Philly vs NYC (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, York: sales, university, incomes)

[ilovephillyandcars]

I think Philly is a great place. I used to run to NYC after graduating from college thinking less of the city but then I was not quite mature. I slowly saw all the greats it has to offer. My wife's family is from NJ (north) & they think Philly is no good what so ever since they have NY. I know not every person moving into NYC is going to take advantage of everything it has to offer. I mean come on, if there are over 50 Thai restaurants to choose from in Manhattan, are you really going to goto all 50? People generally tend to goto 1 or 2 they really like. Is everyone into art? I don't think so and even if you are you can do so in Philly which has a huge art museum and a few other. Are you really going to hit up every single cafe there is in Manhattan? I doubt it. My point is that there is enough to do around in Philly without the exorbitant cost of living in NYC and if you really choosing NYC for its diversity over Philly then I suggest you go live in Queens, which is the true melting pot of NYC, not Manhattan. I moved to Philly burbs since I was in grade school & went to college in Philly and love the city. For people who are narrow minded and bad mouth Philly are just illiterate. I've heard statements of people from N. Jersey saying "nothing good ever came out of Philly" but then again I didn't argue with that idiot since I didn't want to embarrass him and waist my breath telling him all the positive things about Philly (we are better than that) not to mention that coming out of someone who lives in a state which doesn't have its own big major city and was developed primarily due to NYC & Philly. No one from Jersey should be dogging Philly, you people sound retarded when you do. To the person decided to move I hope this helps you in deciding where to move. Good luck.

[ajaxrasputin]

Originally Posted by pittsteelerfan

Great post. I had people in the past to try and argue the fact that Philly is basically a white and black city. Nobody's saying there ain't any immigrants at all there, but it sure ain't no Chicago or NYC. It's nothing more than a big version of Pittsburgh.

Man, did you hit the nail on the head about their attitudes there! They all think they're a bunch of 'tough guys' in Philly. Til you give it back to them, even the women are like that there. It's a toss up between them and Boston for being nasty.

Are you talking about Philadelphia Mississippi by chance? Pittsburgh and Philadelphia PA are not really similar at all. I'm aware of some similarities, but all cities have some. One city is "Appalachian" in vibe, the other is prototypical "East Coast." Apples and Oranges. Nevermind the differences in pace, population, transportation, culture, nightlife etc.

Your comment that everyone thinks they're tough guys in Philly shows your ignorance about this city. I'm a Philadelphian - and myself, my family, and friends and/or acquaintances have never been labeled "tough guys." Maybe you should stick with what ya know.

[pittsteelerfan]

Originally Posted by ajaxrasputin

Are you talking about Philadelphia Mississippi by chance? Pittsburgh and Philadelphia PA are not really similar at all. I'm aware of some similarities, but all cities have some. One city is "Appalachian" in vibe, the other is prototypical "East Coast." Apples and Oranges. Nevermind the differences in pace, population, transportation, culture, nightlife etc.

Your comment that everyone thinks they're tough guys in Philly shows your ignorance about this city. I'm a Philadelphian - and myself, my family, and friends and/or acquaintances have never been labeled "tough guys." Maybe you should stick with what ya know.

I'm only going by my experience after living in Philly. Philly is MORE similiar to Pittsburgh than it is to NYC. Philly can't even compare to Chicago in terms of feeling like a big city, or an international one at that. And I got news for you, all you have to do is head a few miles outside the 'city' limits of Philly, and you can get an "Appalachian" feel. I drank in a bar just south of Philly's airport, I forget the name of the town (where the Motel 6 & Red Roof Inn are located). REDNECK central there, those people were far from 'cosmopolitan'. You'd thought I was 100 miles outside of Philly instead of only maybe 10 or so.

See the thing is, I lived in Philly and experienced this 'first hand'. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. I don't have some grudge against Philly. Pa. and it's cities have an unique feel compared to most of America. I know Philly is the 6th largest city (really 5th unless you consider Phoenix a 'real' city), but it feels much smaller to me.

