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- Best Location: Philadelphia
- Best Scenery: Washington
- Best Schools: Boston
- Best Universities: Boston
- Most Diverse: Washington
- Best Food: Boston
- Best Shopping: DC
- Best GDP: Philadelphia
- Best Economy: Boston
- Best Attractions: DC
- Best Parks: Philadelphia
- Best History: Philadelphia
- Most Safe Place: Boston
- Cost: Philadelphia
- Best Waterfront: Boston
- Best Culture: DC
- Skyline: Philadelphia
- Architecture: Boston
- Nightlife: DC
- Downtown Vibrancy: Philadelphia
- Neighborhood Vibrancy: Boston
I love all three cities, but for me:
1. Boston
2. Philadelphia
3. DC
Honestly, forget homerism(though I try to boost Philly) The level of corruption in Philly and in the sorrounding suburbs is hard to overlook. I literally have to pay thousands of dollars(that I don't have) to regain the right to drive and stay out of jail due to the Philadelphia parking authority and abington police department, and I'm far from a criminal. So many others in poverty have to deal with the same situation around here and good jobs are few and far between for the basically educated(HS diploma). Its a crying shame. The only choice they leave me with is to once again struggle in North Philly.
I've seriously considered moving to Canada for a clean slate.
Quite sincerely Philly is cheap for a reason, and I look forward to the day when I can break the grip of my city of birth.
They called John Street corrupt, but at least Street had a day of amnesty. Which at the time I didn't need.
Pennsylvania as a whole, like Transylvania, is draconian and has serious issues it trys to sugarcoat with pristine pictures of untouched wilderness and the such. While millions are caught up in its poverty and corruption.
I'm venting due to personal frustration and I'm sure Pa is not the only state with issues, just look at Mich.
Last edited by killakoolaide; 09-29-2010 at 07:38 PM..
Seems like all 3 are quite diverse to me. I dont see the landslide you are talking about here.
Haha, nahh. I didn't mean to say any of them aren't diverse. Ethnically they all are, most large metros are. But racially Washington DC is a tad bit more. (Or actually a good bit more racially)
Here's some on it: All of these numbers will be from 2009 for everything you're about to see!
Boston MSA Racially:4,588,680 White: 3,702,548 (80.7%)
Black: 319,678 (7.0%) Asian: 275,250 (6.0%) Hispanic (of any race): 382,375 (8.3%)
Minority-Majority Status:
3,702,548/4,588,680 = 80.6% (Racially-White are majority by 80.6%)
we didn't say it does matter we said it doesn't matter much and I did mention that the only place it does matter is in food/ shopping, hence the little Italy, Chinatown etc
Ethnical diversity is fleeting, more ethereal. racial diversity is more corporeal.
The only big Ethnicity groups in the US that I see make it past the 1st generation consistently are Italians and Mexicans.
Use your self as an example and you will see what I mean. What percentage by Ethnicity would you attribute to American for yourself? Do the same for race. To the day you die you will tell people you are half Indian/ half Singaporean. At the same time you would tell anyone who ask that your Ethnic identification matches up closer to the american lifestyle. Your main language is american English, your
culture is mainly american culture, etc. Race sticks with you (unless your last name is Jackson) but Ethnicity is lost in a generation.
That is my thesis on Diversity
I agree with what you're saying, we're all American first and then we're whatever we are haha. I mean I've always thought of myself as American first and everything else second.
Take for example. I am half Asian Indian & Half Singaporean. In Houston I feel comfortable being able to find the direct food for my culture. Personally I don't like being around people of the same race as me. Its never been my thing, I hate hanging out with Indian people and stuff, but that's because its a culture I just don't comprehend well with. All my friends are everything besides Asian Indian, I only have one of them as a friend, that's pretty much it.
I was born in USA, I was born in Chicago. I love every part of it.
But I would never live in a city that doesn't have the basic amenities for me culturally. I like a variety in food, I like to see people of all backgrounds everywhere, cities that provide that are just places that I prefer more.
