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PhillyGAF |OT|

M

Manmademan

Member
StevieWhite said:
Philly GAF, where are your favorite brick and mortar game stores? Mine has to be

http://classicgamejunkie.com/

They are out in Glenside, so it is a bit of a hike for me, but I find that they are worth the trip. They're also excellent at repairing consoles - thanks to them my launch PS3 is still purring like a kitten. They also fixed a Wii that fell down a flight of steps for me, but in retrospect, I am beginning to think I should have let that one die.
Click to expand...

used to work near there. took my 80 gig BC PS3 there to be serviced. It works better than before, though not 100%. eventually just bought another non BC Ps3 and use that instead.

their prices are on the high side for games, but they do have a very large selection of older games and legacy systems. one of the only places I've seen a functioning vectrex for sale.
 
T

totipotent.cell

Member
So I've had a chance to visit Philly a couple of times and tour around with realestate agents looking at a bunch of houses (will be relocating in Oct/Nov) particularly Center City and Mainline burbs. I think I'm getting a decent sense of what those areas offer.

The city is vibrant and there is an unmistakable uniqueness to various neighborhoods that sometimes span a few blocks. Starting from Broad and Locust, we strolled down to TJU, turning south towards south street, walking down towards Spruce St harbor then coming back up via Chestnut st. Just within this small area we covered, you can sense the distinct flavors the various areas offer.

Additionally, I was struck by the amount of realestate development ongoing in the area. Whether it was repurposing old buildings into condo or building luxury highrises, there was a lot of it and appeared ubiquitous. It made me wonder whether there are enough people (as well as high income ppl for those luxury condos) moving into the city to saturate the market. In addition, even from our walk, we saw a ton of rental properties that are currently available. I asked the realestate agent about my thought and his response was that a lot of people are moving from the suburbs to the city. Perhaps so but the answer to me was unconvincing unless more jobs (and high paying jobs) are created. Correct me if I'm wrong but it really seems like a another housing bubble, albeit a more localized one, in the making.

Anyways, it was a great experience and I can definitely see myself working and raising a family in Philly.
 
T

The Llama

Member
totipotent.cell said:
So I've had a chance to visit Philly a couple of times and tour around with realestate agents looking at a bunch of houses (will be relocating in Oct/Nov) particularly Center City and Mainline burbs. I think I'm getting a decent sense of what those areas offer.

The city is vibrant and there is an unmistakable uniqueness to various neighborhoods that sometimes span a few blocks. Starting from Broad and Locust, we strolled down to TJU, turning south towards south street, walking down towards Spruce St harbor then coming back up via Chestnut st. Just within this small area we covered, you can sense the distinct flavors the various areas offer.

Additionally, I was struck by the amount of realestate development ongoing in the area. Whether it was repurposing old buildings into condo or building luxury highrises, there was a lot of it and appeared ubiquitous. It made me wonder whether there are enough people (as well as high income ppl for those luxury condos) moving into the city to saturate the market. In addition, even from our walk, we saw a ton of rental properties that are currently available. I asked the realestate agent about my thought and his response was that a lot of people are moving from the suburbs to the city. Perhaps so but the answer to me was unconvincing unless more jobs (and high paying jobs) are created. Correct me if I'm wrong but it really seems like a another housing bubble, albeit a more localized one, in the making.

Anyways, it was a great experience and I can definitely see myself working and raising a family in Philly.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean about the potential for oversupply, but apartment vacancy rates are ridiculously low.

William Rich of Delta Associates, of Washington, which tracks the rental market, said the apartment vacancy rate in the city fell to 1.6 percent in the second quarter from 5 percent a year earlier. This occurred even while competition in the market, especially in Center City, continued to increase, Rich said.
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http://articles.philly.com/2015-07-20/business/64570761_1_high-rise-indure-fund-sale-price

No idea about condos and such (I don't think the condo market is quite as hot as the rental market here though, tbf) but the market is extremely healthy here, even with all the additional supply.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
totipotent.cell said:
Additionally, I was struck by the amount of realestate development ongoing in the area. Whether it was repurposing old buildings into condo or building luxury highrises, there was a lot of it and appeared ubiquitous. It made me wonder whether there are enough people (as well as high income ppl for those luxury condos) moving into the city to saturate the market. In addition, even from our walk, we saw a ton of rental properties that are currently available. I asked the realestate agent about my thought and his response was that a lot of people are moving from the suburbs to the city. Perhaps so but the answer to me was unconvincing unless more jobs (and high paying jobs) are created. Correct me if I'm wrong but it really seems like a another housing bubble, albeit a more localized one, in the making.
Click to expand...

