Student Commentary

My Philly Neighborhood: Queen Village

Temple Law students on their front stoop.
My roommates and I on our front stoop.

I moved to Philly specifically to attend Temple Law. I grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey, so I was excited to give city living a try, and living in Queen Village has not disappointed. I live in an apartment with two other Temple Law students that I met during my 1L year! We were lucky enough to make another friend whose parent was a landlord, so now we are also neighbors with another Temple Law student and one of our closest friends. Our apartment is the second and third floor of a row house.

Queen Village is one of the older neighborhoods in Philly, so our apartment was built in the 1800’s. As it is a well established neighborhood, Queen Village is home to a lot of families. On a nice day, you will see kids riding bikes and scooters, as well as plenty of pups out for their daily walks. It has a very friendly and neighborly feel, even though it is only about a mile and a half from Center City. There are tons of restaurants and coffee shops as well.

I commute to campus everyday using public transportation. My apartment is a 20 minute walk from the Broad Street Line subway (BSL) so on nice days I walk to and from the station. The ride takes only about eleven minutes, and the Ceicil B Moore subway stop is right next to Klein, the main law school building. If the weather isn’t as nice, I will take a bus to get to my BSL stop, which takes only about six minutes. Generally, it will take me about 30-40 minutes to get to school.

While public transportation has its fair share of headaches, I have grown to really love it. It gives me time to relax and listen to podcasts or audiobooks, as well as allows me to avoid my least favorite part about driving–traffic. The commute can feel long sometimes, but it is worth it because I love my neighborhood so much.

Fast Facts – The Best Place For:

  • Grocery Shopping: Acme on 5th and Spruce
  • Coffee: Chapter House on 9th and Bainbridge
  • Drinks: Paddy Whacks Irish Sports Pub on South Street
  • Dinner: Teresa’s Mesa on S. 2nd Street
  • Dessert: Rita’s Water Ice on 2nd and South Street (My roommates and I go at least once a week!)
  • Studying: Also Chapter House on 9th and Bainbridge! They have these amazingly comfortable chairs that you can sit on for hours.
  • Fresh Air: I like to walk into Old City and walk along the river.

Editor’s Note: Since Philadelphia is known as a city of neighborhoods, we asked Temple Law students, faculty, and staff to talk about what they love, hate, and can’t live without in their neighborhood. See every neighborhood covered so far.

Questions about this post? Drop us a line at lawcomm@temple.edu.