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Again, aside Harvard, MIT, finance and biotech, what does Boston do better than Philadelphia?
And why is the focus solely on economics?
Boston has an entire region to itself and is a state capital.
Philadelphia lives in the shadow of New York.
This is exactly how I feel. As a lifelong Philadelphia area resident, I voted that Boston is more important. However, I agree that besides Harvard, MIT, and biotech, what does Boston do better than Philadelphia (especially given the fact that Greater Philadelphia is not hardly a slouch in biotech, pharma, and higher education).
This is exactly how I feel. As a lifelong Philadelphia area resident, I voted that Boston is more important. However, I agree that besides Harvard, MIT, and biotech, what does Boston do better than Philadelphia (especially given the fact that Greater Philadelphia is not hardly a slouch in biotech, pharma, and higher education).
Finance, biotech, high tech, higher education are areas where Boston clearly has an advantage over Philadelphia economically. Those are some pretty important industries. I think the more pertinent question is "what does Philadelphia do better than Boston?" Off the cuff, I'd say Pharma (for now; that may be shifting)...but what else does Philadelphia have a pronounced economic advantage in?
Finance is the only one that is head and shoulders above though. Philly is literally the next city in line in terms of biotech and higher education so it's not like it's Flint, Michigan or something. I think most people also view Philadelphia as a college town. Philly has more colleges in it's metro area than any other metro. Does "Greater Philadelphia" include Princeton? Because that's an interesting point to be made considering Princeton is the #1 ranked University over Harvard and MIT and Penn is just behind them.
They're the two most similar cities I think.
But again, why just economics?
Last time I checked, there is more to a city than it's economy.
New Orleans is rich in culture, music and history but so-so economically. Doesn't mean it's any less important than a lot of other cities, no? That would be a major loss.
Boston benefits a lot from it's niche industries while being average in most others.
Philadelphia has a diversified economy that for some reason suffers from having an identifiable industry. Same with Chicago for that matter.
People love to post about global power rankings when it's mostly just about finance.
Sure, make the argument of what makes Philadelphia better than Boston. Makes more sense than trying to dismiss the areas where Boston is actually better than Philadelphia.
Though there's a problem there--do they follow what the OP asked? But go on ahead anyways.
I cast a pure homer vote for Philly. But objectively, Boston and it's region, much like the Bay Area, got their mid/late 20th century issues straightened out and began the transition to 21st century economic realities ahead of us. We've begun to make up ground, and overall I feel like we are headed in the right direction. I'm very optimistic about the future....the potential here is enormous, and it's beginning to be realized. But the reality is the city and the region underperformed for decades, and we still have some catching up to do.
Finance is the only one that is head and shoulders above though. Philly is literally the next city in line in terms of biotech and higher education so it's not like it's Flint, Michigan or something. I think most people also view Philadelphia as a college town. Philly has more colleges in it's metro area than any other metro. Does "Greater Philadelphia" include Princeton? Because that's an interesting point to be made considering Princeton is the #1 ranked University over Harvard and MIT and Penn is just behind them.
They're the two most similar cities I think.
But again, why just economics?
Last time I checked, there is more to a city than it's economy.
New Orleans is rich in culture, music and history but so-so economically. Doesn't mean it's any less important than a lot of other cities, no? That would be a major loss.
Boston benefits a lot from it's niche industries while being average in most others.
Philadelphia has a diversified economy that for some reason suffers from having an identifiable industry. Same with Chicago for that matter.
People love to post about global power rankings when it's mostly just about finance.
Finance, education, health care, high tech and bio tech are niche industries? Interesting.
Finance is the only one clearly above Greater Philadelphia.
Lets remind ourselves, the criteria is Greater Philadelphia and Greater Boston. So Princeton and Penn are a good combo to go against Harvard and MIT.
You said Boston benefits from doing well in niche industries, please list these niche industries. I would also say Boston is clearly above Philly in high tech.
If you're going to include Princeton in with Philly, then you should add Brown in with Boston as both are roughly the same distance from Philly and Boston.
Finance is the only one clearly above Greater Philadelphia.
Lets remind ourselves, the criteria is Greater Philadelphia and Greater Boston. So Princeton and Penn are a good combo to go against Harvard and MIT.
Tech, health or otherwise, is obviously in Boston's favor. This isn't disputable at all. Stretching out to Princeton is a pretty long stretch (who actually really considers it a part of the Greater Philadelphia area?), and while it doesn't tilt things in Boston's favor as much, it does follow that you'd put in Brown and RISD into the mix for Boston if you're going that far out.
Philadelphia is a much more enjoyable city and I think most people would vote as much. It also feels a lot more urban. However, it doesn't do as well with the criteria that the OP listed.
Finance is probably seen as the most important industry and the one that makes the world go round above all others.
If a city has a strong finance sector, it's a global player. Boston has that. It's a huge part of it's economy. The most important part arguably.
Philadelphia has a number of industries that are all pretty average to above average, none of which really identify with the city other than probably pharma.
Philly is eds and meds. So is Boston. They're pretty close here.
Finance however is what separates them. Philly may do better in law though. Not sure.
Philly is also second in biotech.
Philly is second to Boston in biotech in a two horse race, it is not second overall. Boston is pretty much the leading biotech hub in the US. How silly are you being right now?
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