As The Llama noted, vacancy rates are very low. They're even very low on high end luxury rentals, in fact they are maybe most problematic on that end. I think one of the things you're not factoring in is the rate of growth right now. The population has increased by 34,000 from 2010 to 2014. That's a yearly rate of over 8,000 people. Even if only 10% of those are reflected in demand for apartments it's still a lot of units to bring online per year. The other thing is the demographics of the new residents. Sure, some of them are births, immigrants, and lower and lower middle class residents, but a ton of them are also millennials and empty nesters, both of which are groups of people that are basically demanding housing in the Center City area. If you really drive around you can see that the vast majority of the construction is between Girard on the north side and Washington on the south side, which is actually a pretty small area. There's a ton of growth in University City as well, but a lot of that is being driven by student populations.

There's not really a sign that housing starts are outpacing demand at this point in time, so there's nothing really pointing to a bubble in this circumstance. Additionally, while employment rates and job growth are problematic, for people with college degrees it's still relatively easy to find jobs. The jobless rate that you see is sadly mostly related to the existing lower and minority classes in the city, moreso than the new residents. The housing market may change in the next few years, and probably will change if the school district doesn't start to turn around, but for now everything seems rosy.
 
T

totipotent.cell

Member
Thank you both for the responses. Admittedly, I am clearly overinterpreting given that my wife and I only covered a small snippet of the city. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether the "Meds and Eds" economy will be sufficient to maintain the current rosy situation in the future.

I forgot to mention in my last post of something bizarre we witnessed. We were on 9th and Pine walking towards South St and saw a girl, maybe in her early twenties, walking completely topless. She literally looked like she just finished a jog and decided to just cool off by taking her shirt off. Is this a thing? Sorta like equal rights for women to the extreme? Me and my wife wasn't sure how to react as just ignoring her as if there was nothing wrong while she walked past right next to me would have appeared just as out of place and bizarre.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
totipotent.cell said:
Thank you both for the responses. Admittedly, I am clearly overinterpreting given that my wife and I only covered a small snippet of the city. Nonetheless, it remains to be seen whether the "Meds and Eds" economy will be sufficient to maintain the current rosy situation in the future.

I forgot to mention in my last post of something bizarre we witnessed. We were on 9th and Pine walking towards South St and saw a girl, maybe in her early twenties, walking completely topless. She literally looked like she just finished a jog and decided to just cool off by taking her shirt off. Is this a thing? Sorta like equal rights for women to the extreme? Me and my wife wasn't sure how to react as just ignoring her as if there was nothing wrong while she walked past right next to me would have appeared just as out of place and bizarre.
Click to expand...

There is this woman who goes around town topless protesting for equal rights for women. Her name is Moira Johnston or some such. I mean, I am all for equal rights, but I also yell at every topless man I see to put a shirt on, which is how it should be. If you aren't at a beach your shirt wearing should follow common decency.
 
StevieWhite

StevieWhite

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
The housing market may change in the next few years, and probably will change if the school district doesn't start to turn around, but for now everything seems rosy.
Click to expand...
Big time. There's a lot of people who are currently benefiting from a 10-year tax abatement who will be having kids soon, or have already had kids. A large chunk of them will leave the city without ever paying taxes if the school system doesn't get better.
 
B

bigkrev

Member
Community College has only announced that we are closed on Friday so far, so I guess I'm taking a day off on Thursday as well. And because I live in Jersey and take the Ben Franklin bridge in, AND THEY AREN'T OPENING IT TILL NOON ON MONDAY, I guess I have to take a day off on Monday as well, or take the train.

