Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't think DC has ever been as "gritty" as Philadelphia at any point in the last 30 years. More dangerous? Yes. But that's not necessarily the same thing as gritty.
Aesthetically, DC was never that bad. The housing stock has always been nice. The streets, for the most part, never became complete dumping grounds the way they did in North Philly. You never really saw block after block of bombed out houses tattooed with graffiti. The most unpleasant thing about DC aside from an astronomical homicide rate, imo, was the number of mentally disturbed homeless people roaming the streets. There were a number of those in Philadelphia too, but it seems that DC had an inordinate number of mentally deranged men and women on its streets, particularly at night time.
DC was also different from Philly because you know when you're in a bad neighborhood in the latter. A lot of DC neighborhoods didn't really look too bad on the surface, perhaps comparable to West Oak Lane, but a certain volatility could be detected once you walked around a little. I used to think that you had to be a bit more on guard in DC for this reason; it was not always easy to tell how "hood" an area was. You don't really have to worry about that in Philly. You immediately know you're in the hood when driving down Lehigh or Allegheny.
True. Very well said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bradjl2009
Philly is nowhere near as bad today as DC was in the 80's and 90's.
Yet another person who doesn't get that Philly was at its worse from the 80s-early 2000s? Really? Of course Philly today isn't nearly as bad as DC was in the 80s or 90s. The crack epidemic hit Philly pretty damn hard too though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Grit and crime are two different things.
Exactly. Honestly, even some of the more stable neighborhoods in the metro look a bit worse than they really are.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
