Westminster Arch Apartments

So you either looking to relocate or have relocated to Philadelphia. You are looking at apartments and traveling around the city seeing the sights. Once you have found the perfect apartment and have settled in, it is time to explore the city further. Where to start?

First, check out the website for visitors: www.visitphilly.com. Here one can find a list of events, attractions, and ready-made itineraries for such people as beer lovers, shopaholics, and families. Also check out the City Pass (www.citypass.com) which has one admission pass to 6 must-see attractions at one low rate There is also the Philly Fun Guide (www.phillyfunguide.com/) One can sign up for a weekly email for ½ price ticket offers and it is the “go-to” web site for accurate and detailed which gives information about upcoming cultural, entertainment and sporting events. The calendar includes information for a complete range of leisure-time activities in the entire Greater Philadelphia area – music, dance, sports, fairs, festivals, outdoor activities, tours, parades, dining and more. The calendar contributions are from 20 partner organizations including WXPN, visitphilly.com, and the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau and the member institutions of the Cultural Alliance of Philadelphia.

In addition, one can find deals through local media outlets. KYW3 (local CBS station) has a link offers.cbslocal.com/philadelphia with email notifications of great deals and will save you money on food, drinks, services and more. The Philadelphia Media Network Digital operates http://phillydealyo.philly.com where one signs up for the deal alerts and depending on the deal, can join it and share. This is very similar to Living Social (livingsocial.com/), Groupon (www.groupon.com), KG Deals (www.kgbdeals.com) and Bargain.com (www.bargain.com/). So using the deals and discounts one can plan and explore various events, activities and dining in Philadelphia without breaking the bank.

If you interests are geared to local produce, there is a way to spend the day at both the Reading Terminal’s Farmer’s market and the south Philly Italian market. Reading Terminal market (www.readingterminalmarket.org/) is located at 12^th & Arch streets. Following a historic tradition of gathering farmers, fisherman and food purveyors, the Reading Terminal market was established in the mid 1800’s with the farmer’s market and the Franklin market. In 1892 the doors opened on a state of the art facility with the railroad deliveries mostly from New Jersey. The Market has survived through the decline of the railroad to become a growing business on its own. Today the Market is home to more than 80 merchants.

After one has explored, eaten and shopped at the Reading Terminal Market, one can walk over to 8^th street and hop on the 47m/47 Septa bus and travel south to the Italian Market. The Italian Market (www.phillyitalianmarket.com) is the oldest and largest working outdoor market in the US. It is predominantly Italian; there are also the foods and cuisines of world cultures. It has been in business in and around 9^th street for over 100 years and has over 100 merchants. Located at the southern tip of the Italian market are the two famous cheesesteaks restaurants, Geno’s and Pat’s both located at 9^th and Passyunk.

Another inexpensive way to explore Philly is the Big Bus.Tour (www.bigbustours.com). This is a large double decker bus that tours through Philadelphia. One ticket ($27 for adults) gives one a 24 hour hop-on, hop-off tour of the major neighborhoods of Philadelphia. You can start at the Reading Terminal Market and stops include South Philly, Penn’s Landing, Independence Mall, Fairmount Park (including the Zoo), Art Museum area, and points in-between.

For more Philadelphia events and activities check out examiner.comwww.examiner.com and www.examiner.com/bargain-travel-in-philadelphia.

If you want to visit places outside of Philadelphia, a relaxing train ride from 30th street station will get you to Atlantic City in about 1 ½ hours at a cost of $10 one way. Once in AC you can get around using the Jitney buses. Visit the various casinos, the famous boardwalk and be sure to visit the White House for the best hoagies (2301 Arctic Ave., (609) 345-1564.

You can also get out to the shopping malls in the suburbs cheaply using Septa. Buses 124 and 125 both go out to the King of Prussia Mall. Bus 125 continues on to the Valley Forge National Historic Park.

Using both Septa and New Jersey Transit, one can get to New York for under $25 (one way). There is also the Chinatown bus (www.chinatown-bus.org)  and Bolt (www.boltbus.com) and Mega Buses (us.megabus.com)  that will get you to New York for anywhere starting at $10 one way. The Septa/NJ Transit trip takes about 2 ½ hours and the bus trips 2+ hours.

