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Way out of context. And I lived in Philadelphia for a brief while. Didn't much care for it. At all. At the end of the day, I was left thinking to myself "if this was the section of the country I wanted to live in, why would I choose this city instead of New York, Boston, DC or even Baltimore?" I didn't have an answer for that, at least not one that made any sense.
I'm not 100% "all about Seattle". It's where I happen to live now. It's one of my most-liked cities in this country, though not globally (top 10, perhaps). It's got a lot of things about it I can't stand - mostly having to do with the aggro-vegans, the thin-skinned social-justice warriors, the fart-smelling extreme "progressives", the nanny stating and the bike nazis. However, it has a lot I love about it (and the negatives I can't stand can largely be mitigated by choosing to live in Bellevue as opposed to Seattle, where the climate is much different). It's just that in the context of Seattle vs. Philadelphia, it's not even close. There's not a single compelling reason to live in Philadelphia vs. other East coast cities that have their crap put more together, and it's a dump compared to Seattle. Not only that, but Seattle is significantly more important on the global stage than Philadelphia could ever hope to be, regardless of its population. I saw a mild debate on the importance of the cities respective ports and had to shake my head - the insinuation that Philly's port is more important because of its volume - ignoring that most of what it receives is fairly local vs. the international hub of Asian imports, seafood, and machinery that represents Seattle - was pretty laughable. I mean, you're basically trying to compare the ugly kid sister of the Eastern part of the country with the crown jewel of the Western side.
Sit back. Relax. Take a deep breath, and tell yourself "this is city-data, an internet forum".
When you bring yourself under composure create a thread that will give Seattle, the true crown jewel of the country, a better match. I know Philadelphia dwarfs Seattle in it's downtown, mix of neighborhoods, population, GDP, history, urban fabric, vibrancy, public transit, architecture, culture, art, museums, location, people, nightlife, affordability, etc. but it just isn't a crown jewel like Seattle is.
It's wise to only compare crown jewels.
Also on your next thread, you don't need to say that you've lived somewhere for people to respect your opinion on the place. I'd love to know where there are so many Mexicans in Philly and when Finance became the largest industry. Since when does Seattle have greater diversity among it's white population? Do white people even have ethnicities in Seattle? Did you actually have any food in Philly? Your post indicates otherwise.
In Philly the housing may be 'historical' but that also means old and usually in need of constant work,which is why the area has more contractors per sq mile working on them than probably anywhere in the country.
Agreed on the economy as well,when I moved here in 2003 I heard directly from the mouth of someone working for the 'Careerlink' center here that there are really no jobs here...and I've personally experienced it. Most of the jobs are north or west of here.
As far as education,I've been around these people for 10 years and just listening to them speak speaks volumes. Half are illiterate and the other half speak pseudo-educated psychobabble;
You should learn to string a few grammatically correct sentences together before calling people illiterate. Thanks!
I rag on Philly a lot but I would choose Philly over anywhere outside the US, Oceania, Canada, and France in a heartbeat. US cities IMO just have a better quality of life and you can still make $100k in Philly and cash in to a glorious lifestyle.
In this comparison though, I choose Seattle but it's not fair because I love Seattle, when I leave CA, Seattle becomes a second home for me.
I mean, you're basically trying to compare the ugly kid sister of the Eastern part of the country with the crown jewel of the Western side.
While harsh, you have a right to your opinion -- but all I can say is there is a lot of misinformation in your assessment.
For starters, Philadelphia's economy is definitely not based primarly on finance (and is indeed, much larger than Seattle's), Penn is a far more prestigious school than the University of Washington, and the food scene in Philly is currently going a massive renassaince:
You certainly wouldn't be the first person to write Philly off for the more "desirable" East Coast cities, but that's a mistake. The city has more momentum now than it has had in over half a century. It's resurging in a fashion that's very exciting.
The post-industrial "come back" cities are not going to be for everyone, but don't worry, Philadelphia's has survived worse than a few snide remarks.
That comparison that guy did was SO biased! Like, how are you comparing them two? Honestly this is baffling me... Phillys food scene for one is top in US and Canada... In center city even the food cart scene is on every other block. Want a cheesesteak? Go across the street. Want a Gyro? Go up the street. Want a pretzel? Down the street. Want a bagel/ sandwich? Cross the street again! This is something that Philly excels in, from being an older, we'll established city. We could put south Philly against your whole city. No trolling, only someone who have BEEN to Philly will know, because we're a hidden jem.
I rag on Philly a lot but I would choose Philly over anywhere outside the US, Oceania, Canada, and France in a heartbeat. US cities IMO just have a better quality of life and you can still make $100k in Philly and cash in to a glorious lifestyle.
In this comparison though, I choose Seattle but it's not fair because I love Seattle, when I leave CA, Seattle becomes a second home for me.
#USisthebest
Are you turning a new leaf Scrantix? Only down to 3 continents you'd rather live in over Philly? LOL
Is Seattle your favorite West Coast City after San Francisco? What about LA, Vancouver?
Are you turning a new leaf Scrantix? Only down to 3 continents you'd rather live in over Philly? LOL
Is Seattle your favorite West Coast City after San Francisco? What about LA, Vancouver?
