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PhillyGAF |OT|

M

Miker

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
Ok, gotcha. Yeah I think you're largely fine. You are in my neighborhood, Francisville. Francisville is bordered by Fairmount Ave, Broad Street, Girard Ave, and Corinthian Street. Philly is weird in that big streets act as weird boundaries to crime in some neighborhoods. When I moved here being on the north side of Fairmount was a bad idea, but over the years that entire neighborhood from Fairmount to Girard has become quite nice. I just wouldn't venture north of Girard at all. Because Girard is a pretty big, main street it's a fairly safe street to live on compared to some of the smaller side streets. I'm assuming you'll be taking the BSL to and from work, which is a pretty nice commute. If you're working late shifts just keep your wits about you walking from Broad to 17th or whatever and you'll be fine. Pay attention to your surroundings. There's a ton of activity around Broad and Girard at all hours because of the fast food joints right there, so I don't think it'll be that bad.

Anyway, all of the fun stuff to do in the neighborhood is going to be south and west of you. Fairmount Ave has a ton of good bars and restaurants to hang out at. There's a brand new gym at 17th and Fairmount if you're looking for a gym in the area. I recommend Vinyards cafe at 16th and Ogden as probably the nicest/closest cafe to where you'll be. They have killer crepes and good coffee. At 17th and Fairmount there is also a new brewpub that is a nice happy hour spot. There's a cool dive-ish bar called Lorraine at 15th and Brown. That's just a quick rundown of the stuff I know of near you. If you want more suggestions for stuff to do/see in the neighborhood let me know.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post! It's very reassuring and makes me feel a lot better about the place I chose. Also, how's the BSL in terms of safety? The Philly police crime map I took a look at last night seems to make the Girard BSL station seem like a bit of a hotspot, which I guess isn't surprising. Thanks, and I'll be posting more here after I actually move.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
Miker said:
Thanks for the post! It's very reassuring and makes me feel a lot better about the place I chose. Also, how's the BSL in terms of safety? The Philly police crime map I took a look at last night seems to make the Girard BSL station seem like a bit of a hotspot, which I guess isn't surprising. Thanks, and I'll be posting more here after I actually move.
Click to expand...

The BSL is fine. My wife used it to commute every day for three years from the Fairmount station. You'll get things like petty theft, pick pocketings, and the occasional teenagers causing trouble, but honestly it's a rarity. Chances of you getting mugged/assaulted on the BSL are near zero. The worst part is the occasionally stinky homeless dude. If a car is empty except for like two people you'll know why once you inhale.
 
R

Ralemont

not me
http://planphilly.com/articles/2016/05/11/wage-tax-relief-for-philadelphians-working-out-of-state-expected-scope-of-budget-impact-unknown

Seven Philadelphia residents have challenged the constitutionality of Philadelphia’s wage tax, which levies residents’ incomes earned outside of Pennsylvania. And, according to a recent essay in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, the Constitution is on the taxpayers’ side.

The essay, written by Penn Law professor Michael Knoll and University of Virginia Law professor Ruth Mason, argues that Philadelphia’s wage tax on residents’ out-of-state income violates the Constitution's Commerce Clause, which gives Congress exclusive authority to regulate interstate commerce. That means states—and municipalities like Philadelphia by extension—cannot put burdens, like tariffs, on commercial activity that crosses borders.

The law review article cites a December PlanPhilly article that first reported the similarities between Philadelphia’s wage tax and a similar tax scheme in Maryland that the Supreme Court of the United States declared unconstitutional in a May 2015 decision.

When a Philadelphia resident pays income taxes to Philly for work done outside of the city, and also pays taxes on the same income to another state or municipality, they incur a double taxation. Without some sort of credit or other offset, that double taxation is an unconstitutional burden on interstate employment.

Officials in Maryland cured their income tax’s constitutional deficiencies by offering eligible taxpayers refunds. Philadelphia is following their example, says Mike Dunn, a spokesman for Mayor Jim Kenney: “We do know that some Wage Taxpayers are eligible for refunds.”
Click to expand...

Relevant to me as someone who works in Delaware but lives in Philly. I'm a little confused at the refund route, though. Does it mean I'll always have to pay the tax quarterly and then file the refund form at the end? Why can't I just...not pay it? Or are they going to do refunds until they make it official? Also, this article is clearly about philly residents paying wage tax for out-of-state work, but on the refund form I just looked at, it says "Only non-resident employees are eligible for a refund based on work performed outside of Philadelphia. Resident employees are taxable whether working in or out of Philadelphia, but they may use this form to apply for a refund based on allowable employee business expenses on Line 2G." Have they just not updated the form?
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
R

Ralemont

not me
Deku Tree said:
I don't know the answer to your question, but I thought that people already did and have been getting refunded for any double taxation at the level of city tax. I got a friend who works in Philly and lives in New Jersey who gets a refund every year for that. Don't know about the reverse commute people.
Click to expand...