[OuttaFlorida]

I'm considering a move to Philly and have not lived there myself, so I cannot give you specific information on the city. What I can do is give you some perspective from someone who has made long distance moves several times (CT to FL, FL to VA, now VA to Philly).

I STRONGLY urge you not to move anywhere until you have at least $2000 saved up IF you have a job. If you don't have a job then you will need to double or triple that.

The only exception to that is if you can live somewhere rent/utility free until you start receiving paychecks.

Consider your initial expenses here.
First/Last months rent + security = minimum of $1500 (thats really lowballing it for Philly, non-existent for NYC or Boston as I haven't seen too many apartments for $500/month). Then you'll need to buy food, toiletries, winter clothes since you live in SC, beer, and other general expenses. You money will run quick. If you go up there with $300 in your pocket and nowhere to live rent free, you'll be on the streets or in a homeless shelter, seriously.

Consider the fact that if you move there and have a job lined up, you will not recieve your first paycheck for 3 weeks!! Your initial expenses will be due by then.

You will not enjoy NYC or any city for that matter, if you don't have money. You won't be able to go out, you'll be stuck in a crummy cramped closet of an apartment for the same price you could be renting a HOUSE in SC, you'll be eating Raman noodles for dinner, and you'll constantly be struggling living paycheck to paycheck.

I understand your frustration and you just WANT OUT of where you are to experience something new. You're very young, wait 6 months, save up some bank, move to a cheaper city like Philly, make some big money faster than you could in SC, then move to NY or wherever you want. You'll be in the northeast, so interviewing and applying will be easier. Take your time in making the decision, but remember that nothing is permanent and if you want to pack up and leave for somewhere, you can do that because you don't own a house yet or have kids in school or anything.

Enjoy.

[subwayfan]

Originally Posted by pittsteelerfan

I'm only going by my experience after living in Philly. Philly is MORE similiar to Pittsburgh than it is to NYC. Philly can't even compare to Chicago in terms of feeling like a big city, or an international one at that. And I got news for you, all you have to do is head a few miles outside the 'city' limits of Philly, and you can get an "Appalachian" feel. I drank in a bar just south of Philly's airport, I forget the name of the town (where the Motel 6 & Red Roof Inn are located). REDNECK central there, those people were far from 'cosmopolitan'. You'd thought I was 100 miles outside of Philly instead of only maybe 10 or so.

See the thing is, I lived in Philly and experienced this 'first hand'. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. I don't have some grudge against Philly. Pa. and it's cities have an unique feel compared to most of America. I know Philly is the 6th largest city (really 5th unless you consider Phoenix a 'real' city), but it feels much smaller to me.

Just comparing aspects of cities (and not living):
I agree that Philly is not on scale with NY (of course), or even Chicago, Boston or DC, though I think it shares commonality with them on certain things, and other North Eastern US cities, obviously.

So, what's next? Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Baltimore.
Any of the warm city or West coast metros are ruled out. Just too different and climate is different.

Philly has a Center City scene and UPenn. Philly's retail is definitely better than Baltimore, but not good enough to be really considered strong in the category on its own. The Walnut St. corridor is small. From what I know of Pittsburgh, which isn't much, Pittsburgh has retail/restaurants in the city, and Carnegie Mellon and they have the Pittsburgh Light Rail (which I hear isn't so bad, but I don't know much about it).

Philly wins over Baltimore in terms of culture, entertainment, restaurants, universities and inner city transit.

But Baltimore has proximity to DC, Annapolis, MD's eastern shore and most of the surrounding areas are decent (like edge city towns like Towson, Hunt Valley, Owings Mills, Columbia), and they share something with Boston with the Inner harbor, Baltimore's which is touristy. Philly's advantage to Pittsburgh (and Cleveland) is its proximity to NY and DC, on the North East Corridor line, and warmer weather than Pittsburgh (and Cleveland). But, that's also Baltimore's advantage, proximity to DC. But since Baltimore is significantly smaller (its metro is blended with DC). How's Pittsburgh's downtown (obviously smaller to Philly) but does it have a connected feel, or isolated like Baltimore's?