As someone who isn't Christian, I just can't wait for this to just happen so we all can continue our normal lives
 
B

Bo Knows GAF

Member
We've begun preperations here at work today for the pope visit as well. What a mess. The bosses are just now realizing that they'll have to book people hotel rooms who can't come or go from inside the city or have to rely on 76. Goodluck getting any hotels even remotely close now, way way way too late.

Definitely down for a Philly meet up though. Only been to one other gaf meet up and it was up in Boston after PAX
 
E

esms

Member
I may be part of the skeleton crew that comes in on pope Friday because I'm walking distance to work. That should be interesting.

Can anybody interested in a meetup sound off? I don't know if it's the best idea to bar hop during the papal visit, so someone (or multiple people) hosting a group may be a better idea.
 
T

totipotent.cell

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
There is this woman who goes around town topless protesting for equal rights for women. Her name is Moira Johnston or some such. I mean, I am all for equal rights, but I also yell at every topless man I see to put a shirt on, which is how it should be. If you aren't at a beach your shirt wearing should follow common decency.
Click to expand...

I just looked up Moira Johnston and it wasn't her. Maybe it was someone inspired by her. I'm all for equal rights and all and I'm not the one to complain about seeing boobies in the flesh but it just caught me off guard.

Also, I just came back from another daytrip to Philly looking at daycare options and while we were trying to take the SEPTA green trolley line from 19th and Market, the entrance stairs were all blocked up. I asked one of the SEPTA guys working nearby how to get down to the tracks and he looked at me like a retard and said "the track is shut down for maintenance and has been for two weeks! Didn't you know?!". I was like waaaaa? Seriously? Off line for two weeks? I guess it's one of those idiosyncrasies that I will have to learn about Philly.
 
T

The Llama

Member
totipotent.cell said:
I just looked up Moira Johnston and it wasn't her. Maybe it was someone inspired by her. I'm all for equal rights and all and I'm not the one to complain about seeing boobies in the flesh but it just caught me off guard.

Also, I just came back from another daytrip to Philly looking at daycare options and while we were trying to take the SEPTA green trolley line from 19th and Market, the entrance stairs were all blocked up. I asked one of the SEPTA guys working nearby how to get down to the tracks and he looked at me like a retard and said "the track is shut down for maintenance and has been for two weeks! Didn't you know?!". I was like waaaaa? Seriously? Off line for two weeks? I guess it's one of those idiosyncrasies that I will have to learn about Philly.
Click to expand...

They seem to do trolley maintenance every summer in Philly that lasts a few months. No idea what they actually do, of course...
 
G

gcubed

Member
totipotent.cell said:
I just looked up Moira Johnston and it wasn't her. Maybe it was someone inspired by her. I'm all for equal rights and all and I'm not the one to complain about seeing boobies in the flesh but it just caught me off guard.

Also, I just came back from another daytrip to Philly looking at daycare options and while we were trying to take the SEPTA green trolley line from 19th and Market, the entrance stairs were all blocked up. I asked one of the SEPTA guys working nearby how to get down to the tracks and he looked at me like a retard and said "the track is shut down for maintenance and has been for two weeks! Didn't you know?!". I was like waaaaa? Seriously? Off line for two weeks? I guess it's one of those idiosyncrasies that I will have to learn about Philly.
Click to expand...

Stations close randomly with little to no signage, you just have to guess
 
T

totipotent.cell

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
That trolley line closing was announced months ago. SEPTA is actually decent at announcing things, people just don't often pay attention.
Click to expand...

That's fine but it still doesn't negate the fact that a line that many people may and will depend on (ie my wife) is out of commission for an extended period of time. Bus is an alternative (which we ended up taking today instead) but given the traffic in the area, it's not ideal. In NYC (sorry to be that guy who compares NYC with Philly), subway maintenace work is usually done during off peak hours but the service is rarely ever completely suspended. Perhaps thats why MTA is close to $40 billion in debt paying for all those overtimes.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
totipotent.cell said:
That's fine but it still doesn't negate the fact that a line that many people may and will depend on (ie my wife) is out of commission for an extended period of time. Bus is an alternative (which we ended up taking today instead) but given the traffic in the area, it's not ideal. In NYC (sorry to be that guy who compares NYC with Philly), subway maintenace work is usually done during off peak hours but the service is rarely ever completely suspended. Perhaps thats why MTA is close to $40 billion in debt paying for all those overtimes.
Click to expand...

