Dallas vs. Philiadelphia (best, state, better, map)

[watsond]

We may be relocating to one of these two cities, and having never been to either, we are trying to research and decide which would be a better match for us.
Obviously these two cities are very different and may be hard to compare. Anyone that has lived in both and can try to give general descriptions/comparisons of each?
We like the option of being able to be in a cute, lively suburb with its own charm and personality, but not be too far from a more urban area with more upscale restaurants, shopping and nightlife.

Thanks for any opinions

[sbfk]

Philly easily...

i love it there, its so urban yet they dont brag or really care like manhattan or chicago

the people are nice too

Dallas looks boring to me

[radraja]

1. Safety: Philly has more crime, even in the nice suburban areas. Whenever people come by my local city board looking to relocate from Philly, their first complaint is always crime.

2. Affordability: Both cities are affordable.

3. Things to do: Both cities have plenty to do (no, I wouldn't say that Dallas is "boring"). There are some differences in local passtimes, but both cities will have movies, fine dining, shopping, and nightlife.

4. Architecture: Philly has older neighborhoods and lots of skyscrapers..but there's also more grit. Dallas has newer neighborhoods and is often cleaner...but perhaps doesn't feel quite as urban.

5. Weather: This one should be a no brainer. Philly gets cold in the winter. Dallas has milder winters. Both get hot and humid in the summer, although Dallas gets hotter.

6. Family Life: Honestly, the Texan cities have always struck me as being more family-oriented than the northeastern cities. Life is what you make of it, though.

[rb4browns]

Originally Posted by radraja

1. Safety: Philly has more crime, even in the nice suburban areas. Whenever people come by my local city board looking to relocate from Philly, their first complaint is always crime.

2. Affordability: Both cities are affordable.

3. Things to do: Both cities have plenty to do (no, I wouldn't say that Dallas is "boring"). There are some differences in local passtimes, but both cities will have movies, fine dining, shopping, and nightlife.

4. Architecture: Philly has older neighborhoods and lots of skyscrapers..but there's also more grit. Dallas has newer neighborhoods and is often cleaner...but perhaps doesn't feel quite as urban.

5. Weather: This one should be a no brainer. Philly gets cold in the winter. Dallas has milder winters. Both get hot and humid in the summer, although Dallas gets hotter.

6. Family Life: Honestly, the Texan cities have always struck me as being more family-oriented than the northeastern cities. Life is what you make of it, though.

Philly has more of an urban feel without a doubt, With that said, it's dirty (Stinkydelphia, Philthydelphia, etc., has an inferiority complex (my opinion - it's not NY or Boston and knows it), is crime ridden, and the weather sucks. Dallas is pretty hot in July, Aug and Sept but the rest of the year is wonderful.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

Philly has more of an urban feel without a doubt, With that said, it's dirty (Stinkydelphia, Philthydelphia, etc., has an inferiority complex (my opinion - it's not NY or Boston and knows it), is crime ridden, and the weather sucks. Dallas is pretty hot in July, Aug and Sept but the rest of the year is wonderful.

watsond is referring to the metro region I believe. Metro Philadlephia is 5,000 sq. miles. Your ridiculous stereotype of Philthydelphia would encompass maybe 50 Sq.miles of that 5000 sq.miles. Thats 0.01% meaning 99.9 % of the overall region is pretty clean.

Originally Posted by radraja

1. Safety: Philly has more crime, even in the nice suburban areas. Whenever people come by my local city board looking to relocate from Philly, their first complaint is always crime.

Excellent synopsis radraja however as a suburban resident of Philadelphia I definitely disagree with your statement concerning theres even high crime in the nicer suburbs of Philly. That just is not the case.There is crime in some of the poorer inner ring suburbs,there is lots of crime in the micro cities(Wilmington,camden,trenton) but like everywhere else crime is a rarity in the middle/upper middle/affluent communities. Segregation in socio economic groups in this area is unreal, not that I condone that.

