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The terms "rich" and "poor" aren't used as a monetary comparison in this context. Jesus...
I thought that was something that everyone knew. A place (in this case a city) that tries too hard, or is just doesn't have what it takes, yet has certain similarities with the other one.
I didn't go out on a limb. As it pertains to C-D, Philly touts itself as the poor man's NYC. Countless threads have posters from philly saying that, "we have the 2nd best ______ after NYC," or "we have the 2nd most or 2nd largest after NYC." I've mentioned it several times in previous threads. I do agree that the premise of this thread is very toxic.
I think that Philly is more of a "poor man's Boston". NY doesn't have a poor man here.
Both are old, historic, cities that reap tourists each year.
Both value education - but here were go - Boston and the surrounds blows Philly and the surrounds out of the water.
Both are more down to earth, dowdy, cities than New York.
Philly comes out "The Poor Man" - because they CARE and get upset about it. Much of the Commonweath of PA, either seems to want to be NYC (don't go there) or Kentucky.
They haven't made up their minds.
Again, Boston; and all of New England, do not care. So, they get NYC "points". We like people who don't try to sell themselves to hard.
Philly doesn't have a sense of humor. Boston loves to laugh at itself.
I think that Philly is more of a "poor man's Boston". NY doesn't have a poor man here.
Both are old, historic, cities that reap tourists each year.
Both value education - but here were go - Boston and the surrounds blows Philly and the surrounds out of the water.
Both are more down to earth, dowdy, cities than New York.
Philly comes out "The Poor Man" - because they CARE and get upset about it. Much of the Commonweath of PA, either seems to want to be NYC (don't go there) or Kentucky.
They haven't made up their minds.
Again, Boston; and all of New England, do not care. So, they get NYC "points". We like people who don't try to sell themselves to hard.
Philly doesn't have a sense of humor. Boston loves to laugh at itself.
Not really, (also subjective much?), a few replies...
1. Both are very historic, but Philadelphia and Boston function differently, and they are more or less peer cities in terms of big city living, which doesn't align with the definition of a poor man's version.
2. My least favorite statement on CD: "City X blows City Y out of the water". You are comparing Boston and Philadelphia, not Boston and Tupelo. They are both huge dynamic cities anchored by top-notch metropolitan regions.
3. I was raised outside of Philadelphia, there is no sense of "wanting to be NYC", perhaps you confuse that with the annoyance of being overshadowed by NYC? Philadelphia (like Boston) is an independent and prideful city.
4. Philadelphia has a sense of humor, look at the sports mascots and popular culture.
Anyways, for the purpose of this thread, Philadelphia functions as a super scaled down and affordable version of NYC. The best comparison for Boston is Providence.
Philly comes out "The Poor Man" - because they CARE and get upset about it. Much of the Commonweath of PA, either seems to want to be NYC (don't go there) or Kentucky.
I can't say as I've heard anyone born and raised in Philadelphia say that they want to be New York City. In general, Philadelphians bristle at any suggestion that we are like or an extension of New York (e.g., "the sixth borough"). But the city does have a municipal inferiority complex that I think is triggered by its proximity to New York. We do care about how the outside world views us, Jason Kelce's rallying song the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl notwithstanding ("We're from Philly! F**kin' Philly! No one likes us, we don't care!")
I grew up in a city that had a similar municipal inferiority complex but as far as I cam tell has Gotten Past It. Philly'a still working its way out.
There is, in a sense, a way in which Philly is "a poor man's New York," however.
New Yorkers have been moving here in non-trivial numbers* for some two decades (or more) because they can get most of the big-city stuff they enjoy in New York for less money, especially rent or mortgage payments. (As a Brookynite put it to his Philly rapper friend, quoted in a Phillymag interview with the rapper: "It's like 80 percent of New York at 20 percent of the cost!")
As for "Pennsyltucky," that term is considered a slur. Some, however, say it's an insult to Kentucky.
*A stat I saw some years back holds that more people move between New York and Philadelphia than between any two other cities in the country. Since sometime in the 1990s, the net population flow has been towards Philadelphia from New York.
Philly and Boston are both too different and too similar for one to be the other’s “poor man’s version”.
Philly has an argument for being a poor man’s NYC, but it’s iffy. Boston might be a poor man’s London, but it’s an even bigger stretch.
Baltimore, on the other hand, is surely a poor man’s Philly. And I disagree with cpomp: if any New England city is a “poor man’s Boston”, it’s New Haven not Providence.
And this is all extrapolating the meaning of “poor man’s” to not just be “similar, but cheaper” and rather to mean “if you were expecting X city, you might be disappointed by Y city”.
Last edited by Boston Shudra; 11-24-2023 at 08:11 PM..
I think that Philly is more of a "poor man's Boston". NY doesn't have a poor man here.
Both are old, historic, cities that reap tourists each year.
Both value education - but here were go - Boston and the surrounds blows Philly and the surrounds out of the water.
Both are more down to earth, dowdy, cities than New York.
Philly comes out "The Poor Man" - because they CARE and get upset about it. Much of the Commonweath of PA, either seems to want to be NYC (don't go there) or Kentucky.
They haven't made up their minds.
Again, Boston; and all of New England, do not care. So, they get NYC "points". We like people who don't try to sell themselves to hard.
Philly doesn't have a sense of humor. Boston loves to laugh at itself.
LOL. Most of the people clamoring about Philadelphia being “NYC anything” are the NY media itself, writing articles about weekend trips to Philadelphia.
I can’t imagine someone from Boston saying that Boston blows Philly out of the water in anything.
And, I can’t believe someone from NYC living in Ohio gives this much thought about another state.
You should check into the FB groups such as “Meanwhile in Philly” or “Meanwhile in Delco.” Philly area people making fun of Philly/PA. This region loves to mock itself. Those of us in these parts tend not to have the big ego that other cities/states have.
I can’t imagine any self-respecting Bostonian saying that Boston blows Philly out of the water in anything.
Very self-respecting and very Bostonian, I’m pretty comfy saying that Boston blows Philly out of the water in public safety and community outreach programs.
We also blow it out of the water in seafood and beer.
Last edited by Boston Shudra; 11-24-2023 at 10:47 PM..
Very self-respecting and very Bostonian, I’m pretty comfy saying that Boston blows Philly out of the water in public safety and community outreach programs.
We also blow it out of the water in seafood and beer.
When was the last time you had a craft beer hereabouts?
The region is lousy with craft breweries and brewpubs now, including a Great American Beer Festival award-winner a 15-minute walk from where I live.
I suspect the beer scenes in the two cities are closer than you think, even if Philadelphia lacks a craft brewer the size of Samuel Adams. (Note, however, that according to how the industry defines "craft brewer," I understand that D.G. Yuengling and Son of Pottsville, the nation's oldest brewery, qualifies. Because of it, I tell people that "one of the joys of living in Eastern Pennsylvania is that the cheap beer everyone drinks tastes like beer.")
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