Seattle is my favorite city when you take California out of the picture. I wouldnt ever live in Seattle before LA, San Diego, or Sacramento. TBH, I just love CA, wouldnt surprise me if I went with Fresno, Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Eureka, Redding, or the central valley CA cities over Seattle. Just because its home, my parents are here, everything is here for me and I dont like being away from it.
Vancouver is another story, favorite city in Canada and I do like it more than even Seattle, which again I only like a few cities more than Seattle to begin with. My favorite west coast metro is SF Bay Area but my favorite west coast cities are either Oakland, San Diego or LA.
No, its not 3 continents. For foreign cities I would only live in Paris, Auckland, Wellington, any of the big 3 Australian cities, Toronto and Vancouver over Philly for foreign cities. IDC about the rest of the world, fine to visit but TBH most of it sucks IMO to live in compared to the US. I just returned from Oceania and the middle east.
Seattle is my favorite city when you take California out of the picture. I wouldnt ever live in Seattle before LA, San Diego, or Sacramento. TBH, I just love CA, wouldnt surprise me if I went with Fresno, Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Eureka, Redding, or the central valley CA cities over Seattle. Just because its home, my parents are here, everything is here for me and I dont like being away from it.
Vancouver is another story, favorite city in Canada and I do like it more than even Seattle, which again I only like a few cities more than Seattle to begin with. My favorite west coast metro is SF Bay Area but my favorite west coast cities are either Oakland, San Diego or LA.
No, its not 3 continents. For foreign cities I would only live in Paris, Auckland, Wellington, any of the big 3 Australian cities, Toronto and Vancouver over Philly for foreign cities. IDC about the rest of the world, fine to visit but TBH most of it sucks IMO to live in compared to the US. I just returned from Oceania and the middle east.
Oakland and San Diego intrigue me as places I'd want to live for a little while although I really do need to see more of The West Coast. Even San Francisco I only visited once for 2 days. I really enjoyed myself but I would never pay the price to live there, even if I could easily afford it. Oakland seems like a trendier, more affordable option. Plus, there are not enough black people in San Francisco (or Seattle for that matter) for my preferences.
I never hear about Sacramento but I know it's a very diverse city. Is it vibrant? Young? Artsy?
I know I intend to always return to Philly but I would love to live in a warmer climate year-round for a while.
Vancouver seems like another great city. I've been to Montreal and Toronto. Vancouver would compare more to Montreal, correct?
Oakland and San Diego intrigue me as places I'd want to live for a little while although I really do need to see more of The West Coast. Even San Francisco I only visited once for 2 days. I really enjoyed myself but I would never pay the price to live there, even if I could easily afford it. Oakland seems like a trendier, more affordable option. Plus, there are not enough black people in San Francisco (or Seattle for that matter) for my preferences.
I never hear about Sacramento but I know it's a very diverse city. Is it vibrant? Young?
I know I intend to always return to Philly but I would love to live in a warmer climate year-round for a while.
Vancouver seems like another great city. I've been to Montreal and Toronto. Vancouver would compare more to Montreal, correct?
Canada is interesting that the east is French influenced and the west is Asian influenced but you will notice immediately that in Montreal the French have history whereas in Vancouver the Asians have just started descending, Vancouver and Montreal have nothing in common other than being in the same country. They are polar opposites, I have warmed up to Vancouver lately, I used to not like Canada but my wife has been spending more time in Vancouver last few years since her sister moved there. Vancouver IMO blows away any other city in NA for the perfect scenic environ and thats what I like the most about Vancouver, I spend time in the north shore, west side, downtown areas and adore Granville island, False Creek, Stanley park, SCR, etc. Autumn and Spring in Vancouver is the most beautiful place for those seasons in NA IMO, its too simple falling in love with those colors there.
Sacramento is a nice town to raise your family, its culturally very midwestern and American culture there is deep, it has the CA diversity but has more cultural similarities with the midwest IMO. Family values, traditional family camping, etc, its a nice place to live and its close to my favorite part of CA the Sierras which are drop dead gorgeous IMO. Sacramento has a growing arts community which IMO is still 20 years away from establishing itself but its an up and coming city, often ignored for being in the shadows of SF, LA, and SD and being in the central valley, its growth has been tremendous and its direction is towards becoming more urban and powerful. It's location is its best selling point, its close to everything but the prices you pay to live there are attainable for most American families. Its close to scenic, urban, and gambling centers, being close to NV is great too. I could see myself realistically in only one other state than CA for long term and thats NV, in Reno, next to Carson City, Tahoe, NorCal, it would be a peaceful place for some time. San Diego is also similar to Sacramento but it has a little bit more coastal culture, so it has a more mellow attitude towards family life than Sacto but it is sort of a blend of coastal CA, midwest, and sprinkles of Mexican flavor. Its where I grew up, it was pretty and laid back and the people were just too real, I miss that but also have an outspoken personality, similar to the OC. Which brings me to Oakland, I like the people in Oakland more than San Francisco, more outgoing and less attention conscious, I spend the weekends in Oakland, its more authentic character in ways that San Francisco isnt.
Almost forgot, I also like DF, Santiago, and Sao Paulo for foreign cities, love DF.
CA is really something, it has elements of the the midwest, northeast, west, and south all in one state and there is a city for everyone in CA.
Last edited by scrantiX; 04-08-2013 at 09:10 AM..
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