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Going to Roman Catholic does not count as going to school in North Philly.
What's up with this "I used to hang around black guys" and "I used to hang around Puerto Ricans" non-sense? I mean, what barbershop are you at?
Nope, not Roman. Although 17th and Girard is a little bit less "Norf" nowadays than 10 years ago. And I don't ever remember saying any of that in quotations nor do I understand where you got that from. I've always hung around people of all backgrounds.
By way of introduction, I lived in Philadelphia for 10 years. I lived in a close-in suburb of Washington for 12 years, and in the general region (closer to Baltimore) for 20 years. In other words, except for 6 years in Florida, I've spent my whole life in these two places.
For what it's worth, when people from out of state ask me where I'm from, I'll say "Baltimore" (closest major city to where I live now). But when people who live in my area ask me where I'm from (i.e. where did I come from before I lived here) I'll always answer "Philadelphia."
What that, I'll toss in my two cents on the OP's question:
Urban Feel: Philadelphia. Depending on how you define "urban feel," this could be good or bad; but IMO Philadelphia wins no matter how you define it.
People: hard to say; I prefer where I am now (suburban Maryland, closer to Baltimore) to either of them, but in terms of the two cities in question, I'd say it's pretty much a draw. I might give the nod to Philadelphia, just because it doesn't have the self-importance/pomposity that attaches to some of those in the government's employ.
Better life: I liked living in both areas, but I prefer my life now, in Maryland. That said, I think that one can have a happy, fulfilling life in either place. FWIW, I don't see myself ever moving back to Philadelphia; but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for it.
Entertainment: probably D.C., because I classify museums as part of entertainment, and the Smithsonian can't be beat. For more run-of-the-mill stuff (ball games, movie theaters, bowling alleys, etc.), either place is fine.
Architecture: Philadelphia's downtown looks much, much more like a "real" major city than D.C. can ever hope to. Their skyline is very attractive to me (ever since they broke the Penn Statue height limit), whereas D.C.'s just looks plain and squat (again, due to the height limit). I also like the looks of Philadelphia's residential areas better. So I'll give them the nod. That said, I do like D.C.'s monumental architecture quite a bit.
Economy: unless Independence Hall ever resumes its tenure as the seat of the Federal Government, then D.C. wins this one hands-down.
Downtown: as a tourist, I'd say D.C. It has more unique things to see (Smithsonian, government buildings, etc.) and feels much, much more open/less claustrophobic than Philadelphia. As a resident, I would answer Philadelphia, just because it has more "regular" things (places of employment, casual restaurants, services) that would appeal to people who live in a place, rather than those who are visiting it.
Suburbs: Washington. For some reason, Philadelphia's suburbs just feel past their prime to me; kind of old, a little bit rundown even. I prefer the housing stock in D.C.'s suburbs as well.
Future possibilities: as long as the Federal Government continues to grow (and when in our nation's history has it NOT grown?) then I'd say D.C.
Public transportation: For rail transit, it's Washington, period; no ifs, ands, or buts. (Philadelphia has a greater variety of rail modes, but D.C.'s system is light-years better.) For bus service, I'd give the edge to Philadephia, though both cities are pretty well served. For suburb-to-city transit, Philadelphia has a much superior commuter-rail system to D.C's., though the D.C. area has a more extensive commuter-bus network.
The OP didn't ask about other types of transportation, but I'll toss it in too. D.C. has a better highway system (despite the perpetually traffic-clogged Beltway). If you like big bridges, the Philadelphia area is much better. Both cities are on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line, though Philadelphia has more frequent service (by virtue of it being closer to New York). The Washington area has three airports to chose from (Reagan National, Dulles, and BWI), whereas Philadelphia has only one. Oh, and here's a little-known fact: the two parallel runways at PHL were built too close together to be used simultaneously in bad weather, so if you get fog or too much snow, your delays will suddenly expand greatly. Also, the D.C. area serves as a hub for Southwest (BWI) and United (IAD), both of which are better airlines (IMO) than Philadelphia's dominant carrier, US Airways.
Shopping: a mall is a mall is a mall, and both places have 'em. Call it a draw.
Open mindness: Washington. The D.C. region draws people from around the world, with all of the diversity of thought that this entails; whereas Philadelphia is much more insular.
Schools: public schools are horrible in both places. In the suburbs, they're both good, though I'd give the nod to Washington. Philadelphia feels like more of a college town than D.C. does, given University City and the colleges strung out along the Main Line. Also, Philadelphia has more nationally known, prestigious colleges, e.g. Penn, Villanova, Bryn Mawr, Temple, Drexel, etc., etc.
I'm going to add one more category, which I'll call "Self-Confidence." It's how people feel about their city, and about their city's place in the world. Here, Washington is the clear favorite. After all, it's pretty heady stuff, living in the Nation's Capital, the place that calls the shots for the country that's the Leader of the Free World. The advertisements for one of D.C.'s banks goes so far as to proclaim it as "the world's most important city."
Whereas, Philadelphia always feels like it's in the shadows of someplace else. It isn't a national or even a state capital; it's not as big and cosmopolitan as New York; it's neighborhoods don't feel as distinctly "neighborhood-y" as those of Baltimore; and so on. There was an old tourism campaign from years ago that summed it up perfectly: "Philadelphia isn't as bad as Philadelphians say it is." Even the more upbeat "get to know us" slogan still revealed the city's sense of being a place that people may have heard of, but don't feel they know, in the way that people know (or at least think they know) New York, or Washington, or San Francisco, or Los Angeles. Maybe if Philadelphia weren't stuck between the nation's political capital and its financial capital, it might be more self-confident.