It wasn't work that could be done off hours, at least not effectively, because the tunnel is used 24 hours a day and it also would have meant months upon months of offhours work that would have been far more expensive. They're very smart about getting the most out of their infrastructure budget and are able to do it at a fraction of the cost it otherwise would have been. It's a 17 day "blitz" in which they are tearing up the track, the switches, and a huge amount of wiring and replacing it all. The trolley is closed from CC all the way to 40th Street I think, but you can simply take the MFL to 40th street and get on the Trolley there, or take the buses. They're doing the entire 5 mile tunnel maintenance in 17 days, which honestly is very impressive considering they are basically ripping up and replacing the entire infrastructure. They also planned the entire thing during the summer lull in which there is already a reduced amount of traffic compared to other times of year.

There's a reason SEPTA was rated the best transit agency in the country a few years ago!
 
T

totipotent.cell

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
It wasn't work that could be done off hours, at least not effectively, because the tunnel is used 24 hours a day and it also would have meant months upon months of offhours work that would have been far more expensive. They're very smart about getting the most out of their infrastructure budget and are able to do it at a fraction of the cost it otherwise would have been. It's a 17 day "blitz" in which they are tearing up the track, the switches, and a huge amount of wiring and replacing it all. The trolley is closed from CC all the way to 40th Street I think, but you can simply take the MFL to 40th street and get on the Trolley there, or take the buses. They're doing the entire 5 mile tunnel maintenance in 17 days, which honestly is very impressive considering they are basically ripping up and replacing the entire infrastructure. They also planned the entire thing during the summer lull in which there is already a reduced amount of traffic compared to other times of year.

There's a reason SEPTA was rated the best transit agency in the country a few years ago!
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for elaborating. That seems like serious reconstruction rather than routine maintenance that I assumed it was based on what the SEPTA dudes said and makes the suspension of service much more understandable. As much as I seem to be whining about SEPTA trolley closure, I admit it was a breeze getting around the city using public transit. I drove in, parked at a lot, and hit 7 different places around the city using SEPTA train/bus without much difficulty.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
totipotent.cell said:
Ok, thanks for elaborating. That seems like serious reconstruction rather than routine maintenance that I assumed it was based on what the SEPTA dudes said and makes the suspension of service much more understandable. As much as I seem to be whining about SEPTA trolley closure, I admit it was a breeze getting around the city using public transit. I drove in, parked at a lot, and hit 7 different places around the city using SEPTA train/bus without much difficulty.
Click to expand...

No worries. Things should get even easier/better once they roll out SeptaKey. It's supposed to be operational for subways, buses and trolleys by the end of this year, and then on regional rail the next year. I can't wait, so sick of tokens.
 
E

esms

Member
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/20150814_Kane_lays_blame__she_ought_to_add_twang.html

If you didn't know this was the attorney general of Pennsylvania explaining why she had been charged with perjury, false swearing and obstruction of justice, you'd think this was a special episode of "Predator" on MSNBC. She kept flipping her lovely hair (oops, misogyny trigger, sorry) and talking about Porngate and droning on about things that were entirely irrelevant to the reason she was arraigned in the first place.

It was, perhaps, the most excruciatingly painful performance of a public official from the Keystone State since former Treasurer Budd Dwyer put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger on live television. Even those of us who can't wait until she sinks into the Susquehanna, politically speaking, felt bad. Sort of.
Click to expand...

14057575267178.gif
 
E

esms

Member
Deku Tree said:
I haven't been following this story too closely but what I read sounds so strange. So they say Kane illegally leaked info to reporters, and Kane admits she leaked but claims what she did isn't illegal. I don't understand the details.
Click to expand...

That's pretty much it: the legality of what she says she leaked.