New Jersey has a reciprocity agreement so that's probably why he can't get double-taxed, but Delaware doesn't. So every year I get the Delaware state taxes for working there and have to pay the Philly wage tax on my own, sending money to the Philly dept of revenue. I think this new development is asserting Philly can't double tax anyone.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
Dealing with taxes in Philly is a shitshow. It's impossible to know what to do without hiring a tax accountant, and even they flounder at times.
Click to expand...

I had an accountant doing my taxes for Many years. Then I tried using turbo tax to shadow my accountant one year. It took me as long to use turbo tax as it did to "prepare my taxes info" according to how my accountant likes it. And turbo tax calculated my bill to be to the penny exactly the same as what my accountant told me. And it would cost $100 instead of $400-$500. Next year I started using turbo tax and never looked back.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
Deku Tree said:
I had an accountant doing my taxes for Many years. Then I tried using turbo tax to shadow my accountant one year. It took me as long to use turbo tax as it did to "prepare my taxes info" according to how my accountant likes it. And turbo tax calculated my bill to be to the penny exactly the same as what my accountant told me. And it would cost $100 instead of $400-$500. Next year I started using turbo tax and never looked back.
Click to expand...

I also use turbo tax. The shitshow that is the Philadelphia tax situation is not really for people who are simple W-2 filers. The real complexity begins if you get any income from a business in Philadelphia or if you are self-employed in Philadelphia. It can be a real nightmare. If you're not facing those situations it's a little different. I don't even know if Turbo Tax does local taxes? I thought it only did Federal and State.
 
D

Deku Tree

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
I also use turbo tax. The shitshow that is the Philadelphia tax situation is not really for people who are simple W-2 filers. The real complexity begins if you get any income from a business in Philadelphia or if you are self-employed in Philadelphia. It can be a real nightmare. If you're not facing those situations it's a little different. I don't even know if Turbo Tax does local taxes? I thought it only did Federal and State.
Click to expand...

Yeah Turbo tax does not do local tax returns. I've never filed local tax returns. I guess I could be missing out if the city has been over charging me on taxes. Never even thought about it before.

I'm not a simple W-2 filer, but I'm not an extremely complicated filer either, and I understand the details of my return pretty well.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
My wife and I are looking to upgrade our housing situation in the next year. We either want to stay in Francisville or move to Washington Square West/Hawthorne/Bella Vista. Queen village is an option for schools too but I don't care for the neighborhood as much.

I just worry about how much home values are going to rise in the nest year while we get our down payment money together. We have like $50k now, but we hope to get like $80k by year end. Looking to spend around $600k for a big place. We just don't want to sell our current place but keep it as a rental.
 
I

ilikesleepingmore

Neo Member
Philly is the shit, been here 30 years. But.. I need my playaGAF to put me on game: where the hell can a dude find a happy hour with single women?

I'm in Rittenhouse at Wrap Shack right now, Beautiful day. Bar hopping. Either there's groups of dudes or couples out here.
 
S

smokeandmirrors

Banned
What's up with all those like 1 foot wide holes they've been digging up and then covering with asphalt everywhere in center city. Or at least near sansom and chestnut.
 
T

The Llama

Member
Ralemont said:
http://planphilly.com/articles/2016/05/11/wage-tax-relief-for-philadelphians-working-out-of-state-expected-scope-of-budget-impact-unknown



Relevant to me as someone who works in Delaware but lives in Philly. I'm a little confused at the refund route, though. Does it mean I'll always have to pay the tax quarterly and then file the refund form at the end? Why can't I just...not pay it? Or are they going to do refunds until they make it official? Also, this article is clearly about philly residents paying wage tax for out-of-state work, but on the refund form I just looked at, it says "Only non-resident employees are eligible for a refund based on work performed outside of Philadelphia. Resident employees are taxable whether working in or out of Philadelphia, but they may use this form to apply for a refund based on allowable employee business expenses on Line 2G." Have they just not updated the form?
Click to expand...
Yeah that references the law review article I read the other day. It'll be interesting
 
A

ACE 1991

Member
ilikesleepingmore said:
Philly is the shit, been here 30 years. But.. I need my playaGAF to put me on game: where the hell can a dude find a happy hour with single women?

I'm in Rittenhouse at Wrap Shack right now, Beautiful day. Bar hopping. Either there's groups of dudes or couples out here.
Click to expand...

Come on down to Manayunk and chase all the beautiful and single 22-25 year old women ;)
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
WTF is up with the sucker punch knockouts this weekend? Two of them on video. You knock a dude out in a legit fight and you'll get my handshake, but sucker punching people? Trashy.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
DeadlyVirus said:
PhilyGAF, going to Phily in a couple of weeks. I'm pretty sure you get asked this all the time, but can I get the best cheessteaks?
Click to expand...

