Philadelphia vs. Vancouver

[Natnasci]

Originally Posted by Duderino

No city's destiny is written in stone, and Philly is very much positioned economically and geographically to reach a new peak. It won't happen overnight, but the economic transformation in the Philly area over the past half-century has been nothing short of incredible. It's easily one of the most sustainable (e.g., supremely walkable and with a critical mass of public transit), affordable (ideal COL to income balance), culture-packed, and economically diverse regions in the US, and frankly the world. It's hard to overstate that.

Vancouver looks like a goregous and appealing city, and the surrounding environment is stunning (although I have to say the more intimate lushness and rolling topography of the East is nothing to sneeze at), and I can definitely understand the preference for the Pacific Northwest/West Coast, but also, in terms of the built, urban environment, Philadelphia looks very clearly more human-scaled, and village-y, than the highrise-and-bungalow-dominated PNW. I think that tends to create a very different type of urban environment, and for some, the former is more satisfying than the later.

Sometimes you have to walk the streets of a city to really know it. Just looking at photos of Vancouver can be misleading, especially since the vast majority of those photos are of downtown, and not other parts of the city.

Vancouver has many neighbourhoods that are human scaled, even downtown.

Here are some examples. There are many, many more.

[mhays25]

Two great cities. It's hard to say.

Philly has the narrow streets and brick/historic aesthetic. Vancouver is more scenic and a mix of laid-back with a huge dose of Asian cultures, much of that Chinese.

But Philly is a little too rough around the edges and loudmouthed (or that's my impression with only a handful of days there). Vancouver is dense but never feels dense enough, like I'm always one street over from the real peak...it's the tower spacing and low frontages along retail streets.

[kingtutaaa]

The Philadelphia region has over 100 universities and colleges , which has awarded over 92,000 degrees in 2016 . A new recent survey found that an astounding 67 % of new grads were planning on staying in the Philly area .

"Philadelphia area college students and young professionals agree that their next job opportunity is likely to be local. This bodes well for efforts to spur economic growth, foster entrepreneurialism and attract new businesses to the region. Campus Philly and the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia (the Chamber) recently studied student and young professionals’ perceptions of the Greater Philadelphia job market and their priorities for work. The two surveys called Ready to Launch and Cultivating the Next Generation of Leaders reveal a talent pipeline for Greater Philadelphia that is ambitious, optimistic and committed to working and thriving here.
Campus Philly’s study surveyed over 1,000 college students and found that 67 percent of them say that they are likely to stay in the area after graduation, and 88 percent see great job prospects here. The Chamber’s study of a similar number of young professionals found that 93 percent thought their next job could be in Greater Philadelphia and 97 percent would recommend the region to others as a place to live. " *
* quote Philly Campus News