There are many neighborhoods to explore in Philadelphia (Philadelphia neighborhoods) and as a new resident of Philadelphia, one can use Septa to get to these places easily saving money on gas and parking. However, if you do need a car, check out Phillycarshare (www.phillycarshare.org) and Zip cars (www.zipcar.com) where you can rent a car by the hour starting at about $4.45 an hour.

These are only a few of the bargains one can find utilizing social deal and bargain sites. One can explore Philadelphia, have fun and save money at the same time. Keep an eye out for events at places like Penn’s Landing and Fairmount Park for free concerts. Use the bargain coupons at the various restaurant to try the famous Philly cuisine and enjoy walks along the historic streets and boulevards.

Westminster Arch apartment building is historic in age and located in a Philadelphia neighborhood that offers its residences many unique opportunities. Within walking distance are shops, restaurants, museums, and transportation hubs. The slide show on YouTube shares the exteriors and interiors of the Westminster Arch apartments as well as a 360rooftop view of the neighborhood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFkr194AcuA

So take a few minutes s and watch the show. Share the link with others. If you have any videos or pictures of Westminster Arch apartments and its environs, please send via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

So you are sitting in your Philadelphia apartment, the weekend’s coming up and you would like to make plans. Where to go? You’ve heard of a restaurant, how is the food? Have others been there and what do they think? Need to find a dentist, flower shop or jewelry shop? One can now utilize several sites that incorporate social networking, user reviews of local business, location, and ratings.

The top social review sites are listed and described below. Check them out and do a search or two. While you are searching, check out Westminster Arch Apartments and add your review. Let see how many stars we can get!

www.yelp.com

Yelp provides online local search capabilities for its visitors. Each business listing result contains a 5-point rating, reviews from other site visitors, and details such as the business address, hours, accessibility, and parking. Site visitors can aid in keeping the business listings up to date, with moderator approval, and business owners can directly update their own business' listing information.

www.local.com

Local.com  a leading local search site and network in the United States. Local.com powers more than 100,000 local websites. Tens of thousands of small business customers use Local.com products and services to reach consumers using a variety of subscription, performance and display advertising and website products.

http://www.google.com/places/

Google Places (Local Business Center) is designed for one-off searches, and is powerful as a search tool a far as it goes. Google Places helps you discover nearby places you'll love. Quickly search for Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, and other places, while on the go. All of the resources of Google have been fully utilized to offer up accurate locations of Coffee, Bars, Hotels, ATMs and more. 

http://www.insiderpages.com

Insider Pages was created to help people find the best local businesses through recommendations from their friends and neighbors. At InsiderPages.com, people share reviews of local businesses and find great services they can trust. Millions of people visit our site each month to get the Insider scoop on local businesses.

http://www.citysearch.com

Citysearch is the essential local guide for living bigger, better and smarter in your city. Covering more than 75,000 locations nationwide, combined in-the-know editorial recommendations, candid user comments and expert advice from local businesses, and we keep you connected to the most popular and undiscovered places wherever you are.

http://local.yahoo.com

Yahoo! Local is a comprehensive business directory for Philadelphia complete with ratings and reviews, maps, events, and more. Find a Philadelphia florist, the best restaurant in Philadelphia, and even shoe repair.

http://www.merchantcircle.com

 MerchantCircle is the largest social network for local business owners. Services include free online business listings, free marketing tools. MerchantCircle is an online business directory, social business network, and marketing platform.

Westminster Arch apartments has joined Facebook and is inviting residents and visitors to check out our postings. Go to the Westminster Arch facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Westminster-Arch-Apartments/169645106414249 tour the site, check out the features, post on the wall and add it to your "like" list or your favorites.

Keep an eye out for more social media links in the future.

Recently we had the first of perhaps several heatwaves in the city. Here are some tips to keep cool and save on energy.

The outdoor air temperature is frequently comfortable, especially at night, but there may be no breeze to bring the cooler air into your apartment. (Buy an outdoor thermometer, a low cost item, and mount it so it's visible from your window. It will tell you when it's cool outside.) When the temperature outside is comfortable use a window fan instead of continuing to use the air conditioner. A fan requires as little as one tenth the energy needed to run an air conditioner. If your air conditioner has an "outside air" control to bring in fresh air use it without turning on the cooling section. The compressor motor in the unit is the big energy user, not the fan. Be sure to close the outside air control when operating the compressor (cooling position) so that the compressor is cooling only room air.

