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Coronado is definitely very expensive but I personally would never pay to live there with so many gawking tourists walking around; Kind of funny how it's such a huge tourist magnet. That's not the case for wealthy neighborhoods with beautiful homes in the Philly area, but there is just so much more history and notable sites for tourists to see here.
So using this logic you'd never want to live in Center City, either. What about all the gawking tourists visiting Independence Hall, Betsy Ross' house, the Liberty Bell, etc? Don't pretend like the obnoxious duck tours aren't roaming the streets of Philly. And people flock to Coronado because of the beach and it's just across the bridge from Downtown San Diego. Does the duck tour go to Camden?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2e1m5a
The Coronado Bridge is not higher than the Ben Franklin though-the BFB is nearly twice as tall-200 ft versus 380 ft.
I was talking about the clearance below both bridges. The Coronado Bridge is 200' above the water, while the Ben Franklin Bridge is only 135'. Obviously, the BFB is more iconic.
So using this logic you'd never want to live in Center City, either. What about all the gawking tourists visiting Independence Hall, Betsy Ross' house, the Liberty Bell, etc? Don't pretend like the obnoxious duck tours aren't roaming the streets of Philly. And people flock to Coronado because of the beach and it's just across the bridge from Downtown San Diego. Does the duck tour go to Camden?
I was talking about the clearance below both bridges. The Coronado Bridge is 200' above the water, while the Ben Franklin Bridge is only 135'. Obviously, the BFB is more iconic.
Believe it or not tourists are not as noticeable in Center City-there are just so many people everywhere-workers, students, residents, etc. that they just blend in.
Clearly you are ignorant. Yes, many parts of South Philly are perfectly safe to go walking around at all hours of the day and night. Queen Village, Passyunk Square, Easy Passyunk, and Graduate Hospital are all very safe and very lively neighborhoods of South Philly. I should know because I live there.
Also, the area around Temple has gentrified quite a lot in recent years. Its clearly safe for thousands of Temple students to walk around in at night.
I don't doubt that there are safe pockets throughout Philly, but you seem to be the ignorant one. Just look at this map of gun related violence between January 2015 and Sept. 2015 put out by the Philadelphia Police Dept. Does it look like the violence is concentrated in just few areas to you? I'll stick to Center City, thanks.
And if there were 280 murders in Philly last year, this map only shows 201 homicides which means many more red dots are missing.
San Diego is still inferior to cities like Philly, Chicago and DC even with the higher crime rates
Not to live in.
Love all three of those cities but could never achieve the kind of lifestyle I have here. On the edge of downtown- walking distance to it and the bay and all the ammenities that a good sized city offers, yet have a sweet SFH, canyon garden in the back and a vibrant village out front. 5 minutes (or a twenty minute walk) to 17 museums, SD Zoo, Old Globe theater and downtown, baseball, ballet etc... Miles of both wild canyon and urban development right outside my door. If I need a bigger city, easy to visit. Either up the road a 100 miles (I can walk to the train station) or a few hours on a plane. 10 minutes to the airport and I can be off to Europe or Asia. Meanwhile, living in a approachable, safe and happening city right out my door and I can be swimming with the sharks (harmless Leopards), dolphins, rays and sea lions in a stunning, Mediterranean-like ocean bay 12 minutes from my house. Or 8 minutes and I'm on the sand at one of the best beaches in the country.
I love a gritty, urban east coast city to visit- but to live in? Snow, slush, grey, humidity, dirt and crime, no idyllic enclaves adjacent downtown because they simply don't exist like what I have, unless if you have several million dollars. Ain't gonna happen!
Believe it or not tourists are not as noticeable in Center City-there are just so many people everywhere-workers, students, residents, etc. that they just blend in.
If you've got a link to data showing what cities have the most invisible tourists, I'd love to see it
Funny that the San Diego people still getting offended about the fact there are people who might actually prefer to live in Philadelphia. I can't believe it is still going lol..
Who's offended by people choosing Philly over SD? It's just amusing to see Philly posters saying anything and everything to try and boost up and downplay its image. Why would people in the country's 6th largest metro care so much about what people in the 17th metro think anyways?. And for the record, I said early on that I liked Philly.
Instead of letting this thread die, you all are keeping it alive by making silly comments that can't be ignored. One thing is certain, others seem to be interested in what's being said here since there are over 12,000 views.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pwright1
San Diego is very real. It's not the perfect city, but it's definitely real. It's just a city that doesn't have the problems Philadelphia has.
I will never understand this "Real" city argument that people will bring up from time to time.
I feel significantly stupider reading this thread. I mean, I don't quite understand how claustrophobia has actually been a sticking point and real topic for what seems like 6-7 pages now but it has.
I just don't understand.
It's okay, we all got dumber after reading and following this thread, It's even worse for those of us who posted here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RightonWalnut
I understand your point of view, but it seems many San Diegans are treating crime in Philly like it is city wide, and a problem for all of the city's residents when it is not. There are plenty of areas in the city one can live without a constant threat of crime. Plenty of areas just as safe as San Diego.