That strange "Negadelpian" mentality I've heard so much about.
Don't know about y'all, but I prefer that DMV sh1t!
Now I absolutely love Philly hip hop, most especially The Roots and Eve, but at the end of the day, there's nothing like that homegrown DMV urea sound
Nice video btw. I'd take it that "Uptown" Philly is either Northwest or Northeast Philly right? Here in the DC area, we refer to most of Northwest DC as "Uptown".
After searching cities around the country for a place to re-locate to, we moved to Philadelphia 3 years ago. Until I came to CD, I never encountered this sentiment. No one I have befriended in Philly over these past 3 years has ever mentioned this dynamic either. It's been repeated so often on CD, however, it's become a bit of an old chestnut typed out with little thought behind it. Out here in the real world . . .
Well, I lived in University City, which while geographically close to Center City is rather different. (Really, though, nothing else in Philadelphia is like either place, IMO.) And I moved away 20 years ago, so maybe it's changed since then. But when and where I was, there was a constant feeling (vocalized rather often) that Philadelphia was inferior to New York in pretty much any way that you could list. And there was a lot of Baltimore-envy too, interestingly enough; the Inquirer would regularly run features about some aspect of Philadelphia that they felt was inferior, and would negatively compare it to what they felt Baltimore did better. And it wasn't just Penn's Landing vs. Inner Harbor, either; it seemed like a whole bunch of stuff.
I've since come to the opinion that, in a number of ways, Baltimore is like a smaller version of Philadelphia, and Philadelphia is like a smaller version of New York. Washington is quite unlike any of them. All four of these cities have their good points and their bad points, but I happen to like all of them. On the whole, I think that Philadelphia is a great city (warts and all) that can stand tall on its own merits, and need not negatively compare itself to other places. If this is in fact the trend that's developing there, I'm pleased to hear it.
And I moved away 20 years ago, so maybe it's changed since then.
As Mayor Michael Nutter so brilliantly put it; "if you haven't been to Philadelphia in the past 5 years, you haven't been to Philadelphia."
This city is changing, and not only new construction, new skyscrapers, stores, restaurants, bars, clubs, growing population, etc... but the attitude is changing as well.
Well, I lived in University City, which while geographically close to Center City is rather different. (Really, though, nothing else in Philadelphia is like either place, IMO.) And I moved away 20 years ago, so maybe it's changed since then. But when and where I was, there was a constant feeling (vocalized rather often) that Philadelphia was inferior to New York in pretty much any way that you could list. And there was a lot of Baltimore-envy too, interestingly enough; the Inquirer would regularly run features about some aspect of Philadelphia that they felt was inferior, and would negatively compare it to what they felt Baltimore did better. And it wasn't just Penn's Landing vs. Inner Harbor, either; it seemed like a whole bunch of stuff.
A lot has certainly changed in 20 years. The evidence, both statistical and on-the-ground, is pretty clear that Philadelphia has turned a corner and continues to lay the groundwork for an impressive renaissance in the coming years. Not the least of which is the fact that the city is now gaining population again for the first time in six decades.
That turnaround certainly does not come easy, particularly if you're not one of the financial or political capitals of the Western World. Of course, a prime location in the Northeast Corridor doesn't hurt, either.
This is not to suggest that Philadelphia still does not have significant challenges ahead, but the positive thing is that there is much more of a willingness -- due to the much more positive trajectory of the city overall -- among leaders and citizens to address these challenges head-on.
Urban Feel - Philly without a doubt. Denser in the core and more urban as you get further away from the core (row houses go so far outward). People - This is subjective, but I prefer the blue collar feel/environment of Philly. I've encountered plenty of nice people in DC, but there is some attitude there that I don't care for. Better life - Due to COL, I know I would have a better life in Philly. However, it's complete misery to be poor in either city. Entertainment - DC probably wins this for most people, but I like entertainment better in Philly. I prefer the music venues and I much prefer casual venues over high society nightclubs. Architectures - Tie - Both have great architecture, and while I like CC better than downtown DC, I like DC's row house architecture somewhat better in places. Economy - DC Downtown - Philly Suburbs - Others keep saying they like DC suburbs better, but I like Philly's better. There are so many places around Philly that you can visit on Regional Rail that have walkable main streets and tree-lined streets. DC's suburbs get more sprawly and residential quicker IME. However, I haven't visited all suburbs in either city, so I could be wrong to an extent. Future possibilities - DC seems to be developing quicker, but Philly is more attached to the real economy IMO. Depends on a lot of things, but for now, DC wins this. Public transportation - DC for the core at least. I feel like Philly is better regionally with the exception of some places in the Main Line (e.g. King of Prussia...which may be getting an extension via NHSL). Shopping - I like city shopping, and hate malls. I've always found more for me in Philly, but that doesn't mean one is better than the other overall. Open mindness - DC Schools - I don't know enough to say.
No surprise that I'd choose Philly. DC is just not for me, although it is a great city. Walkability is a big deal for me and I feel like Philly is much better in that category. I also like being an hour train ride away from NYC, close to the beach, and a stone's throw from the mountains.
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