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Philadelphia has one of the most diverse and stable economies in the United States. Though the city is growing at a slow clip, the suburban jobs are growing just as quick if not quicker than most U.S. metros. So... your first theory is wrong.
The weather is not bad, and Philadelphia has better weather than NYC, Boston, Chicago and Seattle... I would also argue that Philadelphia has better whether than most cities in the desert (Houston, Dallas, Phoenix,etc.). I know I much rather prefer Philadelphia's weather than their weather... so your second theory is wrong.
Crime is unfortunate... but it is located in specific areas and is not city or metro wide. Places like Oakland, Miami, Long Beach, Compton, Watts and Atlanta all have higher crime rates... so your third theory is wrong.
Philadelphia has bars open later and more people walking the streets later than Seattle and San Francisco. Philadelphia has after hours bars open until 4am. San Francisco doesn't have one single bar open passed 2am... Seattle has barely any nightlife at all. Philadelphia also has a MUCH more vibrant and active downtown than Seattle and a slightly better and more active downtown than Seattle. So there are only 2 cities with better downtowns than Philadelphia, they are Chicago and NYC. That's only 2 cities with DEFINITE better downtowns than Philadelphia.... you're gonna knock Philadelphia for that? You're a joke. Your third theory is wrong.
Ample housing? What does that even mean? Philadelphia has plenty of housing and is building more new than any other city except for NYC, DC and Chicago currently. Your third theory is wrong.
Hyped up city? Since when is Philadelphia hyped up? Philadelphia is extremely underrated. You want hyped up and overrated?? Look at San Francisco, Seattle, DC, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. Your fourth theory is wrong.
How would being a recently revitalized city make it cheaper? What on Earth are you talking about? If anything that would make it more expensive. Your fifth theory is wrong.
Has yet to reach regional Real Estate prices? Again... what are you talking about? What does this have to do with anything? I don't get what you are saying.
I don't think one correct statement has ever come out of your mouth.... and that shows because you have 269 posts and 0 reputation.
According to Forbes.com, Philly has one of the slowest economy recovery. The city center is hyped up, which makes it expensive in that area, but alot of areas to the west and north are not hyped at all and dirt cheap, thanks to slow economic recovery, high crime and frigid weather. The city bled an awful lot of people for 30 years to only basically stop losing people in the last decade by adding a few thousand for a change. There still alot of housing stocks available throughout the city at really, really low cost like West Philly, far South Philly and North Philly. Who cares about bars and dunkin donuts and greasy cheeseshops almost every blocks? Downtown, even though is expensive, is a work in progres; therefore, the whole city is affordable compared to alot of cities across the country. The only way for the city's real estate prices to pick up quickly is if alot of New Yorkers and Washingtonians are fed up with high cost of living, they'd move to Philly, which is a steal and a bargain for them and the same goes for very expensive west coasters like LA, Portland, Seattle and SF.
Philadelphia has one of the most diverse and stable economies in the United States. Though the city is growing at a slow clip, the suburban jobs are growing just as quick if not quicker than most U.S. metros. So... your first theory is wrong.
The weather is not bad, and Philadelphia has better weather than NYC, Boston, Chicago and Seattle... I would also argue that Philadelphia has better whether than most cities in the desert (Houston, Dallas, Phoenix,etc.). I know I much rather prefer Philadelphia's weather than their weather... so your second theory is wrong.
Crime is unfortunate... but it is located in specific areas and is not city or metro wide. Places like Oakland, Miami, Long Beach, Compton, Watts and Atlanta all have higher crime rates... so your third theory is wrong.
Philadelphia has bars open later and more people walking the streets later than Seattle and San Francisco. Philadelphia has after hours bars open until 4am. San Francisco doesn't have one single bar open passed 2am... Seattle has barely any nightlife at all. Philadelphia also has a MUCH more vibrant and active downtown than Seattle and a slightly better and more active downtown than Seattle. So there are only 2 cities with better downtowns than Philadelphia, they are Chicago and NYC. That's only 2 cities with DEFINITE better downtowns than Philadelphia.... you're gonna knock Philadelphia for that? You're a joke. Your third theory is wrong.
Ample housing? What does that even mean? Philadelphia has plenty of housing and is building more new than any other city except for NYC, DC and Chicago currently. Your third theory is wrong.
Hyped up city? Since when is Philadelphia hyped up? Philadelphia is extremely underrated. You want hyped up and overrated?? Look at San Francisco, Seattle, DC, Miami, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. Your fourth theory is wrong.
How would being a recently revitalized city make it cheaper? What on Earth are you talking about? If anything that would make it more expensive. Your fifth theory is wrong.
Has yet to reach regional Real Estate prices? Again... what are you talking about? What does this have to do with anything? I don't get what you are saying.
I don't think one correct statement has ever come out of your mouth.... and that shows because you have 269 posts and 0 reputation.
Stop making Philly out to be like California weatherwise! If a Californian came out to Philadelphia when the max temps only reaches 19 in late Jan. or early Feb., he or she would die immediately to exposure since he or she is not used to that extremely low temps. In the summertime, it's hot and humid, around 90 with temps frequently hitting 98 or 99 with lows in the upper 70's. That's not nice weather. It's stiffling! It's frigid in the winter and hot and muggy in the summer!
durf is really skilled at getting people to type long angry responses.
Why get angry, people? It's only my opinion of cities, which is very true. Again, I guess it's not a toy. You don't want to play with and mess with other bloggers' cities'. I'm not trying to incite or make people mad. I don't troll!
