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During peak hours, that's likely true. However, given its much more residential nature, I think Philly wins for more consistency during a longer stretch of the day.
I'm not just talking about downtown. The last two times that I've been there (pre and post pandemic) DC is busier than what I've seen in Philly. It was quite as busy as Boston, but it wasn't far off. Philly was borderline dead aside from South Street.
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
8,198 posts, read 7,668,902 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by personone
Agree. Philly offers a more traditional "big city" experience than DC, and is a quintessential northeastern city, unlike DC. It's very affordable, and while crime is up as it is in all major cities over the past couple years, there are still really nice and safe neighborhoods around Center City and especially in the NW section of the city.
Downtown DC gives a more grandiose capital feel in the mold of a European capital due to the National Mall IMO. Being traditional Northeastern doesn't = greater big city experience. European major cities give off big city feels just like DC, and they aren't "Northeastern". Philly is a larger city, and I think Center City with it's towers makes the city seem large yes, but outside of CC and University city, it's just long extensions of urban rowhome neighborhoods that aren't necessarily a "big city" experience. Although Philly remains the more "urban" city, DC is taller across it's city with more mixed use nodes, more subway stations, and more urban street fronts with ground level retail per capita than Philly. DC has more high rises over 11 stories than Philly in less than half the square mileage. The two cities are almost tied in city wide population density. On broad scale Philly, on per capita urban mix-use city wide DC. As stated before DC has a busier downtown during the day, and I've spent ample time in Philly.
Last edited by the resident09; 11-12-2021 at 03:36 PM..
Location: That star on your map in the middle of the East Coast, DMV
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Originally Posted by BigCityLover85
Does anyone know anything about Columbia, Maryland? I know it’s not too far from DC.
It's a great master planned bedroom community, that already has a decent mall, and is adding a large mixed use development outside of the mall. The area is nice and Columbia on more than one occasion was voted best place to live in America. Columbia is a bit closer to Baltimore about 18 mins out, and it's about 30 mins from DC with no traffic. It's a diverse area in between and a good split of folks who go into either Washington or Baltimore.
Last edited by the resident09; 11-13-2021 at 04:44 AM..
Does anyone know anything about Columbia, Maryland? I know it’s not too far from DC.
I agree with what the resident09 said. Columbia was built as a low-density suburb, and even now, its street network (which resembles nothing so much as a plate of spilled spaghetti) is famous for being difficult to navigate. But they've been trying to make the Town Center core into a more densely populated, urban-ish environment. If you want an urban feel without actually living in an urban core, Columbia Town Center is definitely worth a look. And it's got a very convenient location with close proximity to Baltimore and Washington, as well as Annapolis and Frederick.
I agree with what the resident09 said. Columbia was built as a low-density suburb, and even now, its street network (which resembles nothing so much as a plate of spilled spaghetti) is famous for being difficult to navigate. But they've been trying to make the Town Center core into a more densely populated, urban-ish environment. If you want an urban feel without actually living in an urban core, Columbia Town Center is definitely worth a look. And it's got a very convenient location with close proximity to Baltimore and Washington, as well as Annapolis and Frederick.
OP, what about parts of NY outside of NYC to the north? There are some places I thought of that are smaller, but are close enough to NYC or have access by way of the Metro-North.
Columbia is pleasant, but it's not that easy to get into a Big City from there. (The only transit to DC are weekday commuter buses.) If you like city-hopping, I'd focus on places as close to the Northeast Corridor as you can get, or maybe the Keystone Corridor. That way, you'll have multiple trains a day into the hearts of the great cities of the Northeast, plus access to multiple airports for longer trips. Also, collect Amtrak points, because NEC trips can be pricey.
Columbia is cool but nothing special. I liked it more before I starting to work there, as it seemed like a cool place to explore a little bit, but it's just a big , nondescript suburban town. I'm personally not a fan of Maryland's suburban areas.
OP, what about parts of NY outside of NYC to the north? There are some places I thought of that are smaller, but are close enough to NYC or have access by way of the Metro-North.
All of these places have open positions in your field either right in these communities or nearby as well.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 11-16-2021 at 12:55 PM..
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