Philadelphia has become an exciting city for young professionals. With more than 20 neighborhoods within its city limits, there is never a dull moment in the City of Brotherly Love.
Starting with the closest to Center City, here are the top five Philly neighborhoods to live in.
1. Rittenhouse and Logan Square
Known as Philadelphia's front yard, Rittenhouse Square isn’t just a sought-after address, it’s a lifestyle. In the warmer months, sidewalks are home to some of Philadelphia's best alfresco dining and drinking. Residents and visitors peruse the high-end stores, locally owned boutiques and small galleries. With all this, the neighborhood buzzes with activity all year long.
Just north of Rittenhouse lies Logan Square. Office buildings, luxury high-rises and historic houses line leafy side streets. The museums that border Benjamin Franklin Parkway add yet another dimension to this already diverse neighborhood.
If you're looking to live or have fun in the Beverly Hills of Philadelphia, then these neighborhoods are for you.
2. Society Hill, Washington Square West and Old City
Society Hill is one of Philadelphia's most coveted neighborhoods, but it didn't used to be like that. Before the 19th century, this area was home to war heroes and first ladies, but come the 1900s, it declined into a slum. After the recession, city planners planned to revive Society Hill and rediscover the conveniences of city living, and that it did. While mostly residential, this cozy community boasts restaurants, galleries and historic attractions as well.
For all the "National Treasure" fans out there, Old City is right next to Independence Mall, where the country’s Founding Fathers declared liberty and built a free nation. Old City still boasts of charming cobblestone streets and plenty of 18th-century charm. It has the quaintness of a little city inside a big metropolis.
People flock to these neighborhoods for their proximity to Center City on one end and Penn's Landing on the other.
Queen Village
Though it’s populated by some of the oldest residences in Philadelphia, Queen Village is full of modern energy. It's an ideal neighborhood for visitors and residents who love to keep their fashion, food and fun low-key and local. Unique history right next to prime waterfront location and old-time aesthetic charm, helps Queen Village stand out as one of Philly’s most stable and stirring pockets of city life. More family-oriented than other neighborhoods in Philly, Queen Village is a great place to put down roots.
Long established as a force, NoLibs has become an economic and cultural mecca. This former manufacturing district first started turning heads when a progressive, art-heavy flock inhibited the cheap studio spaces and began migrating north from Old City. Now, with North Bowl and tap houses galore, Northern Liberties is becoming a northern Center City.
Fishtown, catty-corner to NoLib, is home to Philly’s young creative class. Emerging as the most up-and-coming neighborhood in the city, Fishtown has a momentous influx of bars, restaurants, music venues, studios and galleries that keep the young adults that live and visit this area happy. It has emerged as Philly’s truest harbor of artistic, culinary and musical action.
If you're looking for an area that is away from the hustle and bustle of a big city, but still has all the offerings of city life, this is the place to be.
University City
While most of the attention is focused on East Philadelphia neighborhoods, West Philadelphia is home to a huge population. Getting its name from two of the largest and most influential institutions in town — the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, this area is fueled by youthful intelligence and adventure.
From food truck scenes and Iron Chef-run establishments to high-end art galleries and intimate late-night hangs, University City is the place to be for any young intellectual.