10 Tips to Stay Cool This Summer

I’ve heard many people say they want to rent at a particular apartment community because they have high ratings on some of the apartment ratings sites such as ApartmentRatings.com As with anything you find on the internet today you must filter it using your common sense. With the apartment ratings sites the residents can post anything they like at no charge. If some of the statements are not accurate the apartment community will have to pay a substantial fee to post a response. One thing that is disturbing is some disgruntled residents have posted personal attacks naming staff member with the intent to damage their reputations. So with the ground rules in mind; read the ratings but don’t forget to use your common sense.
Admin - Apartments Philadelphia

f you’re reading this odds are you’re not planning on becoming a homeowner but looking for the right apartment. Finding the right apartment whether for long term or short term is a task that can be fun and rewarding. Commit yourself to the details involved and get to it.
Do you start with where you want to live or what your budget is? Starting with a realistic budget is probably the best way. Once you determine what you can spend then you can look in the area where you want to live to see what’s available in your price range.
While you will no doubt have a preferred location in mind don’t forget to give consideration to your lifestyle. If you like to jog or bike why look on the opposite side of town from the parks and trails that you will travel to on a regular basis.
Commuting to work, access to public transit and shopping are all important ingredients as well.
You get the idea......being honest with budget........ honest with your needs will get you started in the right direction to finding the right apartment.
Start early and remember to keep it fun!

I found this published by the American Red Cross and thought it may be helpful......

Since the previous post regarding renters insurance it was brought to my attention that you should consider getting a policy with replacement cost in order to give you the best protection. Read below to see the difference in the types of coverage.

There are several different methods by which your insurance company may calculate the amount it will pay you for a loss. Payment based on the replacement cost of damaged or stolen property is usually the most favorable figure from your point of view, because it compensates you for the actual cost of replacing property. If your camera is stolen, a replacement cost policy will reimburse you the full cost of replacing it with a new camera of like kind. The insurer will not take into consideration the fact that you ran three rolls of film through the camera every day for the last two years, causing a considerable amount of wear and tear.

In contrast, actual cash value (ACV), also known as market value, is the standard that insurance companies arguably prefer when reimbursing policyholders for their losses. Actual cash value is equal to the replacement cost minus any depreciation (ACV = replacement cost - depreciation). It represents the dollar amount you could expect to receive for the item if you sold it in the marketplace. The insurance company determines the depreciation based on a combination of objective criteria (using a formula that takes into account the category and age of the property) and subjective assessment (the insurance adjuster's visual observations of the property or a photograph of it). In the case of the stolen camera, the insurance company would deduct from its replacement cost an amount for all the wear and tear it endured prior to the time it was stolen.

What Does "Replacement Cost" Mean?

The term "replacement cost" is defined or explained in the policy. Simply stated, it means the cost to replace the property on the same premises with other property of comparable material and quality used for the same purpose. This applies unless the limit of insurance or the cost actually spent to repair or replace the damaged property is less. Refer to your policy for the exact definition and explanation of replacement cost.

What is "Actual Cash Value"?

The term "actual cash value" is not as easily defined. Some courts have interpreted the term to mean "fair market value," which is the amount a buyer would pay a seller if neither were under undue time constraints. Most courts, however, have upheld the insurance industry's traditional definition: the cost to replace with new property of like kind and quality, less depreciation. Courts have varied in their rulings as to whether or not depreciation includes obsolescence (loss of usefulness as a result of outmoded design, construction, etc.).

So What's the Difference?

The only difference between replacement cost and actual cash value is a deduction for depreciation. However, both are based on the cost today to replace the damaged property with new property

…..time to get the building trimmed out for the holidays. Also time to start looking at my shopping list and making notes on who’s been naughty or nice……

A gift that we have received here at Westminster Arch Apartments is the ability to program all phone numbers into our lobby entry system. In the past we were only able to offer calling from the lobby to the apartment for those who had a local phone number. With all the competition in the long distance services our carrier now offers an unlimited call plan that we can use for the lobby entrance.