Student Advice

My Philly Neighborhood: Chinatown (Podiatric Residence Hall)

As someone who was born and raised in suburban St. Louis, I wasn’t sure what I would find when I left my parent’s house to head to a big city on the east coast. Living in a big city like Philadelphia is noisy, smelly, expensive, and crowded. It’s also a whole lot of fun.

I landed in Chinatown, just northeast of center city, in Temple’s graduate student housing. The building is on the campus of the School of Podiatry at 8th & Cherry Street. Most of those in the building are podiatry students, but there are a fair number of law and business students as well.

Coming from half way across the country, I appreciated that Temple had graduate housing so I didn’t have to rush to find an apartment or a roommate before classes began. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a solid option if you are coming from out of state.

Chinatown is wedged between Center City and Old City, which gives you the best of both of those neighborhoods, as well as access to hundreds of Asian restaurants.

Things I like about Chinatown  

Location location location. Proximity to the Chinatown stop on the Broad-Ridge spur AND the 8th & Market stop on the blue line is a huge advantage. Jefferson Station on the regional rail line makes getting to the airport cheap and easy. There’s also Target, Reading Terminal Market, Macy’s, and Center City’s most popular bars all within walking distance. Franklin Square and Independence Mall provide some green space, and the Ben Franklin bridge is popular with runners.

If you’re not a Philly native or don’t have experience living on your own, the residence hall could be a good option. You won’t have to search for an apartment or a roommate, which is definitely helpful if you are coming from across the country. Also, everyone in the building is a graduate student just like you, so it’s pretty quiet and most people are on the same type of schedule.

At the residence hall, all utilities, even cable and internet, are included and are automatically deducted from your financial aid package at the beginning of the semester. So if you’re the forgetful type, not having to write out a rent check might be appealing.

If you order a lot from Amazon, your packages will be safe from thieves. Every package is logged and kept secure by the office. When a package arrives, you’ll receive an email and can go to the office to sign for your package. I have friends who complain about packages getting stolen and I’m glad I don’t have to worry about this. However, the desk is only open at certain times, so if you are studying late you may have to wait an extra day to get your packages.

Things I don’t like as much

Chinatown lacks the cafes you’d find in Fairmount or West Philly which makes it hard to find somewhere to study. Other than that, most of the things I don’t like come from the residence hall itself, and not the Chinatown neighborhood.

The residence hall is expensive and small. Rent is around $4,000 per semester, which works out to ~$900/month. That does include utilities, but the rooms are very small. There are cheaper places in Chinatown if you have the ability to look for them. The kitchen has NO counter space, so I bought a table from Ikea to hold a microwave and coffee maker.

The basic furniture is provided (bed, dresser, desk, couch), but none of it is very good. The beds are normal twins (even undergraduates get extra long twin beds…), the mattress looks like one designed for a toddler (I got a replacement from Ikea for around $120), and the desk is only good for storage and not studying. There are common areas to study in, but I prefer the law library in Klein Hall.

Bottom Line

Living in Chinatown means having all the best parts of Philly at your fingertips. Access to the subway makes everything seem close, and there is a bunch of cool stuff within walking distance. You can probably find a better place than the residence hall, but it’s a good option for those coming from across the country. Philly is full of great neighborhoods, but I would urge you to take a look at Chinatown.

 Chinatown Rapid Fire

Best Thing About Chinatown: Location. Access to both subway lines and proximity to Center City is unbeatable.

Worst Thing About Chinatown: Not many good places to study. Also, I would only consider the residence hall if you have no way to apartment hunt beforehand or don’t want to find a roommate on your own.

How I get to Temple Law:  Chinatown Station on the Broad-Ridge spur. Switch to the local train at Girard. Takes about 15 minutes total.

Closest Grocery Store: Reading Terminal or Target.

Best Place for:

Coffee:  Ray’s Café & Teahouse

Drinks: Woody’s. The drinks are strong so you definitely get your money’s worth.

Dinner:  DiNic’s in Reading Terminal. The roast pork was voted best sandwich in America, and it lives up.

Dessert:  Beiler’s Bakery in Reading Terminal (donuts are dessert, right?)

Studying: The Starbucks on 10th & Chestnut is okay, but you’re probably better off staying in the law library.

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