Philadelphia metro has dozens of very nice walkable suburbs. Among the best are Chestnut Hill(NW philly),West Chester,Doylestown,Media,Wayne,Bryn Mawr,Ardmore,Swarthmore,New Hope,Moorestown NJ, Haddonfield NJ etc etc.

The Philly area kind of gets lost in the NE corridor but Center City Philly might be the best sustained 100,000 person neighborhood in the country and I'd stack the suburbs up against any area except perhaps NYC +SF.



Good luck.Dallas is growing like gangbusters so they are obviously doing something right. The Philly area isnt for everyone but its well worth a look.


West Chester,PA. 25 miles west of Philly

[neotextist]

^^Based on those pics alone, I'd choose Philly. (I've lived in Dallas and visited several times; never been to Philly.)

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by rb4browns

Philly has more of an urban feel without a doubt, With that said, it's dirty (Stinkydelphia, Philthydelphia, etc., has an inferiority complex (my opinion - it's not NY or Boston and knows it), is crime ridden, and the weather sucks. Dallas is pretty hot in July, Aug and Sept but the rest of the year is wonderful.

Pretty ignorant statements here. "Crime-ridden" is hardly how I'd describe Philadelphia. There are certainly pockets of high violent crime rates, but they're concentrated in North and West Philadelphia. Northeast Philly and Center City are very safe. Center City Philly has the 3rd largest downtown population in the country behind Chicago. This would hardly be the case if it was some "urban wasteland."

Here's a map detailing where crime occurs in the city, and you can clearly see the disparities by neighborhood:

Violent-Crime Rates in 2007 | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/01/2008 (http://www.philly.com/inquirer/multimedia/15111656.html - broken link)

As for weather, that also hardly gives Dallas the upper-hand. Southern humidity can be unbearable, and when you have to put up with it upward of half the year, that can be debilitating. Philadelphia has four distinct seasons with a moderate, mid-Atlantic climate.

[Duderino]

I'm not trying to trash Dallas here, because in all honesty I've never been to Texas, but it appears that these are two completely different brands of cities (one newer, archetype of the Sun Belt, whereas the other comes from the crop of the much older, denser Northeast). Coming from Chicago, Philadelphia seems like a much more natural transition. Here is a taste of Center City neighborhoods:



















(Source: forum.skyscraperpage.com, forum member: ColDay08)
ColDay08: Philadelphia & Washington DC - SkyscraperPage Forum

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by Duderino

Pretty ignorant statements here. "Crime-ridden" is hardly how I'd describe Philadelphia. There are certainly pockets of high violent crime rates, but they're concentrated in North and West Philadelphia. Northeast Philly and Center City are very safe. Center City Philly has the 3rd largest downtown population in the country behind Chicago. This would hardly be the case if it was some "urban wasteland."

Excellent point duderino. Not to nitpick but I have to take umbrage from someone from Dallas looking down at Philadelphia concerning crime. Dallas isnt exactly a shining example of personal safety. Last year Philly was slightly ahead of Dallas in crime rate but the year before Dallas's crime rate was higher than Philadlephia so give me a break with that nonsense.

And nothing irks me more with people saying Philadlephia has an inferiority complex,they know they are not Boston,DC, or NYC. Those are all great cities but the concept that Philadephia has an inferiority complex is absurd. In all due respect nobody in Philly cares about those cities, they do their own thing and good for them, but NYC-Bos-DC- are an afterthought in regards to the people that live in and around Philadlephia.

[blkgiraffe]

Originally Posted by sbfk

Philly easily...

i love it there, its so urban yet they dont brag or really care like manhattan or chicago

the people are nice too

Dallas looks boring to me

Looks can be very deceiving,especially in this case. Dallas has alot to offer and probably more than Philly. I've never been to Philly,but I've always been very interested in visiting the city. Dallas is a great city and it's only getting better! Philly is definalty more urban than Dallas,but Dallas also does offer a urban atmosphere (around downtown). The rail system is growing tremdendously,and will be the best in the SOUTH! Don't let the whole suburban look fool you, Dallas is a wonderful city.