Without the Rose-Colored Glasses

This week has motivated me to write about the things I will NOT miss about living in West Philly. Since my last post revealed how much I actually like West Philly, I'd be hard pressed to come up with a top ten. I will do a top five instead.

1. The trolleys. It's a love-hate relationship really. I love that I can catch the trolley right outside my doorstep. I like being able to get to work via public transportation and rarely use my car. Still, SEPTA sucks! I was late to work by 25 minutes on Thursday due to "a problem in the tunnel." When the trolleys finally did show up, they were backed up three within a span of one block. Earlier in the week I had to wait at City Hall for over 20 minutes just to get home during rush hour. Usually, the trolleys come every couple of minutes during that time. I hate the trolleys because they are so unpredictable and SEPTA does a poor job of communicating problems. While I'll still be taking SEPTA when we move, I will no longer be a daily trolley rider.

2. The mail. Now, this is probably not a regular West Philly thing, but it still caused me to yearn for my new South Philly abode this week. See, we have not gotten any mail since last Saturday. And of course, this is the week I've been expecting an important check in the mail. My husband says a trip to the Post Office feels like going to a third world country. There is always a line to the door with only one or two poor souls working. I filed a complaint Thursday after three days of no mail. When we followed-up today, we were told that the key to our buidling had worn out and the carrier couldn't get in. We gave them the information for our building management company, and the key situation will hopefully be resolved by tomorrow. I wonder how long this would have gone on before the Post Office did something about it. I think they were just waiting for someone to complain first.

3. The ice cream truck. I don't have anything against the ice cream truck itself. I still scream for ice cream. It's just the music and the all-the-time playing. There are downsides to living near a park.

4. Students. Now, I'm not your typical student hater. I work in academia. I enjoy being around students most days. However, in West Philly it seems Penn students bring with them high prices. Before we moved to our current West Philly apartment, we were priced out of our old one. The landlord raised our rent by $100 because he knew the students (and their parents) would be willing to pay it. In fact, the students who ended up with our old place offered even more than our landlord was asking.

5. I was walking my dog, thinking about my hateful post and all the things I dislike about West Philly. Trolley. Trolley. Mail. These things kept running through my head. Then, I got back to my apartment door and number five miraculously came to me: My upstairs neighbor who is learning to play the clarinet.

Next time, I promise my post will have nothing to do with West Philly.

Hello. I'm Beth and this is my first One Fine Philly post. I'll be writing under the moniker Tallgirl and when/if you meet me, you'll see it's pretty fitting.

My husband and I just celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary last weekend, and at the end of July we'll celebrate our third year here in Philly. We've spent those three years living in West Philadelphia, but we're about to change all that. South Philly here we come! While I've loved living in West Philly (at least most of the time), we're getting priced out of the area where we live. In order to get more bang for our buck--which in our world translates to a space larger than one bedroom--we decided to make the move and change neighborhoods. So, for $100 and the cost of heat more a month (our current place has heat included), we're moving from a small one-bedroom to a three-bedroom South Philly rowhouse. Movin' on up...

Still, every time I walk the dog or hear the tree leaves rustle outside my window, I think of all I will miss out here in West Philly. Here's my top ten:

1. Clark Park - We've had the good fortune to live within a block of Clark Park in both of the West Philly apartments we've rented. The flea markets, concerts, Shakespeare in the Park, the kids battling with foam swords in the uber-intensive games of capture the flag, the snow sledding, the farmer's market--it will all be missed.

2. Clark Park Farmer's Market - It deserves it's own point. I will miss it that much.

3. Chester Avenue Dog Park - Our membership isn't up until October, so we'll still make the trek at least until then. But, we'll miss having access just two blocks away. I'll also miss Millie and Mable and Mona, Lou, Silo and Toaster. These are the dogs. I'll miss some of the owners too, but I don't know most of their names.

4. Green Line Cafe - Mmmm...coffee shop writing.

5. Vietnam Cafe - A fairly new addition to the neighborhood, I'm going to miss having their house special vermicilli just two blocks away.

6. Pattaya Restaurant - Take out from Pattaya makes me happy. Is there Thai in South Philly?

7. Dock Street Brewery - I love my Fig Jam pizza.

8. Parking - Be able to always find a spot in front, or next to, my apartment without driving around.

9. Trees/grass/greenery - Where we're going, there are no trees.

10. Ben and Adrienne - My brother-in-law and his fiance live just a 10 minute walk away. They could walk over and pick up our pooch when we were away for the afternoon. They could swing by for a movie or a beer. They can still visit us in South Philly, but it was nice having them so close.

I'm sure there will be many things I'll come to love about South Philly, and I look forward to discovering them. Still, I'm open to any suggestions. I should be packing this afternoon--my shelves of books are calling my name. Instead I think I'm going to head over the Flea Market at Clark Park. While it's still just a block away.

Photo: Philadelphia Orchestra at Clark Park with aforementioned Ben and Adrienne in the foreground.