[ajaxrasputin]

Originally Posted by pittsteelerfan

I'm only going by my experience after living in Philly. Philly is MORE similiar to Pittsburgh than it is to NYC. Philly can't even compare to Chicago in terms of feeling like a big city, or an international one at that. And I got news for you, all you have to do is head a few miles outside the 'city' limits of Philly, and you can get an "Appalachian" feel. I drank in a bar just south of Philly's airport, I forget the name of the town (where the Motel 6 & Red Roof Inn are located). REDNECK central there, those people were far from 'cosmopolitan'. You'd thought I was 100 miles outside of Philly instead of only maybe 10 or so.

See the thing is, I lived in Philly and experienced this 'first hand'. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. I don't have some grudge against Philly. Pa. and it's cities have an unique feel compared to most of America. I know Philly is the 6th largest city (really 5th unless you consider Phoenix a 'real' city), but it feels much smaller to me.

You are all over the place. I merely addressed your comment which stated that "Philly is just a bigger version of Pittsburgh." I never intimated that you have a grudge against Philly, nor would I care if you had one. You are obviously free to hold your stated opinion, but I guarentee you that you are in the minority with such a belief among people who have experienced both cities. They are two totally different feeling cities/metros, and aren't interchangable in most characteristics.

I have no clue what your facination with Chicago is, but I'm not really concerned with comparing Chicago with Philly. As far as New York City is concerned, nothing really "feels" like it, with the exception of maybe some of the boroughs outside of Manhatten. However, I wouldn't hesitate to argue that the Philly metro shares more of a New York metro vibe than it does a Pittsburgh metro vibe.

For whatever this is worth, "rednecks" can be found just about everywhere. I'm not sure what this has to do with addressing my original response to your post. I've unfortunately been in a "redneck" bar in Edison NJ where I used to live, which is about 6 or 7 miles from NYC's city limits. So what? How is that relevant to this discussion? "Redneck" doesn't necessarily equal Appalachian and vice versa.

So, I highly doubt people knowledgable of both cities would claim Philadelphia as a city "Appalachian" in feel, yet would surely designate Pittsburgh as such. Oh and also just to add, I've heard numerous New Yorkers say various neighborhoods in Philly remind them of parts of Brooklyn, Queens, or Soho in Manhatten etc. I've only heard some people claim one similarity with Pittsburgh, that being Manayunk - and that is more likely due to the topography of that particular neighborhood.

[ajaxrasputin]

Originally Posted by subwayfan

Just comparing aspects of cities (and not living):
I agree that Philly is not on scale with NY (of course), or even Chicago, Boston or DC, though I think it shares commonality with them on certain things, and other North Eastern US cities, obviously.

So, what's next? Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Baltimore.
Any of the warm city or West coast metros are ruled out. Just too different and climate is different.

Philly has a Center City scene and UPenn. Philly's retail is definitely better than Baltimore, but not good enough to be really considered strong in the category on its own. The Walnut St. corridor is small. From what I know of Pittsburgh, which isn't much, Pittsburgh has retail/restaurants in the city, and Carnegie Mellon and they have the Pittsburgh Light Rail (which I hear isn't so bad, but I don't know much about it).

Philly wins over Baltimore in terms of culture, entertainment, restaurants, universities and inner city transit.

But Baltimore has proximity to DC, Annapolis, MD's eastern shore and most of the surrounding areas are decent (like edge city towns like Towson, Hunt Valley, Owings Mills, Columbia), and they share something with Boston with the Inner harbor, Baltimore's which is touristy. Philly's advantage to Pittsburgh (and Cleveland) is its proximity to NY and DC, on the North East Corridor line, and warmer weather than Pittsburgh (and Cleveland). But, that's also Baltimore's advantage, proximity to DC. But since Baltimore is significantly smaller (its metro is blended with DC). How's Pittsburgh's downtown (obviously smaller to Philly) but does it have a connected feel, or isolated like Baltimore's?

Just a quick note making mention of something some may not know... Just as Baltimore and DC's metros meet, so does Philadelphia's and NYC's. Trenton NJ for instance is considered part of NYC's metro, yet it is only about 12 or 13 miles from Philadelphia's city limits. In addition, Morrisville PA is part of Philadelphia's metro and shares it's Delaware River border with Trenton.

