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I agree with you though that the subway is a major weak point for the city. It's small for a city this size, and most of the stations are filthy and crumbling. I was surprised at how reliant the city was on buses for it's main mode of public transportation. The regional rail though is very good.
Yes the subway system is second rate for a city this size.
Yes the subway system is second rate for a city this size.
But you have to admit, SEPTA is severely underfunded and is unfortunate enough to have to operate in a mostly rural state very hostile to urban centers (or so I've heard).
I'm curious to know how Philadelphia and Toronto stack up against each other in the affordability category. Anybody care to comment?
Having lived in both, my impression is that Philadelphia is more affordable. Cost of living calculators say otherwise, so I'm not really sure. I can't think of any category where Philadelphia would be more expensive but the difference isn't really dramatic.
You're aware of the funding deficiency of SEPTA correct? Clearly not. SEPTA was receiving only $300 million a year in funding. With the new increases from the state, SEPTA is receiving just over $600 million a year now. This is still much less than MBTA in Boston which receives over $1 billion a year in funding.
Also, MBTA in Boston has 270 stations. SEPTA has 290. This also isn't including New Jersey Transit, which also services the area.
And what does that funding differential tell you about PA and Philadelphia that other cities do not deal with? PA is full of small town folks that don't want one thin dime of tax money going to this city. PA used to have the highest rural population of any state. Not sure if that is still true. This is one of the reasons Philly lags (lack of state support).
The Boston system is better and you know it. Just look at that subway map and the extensiveness of it compared to SEPTA. What does that have to do with funding today? This city has always had crappy leadership. The system should have been built out to a larger size years ago but it wasn't. Never enough money in this damn town.
One of the biggest things holding Philadelphia back is the fact that the city is a county, and the city itself is not plopped down into a huge county with suburbs that would help cover the tremendous costs of the justice system here. Philly is loaded with crime, hence I'm called to jury duty it seems like every couple years. My co-workers from suburbia go years without serving on a jury or some have never been called.
Thats an awesome time lapse. I've only ever been to Montreal, but I may have to put Toronto on my list of places to see after watching that.
I'm curious to know how Philadelphia and Toronto stack up against each other in the affordability category. Anybody care to comment?
Thanks - the video is well done and showcases the growth and vibrancy of the DT core.. Of course Toronto is much more interesting on the street with its varied nabe's, bohemian vibe and multicultural cuisine.
Toronto is expensive now to buy a home.. The average price for a semi detached is 702K and detached is 1 million dollars!! A new shoe box condo will set you back 372K in CAD dollars.. USD would be about 91% of those figures. The link here will show you what you can buy in Toronto for 1 million lol...
There are some reasonable deals to be found for rentals. My 1 bedroom apartment in DT Toronto is 1100K per month CAD but rental vacancies are extremely low - especially in the core.. General day to day items are usually always cheaper in the U.S but the differences aren't extraordinary and I know places to eat out really cheap but yeah it ain't cheap here. Having said that I make quite a bit more than the average American or Canadian so I can afford it.
Anyway I can't imagine Toronto being more affordable than Philly.
I haven't been to Toronto. I'm not really a fan of Philadelphia, but I do prefer its location to Toronto's. I also am huge into history and obviously Philly is great for that, and it's also close to other historic major cities like Boston, NYC, DC, etc.
More Harvard MBA grads stay in Boston than Wharton in Philly. Who can blame them.
Please. The fact of the matter is that a large majority ofboth schools' program graduates leave, because these are globally renown schools whose graduates make impacts all over the world. It has absolutely nothing to do with job opportunities, since they're the cream of the crop in their field .
No response from the Philly homers on that one huh. Philly more dangerous than Chicago.
I've been to Toronto several times, and I live here in downtown Philly. Philly will never be all these great things every homer on here keeps claiming. It is, and always will be a local hometown city with the same people moving in and out, the same stupid high tax rates, the same political party owning the town, the same unions destroying job growth, and the same "we are not NYC" attitude. The transit system here is 2nd rate given the size of the city and density. Two dinky subway lines and a huge chunk of the city (the Northeast) stuck with buses.
There is no mad rush of people moving here. I was at a graduation party today for someone getting their degree from Penn. The vast majority of his class are leaving town shortly after and heading elsewhere. Philly has no great jobs draw going on, and most just don't want to be stuck in Philly.
The mayor is a failure as the next one will be as well with the same political party pulling all the strings. They keep talking about tackling crime as the way they did in NYC and we never ever get to the lower levels that NYC has. Philly cannot hold a candle to Toronto or Boston, Chicago, SF, etc. etc.
I have never lived in Philly but I have a lot of family there.I know it well.Its strengths and its weakness.
I agree with some of the things you say like jobs,bad schools and crime.
Philly is not NYC and it willl take longer.
Philly is in the shadow of NYC so its very hard for it to thrive as fast as NYC.
The fact is crime IS decreasing substantially and its evident in the confidence of people who live there.
Philly is not a city people flock to when there are so many choices.It is a city you have to give it tome to suck up the local culture to enjoy it or even want to be there.
It has been my expereince that students in a city for school are not usually invested in being in that city other than for school.Students will travel the world then complain about stuff they wish that city they attend school in had all the while not knowing that city actuallly has hose things.
As far as transit goes Philly is pretty good if we are talkibg American cities.
Even those in Toronto complain about its transit being poor.People always want more but its jjust not realistic.Especially when no transit sytem actually makes money.
Philly has better museums,architecture,food, universities and history that Toronto cannot hang with.
Toronto is moreliveable but it lacks a "vibe" that makes it unque like those other cities you mentioned.
I took flack for saying this but I don't care,its my opinion that Toronto is steriile to me with no soul or presence whatsoever.(Go ahead Toronto boosters.I said its my opnipn but you aint gotta like it)
On paper its a great city that is among the most desireable cities people wish to live but its stil not very endearing as Philly can be.
Philly is not there yet but you act like with all this progress Philly is finally experiencing ,that it willl not be the city it should be in a relatively short time and that is just not true based on the evidence.
I had considered moving to Philly several times.Crime was NEVER a consideration for me not moving there.
Expense,and weather were.That's it.
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I haven't been to Toronto. I'm not really a fan of Philadelphia, but I do prefer its location to Toronto's. I also am huge into history and obviously Philly is great for that, and it's also close to other historic major cities like Boston, NYC, DC, etc.
Well Toronto has history lol... not American history but it does have well Colonial and Canadian history.. There is a link to the attack on York (name of T.O before it became Toronto the city) and D.C.. Let's just say the reason James and Dolley got out of the White House very quickly was because of the American invasion of York back in 1812
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