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You may be surprised at the diversity of " people" that Philadlephias nightlife attracts. Despite its problems at the inner city level Philadlephia is still the cultural core of 3 states and the 4th largest msa in the usa.
Rittenhouse,Soceity Hill and Chestnut Hill cater to the regions cosmopolitan crowd. University City and Manayunk are hotspots for the regions graduate students/college crowd/suburbanites."Old City" as described by National Geographic Travel magazine is the hottest night scene on the east coast behind only Midtown Manhattan and South Beach. You also have neighborhood destinations that draw locals and suburbanites aplenty like South Philly,Fishtown and Northen Liberties.
9 of Pennsylvaias top 10 revenue generating restaurants/bars are located in Center City Philadelphia and Philadelphia recently ranked second in the world only behind Brussels in quality of Belgian Beer selection within its city limits.
Philadelphia has its fair share of warts but its downtown(Center City) should not be taken lightly.In overall ambience and a place of being at street level Center City Philly is arguably second only behind Manhattan.
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..."Stella, send an urgent e-mail to Mayor Tom Menino (Boston), reminding him that Boston is lagging behind Philadelphia in the category of "Belgian Beer" sales....must impress upon him that the fate of Boston ( and DC) depends upon immediate action....would suggest that we send several hundred thirsty Boston college students on a local pirate ship and intercept the next shipment from Brussells....don't worry about resistance..the Belgians are used to other nations' trampling over their property...must act NOW!!!"
Overall, I would say DC is better for younger professionals. There is just a lot more to see and do. But, both are great cities. It really depends what a person is looking for.
If someone just wanted a big city feel, I would go with Philly. Both cities are relatively equal in that department, but your money goes further in Philly.
Philly is a more urban in the traditional big city sense. It feels like a big city. DC on the other hand, has a fairly similar density, but its neighborhoods have more green space and its row houses are more likely to be set back from the street and have little yards. The residential areas of close in areas like Georgetown and Capitol Hill feel like small towns.
Chicago would be an even better option, it is cheaper than DC and blows it away in terms of big city feel/amenities.
The attraction to DC isn't big city vibrancy, it is the the opportunities associated with living in a center of global power.
DC as the capitol is a very unique city. While not everybody is involved in politics/public policy, the city does revolve around it. This can be good and bad.
DC on the whole is more professional. Philly feels like an older blue collar city. You can see the difference just walking around the two cities.
What ... and Center City is good because you have sidewalk cafes with various people sometimes dressed nice and sometimes looking hot, eating, and drinking wine and cocktails because they don't want to cook?
I would have to say DC has more world influence than Philly, and we are a culture that is degrading too much into superficiality, so I'd have to say DC is much better than Philly.
Washington DC is better for professionals. You see more people in business suits etc while Philly is more like a blue collar city. Philly definitely has the upper hand when it comes to that big city feel. Other than that, I don't have much of an opinion to make except that Center City is more vibrant than anywhere DC but I suspect DC as a whole to have interesting/fun neighborhoods.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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I for one have never been blown away by Center City's vibrancy, its good, but does not crush anywhere in DC. The difference between the two is that DC's downtown is so spread out and there are more areas across the city. Old City in Philadelphia is another Adams Morgan but closes at 2, where Adams Morgan is more like 4 on weekends. Because of the setup of the two cities it may seem like Center City has a big advantage over DC but let's remember DC's downtown is still to this day expanding and doesn't need taller buildings to keep up. Everything in Philly is centralized, North and West of Center City and to some extent South (with the exception of South Street) nightlife does not keep up with the rest of Philadelphia, IMO.
How is that short-sighted? Philly has a more blue collar history than DC. My post wasn't meant negatively. I love Philly, but I just like DC better.
There is a drastic difference in "Philadlephia is more blue collar than Washington" and " Philadephia is nothing but a big post-industrial city."
I agree that Phillys roots are much more blue collar than Washingtons but that not what you originally said.
Does Philadlephia have areas with blue collar flavor? Yes. Does Philadlephia have large swaths of problems? Absolutely.
Can you label Philadephia as just another big post industrial city? Unequivocally No.
Philadelphia is arguably top 5 usa in cultural attractions, top 5 historical attractions, Center City is arguably the best 100,000 person neighborhood in the country,Center City I believe is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any downtown except Manhattan,Houston,Chicago and Atlanta.Then you have 18th century neighborhoods like Chestnut Hill,East Falls,West Mount Airy,Cedar park,Spruce Hill that are unreplicable and USA masterpieces. Northeast Philly is about 250,000 people and very suburban in nature that has working farms.
So no, sorry, its not just another blue collar city.
There is a drastic difference in "Philadlephia is more blue collar than Washington" and " Philadephia is nothing but a big post-industrial city."
I agree that Phillys roots are much more blue collar than Washingtons but that not what you originally said.
Does Philadlephia have areas with blue collar flavor? Yes. Does Philadlephia have large swaths of problems? Absolutely.
Can you label Philadephia as just another big post industrial city? Unequivocally No.
Philadelphia is arguably top 5 usa in cultural attractions, top 5 historical attractions, Center City is arguably the best 100,000 person neighborhood in the country,Center City I believe is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any downtown except Manhattan,Houston,Chicago and Atlanta.Then you have 18th century neighborhoods like Chestnut Hill,East Falls,West Mount Airy,Cedar park,Spruce Hill that are unreplicable and USA masterpieces. Northeast Philly is about 250,000 people and very suburban in nature that has working farms.
So no, sorry, its not just another blue collar city.
Okay I fully agree with you, I have nothing against Philly, it's a great city. My first post was probably too extreme (I only thought about it for a second or two), and I don't think of it as just another "blue-collar city." Pittsburgh would probably fit that description better. Philly is less of an blue-collar/industrial city than many big American cities, all I was doing was saying it was more so than DC.
Out of these cities chosen, which of the cities have a better nightlife, public transportation, restaurants, shopping, scenery, colleges, is better for young pros/college students, museums, architecture, diversity, etc??
All things considered, I vote for Philadelphia because of it's vibrant city center and because our government is not "headquartered" there.... Plus Washington's skyline is too "monolithic", in my opinion.
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must act NOW!!!"
