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Philadelphia is kind of a random insert, don't you think? This city is well beyond the rest in what it offers, it's global clout, it's diversified economic base, and in relation to these other three, it has a more well rounded package to offer people. The food is excellent, it's not a whitebread/Americana sort of place in the cuisine department (despite being a quintessential American city). When I say whitebread/Americana, I am usually referring to every mainstream American chain known to man and the personalities the people that go to these places have on average too, as a clarification. Though back to the topic of food. Lots of excellent sandwich shops, great place for Italian dishes, excellent place for tea (if you drink it) and I would imagine coffee (only have had coffee twice; Portland and Seattle, so I don't know about this). An hour from the city, you can be at the beach. An hour the other direction and you can be hiking in some very beautiful green environments. I'm not going to say anything nice about the weather, frankly I hate it but this much is for sure, it has four distinct seasons and I put the emphasis on distinct because the Autumn and Spring seasons are gorgeous enough to warrant buying a high quality camera to take some snaps. The winter and summer, again, nothing nice to say, so I'll refrain on that end. The suburbs in Philadelphia (Gladwyn and Villanova, I want to name specifically) are excellent places. You can see the history the place has and for how long it's had it by seeing these areas. History of money in the Philadelphia area, unlike 95% of the United States spans over 150 years, these towns existed before suburbs were even a concept in the United States (and before sprawl surrounded them). Though I don't share the narrative with a lot of Philadelphians, would never (cluelessly) claim it's top three or five in suburbs (but can make an argument), it is adequate to state that it's suburbs can and ARE among the best in the country but it's a personal belief of my own, seeing most cities and their suburbs in person, seeing the statistics too, that practically every major city has suburbs like these. It's literally a given. I think Philadelphia is an ace for Vietnamese food in the Northeast, I want to put an emphasis on this too, because it stands out among Northeastern cities there. Excellent Pho, the other cities in this corridor are lagging but to be fair, compared to the two major metropolises of both CA and TX, the Pho is a dropoff, though, like I mentioned earlier, in a region where this cuisine is scarce and even scarcer in top quality, you have to take it into consideration. Though to be fair, I haven't tried much in the way of Vietnamese in New York, but I went to two that had high ratings and it was alright. Have had really good Vietnamese in Philadelphia, expect this to continue growing into a more popular thing. I also think Philadelphia is top 5-6 in North Indian food (not South Indian though). The cultural activities are the best feature though. I actively like seeing things that I cant see anywhere else, and actively like seeing things that highlight a certain city (things like the City Hall, Masonic Temple, so on).
I could probably live in Philadelphia, sure is large enough, has a global portfolio that none of these other cities can match but I'm sure of it that it isn't my first choice in this comparison. I respect Philadelphia as a city but to be honest, I view it as the only livable place in Pennsylvania, which as a state, I probably really hate a lot. It's so rusty and hick (aside from the Philadelphia area obviously) and that combination of both is as far as my tolerance can go, I'm just being honest.
My choice would be New Orleans. There isn't anywhere like it in the country. It's streetscape is beautiful, to me, only bested by Chicago and New York there and maybe parts of San Francisco (like Union Square and a few other parts). The city is quite active, quite late, even if you don't believe in being out until 3 A.M. or 4 A.M., having the option is what matters. The food is exquisite and what makes it more sentimental is that VERY FEW places in America would have that cuisine there, all on the Gulf Coast and even then, it wont ever be the same as New Orleans. I enjoy New Orleans' climate as well, I would say along with Miami and Houston, probably my favorite climate in the country and I am a bit strange in where warmth, hot, humid, VERY hot is comfortable to me. Actively crave an environment like that. I also like how condensed a core New Orleans has and how condensed the entire area is, the terrain surrounding the city is fun to explore actually, and is adequately used for tourism.
I've been to Buffalo before, was actually the first place I saw in New York (state). I suppose Niagara Falls being nearby and the scenic areas in that part of New York state is a good place to start when trying to figure what Buffalo has going for it. I don't want to say anything bad, I feel for the place, it can be a better city than it is. I'll just leave it at that.
I haven't been to Cleveland before but am overdue for a trip and yes, I do plan on seeing it this year before summer. I'm just waiting for the climate in the Midwest to cooperate before heading out there. Maybe someone from Cleveland can fill me in on stuff to do there? What are some things I can go out and see? What food is your town known for? What part of the city should I stay in if I want to go out at night and where to go out? Stuff like that.
I agree with you about the weather (preferring heat & humidity), but why would you say you aren't impressed by Philly summers? They're lush & green, humid, hot, and thunderstorms. You said you enjoy this type of weather, so I'm surprised you don't consider it impressive.
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Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr
Please. New Orleans nightlife is WAY better than Philly's! It's 24/7, and world famous for its nightlife. Many people here flock to DC or NYC for nightclubs instead of staying in Center City.
Lol. So far from true. No one in Philadelphia goes to NYC or DC for nightlife. Philadelphia actually has very good nightlife, and it's sure better than DC's. Some people MAY go to NYC, but there is plenty good nightlife within the city of Philadelphia. If anyone is leaving to go elsewhere for nightlife they go to Atlantic City.
Last edited by RightonWalnut; 02-05-2015 at 07:33 PM..
With the exception of New Orleans which can serve alcohol 24 hours a day and kills all these cities in nightlife, Buffalo is the only one of these cities with a 4am last call. Cleveland is 2:30 and Philly is 2am. Philly will have more options and be livelier because it's bigger but I thought it should be noted that you can pretty much drink until sunrise in Buffalo. I'm not saying move to Buffalo because it's hard to say if a 20 something would truly like living in a rust belt city that isn't very big in comparison to Philly but it's much cheaper than Philly and it's not a stressful place to live at all. It's a place where you can make 40-50k a year and buy a nice 3/4 bedroom house in a nice suburb within a 10-20 minute commute downtown.
This is a common misconception. Yes, Philadelphia does have a 2am last call, but this primarily has to do with the antiquated and downright ridiculous laws of the state of Pennsylvania and it's "Liquor Control Board." Philadelphia has many bars which have an "After Hours License." When you acquire one of these licenses, you can then set your "last call" time to whenever you want, and because of that there are plenty "After Hours" bars open until 3am, 4am and even 6am. Places like Lit Ultrabar, Whisper, Pen & Pencil, The 700, Zee Bar, Pulse, Voyeur, etc. are open after 2am.
Pretty sure for quirky nightlife, New Orleans is tops, but for all out, best night of your life night - out of these four city - Philadelphia is tops by far.
I agree with you about the weather (preferring heat & humidity), but why would you say you aren't impressed by Philly summers? They're lush & green, humid, hot, and thunderstorms. You said you enjoy this type of weather, so I'm surprised you don't consider it impressive.
Yeah I love Philly's climate. Spring, summer and fall are all gorgeous and perfect for me.
Where? and I really wanna know for future reference. Love the nightlife there.
Lit UltraBar
Zee Bar
Pulse
Voyeur
Pen & Pencil
The 700
XO Lounge
Trilogy
Recess
I'm sure there are more, those are just the ones I've been to off the top of my head.
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