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QOL: Philadelphia - lower poverty, better public schools Public Transit: Philadelphia
Universities: Rankings are similar but Philadephia has more schools. University of Pennsylvania is best out of both. Atlanta has better engineering programs, but liberal arts, business, medicine, etc. is way in Philly’s favor.
Economy: Atlanta has a faster growing economy, but Philadelphia’s is larger
Wealth: Philadelphia’s median income is higher
Vibrancy: Philadelphia
Character: Philadelphia
Suburbs: Philadelphia
Schools: Philadelphia
Urban Cores - Philadelphia
Diversity - not sure
Shopping - not sure
Food - Philadelphia
Road Network/Traffic - not really sure, but I would assume Atlanta.
Sports - Philadelphia is one of the premier sports cities
Quick Getaways/Recreation/Parks - Atlanta has a better airport with cheaper flights for get aways. A lot further from the beach though.
Economic Future - Atlanta is primed to grow more.
Job/Housing Market - Atlanta
Nightlife/Entertainment - Philadelphia
History/Museums - Philadelphia
Theater/Art - Philadelphia
Philadelphia has lower poverty according to the Census
universities: I agree but there are some very good liberal arts schools in Atlanta
Agnes Scott
Spelman
Oglethorpe
Morehouse College
I would. Atlanta suburbs aseem more vibrant,newer and more varied in their layout. Many of them are in really beautiful settings in the foothills of the Appalacian mountains.Even those that arent are still very hilly and picturesque.
Agree. While I understand Atlanta has some lovely suburbs, Philadelphia's can make a claim of walkable/dense railroad-era suburbs, loads of historic charm, and extensive pernanently-preserved open space. Honestly don't think Atlanta is much the bargain that it used to be.
Both areas lay within the Piedmont region, though, which provides a very appealing, rolling hill aesthetic.
Actually, only about half of metro Philadelphia is in the Piedmont, and is a fall line city similar to Augusta, Macon, and Columbus for Georgia. The East Falls neighborhood just upriver from boathouse row is right on the fall line itself, as is Millbourne just west of city limits where the Market Street El ends. The NJ portion of metro Philly is flat.
Here's my $.02:
QOL: Tie. Atlanta is cleaner and provides more room for your dollar, but is subject to more problems of sprawl and as you get outside the perimeter, a noticeably more conservative lifestyle.
Public Transit: Philadelphia. MARTA's good for the south, but there's not nearly as many areas that are an easy walk to transit, even bus transit. You can easily live car-free in Philly.
Universities: Philadelphia. Georgia Tech, Clark and Emory are good schools in their own right, but it isn't on the same level of prestige as Penn, Drexel, and Villanova, along with other schools like Temple.
Economy: Atlanta has a faster growing economy, but Philadelphia’s is larger
Wealth: Philadelphia for old money, Atlanta for new money (sans Coca-Cola, which is old money at this point)
Vibrancy: Atlanta Newer, cleaner infrastructure along with more vivid vegetation gives Atlanta a much more inviting, less intimidating feel.
Character: Philadelphia. Not too surprising given its longer history as well as a more organically developed feel. Atlanta stays more in tune with the rest of the South/US than Philly does.
Suburbs: Tie. Philadelphia has of course the best suburbs of them all, the Main Line, but has some lousy ones like Chester and Camden. Sandy Springs, Decatur, Cumberland, Alpharetta, and Marietta are also real nice, but they lack character and only one (Sandy Springs) is served by mass transit.
Schools: Atlanta (city), Philadelphia (suburbs)
Urban Cores - Philadelphia. Go just a neighborhood or two from downtown/Midtown Atlanta and you're practically already in inner ring suburban Philadelphia in terms of structural density.
Diversity - Philadelphia. Atlanta got a much later start in terms of diverse residents, and tend to be more assimilated with mainstream American culture than the more numerous "fresh off the boat/first generation Americans" that have historically lived in Philly.
Shopping - Philadelphia. King of Prussia beats Buckhead shopping, and there's better retail in the city compared to Atlanta.
Food - Philadelphia. What's Atlanta's version of the hoagie? Pats 'n Genos? Where's its great food hall? Atlanta's a lot more chain-dominated compared to Philly.
Road Network/Traffic - Tie. Due to its dense layout, Philadelphia is subject with narrower streets (both service and highway), and it shows in terms of lower speed. Rush hour in Atlanta is bad as typical, but at least "moving" is faster than moving by Philly standards. But Philly's transit takes some of the cars off the road and isn't much worse than Atlanta overall, and the shorter distances means that travel time isn't generally long.
Sports - Philadelphia. Yes, Atlanta had the 1996 Olympics, but their fans tend to be more fairweather.
