What American cities have the "cool factor" going for them? (Chicago, downtown)
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All I'm doing is spreading awareness that it's overrated and not the on the tier of NYC, LA, SF and Chicago like Boston homers constantly try to say. It's ridiculous and it needs to be put in it's place.
It's expensive, it's "square" like someone said above which perfectly nails exactly how I feel about it, it's got average food scene, the people are uptight and rude, the sports scene is overrated because the fans are fairweather yet you think you're the best because you win so many championships, the nightlife scene is below average and disappointing for a city with that stature, the climate sucks and the history is not first either. People think Boston is the only city with colonial history. Sadly mistaken. Philadelphia was the center of the revolution and the birthplace of our nation (even if our forefathers are rolling in their graves over what it's become today).
Philadelphia is always brought into it because they're cut from the same cloth. Just because Philly has grittier areas, and higher crime (not by anything substantial) people think it's terrible, but it's very similar to Boston in many way and it does it better. It does its colonial history much better, the food is much better, the art and music scene is much better, the nightlife is much better, the people aren't as rude, and the suburbs are gorgeous and it has the most botanical gardens in of any metro area in the US. Philadelphia is the better sports town, not Boston. They don't have half the success of Boston teams but are just as passionate if not moreso, the list goes on.
Boston is clean and safe! (hooray white people!)
You'll find on this website that despite Philly being grittier in more areas (even though it's nice areas are just as nice as Boston's) a lot of people prefer the Philadelphia version over the Boston version.
I would enjoy Boston much more if it wasn't so uptight, arrogant and was more real like Philadelphia, or NYC. It's that Puritan exclusiveness that is rooted in it's history, still very much so apparent today.
Otherwise known as vast swaths of third world neighborhoods.
Seriously, I can streetview the entire city of Philadelphia and 9 out of 10 times I do it, I end up in what looks like a cesspool.
That's bull****, but I hope you don't like San Francisco or Paris then.
That's not at all what I am referring to in terms of edge.
I'm talking about places like South Philly or Northeast Philly where you can see it's working class and it's all situated right next to Center City. It's working class mingles with it's upper class and everyone has one identity. There doesn't seem to be a separation in Philadelphia.
In a time today where franchises and chains and condos rule the city landscapes, Philadelphia is still one of the last authentic ones with a more DIY-ethos and aesthetic that is absent from it's peers and I (and many others) appreciate that aspect.
It's got art murals everywhere, it's got independent stores and shops still alive and well, it's music scene is very apparent, South Street even though it's a shell of it's former self is edgier and funkier than anything in Boston.
Philadelphia simply has more personality than Boston.
I'm not saying vast swaths of wealth ruin it, but it does tend to make things a bit vanilla. I am hoping with Philadelphia's new-found resurgence in the 2000's, it doesn't go the way of Boston and become like that.
It's a no bull****, what you see is what you get type city.
I also think Chicago is like that as well. Boston is too concerned with image and keeping up with the Jones's and it's traded in it's working class personality for this uptight "square" BS that makes it so vanilla and plain.
Boston is very Disney-like. Very perfect, pristine and yes "SQUARE" like Shane 73 said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shane73
I'd agree, though Boston is different and interesting as a city in many aspects, the vibe of of the city felt very......well....Sqaure.
For the record, I am not saying Boston is the worst city in the country by any means, i'm just bringing it down to where it should be.
There is a reason why more people listed Boston as the most overrated city in the overrated city thread. Grow your balls back.
Last edited by ILoveMyFood; 03-25-2016 at 09:08 AM..
If you're uptight and square with deep pockets maybe.
I'll put my money on a place with more personality, better nightlife, better food, better climate, better suburbs, more vibrant, better history, etc.
I think you're exaggerating quite a bit. Boston is hardly full of people who are "uptight and square with deep pockets". It gets more immigrants than Philly, most from the third world. It has more college students than Philly. It has tons of 20-somethings. These folks are hardly wealthy.
And all your "advantages" for Philly are, at the least, debatable. Boston is at least an equal in history, vibrancy, suburbs and cuisine, and while I would say Philly has slightly better nightlife and climate, we're talking very minor differences. Philly hardly has the nightlife of Vegas or the climate of San Diego.
I think you're exaggerating quite a bit. Boston is hardly full of people who are "uptight and square with deep pockets". It gets more immigrants than Philly, most from the third world. It has more college students than Philly. It has tons of 20-somethings. These folks are hardly wealthy.
