I may be going to UPenn - questions about gun laws to the HTF

Greetings Pennsylvania HTF-

also- it appears that their graduate student stipend is significantly higher than other places- this makes me wonder if the cost of living in Philadelphia is also higher than most other places? Do you guys know what the average cost to rent a 1 bedroom apt is around there?

I am not sure about the specifics of concealed carry and schools and what not. I believe PA is shall issue. Not sure about the reciprocity. No open carry in Philly without a CCW. Plus the cops have been screwing with the one OC guy that I know of. We don't have any AWB. NFA is allowed from what I know, but might be hard to get signed off on depending on who your CLEO is. As far as housing goes it really depends on what part of the city you live in. I am not up on 1 bedroom apartments, but in my neck of the woods 2k gets you a three bedroom house with small(city small) backyard. I commute to where you will be going to school via subway. 15 minute commute or so.

Coming to PA from Chicago will be like being on the brink of death when drowning then being let up for air.

You can open carry on foot, without a LTCF, except in Philly where you need a LTCF.

To conceal carry you need a LTCF which you obtain from your county sheriff. A LTCF is easy to get so long as you aren't a prohibited person. Pretty much, with the exception of federal buildings, court houses and post offices, you can carry just about anywhere with your LTCF and court houses must provide lock boxes for your firearms. You can even carry in bars and other places that serve alcohol., despite popular belief. Local municipalities can NOT preempt state law..., even though Philly tries to. They lost some major battles though, and a lot of people continue to fight the corruption there.

As the other poster said, no AWB and yes NFA allowed.

Of course those are broad answers, so I recommend reading all the statutes yourself. PAFOA has a ton of info about where you can/cannot carry and how in PA.

Google PAFOA for a state specific gun forum.

Justin

Where in PA are you looking to move to? Shoot me a PM. I'm in West Chester which is about a half hour or so from Philly.

I attended Penn for seven years (undergrad and grad school).

Most of what has been said is spot on. Don't expect to get CLEO signoff for NFA; you'll have to go the trust or LLC route for those goodies.

West Philadelphia has gotten significantly better since I was a student there in the 1990s. However, it's still very dicey in some areas. The ideal situation is to live in Center City and "commute" to Penn. However, you are correct that rent in Philadelphia is rather high. The housing market crash did not really affect home prices in Center City –– if anything, prices have remained stable. Unfortunately this meant rental places are also in high demand so rent isn't cheap.

If you have any questions on Penn itself, PM me.

PA is shall-issue for CCW, even in Philadelphia. However, Philadelphia tends to be more diligent (for lack of a better word) in checking references. There is no training requirement and you do not need to qualify with your carry gun.

Thanks for all the help guys.

I'd imagine the rent is in the ballpark of 1000 for a single bedroom. I think I saw some places in old city starting around 1200 when I went to a party, but then that was a rather nice building. Think the apartments had their own roof deck kind of thing. I'd look at Center City and Northern Liberties. You might be able to find a spot in Old City too for slightly cheaper. All neighborhoods have their ups and downs. It really depends on what you want. If you bring a car some places can be murder to find parking. Shoot a PM over if you want to catch a beer when you get in. I could show you a few of the more interesting spots in the city.

For Center City, that is on the low side. You can certainly live in other parts of town if you want. FWIW when I was an apartment dweller I used The Philadelphia Weekly (a free paper) to find apartments. Do a search in their Real Estate section and see what comes up for rent.

if you're headed into town let me know, I'm in the western 'burbs and can show you around, my wife works at one of the schools there in University City and can also answer questions you may have.

I hear you... Even though the program I am applying to is 'salaried,' I will be taking a 50% pay cut just to go to grad school... Rough decision, but one that I'm hoping will be beneficial in the long run. Good luck to you and your wife.

Thanks everyone for the advice and offers to show me around. Unfortunately, this visit is a 3 (+1/2) day visit, and they've got me pretty booked for the entire length of it. If I do get in though, here's to hoping I'll see you guys around at the gun ranges

Cool. Have a cheesesteak at Abner's and some of the Leg Lifter Lager at the White Dog Cafe while you are there. If you like more upscale food, POD is a very fancy Asian type restaurant on campus. If you like hot wings go to Cavanaugh's for their nuclear wings.

I'm assuming they will put you up in one of the many hotels that Penn owns (a great use of my tuition dollars) so you'll be staying in University City. Don't go west of 50th Street (staying east of 40th Street is more advisable) and try not to go north of Market Street at night.

Hints about PA Firearm Laws:

As another poster said above, West Philadelphia around University City has improved a lot over the past ten years. Parts of center city are nicer, mainly in the historic neighborhoods around Fitler Square, Rittenhouse, and Washington Square. Expect to pay 1000 to 1300 for nice 1 bedrooms around there. Deals can be had for less if you look around or are willing to live outside of those neighborhoods. Biking from center city to Penn is a cinch as is taking the bus if you prefer. You can carry in the city if you have your license, but not on Penn's campus per university policy. Penn is a fantastic school and PA is a great state. And for all the bad politics in Philadelphia, Center City is a fun place to live. Congrats on the invitation. Good luck sealing the deal.

note,

If you get accepted Penn will have some sort of student office with housing resources. You may be able to rent a room in a house with other grad students for cheap. If you want to carry you'll need a CCW but they're relatively easy to get compared to Chicago.

In any case Philly is a great city - the good parts are growing, not shrinking and there's tons of great bars, restaurants, museums, sports, etc..

Best of luck.

I don't know about the cost of apartment rentals, but I do have a friend attending Drexel there in Philly. He complains all the time about how expensive even basic stuff is... So, yes, the cost of living is high.

Not compared to other cities, and if you know where to look, it can be especially affordable. $2 beers are abound as are some great dinners out at nice restaurants for about $14-18. If you don't mind roommates, you can live in some really nice houses for about $500-$600 for a comfy room with shared bath and kitchen. You can always join Costco too, rent a zip car for the short trip there, load up on basics and split with others if you are really pressed.

Two dollar beers in West Philly? I was about to guess that you were talking about Oscar's Tavern in Center City ($3.75 for a tall Miller Lite, about 20 oz) but I haven't seen those type of prices around Penn for quite a while. Back in my day it was Murph's Tavern on 44th and Spruce, where you could get a pitcher of Red Death for only $15. It's a different (and much cleaner) bar now.

cost of living is on par with most cities.... I'm from NY and lived in Hawaii so it seems low to me...

Funny you mention Oscar's I think they got caught by the LCB for watering down their liquor. I will say they do have fairly cheap beers.

http://philadelphia.foobooz.com/2009/10/26/operation-makers-mark-the-results-are-in/

Double post. Delete.

I went to Drexel. Lived in u city for 4 years. It's a good place. Rent can go as low as 300/room if u get let's say a 4 be and split it w 3 friends/students In a 4br row house. I lived in a 6br and I rather not again, what a mess lol. I'd say avg rent for a studio is around 550-650 if u wanna be on ur own. Coming from long island I think Philly is really cheap as far as cost of living and rent. Pa has great gun laws. Very lax and easy to get a ccw if u have a clear background and two pa fiends that's are residents. Def recommend penn if u can get a scholarship/free ride. I just bought a house in philly. good luck and pm me is u got any more q's.

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