Is Philadelphia & Vicinity Boring/Second-rate ??

[solibs]

Originally Posted by bryson662001

It seems to be part of growing up for Philly youths to worship NY but you'll out grow it.

What Philly youths?

You mean suburban youths?

[Shino306]

I like to visit NYC, however would rather live in Philly, it's much saner and much less expensive. DC is nice, my husband is from the suburbs of DC, there's plenty to do there as well...museums, restaurants, shopping, etc. However, to live in the DC suburbs is also very expensive, but the public schools are very very good. I could honestly live in both Philly or DC, but I do like my quick walk to work.
If I was a tourist, I'd probably rather visit DC than Philly just due to sheer magnitude of things to do vs. having to seek them out in Philly other than Constitutional Hall, etc, especially with children.

[carolinajack]

Originally Posted by darkone

Hello,

I'm not trying to start anything with the locals, but I've never been to the Philly area but I've been all around it - NYC, NNJ, NE PA, MD, DC, etc. This is not by accident - I just have never though it had much tourist appeal and is overshadowed by its neighbors.

I'd like to visit one day and prove my preconceived notions wrong. But what do all of you think of your city and metro area? How do you honestly feel when you return from NYC or DC?

I know all about the great history, universities, hospitals, institutions, pharmaceutical industry, etc. I just want to know if I should visit the city.

Also, being used to all of the other big cities in the northeast - NYC, Boston and DC, suppose I had a job opportunity in the Philly/SNJ area, do you think I'd like living there?

it depends on if you are very active, active or somewhat active. It can be an ok city if you are physically active with lots of sporting events, ice skating rink, walk a thons every weekend, biking and run on kelly drive and wissahickon, rowing on the schuykill.
they have a few theatres for plays that makes it nice, the kimmel for classical music, a few jazz clubs, some rock venues, dance clubs though i dont find them all that accessible, ok restaurants, etc.

i wouldnt say its as fun as NYC, Seattle, San Diego, Miami, DC, chicago or dallas or old new orleans, but if you are not really a very excitement oriented person its ok. to me its a bit Provencial though

[chessimprov]

Originally Posted by rainrock

Center City Philly has just recently(past 15 years) gotten into the tourism mode. I believe it was 30th in the usa in tourism 10 years ago, in 2006 it was 11th and climbing.I havent seen the 2007 numbers but as Center City continues to improve you would expect the numbers to keep advancing.

The Philadelphia suburban counties are as good and better in some cases than their suburban counterparts in NYC,DC and Bos. The Philly area doesnt get much national pub and truth be told who cares. Chestnut Hill,Mainline,Valley Forge,Central Bucks,the Media area and the West Chester area are on par with the top of the line communities in suburban NYC,Bos+ DC but at a fraction of the cost. The fact that the Philadlephia area which is landlocked has 3 of the top 50 wealthiest counties in the usa is a testament to its quality of life. 95% of the wealthiest counties in the usa are ocean or lake front communities or part of the NYC or DC metroes.

Part of the reason tourism was down was because of Philly's cold attitude (still around), bad setup for tourism too. Not as many resources to find attractions for people who don't live in the city, the information center was small and on JFK and 16th where the nearest attraction was like 7 blocks away. The hours were very inaccessible only open like 9-5 M-F. Now it is open all 7 days with better hours, a better facility, something that should've been done a long time ago.

[chessimprov]

Originally Posted by darkone

Hello,

I'm not trying to start anything with the locals, but I've never been to the Philly area but I've been all around it - NYC, NNJ, NE PA, MD, DC, etc. This is not by accident - I just have never though it had much tourist appeal and is overshadowed by its neighbors.

I'd like to visit one day and prove my preconceived notions wrong. But what do all of you think of your city and metro area? How do you honestly feel when you return from NYC or DC?

I know all about the great history, universities, hospitals, institutions, pharmaceutical industry, etc. I just want to know if I should visit the city.

Also, being used to all of the other big cities in the northeast - NYC, Boston and DC, suppose I had a job opportunity in the Philly/SNJ area, do you think I'd like living there?

it's definitely worth visiting. Unless your taste is particularly way too exotic, or you are rich and have all the free time in the world, Philly should have more than enough to choose from and look for.

[waltlantz]

Philly is fine. Every city is second rate compared to MANHATTAN. There is more to NYC than midtown ya know. (property rates, taxes and diversity aside, NYC can be surprisingly..well NORMAL, modest in some places).

Really, Philly and NYC (manhattan excepted) aren't THAT too far apart being dense old-school cities.

