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When someone is making comparisons to Newark, Camden etc...it is about race. Sorry. Oh, and the crime issue in Philly is about race as well. Sorry.
Your post is confusing: people move from Philly because they live in old row homes, don't have $$, and crime is an issue; they move to an area around Atlanta for a yard, sprawl, and lower crime; then they miss the vibrant, walkable community they moved from?
Why is Atlanta so cheap to live in and around, as the vast majority of people live around Atlanta?
Race is a variable within socio-economics. But if you think every time someone is talking about comparisons between Newark and Camden, that they are thinking about race first/foremost, you are too caught up in the race game. People usually think about crime and blight first/foremost...something that is nationally recognizable in post-industrial cities across the USA. There are some racists out there, but not everyone is one.
And yes, I know multiple people who have moved to places like Richmond or Atlanta or other southern cities, living in older neighborhoods with a yard because they worked for Universities that moved them and they had that experience. While they didn't miss the crime, yes, they did miss the vibrancy and community.
Keep dreaming about how the whole country has the wrong idea about Philly. I go to lunch almost every day to Reading Terminal. I talk to tourists at conventions and from Europe, etc. Guess what? Sure they thought the city was nice enough, but when I ask if they will return, they usually reply with something like "I really want to go to DC or NY" blah blah.
I find it a bit implausible that you spend a lot of time seeking out tourists in Reading Terminal for their impressions of the city. Yet I do understand why you meet your of town guests somewhere other than Philly.
What I've taken from all this is that you are not the least bit happy with your life in Philly. I suggest you take all this energy you have put into this thread and concentrate it on moving to a city you can enjoy. Life is short, bud.
You seem to know so much about Philly's offerings. Why don't you list out the things to do between Philly and Boston. We'd all love to gain a tangible understanding of how Boston has so much more than Philly to offer, and how those things are that much more attractive.
Start off by walking down Newbury street or Boylston in Boston and compare it to what in Philly? Walk down Commonwealth Avenue to Boston Common. Does Philly have a huge park like that right in the vibrant part of town? Go to Fenway Park and hang around there after a game and compare it to what in Philly? Go to their waterfront and look at all the boats and ferries moving tourists around and whale watching, etc. Take one of those Harbor trips around the beautiful islands in the Harbor with amazing homes on the cliff sides. Shall I go on?
Remind me again where this street has an equivalent in Philly?
The Schuylkill will never be the Charles. On the other hand, there is no 20 mile trail to Valley Forge in Boston, is there?
Indeed. The waterfront in Boston is excellent and a huge asset for it; with some actual implementation of vision (big plans have been bandied about for years, although the Penn's Landing Park will be a fantastic step forward), the Schuylkill can play a very similar role.
But for countryside scenery and feel, Boston has nothing on the Philly area.
Start off by walking down Newbury street or Boylston in Boston and compare it to what in Philly? Walk down Commonwealth Avenue to Boston Common. Does Philly have a huge park like that right in the vibrant part of town? Go to Fenway Park and hang around there after a game and compare it to what in Philly? Go to their waterfront and look at all the boats and ferries moving tourists around and whale watching, etc. Take one of those Harbor trips around the beautiful islands in the Harbor with amazing homes on the cliff sides. Shall I go on?
Again, for waterfront/ocean activities, Philly obviously doesn't compare to Boston, but it doesn't necessary have to. Why does the lens of comparison have to be to exactly emulate other cities? The rivers around Philly should be MUCH more leveraged, but it can provide a unique and awesome experience. For example, I once did a sailing "picnic" excursion in the Delaware looking at the Philly skyline, and it was quite fantastic and provided a view of the city that is extremely under-appreciated. There's no reason why activities like that cannot be so much more popular.
And while Rittenhouse and Washington Squares are much smaller than the Common, Boston has no Fairmount. This has been discussed in other threads.
I'll admit too that Boston does "grand" streets better than Philly, but that's never been Philly's forte. It's always been an intimate/human-scaled city, with very tight-knit/adorable and historic residential areas on an impressive scale. Boston obviously has those areas, too, but Philly dominates with them.
Here's a great lesson for ALL of us to learn: Different doesn't mean superior.
Also, true Bostonians HATE Quincy Market. And most would find Reading Terminal far more interesting and vibrant, anyway.
I find it a bit implausible that you spend a lot of time seeking out tourists in Reading Terminal for their impressions of the city. Yet I do understand why you meet your of town guests somewhere other than Philly.
What I've taken from all this is that you are not the least bit happy with your life in Philly. I suggest you take all this energy you have put into this thread and concentrate it on moving to a city you can enjoy. Life is short, bud.
I plan on leaving when I retire. I'm tied to a job here.
As far as the tourists, when you sit at the Dutch Corner you meet tons of out of towners. I don't seek them out, they are right there. Also I am extroverted. But it is not everyday I meet them, but I have been living here for years. I was here way before you moved here, trust me.
Start off by walking down Newbury street or Boylston in Boston and compare it to what in Philly? Walk down Commonwealth Avenue to Boston Common. Does Philly have a huge park like that right in the vibrant part of town? Go to Fenway Park and hang around there after a game and compare it to what in Philly? Go to their waterfront and look at all the boats and ferries moving tourists around and whale watching, etc. Take one of those Harbor trips around the beautiful islands in the Harbor with amazing homes on the cliff sides.
You want Philly to be Boston. It's not. Other than this, do you have more to add to the convo?
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