Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
LOL. I would put Baltimore on Par with Camden NJ. And that is not a compliment for either city. LOL
I've been to both, and that's a gross insult to Baltimore.
Which isn't as pretty as Washington, granted. Nor is Philadelphia, for that matter. Washington is a heckuva lot greener than either.
But those insufferable self-important Washingtonians tip the scale away from it for me as a place to live.
As far as the things the OP asked us to compare are concerned:
Tourist destination: Washington by a hair. But Philadelphia more than holds its own, IMO. It is the nation's birthplace, after all, and while its museums aren't all clustered together in one convenient location the way the Smithsonian's are, it has many of them, several of which (in particular the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Penn Museum) rank among the tops in their category in the country.
Culture: Philly. Better dining scene, bigger and better public market, world-renowned orchestra (yes, it outranks the National Symphony), livelier theater scene, bigger jazz community.
People: The non-Official Washingtonians I've met are actually pretty cool, but as I said somewhere else, Official Washington drowns out the actual city. That crowd is bad enough for me to give the clear nod to Philly.
(A relevant aside: I saw once on the Metro an ad that to me summed up just how out of touch Official Washington is perfectly. It was for the Riggs Bank, then DC's largest. It had a picture of the White House and this legend:
("The most important bank in the most important city in the world thinks you're important too."
(I think it perhaps fitting that the bank imploded in a money-laundering scandal and got taken over by Pittsburgh-based PNC.)
Quality of life: Tie, once you factor out the much higher cost of housing in the Washington area.
I'm going to toss in one other element:
Transportation: Tie. Washington's Metro is the nation's coolest subway - it's a shame they didn't keep it up like they should - and puts Philadelphia's skeletal system to shame (save in the maintenance department). But when you factor in SEPTA Regional Rail, the suburban rail transit lines, and the dense bus network in city and suburbs, you can get around more of Philadelphia easily on public transportation. (New Jersey ditto.) The highways clog up worse in DC than in Philadelphia, but they're of better quality in Maryland and Virginia than in Pennsylvania. IAD + BWI + DCA > PHL in terms of how many flights you can catch where, though I'd rather be stuck in the last of those four airports than the first of them.
Overall: "On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia."
But the OP asked about reputation. Without a doubt Washington has the higher global profile, while Philadelphia has historically been the Rodney Dangerfield of the large Northeast metropolises. But we've been working on that problem here, and people have taken notice. The gap is closing.
As others have said, Washington is the more prestigious city with a bigger tourist draw. But I’d rather live in Philly. It’s sort of a popular boy/girl vs boy/girl next door kind of dynamic. One has more superficial appeal, the other is overlooked but more down-to-earth and amazing nonetheless.
Philly reminds me of a city that once was amazing, but now has just stalled. Im not a fan of Philly.
You're certainly entitled to not be a fan of Philly, but describing it as "stalled" couldn't be further from the truth.
It's by far one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities/metros in America and continues an impressive renaissance. Look at footage from Philly tonight after the Superbowl win to prove it!
You're not going to find a super strong "we're all in this together" community like that in many cities, including DC.
You're certainly entitled to not be a fan of Philly, but describing it as "stalled" couldn't be further from the truth.
It's by far one of the most vibrant and dynamic cities/metros in America and continues an impressive renaissance. Look at footage from Philly tonight after the Superbowl win to prove it!
You're not going to find a super strong "we're all in this together" community like that in many cities, including DC.
I'm a native Missourian (Kansas City) who attended college in Massachusetts (Cambridge) before moving to Philadelphia almost 35 years ago.
This city has undergone an amazing transformation - for the better - in those 35 years. The Philadelphia I live in now isn't even the same city it was 10 years ago, and 10 years ago it was better than the place I moved to in 1983.
And the place I moved to, kicking and screaming, in 1983 grew on me.
That city punched well below its weight. It still does in some areas, but in most, it does no longer.
Pennsylvania the state is graying, and Philly's suburbs tend to skew older, but so do those of Boston and DC, and when it comes to a youthful vibe, well, with all due respect, massachoicetts, Washington really has less of one than Philly now. (It also has a lower percentage of Millennials living in it than Philly does now, at least in the core city.)
And this is based on frequent visits I've made to DC over the last six years to spend time with a reporter who moved from there to North Jersey (another thread we're both participating on) this summer. (BTW, I also chose Boston over North Jersey in that poll.)
I would really recommend you visit Philadelphia now. You may still not be a fan of it, but I'll bet you'll leave with a different sense of the place than the one you had when you left it.
I'm a native Missourian (Kansas City) who attended college in Massachusetts (Cambridge) before moving to Philadelphia almost 35 years ago.
This city has undergone an amazing transformation - for the better - in those 35 years. The Philadelphia I live in now isn't even the same city it was 10 years ago, and 10 years ago it was better than the place I moved to in 1983.
And the place I moved to, kicking and screaming, in 1983 grew on me.
That city punched well below its weight. It still does in some areas, but in most, it does no longer.
Pennsylvania the state is graying, and Philly's suburbs tend to skew older, but so do those of Boston and DC, and when it comes to a youthful vibe, well, with all due respect, massachoicetts, Washington really has less of one than Philly now. (It also has a lower percentage of Millennials living in it than Philly does now, at least in the core city.)
And this is based on frequent visits I've made to DC over the last six years to spend time with a reporter who moved from there to North Jersey (another thread we're both participating on) this summer. (BTW, I also chose Boston over North Jersey in that poll.)
I would really recommend you visit Philadelphia now. You may still not be a fan of it, but I'll bet you'll leave with a different sense of the place than the one you had when you left it.
Oh yes definetly. I just may not be too familiar with the Philly Metro, but it is my least favorite of the big four in the northeast. Not saying its bad, it definetly isnt... But you bring up some good points. I want to see Philly grow more like DC in terms of tech and biomed. I think Philly suburbs dont get enough credit either. Only reason i chose DC is maybe the stereotype that DC is a dynamic, fast growing ciyt.. but Philly in my opinion just needs a makeover in the downtown area... maybe thats where my skew came in. But overall, Philly is not a bad city, I am just a little more bias in liking DC more.
But they beat the Patriots, so now I have a little more hate in my heart for them haha.
Oh yes definetly. I just may not be too familiar with the Philly Metro, but it is my least favorite of the big four in the northeast. Not saying its bad, it definetly isnt... But you bring up some good points. I want to see Philly grow more like DC in terms of tech and biomed. I think Philly suburbs dont get enough credit either. Only reason i chose DC is maybe the stereotype that DC is a dynamic, fast growing ciyt.. but Philly in my opinion just needs a makeover in the downtown area... maybe thats where my skew came in. But overall, Philly is not a bad city, I am just a little more bias in liking DC more.
But they beat the Patriots, so now I have a little more hate in my heart for them haha.
You sound like you've never been to Philly. Your opinion doesn't count.
You sound like you've never been to Philly. Your opinion doesn't count.
I actually haev and was not impressed with the city itself. Its like a dreary smaller NYC.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