Queens is probably the Roxborough and Manayunk.
Staten Island is the Far Northeast
Brooklyn, hmmmm not sure here maybe South Philly and the near NE.
Bronx, keeping in mind that all of Bronx isn't run down I'd say everything north from Center City to the Oak Lanes.

The Main Line (plus most of Chester County) is our Westchester and the remaining parts of Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware County (excluding Chester and Darby) form our Long Island.

Jersey is Jersey, but we don't have a Conn equivalent (Conn's tail is relatively rich while New Castle Co. in Delaware is relatively poor).

Both have ethnic enclaves, though NYC is more robust in this area. Both are abundant in historic architecture and sights.

Philly has high class stadiums and cultural venues not to mention unique regional cuisine.

It is in a BEAUTIFUL area with it's stately homes, rolling hills and pleasant countryside.

NYC is more robust because unlike Philly, it was able to hang on to a signifiganct amount of Blue-Bloods, Fat Cats and otherwise high end emenities, services, organizations and individuals. Therefore it still was able to gain people while many other places lost.

Philly was once a real blue-blood old money type city but prolly after the Industrial Revolution and definetly after the two wars, a lot more of the big money dried up or went to the burbs compared to NYC.

They both have their charm. Philly is more modest, yet still a robust well rounded city (we don't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Camden, or even Baltimore.....sorry B'more but our economy is more robust).

We don't have the world class name recongition that NYC does, but not every place needs that. Sure were not like Rome, Paris or Madrid. We're more like Naples, Marseilles or Valencia. Not as flashy or hoity-toity as the big boys but with our own charm and just as spunky.

(MTA kicks SEPTA's ass 20 times over though, it should only kick it's ass 10 over, that's how much SEPTA rail work needs).

[MBlueR]

Philly has it's quaint and in some areas blue collar charm, but there's a lot of other places I'd rather go on vacation. Unless you know where to look, one has to actively seek out the activities. Plus, running/biking along the Schuykill is not charming...how much car exhaust does one really want to inhale along Kelly Drive not to mention the noise factor? I'd rather run through Central Park, Balboa Park in San Diego, or some of the great European urban parks any day.

[john_starks]

i wouldnt say its as fun as NYC, Seattle, San Diego, Miami, DC, chicago or dallas or old new orleans, but if you are not really a very excitement oriented person its ok. to me its a bit Provencial though

Sad Diego is a stretch. never been to Seattle,Dallas or Chi

Bronx, keeping in mind that all of Bronx isn't run down I'd say everything north from Center City to the Oak Lanes.

interesting take. i always felt that north Philly (along Broad St.) reminded me of Harlem. but i can see Bronx too.

[waltlantz]

I love the area but it has it's drawbacks to be sure.

Some say the place is provincial. Most places are to an extent, it's just the way people and more so Americans are.

Philly has a problem with keeping up with the Jonses though. There is not enough innovation in the area due to lack of forward thinking or dynamic government which is due in part to lack of civil engagement by the populace.

This leads to the area being overshadowed by NYC and Boston. I think Boston is a much more suitable rival for Philly. Both were at the forefront of early America and due to that have a wealth of highly coveted and appraised cultural and economic institutions. They both also have sense of Blue collar nature being huge manufacturing cities (not HEAVY manuf. ala Pitt or Detroit, more like workshops for everything else).

Boston thanks primarily to it's Colleges has done a much better of coming back to the tip of people's tounge, it's colleges have always given it a niche. To a certain extent it's hospitals have too.

Philly is the same but I wonder how much people reference them again these days. Philly has many good and excellent colleges but is overshadowed by Boston. Keeping with it's historic role in medicine it has many excellent hospitals and the region is the capital of American Pharma.

It's economy is nicely diverse but it needs a niche to help set it apart from other places. Diversity is key but a city still needs something to help it stand out from the crowd. Philly doesn't have that yet in my opinon, this is why so many out of town college students come here to learn but don't stay.

Boston also seems to have a better handle on the crime and quality of life in the city (although it's quite pricey in some areas now). Crime is a multifaceted problem, there is no silver bullet for it, but the city really needs to work better to keep a handle on it.

The only other real problem I have with Philly is the mass transit. While decent, it's inadequate in some spots of the city. The Northeast and Northwest flanks are in subway deadzones for example.

Regional Rail should be expanded to King of Prussia and likewise West Chester to prevent more congestion later. But SEPTA from what I hear is an administrative mess so it'll be a while before things improve there, I guess.