I have lived here for about a year with my husband. He}s a medical resident right next door and I am taking some time off from the field as well. Well there are things about the Ben Franklin House that make it the best place to live for the price. First of all it is very safe, no riff raff coming in off the street at this place because we have a 24 hour doorman/woman and they lock the side door after 10 pm. You need to use your key to open it after that. So take it from a girl who always lived in the safe suburbs of NJ, this place makes me feel safe and that is something more valuable than a lending library or a indoor pool. Secondly, the management is efficient. We arent talking about Bertha in a bathrobe here, this is totally different,there are a couple of people working full time and they take all your complaints suggestions and problems seriously and efficiently and right away. I complained that a light wasnt working on my stove and they had someone out the same day!The front desk girl can be a little moody sometimes shes nice and sometimes shes kinda rude but everyone else is superb in the management office. Other good points are the location, its in the middle of everything in the heart of center city, so that of course has its merits. Its a beautiful building especially the lobby. Sometimes I just sit in the lobby near the water fountain on lazy sunday afternoons with a good book. They have other offices like medical, dental etc etc throughout the first few floors but the residents have a seperate glass entry walkway so we dont have to share the plentiful elevators with non residents. Other positive things are that its not that loud inside the building, I have never heard my neighbours and everyone seems to respect other peoples space and noise inside the building. Outside the building is a different story but the occasional siren does not bother me, the AC/Heat usually drown out the sound which dissapears in a few minutes anyways. I pay 1300 for my one bedroom apartment which is a little high considering we are just out of school and all but I think its a great value for what we are getting and for the area we live in. We have an excellent gym which is free to residents and sometimes we have personal trainers compliments of the BEN which is neat. There is no pool but then again I am not much of a swimmer. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages but I should mention them anyway; other peoples dogs are a nuisance sometimes especially when you are stuck in a elevator with a fiery little pooch whose owner is half asleep and you have 15 floors to go! Dont get me wrong I dont hate dogs or cats, but personally feel other peoples animals shouldnt affect me. I dont want your dog sniffing me, i dont care how cute it is..this is my apartment too. Suppose I had a 4 year old who went around sniffing your hand would you like it''' So the pets thing I dont personally like but well I make it clear to the ditzy owners that I am not interested in meeting Spot. The other residents at the BEN are not too friendly, I mean I was at first coming from the suburbs where we say hello to our neighbours but after a few weeks I stopped saying hello as well. Yes there is alot of "I am a doctor, and I need to get to the hospital STAT business" but then again my husband and I are in that field so I am a little unaware of how it is for a person not in the medical field. I can see why people think all the doctors here are snobbish, but I personally feel this is Philadelphia not Smalltown America so people are not going to be friendly in the first place whether they are doctors or not doctors. As long as you dont take it personally then you will be fine. Parking is a nightmare and really expensive. One of the most disadvantageous things about the BEN is the wedding parties receptions they have almost every other night. Its annoying, its crowded in the lobby and it feels weird when you are in your sweats and glasses passing a newly wed bride waiting for her limo..They look at me strange but then again I live there they dont, so I couldnt care less. But besides this,all in all its worth staying here especially if you are a young couple etc, not too much partying not too much of a college scene which is good because then it might get dirty. I hope this review helps. Thanks..

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