Take my grandmother for example, she was nor born here, but she was 73 years old, and all her friends would be Asian Indian, most of the time she would only eat either Italian food, Chinese food, or Indian food, nothing else. Religiously we're Hindu, Chicago & Houston are great cities for that, so many temples, I don't take religion seriously and barely ever go, but for my grandmother its important, for my parents its important. They would never live in a city that had a lack of our cultural amenities.
In Chicago there is Devon, the street looks and functions exactly like a street in India. In Houston there is Hillcroft, it doesn't look like its a street in India but it functions as such. These things are simple for my family to get food and whatnot.
I think diversity is important, its a reflection of Americanism, the country that coined the term "melting pot" is solely defined by that term. Ethnic diversity rocks, I've met so many people of so many backgrounds living where I do and its just phenomenal. I go to school in Austin, besides when I'm on campus, when I decide to leave campus there goes the ethnic diversity (going from extremely diverse to generic) and then I just feel like the odd one out everywhere I go. I never have that problem in Chicago or Houston.
^^ I used those as examples because those are two cities I live in, so I am familiar enough with it to use as an example, if I knew more about enclaves and temples and whatnot in the cities for this thread I would have used those as examples instead.
Are just nice to see. Personally I see a Chinatown, and its exhilarating having that option of even having an ethnic enclave, it really shows of world cultures in one city thousands of miles away. Its awesome (in my opinion).
Anyways in summary, all of these cities here are ethnically diverse, Boston & Philadelphia specialize in European ethnicity and its diversity, but Washington DC leads (by a good margin) in Asian, Latin American, & African American diversity ethnically with a good sizable European ethnicity for its diversity. (I didn't say in everything like Boston has a larger Chinese population, etc.. but for the most part Washington DC leads in that Asians, Latin Americans, etc)
1. New York 2. Philadelphia 3. Detroit 4. Cincinnati 5. Chicago 6. Denver 7. Columbus, Ohio 8. Dayton, Ohio 9. Washington, D.C. 10. Los Angeles 11. Boston 12. Indianapolis 13. Louisville, Ky. 14. Cleveland 15. Minneapolis, Minn.
I agree with what you're saying, we're all American first and then we're whatever we are haha. I mean I've always thought of myself as American first and everything else second.
Take for example. I am half Asian Indian & Half Singaporean. In Houston I feel comfortable being able to find the direct food for my culture. Personally I don't like being around people of the same race as me. Its never been my thing, I hate hanging out with Indian people and stuff, but that's because its a culture I just don't comprehend well with. All my friends are everything besides Asian Indian, I only have one of them as a friend, that's pretty much it.
I was born in USA, I was born in Chicago. I love every part of it.
But I would never live in a city that doesn't have the basic amenities for me culturally. I like a variety in food, I like to see people of all backgrounds everywhere, cities that provide that are just places that I prefer more.
Take my grandmother for example, she was nor born here, but she was 73 years old, and all her friends would be Asian Indian, most of the time she would only eat either Italian food, Chinese food, or Indian food, nothing else. Religiously we're Hindu, Chicago & Houston are great cities for that, so many temples, I don't take religion seriously and barely ever go, but for my grandmother its important, for my parents its important. They would never live in a city that had a lack of our cultural amenities.
In Chicago there is Devon, the street looks and functions exactly like a street in India. In Houston there is Hillcroft, it doesn't look like its a street in India but it functions as such. These things are simple for my family to get food and whatnot.
I think diversity is important, its a reflection of Americanism, the country that coined the term "melting pot" is solely defined by that term. Ethnic diversity rocks, I've met so many people of so many backgrounds living where I do and its just phenomenal. I go to school in Austin, besides when I'm on campus, when I decide to leave campus there goes the ethnic diversity (going from extremely diverse to generic) and then I just feel like the odd one out everywhere I go. I never have that problem in Chicago or Houston.
^^ I used those as examples because those are two cities I live in, so I am familiar enough with it to use as an example, if I knew more about enclaves and temples and whatnot in the cities for this thread I would have used those as examples instead.
Are just nice to see. Personally I see a Chinatown, and its exhilarating having that option of even having an ethnic enclave, it really shows of world cultures in one city thousands of miles away. Its awesome (in my opinion).
lol, I think we are in agreement then. It is my favorite thing about big cities, I love the variety
I've noticed a lot of my friends from Montgomery County, MD will, when describing another person, refer to him as white. Usually, race is only used as a descriptor if the person is a minority. I think it says something about DC area diversity. (In some cases, it's two white kids talking about a third, an even more interesting case).