Her response to the charges was essentially a rant that had nothing to do with anything. It looks like she's gonna crash and burn. She'll either resign or be forcefully replaced.
 
StevieWhite

StevieWhite

Member
esms said:
That's pretty much it: the legality of what she says she leaked.

Her response to the charges was essentially a rant that had nothing to do with anything. It looks like she's gonna crash and burn. She'll either resign or be forcefully replaced.
Click to expand...

I think the crashing and burning already happened. Somebody just needs to push the wreckage off the track.
 
G

gcubed

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
That trolley line closing was announced months ago. SEPTA is actually decent at announcing things, people just don't often pay attention.
Click to expand...

I often don't pay attention until after I am inconvenienced. A few years ago they shut down the trolley tunnels in the summer, but I never used them so I never followed them and found out too late.

There are other ways to make it work and if you use them a lot you should see ample warnings.

Are tokens gone yet?
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
gcubed said:
I often don't pay attention until after I am inconvenienced. A few years ago they shut down the trolley tunnels in the summer, but I never used them so I never followed them and found out too late.

There are other ways to make it work and if you use them a lot you should see ample warnings.

Are tokens gone yet?
Click to expand...

They are for seniors! Seniors can use Septa Key already. The rest is supposed to roll out this fall as far as I know. We're close. They probably won't roll it out until after the pope shit. You don't want to completely redo your payment systems when you're expecting a million people to stop by.
 
P

Pbae

Member
Deku Tree said:
It's 2015 and Philly is celebrating transitional roll out of a pay as you go transit card system!
Click to expand...

I personally think the future of transportation is token based as it gives the ability to have a physical representation of the fare as opposed to those fiat plastic cards.
 
J

jello44

Chie is the worst waifu
Pbae said:
I personally think the future of transportation is token based as it gives the ability to have a physical representation of the fare as opposed to those fiat plastic cards.
Click to expand...

I get a decent discount off a pack of 10 tokens from work. As long as they keep it the same rate, I'm fine with it.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
Deku Tree said:
It's 2015 and Philly is celebrating transitional roll out of a pay as you go transit card system!
Click to expand...

Personally I am glad SEPTA waited. The roll out of new fare systems in some other cities did not go so well. SEPTA got to learn from their mistakes instead of making them. All in all it will be much lower cost and a much smoother transition because SEPTA lagged behind in that regard.

jello44 said:
I get a decent discount off a pack of 10 tokens from work. As long as they keep it the same rate, I'm fine with it.
Click to expand...

Bad news then. Rate increases are built in to the new fare system as far as I know.
 
T

The Llama

Member
I think I'm the only one but I never really minded tokens too much. It'll be easier to have a card I can just keep in my wallet all the time, but to me that's really the only advantage. It was easy to share tokens with friends/family, and you always knew exactly how much you were spending when you used one.
 
J

jello44

Chie is the worst waifu
The Llama said:
I think I'm the only one but I never really minded tokens too much. It'll be easier to have a card I can just keep in my wallet all the time, but to me that's really the only advantage. It was easy to share tokens with friends/family, and you always knew exactly how much you were spending when you used one.
Click to expand...

I didn't mind them either. (Especially since I get a small discount on them)

I just wish they would show pricing.

I'll admit it will probably make it so I don't forget to grab my tokens on the way out, which I have done plenty of times.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
The problem with tokens for me is I always had to either over pay for them at the local bodega or go out of my way to buy them someplace that I would never go. And they are heavy in your pocket. Hopefully the new septa key system lets you re-up your card online with a CC.
 
B

BronsonLee

Member
Deku Tree said:
The problem with tokens for me is I always had to either over pay for them at the local bodega or go out of my way to buy them someplace that I would never go. And they are heavy in your pocket. Hopefully the new septa key system lets you re-up your card online with a CC.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Huge fucking pain.

Begbie said:
Any good comic or nerdy stores in downtown Philly?
Click to expand...

There's a FYE in Center City right next to City Hall.

There's a few good comic places on South Street, and there's a really good comic place in Old City. The name escapes me.
 
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