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I've been through Philadelphia many times but only really TO Philly once, probably ten years ago and was left really unimpressed. It was incredibly dirty, rundown and there just seemed to be a lack of the vitality that I was expecting and had seen in other cities like Boston, New York and DC. However, I don't think it was really a fair assessment as it's a city that I felt I didn't properly explore at that time and that I feel has done a bit of a turnaround since I was last there and I would actually like to go back and really explore the city.
Well, I have to say I wasn't really impressed with North Zulch, Texas. I drove over there one time back in the 1970s when I was in grad school at Texas A&M because I heard they had a new traffic light. It wasn't even connected yet. I plan to go back sometime in the next 10 years to see if things have changed.
In terms of "large" cities- I'd argue the ONLY true large cities, that FEEL like cities are NY, Chicago, SF, and Boston.
If Philadlephia doesn't feel like a "true large city" they need to rewrite the definition of "true large city."
Philadelphia is a living breathing ginormous historic theme park. Its the disneyland of history where people still live and work. I just don't get the animosity towards Philadephia, its the closest thing in this country to NYC and its one of the few cities in the USA you can somewhat compare to the walkable European cities.
Just for the record Philadelphia has the 3rd most populous downtown in the usa behind NYC and Chicago. 90,000 people live downtown(upper class) with 10,000 new housing units in the works. Philadlephia has the 2nd largest mass transit system behind NYC and the 2nd busiest train station in the usa behind NYC. How that doesn't translate into a true big city is beyond me.
Seems like a healthy dose of anti-Philadelphia bias on this forum. The perception seems to be that its an ok historic town surrounded by 1.5 M people living in ghettoes. Philadlephia's poverty level is right there with Chicago and NYC , all 3 are around 25% give a percentage point or two.
Is the negative perception of Philadlephia fair? There is a huge contingent of middle/upper class blacks living in the city. Theres 300,000 middle class whites living in Northeast Philadelphia. 200,000 upper class/middle class whites living in NW Philadlephia,100,000 middle class whites living in South philly, and another 100,000 upper class white people living in center city. Why does NYC and Chicagos bad sections of their respective cities get overlooked yet Philadephias seem to get magnified, somehow erroneously swallowing the entire city?
What's said about high and low expectations is interesting, reallly.
I wasn't as impressed by Las Vegas as I had expected but it was due to the hype, and I loved my trips there and its a wonderful place with great attractions worth seeing. The thing was that the Strip and downtown wasn't as big as I expected (though every single hotel that was there was absolutely amazing especially the Bellagio fountain shows and the Venetian's canals). Anywhere outside the Strip and downtown was just like anywhere else and the 24 hour thing at least to me seemed overhyped since a lot of stores were closed after 10 or 11 even close to downtown. It seemed like only the casinos were open 24 hours.
My mom was disappointed by New York City, again because of the expectations vs reality, though New YOrk really has a lot going for it.
But truly boring major cities....again Cleveland and Salt Lake City (pre-Olympics at least.)
I wasn't that impressed with New Orleans. The place is depressing (even before Katrina) and the heat is oppressive. My sister lived there for 6 years and hated it.
Really??? My family used to live there and loved it, especially the nicer people and slower pace of life (at least 15 years ago). We did live in the suburbs and didn't know there was so much poverty till Katrina happened, but how can the French Quarter and Mardi Gras be overrated like some people say? New Orleans has a lot of history and also a lot of interesting culture and music...Cajun cuisine, jazz music, etc etc etc.
Not trying to pick an argument, but I'm interested in knowing what you mean by "feel like cities." Also, have you been through extensive tours of all eight cities that you mentioned above? It's just that I think just about everyone on this site knows by now that I like "accurate" opinions. Can't really stand when people have only scraped the outline of a city and judge it on that basis.
I told you Northeasterns, Midwesterners, and Californians think this about Houston and the rest of the sunbelt cities. He's not the only one that says that Houston doesn't feel like a "city." It's because of it's density and how suburban it is outside of the loop. It all starts downtown (not necessarily but it is downtown. But keep building up the TMC and Uptown as well). It's dead after the pm rush. That will greatly change once there are more residents there, the park opens, and the Pavilions open. Then you move on from there.
-New Orleans was a great city before Katrina (may be again), but like many places, its easy to understand how there would be a huge variance in perspectives (same w/ Vegas which is one place I love to visit but would NEVER consider living). The food and culture is terrific and there are some interesting neighborhoods as you approach Tulane. But let's face it: even pre-Katrina, a preponderance of the city limits is filthy, smells awful, is ugly, and has some very unsafe areas even within shouting distance of Bourbon Street. Yes every city has its slums and dangerous spots, but there isn't a city to the extent of New Orleans that is so unsafe so close to its hub of major activities.
-Cities that don't impress: El Paso, Buffalo, Richmond, Worcester, Toledo, Montgomery...ok too obvious-I could go on & why waste time also with obvious slums like Gary?
Let's make this interesting with the "hot spots", places I just don't think come close to living up to the hype.... New York beyond Manhattan, Portland (OR), Manchester (NH), Phoenix, Orlando, Tampa, LA, Nashville, St. Louis
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