And don't think that SD doesn't have its share of problems. Our homicide rate went up 12% last year after recording 37 murders in 2015, compared to 32 in 2014. And here I thought Chicago had a higher murder rate than Philly.
I love a gritty, urban east coast city to visit- but to live in? Snow, slush, grey, humidity, dirt and crime
Not all year, in fact this Winter was pretty mild except for the major storm we had, but I understand your preference. But today it's already warmer in Philly than it is San Diego!
I think Philly gets a bad rap for weather just for 2.5 Months of the year, which admittedly can be tiresome-but I am different than you in that I do like a little snow, Four distinct Seasons and the (first half) of Winter haha.
I'm amused by your jokes because they are pretty sad. In 10 weeks, Philadelphia is at the number of murders that San Diego and San Jose get annually. This week alone there has been 5 homicides, 77 burglaries, 84 assaults, and 365 thefts.
Philadelphia could easily beat San Diego in this poll if it improved basic quality of life standards... I think that is what frustrates me about the city so much. It's such a great city! I just wish that more was done to address these issues.
Believe it or not a lot has been done. No one in Philly likes the crime rate but not that long ago the homicides were reaching 500/year. Obviously the number of murders is still too high but it is better than it was.
It's okay, we all got dumber after reading and following this thread, It's even worse for those of us who posted here.
And don't think that SD doesn't have its share of problems. Our homicide rate went up 12% last year after recording 37 murders in 2015, compared to 32 in 2014. And here I thought Chicago had a higher murder rate than Philly.
Philadelphia's murder rate is abysmal and there is no justification to "spin" it away. I'm not a sociologist, but isn't it conventional wisdom that poverty and violent crime go hand in hand? That is why it should be no surprise that Philly also has the highest poverty rate among the 10 largest cities, with an astounding one quarter of the city's residents living at or below the poverty line: • Top 20 most populated cities in the U.S. - poverty rate 2014 | Staistic
What skills do someone who was raised in a poor family, surrounded by poverty and graduating (or not) from under-funded schools bring to the job market? Can you imagine such a person walking into one of the downtown banks and being hired? It's easier to picture someone with that background seeing the high dollar drug market as a way to make a quick buck. It is not surprising that the overwhelming percentage of Philadelphia's violent crimes occur within entire ghettos of people living with those same seemingly hopeless options. And each generation repeats the pattern of the one before it. Trying to unravel this is an undeniably difficult but not impossible challenge to tackle, if one is an optimist like me.
I have lived here 5 years and have never felt unsafe. That is a privilege. But I am aware of the city's immense problems, and see concerted and committed efforts to address them. City leaders appear to have the savvy to know that enhancing policing and implementing drug rehab is not the sole answer to reducing the problem of poverty and crime. I will share 3 programs headlined in recent weeks that are aimed at addressing the root cause of crime and violence and not just its symptoms:
1. Housing: A large number (don't ask me because I don't know the exact number) of the city's 60s and 70s high-rise public housing towers continue to torn down and replaced with street front townhouses. These homes not only create a more humane scale of living, but no doubt also give their tenants a greater sense of pride. Here is an article on one such re-scaling that launches in just a few days: Implosion Planned for Norman Blumberg Apartments in Sharswood - Curbed Philly
One additional tactic the city can employ is to require developers to set aside a percentage of units from the their projects for low income rental or ownership. The purpose is to lessen the impact of gentrification. I have heard buzz about this, but I don't think it's a standard adopted by most developers.
2. Education: Our recently elected mayor had the expansion of pre-K across the city as a key promise of his campaign. According to him, children who have had the advantage of pre-K are more likely to continue and be successful in education from K - 12. Mayor Kenney has just this past week introduced a "soda tax" as a way to pay for city-wide pre-K: http://6abc.com/politics/kenney-call...uncil/1229349/
3. Employment: One of the city's key public institutions is Drexel University. As its reputation grows, so does the need for expansion. Drexel borders some of Philadelphia's poorer neighborhoods. Rather than wall itself off, 1 of the 4 elements of the university's master plan is to "draw the community into shared spaces." For example, this comes from the master plan: "Build a larger, more active University City neighborhood. Introducing new housing and neighborhood-oriented retail choices on sites like the Hess Engineering Research Laboratories at 34th Street and Lancaster Avenue would enhance quality of life in Powelton Village and Mantua, while helping attract top faculty, staff, and students to Drexel." Anyone wanting to read the master plan can start at this site: Campus Master Plan | University Facilities and Real Estate | Drexel University.
There must be many more initiatives underway to address the city's problems that I am not aware of. But since moving here, I find Philadelphia and its leaders aware of the challenges in creating more opportunity for every citizen. While none of these above programs and others like it will transform Philadelphia overnight, incremental progress is the strategy. Breaking Philly's crime/violence cycle is not just a problem that is nice to address, but is a problem that needs to be addressed if the city is to sustain enhance its growth going forward. I'm an optimist based on what I've seen.
(apologies in advance for misspellings and/or omitted words - an unfortunate habit)
Last edited by Pine to Vine; 03-09-2016 at 01:50 PM..
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