Mapshot: Philadelphia Storage

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Brian Shreckengast

Larger, lighter circles represent higher prices, while smaller, darker points represent the best deals.

Behold: storage unit prices around the City of Brotherly love on the 25th of June, 2012. Today we’re focusing on medium 5×10 units, of which a whopping 42 Philadelphia storage facilities have on offer. If you need storage space, Philly’s got it.

But as we can see not all storage facilities are created equal. Philadelphia’s 5×10′s can go for as low as $29 a month to as high as $121, with everything in-between. It’s all about location, location, location.

The most noticeable trend in prices around Philadelphia is the same that we expect in most cities: the closer to the city’s core the more expensive the unit. Unlike other cities we’ve looked at no other trends are easily discernible–what we do have in Philadelphia is a few important exceptions to our rule. Most surprising is Simply Storage- Kensington’s price of $29 a month, the lowest of the day. It’s not simply the fact that Simply Storage- Kensington is a full $13.50 cheaper than the next-cheapest facility that makes it a rare find, but that Simply Storage- Kensington is one of the closest facilities to downtown Philadelphia, with some of its neighboring facilities charging as high as $109 a unit. Other good close-to-downtown deals that buck the trend can be found at Safeguard Self Storage- Frankford ($54/mo) and at the Safeguard Self Storage on Hunting Avenue ($69).

Throughout Philadelphia’s suburbs and into New Jersey our rule generally holds true: the farther out we travel the lower the prices, with some particularly-good rates in the southern Garden State. Head out into Cherry Hill on Marlton Pike East to find a string of deals starting at United Storage Cherry Hill ($51.75), followed by CubeSmart Self Storage ($42.50), and finishing with Self Storage Hampshire- Cherry Hill ($55).

Head north along I-95 to find Safeguard Self Storage on Keystone St ($49) or take a left on Levick Street and a right down Frankford Ave to find Mr. Storage- Mayfair ($49). More deals can be found north of town: seek out Simply Storage- Germantown ($57) just a few blocks north of Germantown Ave or Mr. Storage- Olney ($49) north of Roosevelt Blvd.

The deals are out there. Go get em.

Brian Shreckengast is a writer at Self Storage Deals.

Deep Deals: Philadelphia Storage

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Brian Shreckengast

Deep Deals is back this week to find the best bargain for you on Philadelphia storage. Our focus was on 5×5 units that don’t necessarily offer the lowest monthly prices but do feature excellent special deals for renters seeking a space for more than just a month. So while their price tags might not be as eye-catching as others, the two facilities featured this week offer unbeatable bargains that reward those who plan ahead.

The first deal we’ll be examining comes from Haddon Storage, just five miles outside Philadelphia across the Delaware in West Collingswood Heights, New Jersey. Haddon Storage’s 5×5 storage units are selling for $40.00, with the second month thrown in for nothing at all. That’s right: two months of storage for just $40.

But Haddon Storage is not the only facility tossing out excellent offers for those hoping to rent a space for more than just one month. Drive a little further outside of town to find United Storage Cherry Hill. At $42.00 monthly costs might be a bit higher here than at Haddon Storage, but United Storage sweetens the deal with the first three months half-off. Three months of storage for $21 a month sounds even better than $20 a month at Haddon Storage.

But in reality neither offer is essentially better than the other. It all depends on each renter’s individual situation, most specifically how the renter’s calendar matches up with these time-based special offers. So which deal is best for you?

Click on the graph to view a larger version.

As we can see, these time-based specials work differently depending on how long you’re hoping to keep your 5×5 unit. If you only need your space for a month then go with United Storage Cherry Hill, where you’ll only have to shell out $21 compared to Haddon Storage’s first-month fee of $40. But a renter seeking a unit for two months will save $2 with Haddon Storage’s free month versus United Storage’s cumulative two-month price of $42.

Renters seeking to keep a unit for three months should once again look at United Storage, where the three-month 50%-off deal will bring total costs to $63, saving you $17 versus Haddon Storage’s three-month total of $80. This holds true for the fourth month, when United Storage will cost a total $105 as opposed to Haddon Storage’s $120, and the fifth month, where United Storage wins again with $147 total to Haddon’s $160.

