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New York is a huge world class city but I'm struggling to really find the differences between life in Philly and NYC. I'm moving to Manhattan from center city Philadelphia and people say NYC is a lot quicker paced and cut throat, but I'm struggling to find a huge difference in the way life is conducted here vs. there.
Things that surprised me included how nice the people are, how the "fast paced" attitude doesn't seem to exist, and how WIDE the streets are (and how big everything is!)
In Philly, strangers don't talk to you while you're checking out at the cash register or at a bank or anywhere. No excuse me's, no thanks, no greetings. This was a refreshing change in NYC
Should I expect a huge difference in terms of the people there, food, culture, or is it pretty much the same?
Do you find yourself traveling far to get daily essentials? How often do you leave your neighborhood? Is it easy and convenient taking the train or is it just something people deal with to get where they want to go? Would living in a neighborhood with lots of things to do like SoHo be enough to provide me with entertainment without going too far?
Last edited by alinasf30; 02-25-2019 at 06:53 AM..
People generally choose a neighborhood based on how much money they have to spend on rent. If the sky's the limit and you can live anywhere, then I suppose the next thing would be to choose somewhere convenient to work.
New York is a huge world class city but I'm struggling to really find the differences between life in Philly and NYC. I'm moving to Manhattan from center city Philadelphia and people say NYC is a lot quicker paced and cut throat, but I'm struggling to find a huge difference in the way life is conducted here vs. there.
Things that surprised me included how nice the people are, how the "fast paced" attitude doesn't seem to exist, and how WIDE the streets are (and how big everything is!) In Philly, strangers don't talk to you while you're checking out at the cash register or at a bank or anywhere. No excuse me's, no thanks, no greetings. This was a refreshing change in NYC
Should I expect a huge difference in terms of the people there, food, culture, or is it pretty much the same?
Do you find yourself traveling far to get daily essentials? How often do you leave your neighborhood? Is it easy and convenient taking the train or is it just something people deal with to get where they want to go? Would living in a neighborhood with lots of things to do like SoHo be enough to provide me with entertainment without going too far?
They generally don't in NYC either, so don't get used to it. The differences between NYC and Philly is that NY is more expensive, louder, more crowded, much, much dirtier and there are at least 10X the amount of lunatics on the street. There is more public transportation in NYC that runs more frequently and things stay open later. The sidewalks may initially appear wider but since they're full and you're spilling into the street there's no advantage to Philly's more narrow sidewalks. Are you allowed to pee in public in Philly? If not, you'll have that to look forward to as well.
Manhattan (including upper Manhattan) is way more dense and urban than Philly overall. So it is a lot more crowded and dirty.
"Fast paced" is a flawed concept because people rush to go to work literally everywhere. It just seems more noticible when you're in a city with the most foot traffic in the country.
I went to Philly a few times and one difference that struck me was how few Latinos there were there. But I live in the Bronx, so I'm used to Spanish being spoken all over the place.
Been to Philly many times, almost considered moving there. Philly almost feels like a sister borough of NY as opposed to it feeling like Manhattan but than it doesn't really feel like any of the other boroughs either. NYC is massive, Manhattan is a world in itself, than there are the outer boroughs which some new comers never really see unless they actually live here long enough to venture out. Manhattan for instance has the most commercial areas where people are rushing to work, e.g. (downtown to Midtown) but you will have surrounding neighborhoody areas which may not feel as fast paced. The dynamics of people also change depending on the time of day, like you will have the after work crowds ready to mingle in restaurant/bars, but than you have different crowds during the weekend, and all this changes from Winter to Summer as well, especially in the Summer where you will be surrounded by tourists, you will have a lot to explore when you live here.
You don't have to travel far to get daily essentials almost anywhere in the NY that's nearly impossible and there is some sort of entertainment just about anywhere and people take train everywhere, cabs if its too late since trains run slower at night.
Last edited by Ruready4Bklyn; 02-25-2019 at 04:13 PM..
I went to Philly a few times and one difference that struck me was how few Latinos there were there. But I live in the Bronx, so I'm used to Spanish being spoken all over the place.
There are a lot of Latinos in Philly. Mostly Puerto Ricans but some Dominicans and Mexicans too.
North Phillt has a huge Puerto Rican presence. South Philly has a rapidly growing Mexican population.
Last edited by Foamposite; 02-25-2019 at 04:49 PM..
I've been here a year and moved from University City Philadelphia so let me break this down for you:
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Originally Posted by alinasf30
New York is a huge world class city but I'm struggling to really find the differences between life in Philly and NYC.
Surprisingly not much. NYers tend to think everything outside NY (except maybe LA) midas well be a one stop light town. The reality is that if you've lived in Boston, DC, Philly or Chicago you're not that far off from experiencing what the NY vibe is like. NY isn't a super intense sensory experience the same way like a Tokyo is. It's far more chill than people will have you believe.
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I'm moving to Manhattan from center city Philadelphia and people say NYC is a lot quicker paced and cut throat, but I'm struggling to find a huge difference in the way life is conducted here vs. there.
Things that surprised me included how nice the people are, how the "fast paced" attitude doesn't seem to exist, and how WIDE the streets are (and how big everything is!)
That's the thing, NY isn't so much different from other American cities as it's simply *bigger*. NY and Philly have all the same things except whatever Philly has NY will have like 8 of them LOL.
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In Philly, strangers don't talk to you while you're checking out at the cash register or at a bank or anywhere. No excuse me's, no thanks, no greetings. This was a refreshing change in NYC
#truth. While NYers generally have zero time for nonsense, they're not outright hostile and nasty like Philly.
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Should I expect a huge difference in terms of the people there, food, culture, or is it pretty much the same?
Food? No. (although be prepared to go without Cheesesteaks. Don't even try one here you're just setting yourself up for disappointment). People and culture? Most definitley. More professionals, More immigrants, generally nicer. The only thing is I've heard dating is a horror show.
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Do you find yourself traveling far to get daily essentials? How often do you leave your neighborhood?
Once you settle in you'll be surprised just how much you'll often stay either within your neighborhood or the ones adjacent. Most non-SI NYC neighborhoods have all the daily essentials within the immediate vicinity due to the level of density. You won't generally ever need to travel more than maybe 10 blocks in any direction from the house to get your day-to-day needs. That's part of the appeal of the NY lifestyle.
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Is it easy and convenient taking the train or is it just something people deal with to get where they want to go? Would living in a neighborhood with lots of things to do like SoHo be enough to provide me with entertainment without going too far?
Everyone's tolerance level is different. Some NYers can barley tolerate the work commute and others practically live on the subway going here and there. To really feel like you're getting the most out of living here you really should be willing to venture beyond your house/work areas. A band you like might be playing in Brooklyn this weekend while there's a meetup group you're interested in in Washington Heights all while you live in LIC. The more you're willing to venture across the city the more you'll get out of it. Except for maybe Williamsburg/Bushwick (our version of Fishtown) I can't see any NYC neighborhood having the density of nightlife to truly negate having to ever venture beyond your neighborhood.
There are a lot of Latinos in Philly. Mostly Puerto Ricans but some Dominicans and Mexicans too.
North Phillt has a huge Puerto Rican presence. South Philly has a rapidly growing Mexican population.
I guess it's a question of scale. It looks like Philly is about 12% while NYC is 27% Latino. More than 2x more as a percent of the population here.
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