Philadelphia Culture

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is there not to like about Haveford?!?

It’s Haverford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sheetz > Wawa.

I like Sheetz but Wawa is OG

kwik trip is the best of them all

[Anonymous]

I had a friend whose husband got a job in city government there. He said it was weirdly formal - like way more formal and hierarchical than similar jobs in DC. He was in the central office and when the administrator of the agency (I don't remember the exact titles) came into the room everyone stood up. Just very formal business manners.

I also had some friends who worked for the Pew Charitable trusts before the DC office opened (so many years ago? More than a decade?) and they also said Pew was very very formal and hierarchical. (but the head of the org was kinda a weirdo and like that so not sure if it was Philly or her).

But for all their wiz wit and wooder and iggles, there's an old school formality to the upper crust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG you Philly haters. I am from suburban philly (what? we all call it that), it was a great place to grow up. Beautiful old houses - when I moved to the DC area, I was looking for all the big old stone houses only could find the boring split levels. Center City is awesome, there are good parts and like any city, there are the not so good parts. So much amazing history. Still have family in Center City and surrounding areas. Everyone had a beach house in NJ (LBI!!!), b/c the beach was only 2 hours away. Mom went to Temple and niece just graduated from there with an awesome job! After years of living in DC, I still say wooder and gaz. To the pp whose family can't wait to move - I will say most people are from there, go to college and move back, very unlike transient DC . I would think it would be hard to be an outsider there.

If all you found were “boring old split levels”, where in DC were you actually looking? Were you actually IN DC?
I guess you haven’t gotten to know many people from families who’ve lived here for generations. With family beach houses in MD.

NP here. I agree with first PP in this post. I know you feel you've "made it", (2nd PP) but that is not what other people see, at all.

[Anonymous]

Iggles lost. 😭

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a friend whose husband got a job in city government there. He said it was weirdly formal - like way more formal and hierarchical than similar jobs in DC. He was in the central office and when the administrator of the agency (I don't remember the exact titles) came into the room everyone stood up. Just very formal business manners.

I also had some friends who worked for the Pew Charitable trusts before the DC office opened (so many years ago? More than a decade?) and they also said Pew was very very formal and hierarchical. (but the head of the org was kinda a weirdo and like that so not sure if it was Philly or her).

But for all their wiz wit and wooder and iggles, there's an old school formality to the upper crust.

Did the formal people all go to Penn?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to live in Philadelphia when I was a kid and went to school in Boston. Philadelphia is nothing like Boston.

Philadelphia has some good greasy food. There is a large African American presence. Penn is an Ivy League and has a top business school, law and med school. Temple is probably equivalent of Northeastern University, maybe lower, and is where local students who were poor or average students attend college. I do not feel safe walking in the streets of Philadelphia. Even the nicest neighborhoods in Philadelphia seem to have sketchy people who look homeless or on drugs. My good friend was once in a business meeting in Philadelphia and someone broke his jaw with a pipe for his iPhone. My friends who went to Penn mostly moved to NYC after college or grad school, even the ones who are from the Philadelphia area.

It’s certainly not for snowflakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a friend whose husband got a job in city government there. He said it was weirdly formal - like way more formal and hierarchical than similar jobs in DC. He was in the central office and when the administrator of the agency (I don't remember the exact titles) came into the room everyone stood up. Just very formal business manners.

I also had some friends who worked for the Pew Charitable trusts before the DC office opened (so many years ago? More than a decade?) and they also said Pew was very very formal and hierarchical. (but the head of the org was kinda a weirdo and like that so not sure if it was Philly or her).

But for all their wiz wit and wooder and iggles, there's an old school formality to the upper crust.

Did the formal people all go to Penn?

No.

There's a lot of lingering old money in Philadelphia. Old families who've been around forever. Old institutions. Philadelphia is *old* and these old families predate pretty much all of the working class immigrant pride. It's a city where there are still recognizable last names from famous ancestors in the 18th century and you still see them on boards and trust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I just started a new job working remotely obviously at a smaller company everybody’s from Philadelphia seems like everybody’s Catholic mostly Italian a couple Jewish last name. And I just wanted to get an idea of the culture there. I have family from Boston so they seem more like my family from Boston then my friends here in the mid-adlantic region.

any slang anecdote or anecdata to share?

Well you got it exactly right. Catholic Italians and Irish and Jews. Like boston. Philly Strong. I like Philly! The people are a lot more genuine than DC but that’s not hard!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a friend whose husband got a job in city government there. He said it was weirdly formal - like way more formal and hierarchical than similar jobs in DC. He was in the central office and when the administrator of the agency (I don't remember the exact titles) came into the room everyone stood up. Just very formal business manners.

