Why is Philly so often overlooked?

[Anonymous]

DS moved there for grad school rather than one of the UCs because he can afford to live there on his stipend, doesn’t need a car, and he loves the food scene.

It’s the high rate of poverty that is the cause of so many problems, tbh. It’s sad.

I like it too.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:We lived there briefly. It's very race and class divided. The race part is common to most cities but it's easy to forget certain cities are also very socio-economically segregated. You'll be pigeonholed into your niche pretty quickly. Nitty gritty is fun for a while then it becomes tiresome because the nitty gritty population is just too large. A lot of crap happens in Philadelphia that rarely happens in DC. Center City is wonderful and there are a few other gorgeous neighborhoods but much of the city is dreary and much of the new infill housing is shockingly ugly. Transportation by car around the whole region is a nightmare, including the suburbs.

Philadelphia is still living off past glories and no number of modern new developments hides that it's one of the great 19th century cities still living in the shadows of its history. It's not where the energy or innovation is these days. Its claim to fame is being cheaper than NYC. But I will also say the dining scene is excellent, both high and low. It's perhaps the only thing I miss about Philadelphia.

You can’t be serious.

Because transportation by car around the DC area is so much better

We live in Baltimore after living in Philadelphia. It takes a lot longer to get around Philadelphia as the roads aren't as efficiently connected and some of the key links out of Center City are limited like the Schuylkill Expressway, which is backed up most of the time. Driving from Center City to the Main Line or back is time consuming because there is no direct expressway, just the train. Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill aren't easily connected outside trains either. By contrast, Baltimore is easy to navigate with the beltway and I-83 from the city to the northern suburbs. The world isn't just Philadelphia and DC, you know

i agree, i don't understand how philly can have so few direct highways to the places people want to go (are they still using goat paths from the colonial times??) But, I think the lack of an efficient highway system pushes people to public transit so that's a good thing. from many suburbs it is way easier to take the train than to drive into center city.

From NW Philly (Chestnut Hill/Mt Airy/East Falls/Manayunk), we often (if not usually) avoid the expressway by taking local neighborhood roads to East River/Kelly Dr to get to Center City. Of course there are traffic challenges at times, which is the case with any city, but it’s not always a big headache at all. Going to Center City should take about 20 mins using one of the drives during non-rush hour times. Most people I know don’t ever use the Expressway to get from NW Philly to downtown.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I was there over Christmas. I found it beautiful and it had an energy I really connected to. I kept thinking I could live there, easily. My son is considering Drexel, and this thread has me wondering a bit.

Your son will be fine at Drexel. Temple, on the other hand…

I’m in Philadelphia for the first time right now. We came for the weekend to visit Drexel and are staying in an AirBnB in Center City. I’ve really enjoyed our trip. It’s a little gritty but aren’t most cities? Even if my child doesn’t end up here, I’m sure we will be back to visit again.

We’re going up to visit Drexel next weekend. We are staying with friends who live there and have sent their kids to college in Philly. They are excited to go to dinner with us in Center City and show DC around West Philly. They are good friends who would be honest and warn us off if they thought that it would be a bad experience for DC.

PP here. Is your DC going to admitted students’ day? My DC will be there, too. Funny to think there will be a dcum contingent present

Yup! I am guessing that there will be more than just us. We will have to see if we can “vibe” out each other’s identities. I hope that your DC gets what they need out of the event to make their decision!

Haha! Thanks! Yours too!

[Anonymous]

It’s great for health care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's historic but dangerous and poorly run. We visited the center of town with the Bell and outdoor exhibit and there was a horrible smell of human feces. No thanks.

It has been run by democrats for decades. Great example of their governance. Beautiful city though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was there over Christmas. I found it beautiful and it had an energy I really connected to. I kept thinking I could live there, easily. My son is considering Drexel, and this thread has me wondering a bit.

Your son will be fine at Drexel. Temple, on the other hand…

I would not be so sure. My kid got accepted to UPenn (across the street from Drexel). We got spit on when we walked from UPenn to the market across the bridge. A lot of homeless around Drexel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's historic but dangerous and poorly run. We visited the center of town with the Bell and outdoor exhibit and there was a horrible smell of human feces. No thanks.

It has been run by democrats for decades. Great example of their governance. Beautiful city though.

You could say this about literally every community with over 60,000 people. Go find me a Republican-run city worth visiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was there over Christmas. I found it beautiful and it had an energy I really connected to. I kept thinking I could live there, easily. My son is considering Drexel, and this thread has me wondering a bit.

Your son will be fine at Drexel. Temple, on the other hand…

I would not be so sure. My kid got accepted to UPenn (across the street from Drexel). We got spit on when we walked from UPenn to the market across the bridge. A lot of homeless around Drexel.

Terrifying. My condolences.

[Anonymous]

I did a summer internship in Philly going into my senior year of undergrad. For reference, I grew up in NEPA, so moving to Philly was like moving to the big city and was common. NYC is the same distance but was considered too much of a jump. I had family & friends in the Philly area both then and now.

It had many bright spots, but by the end of my 3.5 months there it felt like I’d seen everything there was to see. I am glad I ended up following my burning desire to move to the west coast instead. And now I’m in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did a summer internship in Philly going into my senior year of undergrad. For reference, I grew up in NEPA, so moving to Philly was like moving to the big city and was common. NYC is the same distance but was considered too much of a jump. I had family & friends in the Philly area both then and now.

It had many bright spots, but by the end of my 3.5 months there it felt like I’d seen everything there was to see. I am glad I ended up following my burning desire to move to the west coast instead. And now I’m in DC.

You can see everything in DC in even less time.

[Anonymous]

There is no denying how dirty it is. There is so much litter and cigarette smoking everywhere in the city. Suburban station is in horrific condition. I actually thought 30th looked pristine on the inside, however.

[Anonymous]

The essence of Philly:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoBbbenj9Bg/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:We lived there briefly. It's very race and class divided. The race part is common to most cities but it's easy to forget certain cities are also very socio-economically segregated. You'll be pigeonholed into your niche pretty quickly. Nitty gritty is fun for a while then it becomes tiresome because the nitty gritty population is just too large. A lot of crap happens in Philadelphia that rarely happens in DC. Center City is wonderful and there are a few other gorgeous neighborhoods but much of the city is dreary and much of the new infill housing is shockingly ugly. Transportation by car around the whole region is a nightmare, including the suburbs.

Philadelphia is still living off past glories and no number of modern new developments hides that it's one of the great 19th century cities still living in the shadows of its history. It's not where the energy or innovation is these days. Its claim to fame is being cheaper than NYC. But I will also say the dining scene is excellent, both high and low. It's perhaps the only thing I miss about Philadelphia.

You can’t be serious.

Because transportation by car around the DC area is so much better

You’ve never been trapped on I 76.

[Anonymous]

Philly is the only city where I still get cat called.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Because it’s a hellhole full of Eagles fans.

And Flyers fans. I remember parking lot post game brawls at US Air Arena back in the day.

Broad Street Bullies, baby! Both on and off the ice!