The truth about Philadelphia vs. New York? (Allentown, Reading: low crime, houses)

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Is that expression taught in the NY Public School system? The only people I hear utter that phrase are NYers.

Yeah, I think it is. New Yorkers are hell bent on proving their superiority to everyone. It is a city full of losers who have no personality and make every effort to be seen and heard.

There's no doubt NYC is more fun than Philly. It's a lot like a big amusement park. But I wouldn't want to live there. It's too expensive and most of the people in the outer boroughs are corny. New Yorkers are way too loud and it's almost like their whole personality is predicated on being a New Yorker. They don't have any flair, humor, wit and smoothness to their style. Everything about New Yorkers is "Back up, Son! BROOKLYN!!!!" Just compare Will Smith to Tracy Morgan or the Roots to the Dipset. Philadelphians are just far more charismatic and laid back than New Yorkers.

[BajanYankee]

Here's a typical conversation with a typical Philly cat in the barbershop:

Philly cat (PC1): Errryooo! What up, fam?

Philly cat (PC2): What's good, fam?

PC1: Yooooooo....I just got back from the strip jawn off Spring Garden...that jawn was craaaaaazy! I was like "whatdaheezy!" I hit the jawn up after I had left this other jawn out in West with these young bulls. You don't know what you missin, ak [In classic Philadelphia fashion, there is a lot of pausing, change in intonation, hand gesticulations, funny faces and tapping of body parts during conversation. I think we all get it from the Italians or something].

PC2: So you tap sumtin up in there fam?

PC1: Come on, ak. You know a true gentleman don't hit and tell [or something funny].

Typcial conversation with someone from NYC:

NY1: What's good, kid? It's mad brick out here, yo.

NY2: Yeah yo. It is brick out here, son. Yo son, did you hear about these cats from Philly trying to stunt. Don't they know we from BROOKLYN!!!!

NY1: Yeah son! We from BROOKLYN!!! Do or Die Bed-Stuy. Mean Fort Greene. Mean Hook Red Hook. Yeah son! Brooklyn!!!

NY2: Son, these cats just don't know. Ain't nobody messin with NYC! We da best! We don't need game to pull chicks or jokes or nuthin' like that. We just go to a place like Atlanta, turn up our accents, wear Yankee caps, and tell people to back the f*** up. And if they wanna step, they best to know that they going against my whole borough, son!! The 7-1-8 son!!! The home of Biggie and Jay, son!!!! Brook, Brook, Brook, BROOKLYN!!!!!

And that is why New Yorkers are the most annoying people on earth.

[john_starks]

^^ that was pretty amusing. that deserved mad reps

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by lugger

Lex Lugger's Last Stand

1) I said New Yorkers are more rude, aggresive , and hostile in their attitude. I got philly people saying no philly is more rude. Why would you want this for philly? Altough its not true New Yorks been named the most aggresive city in attitude and driving in the U.S. I know that the city of brotherly love got its named from some Greek words from Mr. Penn, but no one realtes to that. Most people feel philly people are nicer thats how they got the name.

Let's set the record straight. Philadelphians are ruder than New Yorkers. In order to be rude to someone, you have to acknowledge that that person actually exists. In New York, people aren't rude because they don't even acknowledge and recognize your existence as a human being. That is the critical difference between New York and Philly.

Other than that, the two cities ain't all that different. The only other difference between NYC and Philly is that everybody in the former has a cell phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

[BajanYankee]

Lex Lugger,

Moderator Cut I'm convinced there's something in the Hudson and East Rivers that makes you guys slower than the rest of the normal population.

[PrinceTheo]

What a funny, interesting read!

[killakoolaide]

NYC is 4x or 5x the size of philly, so obviously its gonna have more stuff, but pound for pound ( post-guiliani) NYC can't touch philly, because philly's COL is just so much cheaper. The families who built manhatten, for the most part, have been priced out to make room for rich transplants. It feels like NYC sold it soul for fortune and fame. When I would go there as a kid it seemed much more blue collar than it is today. Now when I go to Manhatten it feels like I'm goin to an amusement park for suburban tourists. Unfortunately, gentrification is beginning to take hold in philly, and will probably transform it in the same way eventually.

[solibs]

Originally Posted by killakoolaide

The families who built manhatten, for the most part, have been priced out to make room for rich transplants. It feels like NYC sold it soul for fortune and fame. When I would go there as a kid it seemed much more blue collar than it is today. Now when I go to Manhatten it feels like I'm goin to an amusement park for suburban tourists.

My dad's family being originally from Brooklyn I spent a lot of my childhood years in Brooklyn and Manhattan. What's happened to Manhattan and most of Brooklyn is disheartening. All the spark, romance and creativity is gone from that place. Even in the nether regions of B'klyn these days it's just wannabe hipsters from Iowa and Nebraska running around trying to ride the fumes of a dying era. There's no soul in New York anymore. It's become just an east coast version of Hollywood. That's why the ersatz Brooklynites are moving here in droves.

Unfortunately, gentrification is beginning to take hold in philly, and will probably transform it in the same way eventually.

The history of NYC has always been about rich people pushing poor people to the fringes in wave after wave. There was a 20 year period there where the poor had the upper hand. The "gentrification" of NYC is really just the rich taking back what they built 100 years ago.

NYC had the massive physical, cultural and corporate infrastructure to build a critical mass of creatives and other professional classes relatively quickly. The wealthy have always maintained a beach head in Manhattan. It was easy to land more troops, hit a critical mass relatively quickly and then just become a steamrolling juggernaut that fed on itself.

It's not likely that Philadelphia will ever have such a problem. What will happen here is far more likely to play out in the way that it is currently unfolding in DC or Boston . . . or even Chicago.

[FindingZen]

^^^Actually, my impression of DC is that it's a another Manhattan, with Wall Street being replaced by Capitol Hill, so to speak.

Otherwise, I'm inclined to agree with you. I believe that while gentrification will continue to radiate out further and further from Center City, Philly will still remain economically diverse throughout our lifetimes.

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by Tone509

^^^Actually, my impression of DC is that it's a another Manhattan, with Wall Street being replaced by Capitol Hill, so to speak.

Otherwise, I'm inclined to agree with you. I believe that while gentrification will continue to radiate out further and further from Center City, Philly will still remain economically diverse throughout our lifetimes.

Yeah, Washington, DC is just a staging ground for a big all-Ivy League class reunion.