Awesome post Danny...I'd rep you if I could, but I need to spread it around. Interestingly enough, Brasil isn't included on Fact-finder's "Latino" population...which is a bit odd. Even when you look at the South American population, they leave off Brasil. That's weird considering it's the largest, most powerful country on the continent.
It's also probably Boston's largest foreign population at the moment...from Massachusettsbrazil.com:
Official figures estimated only 94,000 Brazilians living in the United States. The Archdiocese of Boston estimated in 1993 that there are about 150,000 Brazilians in the Greater area but Community leaders think that the number would be much higher, more like 250,000 (Michelle Chihara, Boston Pheonix, "The Rio World"). While no definitive numbers exist, some social scientists believe that the Greater Boston area may have the highest concentration of Brazilians outside Brazil (cite)
I'm trying to find some figures, but they're extremely tough to get a hold of. At the moment the only "official" population I can get of Brazilians in the area is 75,000 in Massachusetts, with most of that in the Boston Area.
Seems like all 3 are quite diverse to me. I dont see the landslide you are talking about here. Plus keep in mind that Boston has the smallest Metro area of the 3 and holds up quite well in the foreign born department:
Metro Population:
Philadelphia: 5.8m
DC: 5.4m
Boston: 4.5
So with the smallest metro population it still has the 2nd most foreign born.
I honestly can't believe that the Mexican population is that big in the Philadelphia MSA. No offense, but at least within the city, the Latino population is mostly dominated by Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. Mexicans are usually in South Philly, and even then, there really isn't a cohesive neighborhood that they specifically are as a bunch of them are spread out across the metro area.
I also feel that the Dominican population is very low to begin with. Especially considering how many bodegas they operate around the city, as well as hair salons, restaurants, and gypsy cab services in North Philly. I feel next to Puerto Ricans, Dominicans are the next largest, at around 70,000 people in comparison to the Puerto Rican population, which should be around 160,000 people. Also, don't forget about Colombians, who are practically about 15,000 in population.
I honestly think that the Philadelphia MSA needs to be redone and revised because I don't feel it reflects the true population numbers or the diversity of the city and the metro area. I don't even believe that the Irish are the largest European ethnic group in the city and the Phila area. It should be the Italians that are the largest European group, followed by maybe the Germans, then the Irish at a close third.
I honestly can't believe that the Mexican population is that big in the Philadelphia MSA. No offense, but at least within the city, the Latino population is mostly dominated by Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. Mexicans are usually in South Philly, and even then, there really isn't a cohesive neighborhood that they specifically are as a bunch of them are spread out across the metro area.
I also feel that the Dominican population is very low to begin with. Especially considering how many bodegas they operate around the city, as well as hair salons, restaurants, and gypsy cab services in North Philly. I feel next to Puerto Ricans, Dominicans are the next largest, at around 70,000 people in comparison to the Puerto Rican population, which should be around 160,000 people. Also, don't forget about Colombians, who are practically about 15,000 in population.
I honestly think that the Philadelphia MSA needs to be redone and revised because I don't feel it reflects the true population numbers or the diversity of the city and the metro area. I don't even believe that the Irish are the largest European ethnic group in the city and the Phila area. It should be the Italians that are the largest European group, followed by maybe the Germans, then the Irish at a close third.
Yeah a do agree about the Philadelphia MSA being pigeon-holed and doesn't really reflect the whole regions growth rate. As for who is the largest European ethnic group in the Philadelphia area, most people would assume Italians are the largest European ethnic group like New York City area but the Philadelphia area actually has one of the largest Irish populations in the county. There are a lot of Irish Americans that live in the suburban PA counties and they makeup a huge percentage of the population on that side of the Philly MSA. But I do know that Italians are the largest European ethnic group in South Jersey and there presence there is definitely known. And even if the Irish are the largest European ethnic group in Philly it shouldn't be to far ahead of the Italian population in the city.
Last edited by gwillyfromphilly; 04-06-2011 at 12:21 AM..
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we said it doesn't matter much 