Quick Getaways/Recreation/Parks - Philadelphia. Yes, Atlanta has the better airport for those longer getaways, but for day/weekend trips, its hard to beat Philly, with DC, Baltimore, Amish/PA Dutch country, the Poconos, the mid-Atlantic beaches, and of course NYC.
Economic Future - Atlanta. Unfortunately, PA is a less business friendly state than GA, and this will continue to show in a trend that has persisted since the 1960s.
Job/Housing Market - Atlanta. Not surprising given the better economic outlook as well as a general lower cost of living.
Nightlife/Entertainment - Philadelphia. Underground Atlanta is disappointing compared to what it was in the '90s/'00s.
History/Museums - Philadelphia (though Atlanta does have its own history center in Buckhead as well as the High Museum and MLK monuments)
Theater/Art - Philadelphia. The Ave. of the Arts and the Parkway district has no comparison in Atlanta, with its offerings very scattered.
I may be a little bias but Philly all the way!!! Must admit though, I think Atlanta may have some nicer and newer suburbs in some areas.. As much as people like to compare these two metros they are a totally different type of city feel and when it gets down to it Metro area's. Example's : Philly is a dense Million City / 3 state metro area crossing over into Delaware, South Jersey and Pennsylvania, just a totally different feel all together. Atlanta is only about a half a million in city population, not as densely populated and a sprawl giant that flows from its urban core to the boonies claiming tons of both urban and some rural to semi rural counties. The main comparison I can see is the Metro populations are similar with a few other factors but they feel totally different in my opinion.
Actually, only about half of metro Philadelphia is in the Piedmont, and is a fall line city similar to Augusta, Macon, and Columbus for Georgia. The East Falls neighborhood just upriver from boathouse row is right on the fall line itself, as is Millbourne just west of city limits where the Market Street El ends. The NJ portion of metro Philly is flat.
Here's my $.02:
QOL: Tie. Atlanta is cleaner and provides more room for your dollar, but is subject to more problems of sprawl and as you get outside the perimeter, a noticeably more conservative lifestyle.
Public Transit: Philadelphia. MARTA's good for the south, but there's not nearly as many areas that are an easy walk to transit, even bus transit. You can easily live car-free in Philly.
Universities: Philadelphia. Georgia Tech, Clark and Emory are good schools in their own right, but it isn't on the same level of prestige as Penn, Drexel, and Villanova, along with other schools like Temple.
Economy: Atlanta has a faster growing economy, but Philadelphia’s is larger
Wealth: Philadelphia for old money, Atlanta for new money (sans Coca-Cola, which is old money at this point)
Vibrancy: Atlanta Newer, cleaner infrastructure along with more vivid vegetation gives Atlanta a much more inviting, less intimidating feel.
Character: Philadelphia. Not too surprising given its longer history as well as a more organically developed feel. Atlanta stays more in tune with the rest of the South/US than Philly does.
Suburbs: Tie. Philadelphia has of course the best suburbs of them all, the Main Line, but has some lousy ones like Chester and Camden. Sandy Springs, Decatur, Cumberland, Alpharetta, and Marietta are also real nice, but they lack character and only one (Sandy Springs) is served by mass transit.
Schools: Atlanta (city), Philadelphia (suburbs)
Urban Cores - Philadelphia. Go just a neighborhood or two from downtown/Midtown Atlanta and you're practically already in inner ring suburban Philadelphia in terms of structural density.
Diversity - Philadelphia. Atlanta got a much later start in terms of diverse residents, and tend to be more assimilated with mainstream American culture than the more numerous "fresh off the boat/first generation Americans" that have historically lived in Philly.
Shopping - Philadelphia. King of Prussia beats Buckhead shopping, and there's better retail in the city compared to Atlanta.
Food - Philadelphia. What's Atlanta's version of the hoagie? Pats 'n Genos? Where's its great food hall? Atlanta's a lot more chain-dominated compared to Philly.
Road Network/Traffic - Tie. Due to its dense layout, Philadelphia is subject with narrower streets (both service and highway), and it shows in terms of lower speed. Rush hour in Atlanta is bad as typical, but at least "moving" is faster than moving by Philly standards. But Philly's transit takes some of the cars off the road and isn't much worse than Atlanta overall, and the shorter distances means that travel time isn't generally long.
Sports - Philadelphia. Yes, Atlanta had the 1996 Olympics, but their fans tend to be more fairweather.
Quick Getaways/Recreation/Parks - Philadelphia. Yes, Atlanta has the better airport for those longer getaways, but for day/weekend trips, its hard to beat Philly, with DC, Baltimore, Amish/PA Dutch country, the Poconos, the mid-Atlantic beaches, and of course NYC.
Economic Future - Atlanta. Unfortunately, PA is a less business friendly state than GA, and this will continue to show in a trend that has persisted since the 1960s.