At six months we reach yet another turning point: both specials have been out of effect for three months now and so Haddon Storage’s lower monthly costs are now catching up to the lead that United Storage took with its three-month special. After six months Haddon Storage will cost $180 versus United Storage’s $184. After seven months the difference will be $220 to $226. As (I hope) you can tell, Haddon Storage will continue to pull away from United Storage, saving you $2 every month.

So there we have it: those seeking a storage unit for either one, three, four or five months would do well by choosing United Self Storage, whose three-month deals really pay off in this period. Those who plan on renting a 5×5 unit for two or six or more months would find the best bargain at Haddon Storage, whose low monthly price and free second month create excellent savings.

So get out your calendar and plan ahead before you venture out into the Philadelphia storage world.

Brian Shreckengast is a writer at Self Storage Deals.

Living on the Cheap in Philadelphia

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Brian Shreckengast

Philadelphia is on the move. A decade ago the City of Brotherly Love was anything but, with one of the highest crime rates in the world and a rotting, neglected core. But today Philadelphia is staging its own revival, seemingly intent upon reclaiming its former glory. This rebound creates an interesting conundrum for Philadelphians: while the city remains affordable compared to its nearby New England cousins, its rediscovered energy comes with a price tag that might leave those living on a budget baffled.

Is it still possible to enjoy this re-energized city without sapping out the vital forces of one’s own wallet? Of course: Philadelphia’s still got a lot of of love for the budget brother. You just gotta be in the know, bro.

DO.

Philadelphia offers up its own unique mix of high- and not-so-highbrow pleasures. During the day you can expand your mind at one of the city’s world-renowned museums or sink yourself into America’s primordial past at a colonial site straight out of your eighth grade history textbook, then at night find yourself caught in the irreverent joviality in this city that does public drunkenness like few others. The trick is to do it all on a budget.

On Sundays make like Rocky up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for pay-what-you-want admission (but please, don’t actually mount the staircase and dance about in imitation of the Italian Stallion–such cliches are for tourists and steroid-addled actors only). You read that right: one of the largest, grandest, most-esteemed art museums in the Western hemisphere–227,000 pieces of art–for, like, however much you want to give them. The nearby Rodin Museum (also owned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art) is free every day, though a $5 donation is strongly encouraged. But hey, five bucks is a pittance for the photo-op the ground’s gardens grant you: put fist to chin next to the world’s most famous statue–The Thinker–for a far classier cliche than pumping your arms like Rocky.

Art of the now variety is on display at First Fridays, where on the first Friday of every month from around 5 to 9pm forty art galleries fill the streets from First to Third and Market to Vine. Mingling and people-watching are as essential to the event as the art itself.

If you’ve had your fill of art, get yourself to Fairmount Park. One of the oldest and largest urban parks in the nation, Fairmount Park offers loads more than open, rolling fields and wooded trails. Wander through colonial homes and boathouses, take the trolley, and tour the Fairmount Water Works. And of course its all free.

If tranquility isn’t exactly your thing, more action-packed wandering can be found at Penn’s Landing, where the historic waterfront walk along the Delaware River has found new life as a bustling entertainment district. You probably can’t afford to eat around here, but there are an amazing number of free concerts, festivals, movies, and fireworks shows every week. Of particular note is Wawa’s Welcome America festival, a week-long party featuring concerts, art, and food, all culminating in a spectacular July 4th finale (this was the city where the Declaration was signed, after all). Oh, yeah, and it’s pretty much all FREE.

For cheap entertainment visit the Ritz Theater on Wednesdays, where tickets are $6 all day and night. Another excellent Wednesday deal can be found at Helium Comedy Club: buy a drink before 7pm and get a free ticket to that night’s show.

Finally, if you feel compelled to do your patriotic duty, visit the Liberty Bell Center and Independence Hall. Entrance to both is free, as are their tours (though Independence Hall recommends you reserve tickets ahead of time, for a fee of $1.50). But don’t go inside–lines are typically long on weekends and in the summer, and the bell can be seen from the outside through a big glass window on Market St. Waiting in line is one of those free activities we’ll leave for the tourists; those of us on a budget know that time is money.

