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.
Philadelphia is more similar to Chicago socioeconomically than it is to Detroit, but the big difference between the two is that Chicago is the big cheese in its region of the country while Philadelphia is not. And there are some similarities between Philadelphia and Detroit relative to their respective regions of the country:
1. They each anchor the second-largest metropolitan area in their regions.
2. They tend to get overshadowed by the one larger metropolitan area.
3. Detroit has the most blight of any major Midwestern metropolitan areas, and Philadelphia has the most blight of the four extra-large East Coast metropolitan areas.
4. Their contributions to American culture are severely underrated.
5. There is plenty of money in both metropolitan areas despite their reputations.
6. They both have better days ahead despite their reputations.
Boston = Minneapolis?
NYC =
Philly = Chicago
Camden = Gary
Baltimore = Detroit
DC =
Richmond = Milwaukee/STL
Charlotte = Indianapolis/KCMO
Chapel Hill = Ann Arbor
Bangor = Kalamazoo
Providence = South Bend
Jacksonville = Cleveland
Hartford = Des Moines
Atlanta =
Miami =
Philadelphia is more similar to Chicago socioeconomically than it is to Detroit, but the big difference between the two is that Chicago is the big cheese in its region of the country while Philadelphia is not. And there are some similarities between Philadelphia and Detroit relative to their respective regions of the country:
1. They each anchor the second-largest metropolitan area in their regions.
2. They tend to get overshadowed by the one larger metropolitan area.
3. Detroit has the most blight of any major Midwestern metropolitan areas, and Philadelphia has the most blight of the four extra-large East Coast metropolitan areas.
4. Their contributions to American culture are severely underrated.
5. There is plenty of money in both metropolitan areas despite their reputations.
6. They both have better days ahead despite their reputations.
The major difference is that Philadelphia is on the up-and-up, and vast swaths of once-abandoned neighborhoods are being gentrified and revitalized. Philadelphia has also been gaining population consistently since (I think) 2007. While Detroit has seen downtown revitalization, the rest of the city is depressingly blighted and shows no sign of improvement (correct me if I'm wrong). Also, Detroit to my knowledge hasn't reversed it's severe population decline.
I guess they share similarities with their pasts as powerful industrial cities (although this is gone now in both) but Philadelphia is reinventing itself while Detroit is not.
The major difference is that Philadelphia is on the up-and-up, and vast swaths of once-abandoned neighborhoods are being gentrified and revitalized. Philadelphia has also been gaining population consistently since (I think) 2007. While Detroit has seen downtown revitalization, the rest of the city is depressingly blighted and shows no sign of improvement (correct me if I'm wrong). Also, Detroit to my knowledge hasn't reversed it's severe population decline.
I guess they share similarities with their pasts as powerful industrial cities (although this is gone now in both) but Philadelphia is reinventing itself while Detroit is not.
Well... your wrong. There are plenty of decent looking neighborhoods in Detroit, OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA. Just put it like this, Philly is further ahead in it's gentrification process than Detroit, but make no mistake about it, there are many similarities between the two cities. Detroit's population decline has slowed since the recession btw.
Noone said the two cities had to be extremely similar, hell their matching Chicago to NYC. A couple of them matched Boston with STL, ect. Philly posters take things way to serious. Getting way to technical over a matching game lol.
Well... your wrong. There are plenty of decent looking neighborhoods in Detroit, OUTSIDE OF THE DOWNTOWN AREA. Just put it like this, Philly is further ahead in it's gentrification process than Detroit, but make no mistake about it, there are many similarities between the two cities. Detroit's population decline has slowed since the recession btw.
Noone said the two cities had to be extremely similar, hell their matching Chicago to NYC. A couple of them matched Boston with STL, ect. Philly posters take things way to serious. Getting way to technical over a matching game lol.
Good to know more then just Downtown is doing well.
To me, trying to compare "similar" cities in two completely different regions is just stupid. There is nothing remotely close to New York or Philadelphia or DC in the Midwest, just as there is nothing similar to Chicago, Detroit, or Minneapolis/St. Paul in the Northeast.
Its like saying oranges and traffic cones are comparable because they are both the color orange. It makes no sense to try and compare them as similar.
I see some similarities between Boston and the Twin Cities -- both leaders in medical technology, educated populace, socioeconomic characteristics, and even demographics -- but there are also similarities between Boston and Cleveland (both have world-reknown hospitals), Boston and Chicago (population density), and Boston and Detroit (total population). I can see the argument for Chicago as well: Chicago and Philly; Chicago and D.C; Chicago and Boston; and Chicago and NYC. Personally I see the most similarities between Chicago and NYC, but perhaps I'm just kidding myself. It may be a true blend of all four as well.
It's not meant to be an identical match, just a [FUN] game.
Boston = Minneapolis?
NYC =
Philly = Chicago
Camden = Gary
Baltimore = Detroit
DC =
Richmond = Milwaukee/STL
Charlotte = Indianapolis/KCMO
Chapel Hill = Ann Arbor
Bangor = Kalamazoo
Providence = South Bend
Jacksonville = Cleveland
Hartford = Des Moines
Atlanta =
Miami =
I agree that NYC and DC do not have Midwest counterparts. Chicago is much more like Philadelphia (minus Philadelphia's unique US history). DC doesn't really have a comparable because it's the national capital and so much of that city is government-driven.
However, Providence is a far, far superior town to South Bend in almost every way. South Bend is more like... Wilmington, DE or maybe Yonkers, NY.
sorry, I only match East Coast Cities with West Coast Cities
Which actually makes no sense.
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.