness." Then again, he didn't seem to mind it, but he did recommend that I get two Dobermans if I ever bought a house there... and he's 6'3", about 280 - no one's gonna mess with Big John.
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Date: 2007-02-21 06:39 am (UTC)And JULY. We said JULY!
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Date: 2007-02-21 06:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 06:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 07:17 am (UTC)I've known Yso since March 11th, 1989.
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Date: 2007-02-21 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 02:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 12:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 02:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 05:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 07:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 02:31 pm (UTC)Think about the Meat packing district, how insane are the rents now? But how long ago was it that no one wanted to live there?
Yes I would worry about you and the doggy face. However, it dose give you a good amount ot amazing sounding space. It gives you your secion of the world. It aslo gives your friends pleanty of parking if the have trailers.
I would not dismis it right out, check out the neighboor hood, might not be as bad as you think. Remember crime more often than not goes to the nicer neighboorhoods.
If you are also running the biz out of your home you may have some bennifits for encomoic development... look in to it. Also if you do move try to lock in rent for x amount of time, lest the real esate takes off there, and your having to fight off SUV driving, starbuck's drinking, horrid drivers from NY
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Date: 2007-02-22 07:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 02:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 07:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 04:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-22 07:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-21 05:19 pm (UTC)Kept me safe when I live in the ghetto for two years. I'm talking gun fights (two weapons of obviously different calibers in two different locations) right outside my building ghetto.
A thug gangsta who didn't live in the neighborhood was sitting on my front stoop with my neighbors when I went out one time. He started to start something when one of my neighbors pulled him back down and I heard a whispered, "Nah, man, that's the crazy white chick I told you about. Just leave her alone."
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Date: 2007-02-22 07:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-02-25 01:26 am (UTC)It is close to PARF, and the turnpike. Fenced yard for Clue to run in. Think about it....space to go.
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Date: 2007-02-25 02:22 am (UTC)WHAT?
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Date: 2007-02-26 06:48 am (UTC)BTW, the delivery scheduling system was just updated at my place of business (it rhymes with Dest Duy); I can now schedule ANY appliance and/or TV delivery -- AT MY INCREDIBLE EMPLOYEE DISCOUNT -- to anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. So if yer new place lacks a dishwasher, clothes washing machine, big-screen television, etc.... I can get it sent to you AT COST.