Off-Campus Housing & Apartments near Temple University (TU), Health Sciences Center

Welcome to off-campus living at Temple University. If you're headed here as a freshman, congratulations! If you've been attending Temple but you're looking to move off-campus into Philadelphia this semester, you've come to the right place. ForRentUniversity.com® offers hundreds of listings of the best apartments near Temple University. But you might be wondering: What’s it like for a college student living in Philadelphia? What neighborhoods do Temple University students live in around Philly? Get the details in our Temple University off-campus guide.

As with most large universities, Temple is widely known for its robust athletics program. Teams are the Temple Owls. Why? Back in 1888, Temple was recognized as a tutoring program for working people who needed to attend classes at night, or "owls." The nickname stuck. Temple is the second largest university in Pennsylvania after Penn State. It also maintains campuses in Rome and Japan. In fact, students from more than 100 countries study at Temple. In addition, the university recognizes more than 300 student organizations, including 30 fraternities and sororities. No matter what you're looking for, you can find it at Temple.

Temple University is located in North Philadelphia, about 1.5 miles from Center City, which is Philadelphia’s dense downtown. Broad Street, which is Philly's main dividing line between east and west, connects the Temple campus directly with historic Philadelphia City Hall. Speaking of history, if you’re a history buff (or maybe a history major), you’ll love going to college in Philadelphia. The city is a living classroom with historic sites like the iconic Independence Hall; the creepy Eastern State Penitentiary; and the 125-year-old Reading Terminal Market, where you can soak up history, grab a bite, and do your grocery shopping after classes. Check out CampusPhilly for student-friendly events around town.

Getting Around Philadelphia and Temple

As noted above, Broad Street bisects Philadelphia. As a Temple student, you can’t go wrong living along Broad Street. The street is serviced by the Broad Street Line subway, which can get you from Temple (at the Cecil B. Moore station) to Center City and all the way down to the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, where you can catch all of Philly’s major professional sports teams. Some Temple students choose to live in South Philly. Your second public-transit option is the Temple University Station of the SEPTA Regional Rail system. The Manayunk/Norristown Line can get you between Temple and University City in one direction and from Temple to East Falls and other neighborhoods along the Schuylkill River in the other direction. Temple University itself offers the Flight shuttle service to students in the evenings. The on-demand shuttles, which you can call with a smartphone app, will take you to and from campus and off-campus residences within a defined area that includes neighborhoods such as Yorktown, Ludlow and much of Cecil B. Moore.

Staying Safe in Philadelphia and at Temple

Temple has the largest police force of any university in the country. This robust police department protects Temple's campus and coordinates with the surrounding community. Campus Safety Services even offers safety tips for students living in apartments. ForRentUniversity.com also lets you filter apartments near Temple University for safety features such as campus shuttles, parking, and controlled access.

North Central Philadelphia

This is the area immediately surrounding Temple University, centered on the intersection of Cecil B. Moore Avenue and Broad Street. You’ll find numerous restaurants and shops around this intersection, including a grocery store, drugstore, and the Temple University Bookstore. Specific neighborhoods you might see referenced here include Cecil B. Moore and Yorktown. Some businesses call this area “Temple Town,” but that is not an official designation.

Fairmount

This is the art museum area of Philadelphia, southwest of Temple. The main attraction here is the Philadelphia Museum of Art, but the neighborhood also is home to the Franklin Institute, the Rodin Museum, and the Barnes Foundation. Living here at Halloween, you’ll also be able to run home screaming from Terror Behind the Walls, the massive haunted house staged inside the abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary.

Center City

Center City is Philadelphia’s downtown. If you love excitement and a lively lifestyle, Center City may be the place for you. With four separate shopping districts, ranging from five-star Rittenhouse Row to niche Midtown Village, you can easily find whatever you're looking for here. Center City is home to Independence National Historical Park as well as Philadelphia’s hottest restaurants.

University City

University City, across the Schuylkill River from Center City, is home to two other major universities, the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. But it’s still easy to get to the Temple University campus from here on SEPTA Regional Rail. Because of the presence of Penn and Drexel, you’ll also find a lot of student-friendly apartment communities here.