Stop making Philly out to be like California weatherwise! If a Californian came out to Philadelphia when the max temps only reaches 19 in late Jan. or early Feb., he or she would die immediately to exposure since he or she is not used to that extremely low temps. In the summertime, it's hot and humid, around 90 with temps frequently hitting 98 or 99 with lows in the upper 70's. That's not nice weather. It's stiffling! It's frigid in the winter and hot and muggy in the summer!
when the max temperature reaches 19? when was that, 5 years ago? Moderator Cut
Last edited by FindingZen; 01-06-2013 at 05:41 PM..
Reason: better to send concerns to a moderator
Well.... I'm in town and have really been enjoying myself. I am seeing the city looking the best it' has in my entire life, cleaner, brighter, and more vibrant than I have ever witnessed. Philly has always been multiculral but today the ethnicities have increased also the types of ethnic resturants have multiplied as well as many 4 and 5 star restaurants in the city. My lady friend who's from New York and has lived in the carribbean and now Northeast Philly for nearly 20 years hung out with me tonight and for the first time she ventured into West Philly past 30th st Station.
On the way we decided to cruise and take The Blvd to Broad St and head south, we enjoyed the ride and since she hasn't had to take that route in a few years since moving and changing jobs so even she was midly surprised to see some changes along North Broad starting at the Temple Hospital area which was well lit and had new buildings and developements. I was equally impressed with the new glass front building with the beautiful rainbow colered balloon like art that expands across the entire lobby. As we continued along she laughed when I gave her puzzled looks after asking " What is that?" and " When did they build that?" She said she felt like a tourist herself because she has'nt seen a few of the new buildings going up or businesses replacing old ones. We both liked the building on N. Broad that has a giant torch and match in the front, also the jazzy looking neon front of the convention center... She claims its not the convention center but I think it's part of the expanded location.
We took a quick ride down South St. and in my opinion it's a bit more grown up based on a few of the restaurants and clientele patronizing them also some of the hair salons and barber shops and a few other businesses there. I saw plenty of young and old out and about and kids on skateboards and seniors on bikes. I laughed and said " This town is SO cool". We headed out to West Philly via Walnut St and saw some recent developments in that area. We walked around a little bit then ate at the Harvest Grill then shopped at the Fresh Grocer, took in a movie at the Rave. My friend was quite impressed with the area because she never had a reason to venture out there because mostly everything she needs she gets in the Northeast and thats where her workplace, family, and friends are. We visited my relatives out there and we drove along Market St. I noticed how much better kept it was compared to 15-20 years ago, there were also new businesses and apartments and homes that impressed me. Same thing as we rode home along Chestnut St. I really, really liked the neon pillars on the South St Bridge as well as the Christmas Colored lights on the Ben Franklyn Bridge. I get to work on location in various places sometimes and I will declare that the City of Philadelphia can stand shoulder with the best of them in many categories and head and shoulders over many. This city is thriving, vibrant, multicultural, eclectic, artistic, cosmopolitan, and growing and I'm sure it's not because of priced out New Yorkers, and DC people nor Top 1% Lawyers and Bankers. I love the city and will be looking into purchasing a home here.
I saw BajanYankee post in another thread, so I had to dig up this old thread - somewhere back aways in this thread he says that the Boston legal market is a significant advantage for Boston over Philly and that the Boston legal market is "more sophisticated", pays more and is more on par with Chicago and San Francisco (thus several steps ahead of Philly). I contested what he said and asked him to provide evidence, but got none.
Anyway, recently I saw this report by the ABA (American Bar Association) Journal and Philly has some several distinct advantages over Boston:
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington is the #6 legal market in the US and Boston is #8. More lawyers and higher law firm payroll on an absolute level and per capita.
- Wilmington is #7 on the average attorney wage level, while Philadelphia is #14 (the two cities are measured separately - I'm not sure if the suburbs are measured). Boston on the other hand is #26.
- Boston compared with Philadelphia has a few hundred more lawyers in total (12,230 or so to 12,000). But this excludes Wilmington, which is a part of the metropolitan area. Again, I'm not sure if the suburbs are being measured.
The conclusion to draw from this is that the legal market is a significant strength for Philly, and Boston fares no better and possibly worse.
I think one of the biggest reasons that Philly is cheaper than other east coast cities like NY and Boston is the extremely high homicide rate. Whether you love or hate Philly and all that it offers there is no getting around the FACT that Philly has a pretty high murder rate. I think the last stat I saw was around 21.2 murders per 100,000 people. The US average is about 4.8. To put this in perspective Japan has a rate around .83, Germany .81, Norway .68. Phillies murder rate is about 4.5X the US average and 26X Japan's rate.
I've lived in Philly area for about 12 years now, originally I'm from upstate NY...for those that think winter in philly is rough, in upstate NY we measure our snow in feet not inches. I like the blue collar less hoitey toitey populace here in Philly but the news is downright depressing at times. It's hard for an outsider to get used to hearing about a shooting or murder every single evening. I don't even watch the news anymore cause it makes me angry, depressed, sad etc. This year the first murder in the city happened at 12:30am....we can't go half an hour into the new year without someone getting their life snuffed out by some worthless piece of garbage.
There's a lot to like about Philly but I'm sure many of us would like a lot fewer murders and crime in general.
I've lived in Philly area for about 12 years now, originally I'm from upstate NY...for those that think winter in philly is rough, in upstate NY we measure our snow in feet not inches. I like the blue collar less hoitey toitey populace here in Philly but the news is downright depressing at times. It's hard for an outsider to get used to hearing about a shooting or murder every single evening. I don't even watch the news anymore cause it makes me angry, depressed, sad etc. This year the first murder in the city happened at 12:30am....we can't go half an hour into the new year without someone getting their life snuffed out by some worthless piece of garbage.
It is January 29th... there have been 18 murders so far this year... doesn't sound like a murder every half hour. While I agree, the murder rate is high, I think you over exaggerate just a bit
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