[Rich76_911s]

No bikes on the trains during rush hour, off peak you can bring them. Doesn't sound like you need the bike in the city anyway.

I used to ride the R5 from Doylestown an hour and 12 minutes each way. The SEPTA train experience isn't all that bad. Once or twice a year you will run into that nightmare commute for whatever reason, a downed wire, wet leaves on the tracks, you name it. But 99% of the time they do an OK job, the trains could be a little cleaner. Everything in Philly could stand to be a little cleaner. In my direction there is ample parking, other places aren't as good.

If you like sports, I don't think you'll find a place more passionate than Philly. Yeah they did boo Santa and throw snowballs at him, but there is a hefty backstory to the reasons. Also I'd bet that 99.9% of people that know the story couldn't tell you what decade it happened in. It was 1968 if you want to know. If you want to see some jerks, just go down to the ballpark when the mets are in town.

Philadelphia has great upscale restraunts from Le Bec Fin to dive places like Byrnes Tavern for wings and crabs in Port Richmond (not the nicest part of the city). It really is an experience to get out and explore the area and all it has to offer.

I saw you mountian biked in another thread. For city riding fairmont park has some pretty decent trails. I'd ride with a partner for safetys sake. I have riden there solo. True I am male, but at 170lbs I'm not scaring many thugs away. My fiancee coaches a womens collegiate track and cross country team that runs there once or twice a week in the fall, and has never had a problem. That said there have been women that were being attacked at night on the paved portion of the trail in the East Falls area. It was happening about once a year, I do think they caught him though. Valley Forge also has some great running trails.

Road biking is pretty big in the area. Philadelphia has a great road race in early June every year. Manayunk, a nicer section of the city, turns into a day long party for the event. They come through town 10 times, each time climbing a very steep, although short, hill nicknamed the wall. It is one of my favorite events all year.

If your husband needs to find a job when he gets here you might want to look into that beforehand. I don't get the feeling that the area has many potential good jobs avaliable. I have heard Philadelphia has more Lawyers per capita than anywhere else so maybe he'll be in luck if that is what he does.

To sum it up, I've live essentially 1/2 my life here and 1/2 in South Western Colorado. I'd leave here and move to Colorado in a nano second. At the same time though I am not depressed that I am here. There really are some great things about the area.

Sniper spill the beans on your choice for the best cheese steaks. After spending a couple years in the Roxborough Manayunk area I became a big fan of Dalessandro's. I hear it is under new ownership though, and I haven't been back in a while.