[lvkewlkid]

Originally Posted by ajaxrasputin

You are all over the place. I merely addressed your comment which stated that "Philly is just a bigger version of Pittsburgh." I never intimated that you have a grudge against Philly, nor would I care if you had one. You are obviously free to hold your stated opinion, but I guarentee you that you are in the minority with such a belief among people who have experienced both cities. They are two totally different feeling cities/metros, and aren't interchangable in most characteristics.

I have no clue what your facination with Chicago is, but I'm not really concerned with comparing Chicago with Philly. As far as New York City is concerned, nothing really "feels" like it, with the exception of maybe some of the boroughs outside of Manhatten. However, I wouldn't hesitate to argue that the Philly metro shares more of a New York metro vibe than it does a Pittsburgh metro vibe.

For whatever this is worth, "rednecks" can be found just about everywhere. I'm not sure what this has to do with addressing my original response to your post. I've unfortunately been in a "redneck" bar in Edison NJ where I used to live, which is about 6 or 7 miles from NYC's city limits. So what? How is that relevant to this discussion? "Redneck" doesn't necessarily equal Appalachian and vice versa.

So, I highly doubt people knowledgable of both cities would claim Philadelphia as a city "Appalachian" in feel, yet would surely designate Pittsburgh as such. Oh and also just to add, I've heard numerous New Yorkers say various neighborhoods in Philly remind them of parts of Brooklyn, Queens, or Soho in Manhatten etc. I've only heard some people claim one similarity with Pittsburgh, that being Manayunk - and that is more likely due to the topography of that particular neighborhood.

A lot of Philly reminds me of Queens...And then Center City reminds me of Manhattan...

[pittsteelerfan]

Originally Posted by lvkewlkid

A lot of Philly reminds me of Queens...And then Center City reminds me of Manhattan...

Ya right!....... Center City reminds you of Mannhattan? Whaaaaaaat? What part of Philly reminds you of Queens? Philly has all those narrow streets and rowhouses (especially South Philly). There ain't the HUGE amount of apt buildings like there is in Queens. Let alone all the high-rise ones. No comparision what-so-ever!

P.S. And lets not forget about the DIVERSITY that Queens has. Where in Philly is even close to that? Please with that comparision!

[pittsteelerfan]

Originally Posted by ajaxrasputin

You are all over the place. I merely addressed your comment which stated that "Philly is just a bigger version of Pittsburgh." I never intimated that you have a grudge against Philly, nor would I care if you had one. You are obviously free to hold your stated opinion, but I guarentee you that you are in the minority with such a belief among people who have experienced both cities. They are two totally different feeling cities/metros, and aren't interchangable in most characteristics.

I have no clue what your facination with Chicago is, but I'm not really concerned with comparing Chicago with Philly. As far as New York City is concerned, nothing really "feels" like it, with the exception of maybe some of the boroughs outside of Manhatten. However, I wouldn't hesitate to argue that the Philly metro shares more of a New York metro vibe than it does a Pittsburgh metro vibe.

For whatever this is worth, "rednecks" can be found just about everywhere. I'm not sure what this has to do with addressing my original response to your post. I've unfortunately been in a "redneck" bar in Edison NJ where I used to live, which is about 6 or 7 miles from NYC's city limits. So what? How is that relevant to this discussion? "Redneck" doesn't necessarily equal Appalachian and vice versa.

So, I highly doubt people knowledgable of both cities would claim Philadelphia as a city "Appalachian" in feel, yet would surely designate Pittsburgh as such. Oh and also just to add, I've heard numerous New Yorkers say various neighborhoods in Philly remind them of parts of Brooklyn, Queens, or Soho in Manhatten etc. I've only heard some people claim one similarity with Pittsburgh, that being Manayunk - and that is more likely due to the topography of that particular neighborhood.

My "fasination" with Chicago, is that it's a large US city. And has more in common with NYC, as being a "World Class City", compared with Philly. Philly is just a BIG version of the Burgh. Plain and simple!