And all your "advantages" for Philly are, at the least, debatable. Boston is at least an equal in history, vibrancy, suburbs and cuisine, and while I would say Philly has slightly better nightlife and climate, we're talking very minor differences. Philly hardly has the nightlife of Vegas or the climate of San Diego.
Philadelphia has more college students than Boston. Pretty sure those numbers were posted by RightOnWalnut somewhere on this forum. It also has just as many colleges and universities in the area.
Boston is not equal on history. Philadelphia has more comprehensive history, more sites, more firsts, etc. Philadelphia didn't tear down most of it's old colonial architecture either like Boston did. Government Center, oh boy, that's essentially East Germany's finest ****. Independence Hall is the single most important block of American history in the country. If i'm picking, it's Philly.
Center City is more vibrant than downtown Boston.
If you really think cuisine is equal between Boston and Philadelphia, I might as well just stop here. Wow.
Suburbs? I love the botanical gardens and mix of lush green valleys and hills and historic colonial PA towns than Boston. Boston has great suburbs, I won't deny that, but I'll take Philly here.
Climate is a no-brainer. I am from Upstate New York, so Philadelphia's climate to me is heaven. Maybe now you can start to see why? Boston's is slightly better than ours. Philadelphia's is much better. It was 40 here and raining yesterday. Philly was 70 and sunny.
For the record, as stated above, I am not from Philadelphia, I just have an outsider's POV on all major cities. Philadelphia and Boston are cut from the same colonial East Coast cloth, but Philadelphia does it better IMO.
Other favorite cities of mine are Seattle, Chicago, London, Paris, and NYC.
I think DC is just as vanilla if not worse than Boston, but I like the climate there better. I am not a seaside chilly type climate person. I like hot and humid and mild winters.
I think a good analogy to Boston is the Financial District of Manhattan. Similar layout, similar lack of nightlife (although the FD has gotten much better in recent years), similar white collar vibe, finance presence, very square, etc.)
Philadelphia would be more similar to Brooklyn. Up and coming, gentrification, "cool" hip art and music, but still gritty and working class, loose and edgy, DIY and independent shops, etc.
For those that have not been to Boston or Philadelphia but have been to NYC, I would say that's a good comparison for you to get an idea.
I prefer Brooklyn to Manhattan, so maybe that's why I prefer Philadelphia to Boston. Brooklyn is more real and DIY, Manhattan is getting too vanilla and corporate.
I think a good analogy to Boston is the Financial District of Manhattan. Similar layout, similar lack of nightlife (although the FD has gotten much better in recent years), similar white collar vibe, finance presence, very square, etc.)
Philadelphia would be more similar to Brooklyn. Up and coming, gentrification, "cool" hip art and music, but still gritty and working class, loose and edgy, DIY and independent shops, etc.
For those that have not been to Boston or Philadelphia but have been to NYC, I would say that's a good comparison for you to get an idea.
I prefer Brooklyn to Manhattan, so maybe that's why I prefer Philadelphia to Boston. Brooklyn is more real and DIY, Manhattan is getting too vanilla and corporate.
I think this is how you want to spin things, because you're a Philly homer, and you know you can't "win" the argument on objective factors like wealth, economic growth, home prices, etc. so prefer subjective factors like "Philly is cooler and like a big Williamsburg".
Both Boston and Philly are desirable cities that are more alike than different. Lots of corporate dweebs in Philly and hipster types in Boston. You really think Aramark and Comcast worker drones are super hip, while Boston techies are all boring suburban suits? In reality the cities are among the most similar in the U.S.
I think this is how you want to spin things, because you're a Philly homer, and you know you can't "win" the argument on objective factors like wealth, economic growth, home prices, etc. so prefer subjective factors like "Philly is cooler and like a big Williamsburg".
Both Boston and Philly are desirable cities that are more alike than different. Lots of corporate dweebs in Philly and hipster types in Boston. You really think Aramark and Comcast worker drones are super hip, while Boston techies are all boring suburban suits? In reality the cities are among the most similar in the U.S.
I don't give a **** about wealth or home prices because they're outrageous to begin with.
Finance is one reason why this country is in the mess it is, so why the **** would I want to champion that?
This is why comparing GDP is bull****. You all must be Reaganites i'm assuming then.
"Hooray Boston's wealth disparity! Woohoo!"
"The city of Boston is unattainable to 90% of America! Yeah!"
Maybe that's the biggest reason why Boston isn't "cool" is because it's primarily full of that New England, dockers and yachts preppy-Ivy League douchebag vibe, perhaps?
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