Job/Housing Market - Atlanta. Not surprising given the better economic outlook as well as a general lower cost of living.
Nightlife/Entertainment - Philadelphia. Underground Atlanta is disappointing compared to what it was in the '90s/'00s.
History/Museums - Philadelphia (though Atlanta does have its own history center in Buckhead as well as the High Museum and MLK monuments)
Theater/Art - Philadelphia. The Ave. of the Arts and the Parkway district has no comparison in Atlanta, with its offerings very scattered.
I can agree with this and this is a fair comparison!
Actually, only about half of metro Philadelphia is in the Piedmont, and is a fall line city similar to Augusta, Macon, and Columbus for Georgia. The East Falls neighborhood just upriver from boathouse row is right on the fall line itself, as is Millbourne just west of city limits where the Market Street El ends. The NJ portion of metro Philly is flat.
Fair point re: Southern NJ. It's worth noting, though, that approximately 2/3 of the metro lives on the PA side.
Actually, only about half of metro Philadelphia is in the Piedmont, and is a fall line city similar to Augusta, Macon, and Columbus for Georgia. The East Falls neighborhood just upriver from boathouse row is right on the fall line itself, as is Millbourne just west of city limits where the Market Street El ends. The NJ portion of metro Philly is flat.
Here's my $.02:
QOL: Tie. Atlanta is cleaner and provides more room for your dollar, but is subject to more problems of sprawl and as you get outside the perimeter, a noticeably more conservative lifestyle.
Public Transit: Philadelphia. MARTA's good for the south, but there's not nearly as many areas that are an easy walk to transit, even bus transit. You can easily live car-free in Philly.
Universities: Philadelphia. Georgia Tech, Clark and Emory are good schools in their own right, but it isn't on the same level of prestige as Penn, Drexel, and Villanova, along with other schools like Temple.
Economy: Atlanta has a faster growing economy, but Philadelphia’s is larger
Wealth: Philadelphia for old money, Atlanta for new money (sans Coca-Cola, which is old money at this point)
Vibrancy: Atlanta Newer, cleaner infrastructure along with more vivid vegetation gives Atlanta a much more inviting, less intimidating feel.
Character: Philadelphia. Not too surprising given its longer history as well as a more organically developed feel. Atlanta stays more in tune with the rest of the South/US than Philly does.
Suburbs: Tie. Philadelphia has of course the best suburbs of them all, the Main Line, but has some lousy ones like Chester and Camden. Sandy Springs, Decatur, Cumberland, Alpharetta, and Marietta are also real nice, but they lack character and only one (Sandy Springs) is served by mass transit.
Schools: Atlanta (city), Philadelphia (suburbs)
Urban Cores - Philadelphia. Go just a neighborhood or two from downtown/Midtown Atlanta and you're practically already in inner ring suburban Philadelphia in terms of structural density.
Diversity - Philadelphia. Atlanta got a much later start in terms of diverse residents, and tend to be more assimilated with mainstream American culture than the more numerous "fresh off the boat/first generation Americans" that have historically lived in Philly.
Shopping - Philadelphia. King of Prussia beats Buckhead shopping, and there's better retail in the city compared to Atlanta.
Food - Philadelphia. What's Atlanta's version of the hoagie? Pats 'n Genos? Where's its great food hall? Atlanta's a lot more chain-dominated compared to Philly.
Road Network/Traffic - Tie. Due to its dense layout, Philadelphia is subject with narrower streets (both service and highway), and it shows in terms of lower speed. Rush hour in Atlanta is bad as typical, but at least "moving" is faster than moving by Philly standards. But Philly's transit takes some of the cars off the road and isn't much worse than Atlanta overall, and the shorter distances means that travel time isn't generally long.
Sports - Philadelphia. Yes, Atlanta had the 1996 Olympics, but their fans tend to be more fairweather.
Quick Getaways/Recreation/Parks - Philadelphia. Yes, Atlanta has the better airport for those longer getaways, but for day/weekend trips, its hard to beat Philly, with DC, Baltimore, Amish/PA Dutch country, the Poconos, the mid-Atlantic beaches, and of course NYC.
Economic Future - Atlanta. Unfortunately, PA is a less business friendly state than GA, and this will continue to show in a trend that has persisted since the 1960s.
Job/Housing Market - Atlanta. Not surprising given the better economic outlook as well as a general lower cost of living.
Nightlife/Entertainment - Philadelphia. Underground Atlanta is disappointing compared to what it was in the '90s/'00s.
History/Museums - Philadelphia (though Atlanta does have its own history center in Buckhead as well as the High Museum and MLK monuments)
Theater/Art - Philadelphia. The Ave. of the Arts and the Parkway district has no comparison in Atlanta, with its offerings very scattered.
Decatur has 3 MARTA stations.
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