I also had some friends who worked for the Pew Charitable trusts before the DC office opened (so many years ago? More than a decade?) and they also said Pew was very very formal and hierarchical. (but the head of the org was kinda a weirdo and like that so not sure if it was Philly or her).

But for all their wiz wit and wooder and iggles, there's an old school formality to the upper crust.

Did the formal people all go to Penn?

No.

There's a lot of lingering old money in Philadelphia. Old families who've been around forever. Old institutions. Philadelphia is *old* and these old families predate pretty much all of the working class immigrant pride. It's a city where there are still recognizable last names from famous ancestors in the 18th century and you still see them on boards and trust.

I would have assumed Pew hired Ivy Leaguers. But maybe recognizable last names are more important.

[Anonymous]

Grew up near Philly (10 miles) lived in Philly partied in Philly ate in Phllly. Been here 30 years and still miss Philly. They have jail cells at the football stadiums. Talk about keepin it real.PS when folks around here say Philadelphia is gritty they mean not antiseptic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG you Philly haters. I am from suburban philly (what? we all call it that), it was a great place to grow up. Beautiful old houses - when I moved to the DC area, I was looking for all the big old stone houses only could find the boring split levels. Center City is awesome, there are good parts and like any city, there are the not so good parts. So much amazing history. Still have family in Center City and surrounding areas. Everyone had a beach house in NJ (LBI!!!), b/c the beach was only 2 hours away. Mom went to Temple and niece just graduated from there with an awesome job! After years of living in DC, I still say wooder and gaz. To the pp whose family can't wait to move - I will say most people are from there, go to college and move back, very unlike transient DC . I would think it would be hard to be an outsider there.

If all you found were “boring old split levels”, where in DC were you actually looking? Were you actually IN DC?
I guess you haven’t gotten to know many people from families who’ve lived here for generations. With family beach houses in MD.

The number of "nice old houses" the DMV is a tiny fraction of what's available in Philadelphia. DC is also much more transient, and it was a much smaller city till fairly recently (within the last generation). It's hard to make neat comparisons.

I don’t doubt that. I’m wondering about 2 things: One is whether the PP is comparing apples to apples. The other is how familiar the PP is with DC — and how long they’ve been familiar with the area. If the PP is comparing, say, Society Hill and the Main Line with Ballston, Crystal City, or Potomac, I’d argue that there are better comparisons. Similarly, if the PP is comparing Philly with the DC and DMV areas that have altered dramatically during the last 15 years or so, to accommodate the needs of what might prove to be a very transient population boom, then at least I’d have a better understanding of the comparisons they’re making.

My comments are definitely informed by decades of hearing people make comments about DC and even the surrounding areas, only to realize that they don’t really know the area, let alone the city very well. Again, I’m not disagreeing, simply wondering what comparisons the PP is actually making. While I’m envisioning DuPont Circle, Georgetown mansions, Spring Valley, other older areas of DC proper, and the Gold and Platinum Coasts, mine might be quite different from the PP’s own perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t really follow your weird post. As for Philly, it’s a dangerous, played out, smelly city with generally underperforming sports teams. It’s supposedly known for cheesesteaks, but I’ve had better versions at a mall in Ohio.

Then you’ve never had a real cheesesteak, because there’s no way you last sentence is true.

Yes, yes, I have. The last one was awful. The onions were even grilled.

Well in my opinion I like grilled onions! Born and raised in Philly. ( dp from pp)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t really follow your weird post. As for Philly, it’s a dangerous, played out, smelly city with generally underperforming sports teams. It’s supposedly known for cheesesteaks, but I’ve had better versions at a mall in Ohio.

Then you’ve never had a real cheesesteak, because there’s no way you last sentence is true.

Yes, yes, I have. The last one was awful. The onions were even grilled.

Well in my opinion I like grilled onions! Born and raised in Philly. ( dp from pp)

The onions should be fried.

DDP

[Anonymous]

Full disclosure, this thread is long and my computer is finnicky.

I was born in Philly but grew up in VA, where we moved when I was in early elementary due to my dad's job. I consider myself more Virginian than anything, but Pennsylvania is sort of my second home. I don't have any friends there other than my extended family, because I didn't grow up there, but I do visit once or twice a year. I like it a lot. I didn't realize until recently that so many people hate Philly and the surrounding suburbs. I think it's very small-minded. Philadelphia is a great city and the suburbs are quite nice - not any different from DC and the surrounding areas. There are trashy sports fans and crime is a little high - same as most urban areas in America.

Just seems very much like people who hate Philly have either never been or just want something to bi. tch about.