Skip the cheesesteaks and get a roast pork, the real greatest sandwich in Philly.

But the usual rundown is like Jim's Steaks, Delassandro's, Steve's Prince of Steaks, Campo's, Tony Luke's, John's Roast Pork, and maybe one or two others.

What's your itinerary? Here for business or pleasure? We can give you tips on cool things to do/see while you're here too.
 
A

Agent

Member
Deku Tree said:
http://www.fox29.com/news/140390031-story

WTF Philly?
Click to expand...

I wish I could say I am surprised. I had a situation on the Broad Street Line about 12 years ago where a group of random teenagers ran up to hit me in the face as we stopped at Ellsworth-Federal, then ran off as soon as the doors were about to close. There were quite a few people on the car, along with a SEPTA employee on the platform who saw it all happen, yet no one said a word. Fortunately, they didn't try to take anything.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
Calling the police at the slightest provocation is like my favorite thing to do on weekends in the city. It's so goddamn entertaining. If only people realized the amount of fun and satisfaction calling the police produced. Especially in Old City on a weekend.

I also absolutely adore telling bouncers when I see people obviously doing drugs in clubs and bars and watching them get thrown out. It's the best form of real life trolling available.
 
E

esms

Member
I don't call the cops for anything.

yeshrug.png
 
D

DeadlyVirus

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
Skip the cheesesteaks and get a roast pork, the real greatest sandwich in Philly.

But the usual rundown is like Jim's Steaks, Delassandro's, Steve's Prince of Steaks, Campo's, Tony Luke's, John's Roast Pork, and maybe one or two others.

What's your itinerary? Here for business or pleasure? We can give you tips on cool things to do/see while you're here too.
Click to expand...

Not for business, I live just outside NYC, so I'm going to drive down to Philly.

What I would like to see is

- Historical sites and landmarks
- Good photo spots
- Good eats ;P
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
DeadlyVirus said:
Not for business, I live just outside NYC, so I'm going to drive down to Philly.

What I would like to see is

- Historical sites and landmarks
- Good photo spots
- Good eats ;P
Click to expand...

Historical sites and landmarks:
I'm sure you have the usual stuff on your list already, so I'll recommend some slightly off the beaten path things.

Mutter Museum
Eastern State Penitentiary
Philadelphia History Museum

Good photo spots:
Art Museum Steps facing toward City Hall
City Hall Observation Deck
Avenue of the Arts/South of City Hall on Broad Street
Schuylkill River Boardwalk
Fairmount Park
Forbidden Drive/Wissahickon Trail

Good eats:
There's waaaaaaay too much to cover here. The restaurant scene is incredible, hence why tons of the big new restaurants you are seeing in NYC are actually imported from Philly.

Reading Terminal Market is the most important from a tourist perspective
East Passyunk Ave Restaurants
Midtown Village Restaurants
Northern Liberties Restaurants
Rittenhouse Area Restaurants
Italian Market
Try the Pho, you can't get better Pho in NYC than in Philly no way no how no chance
http://www.phillytapfinder.com/ for craft beer and witness how much better our beer scene is than everywhere
 
A

ACE 1991

Member
AbortedWalrusFetus said:
Gonna be really disappointing if it doesn't happen. Although the draft isn't super great this year, so having the LA pick next season might not be so bad.
Click to expand...

1 & 2 could end up being seriously talented NBA stars, but yes after that it's kind of underwhelming. If the Lakers pick doesn't convey this year I hope they end up sucking again next year.

Outcomes ranked from super stoked about to content with:
1) 1, 4
2) 2, 4
3) 1
4) 2

I feel like we have a good shot of one of these scenarios playing out. If we get 4 and the Lakers get a top 3 pick though.... Ugh.


EDIT: #1 PICK!
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
Rittenhouse Row and Italian Market festivals are this weekend. I'll be going to the Rittenhouse Row Festival most likely. Nothing like getting drunk in the middle of the street at noon.
 
E

esms

Member
I do love being drunk outside in the middle of the day.

Anybody gone hiking in the mountains in the area? Looking for something to do with the girlfriend on her upcoming weekend off.
 
A

AbortedWalrusFetus

Member
esms said:
I do love being drunk outside in the middle of the day.

Anybody gone hiking in the mountains in the area? Looking for something to do with the girlfriend on her upcoming weekend off.
Click to expand...

How far are you looking to go? I highly recommend making your way up to Ricketts Glen and hiking the falls trail. Problem is it's a 3 hour drive.

The Jackdog said:
i live in francisville too.


HEY GET OUT OF MY HOOD
Click to expand...

Neighbro!
 
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