EAT.

Make for the markets. Eating out on the cheap in Philly is all about wandering through and around the two excellent, old-style markets. Amish meets Italian at the Reading Terminal Market, where some of the most uniquely-American food you might never have tasted is on offer at reasonable prices. Enormous stacks of pancakes will fill your belly for hours on only a few dollars at the Dutch Eating Place. But don’t think Reading Terminal is limited to traditional Pennsylvanian food–everything from cheap Chinese, Middle Eastern, Cajun, Thai, and sushi are on offer.

The 9th Street Italian Market is the oldest outdoor market in America and remains the best and cheapest place to find Italian food in Philadelphia (if not the entire country). Pick up a hoagie, a stromboli, or an iconic cheesesteak.

Speaking of which, Pat’s King of Steaks invented the cheesesteak and at $7 for a massive, whiz-covered sandwich remains one of the most affordable places to stuff your face. Just make sure you learn how to order like a local.

DRINK.

Oscar’s Tavern is dingy and dirty but you can score a massive 23oz domestic for just $3.25 or $6.25 for a lager and a cheesesteak. Also a great place to pick a fight.

$2 PBRs, $3 Tecates, and $5 ‘City-Wides’ (that’s a shot of whiskey in a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon, something of a Philly cheapo specialty) make the Barbary one of the cheapest places to shake it in all of Philadelphia.

For the ultimate happy hour hit up Lucy’s Hat Shop, where on Fridays and Saturdays Miller High Lifes go for $1, Twisted Teas $2.50, Sailor Jerry’s $3, and Tuaca shots $4. On Thursdays you can snag a High Life for $0.75 (can you buy anything for three quarters anymore?).

GO.

Bus, trolley, and subway fares on SEPTA, Philly’s public transportation system, start at $2 a trip. Buy tokens in packs of two, five, and ten for a discount (a full $4.50–or almost 25%– in savings if you go with the ten pack). Day passes will cost you $7 for eight rides or $11 for unlimited trips, so studying the map and planning ahead to limit yourself to eight rides can save you an easy $4 every day. If you’ll be depending heavily on SEPTA go with the TransPass, which guarantees unlimited rides for $22 weekly or $83 monthly. The TrailPass includes rides on the outlying rail lines, with prices varying upon the zone (the system offers wide coverage of the Philadelphia-Camden metro) with prices starting at $91 for Zone 1.

MORE.

To keep up to date on budget deals around Philadelphia, add Philly on the Cheap and Geekadelphia to your favorites list.

Picture by Kevin Burkett via Flickr

Storage Spotlight: Philadelphia

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Brian Shreckengast

Philadelphia is one of the best major cities in the United States for renting storage space–and perhaps most surprisingly one of the best in Pennsylvania. With twenty-six facilities Philadelphia has far-and-away the most storage units of any city in Pennsylvania, fifteen more than the average of 11 per city. But more astounding is the fact that Philadelphia is one of the cheapest places to rent a storage space in the entire state. With monthly rental costs averaging $141.03 Philadelphia is $32.56 cheaper than the state average of $173.59 and a full $106.97 cheaper than the Pittsburgh average of $247.

Darker bars represent a higher proportion of storage facilities.

This is quite different from what we’ve come to expect from major metropolitan areas. Philadelphia’s average prices aren’t quite as low as smaller cities in the central part of the state, but they aren’t as high as we might expect based on comparably-large cities. As you can see in the map below, they aren’t nearly as high as Philadelphia’s mirror-opposite on the western end of the state: Pittsburgh and its surrounding suburbs can be nearly twice the price.

Larger circles represent a higher proportion of facilities; darker colors represent higher prices.

On the national scale Philadelphia has fourteen more storage facilities than the national average of twelve. Philly is $12.03 more expensive than the national average of $129, but among large cities it is easily on the cheaper end, with lower prices than cities including Boston, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Chicago and Portland.

Last updated by Brian Shreckengast at August 7, 2012.