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Between Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington D.C., which city stands out the least from New York City?
Something to ponder, and lets not forget California is a very big state.
Perhaps you should’ve asked that question in the first place, so you won’t have to come back to constantly move the goalposts to make San Diego “win” this poll since you’re not getting the answers you wanted and asking a heavily biased question like this. As a former resident of California, I definitely know that it is a large state. Be that as it may, San Diego isnt that much further from Los Angeles as Philly is from New York. And San Diego doesn’t exactly stand out that much from Los Angeles in terms of climate, scenery, or culture. It was also a mid-sized city for a long period of time until it boomed in the 1970s while Philly has been a top 10 city for much of its history. This is apples and oranges in comparison when all is said and done.
I think Philly definitely stands out on its own more. A crude way of assessing this is to look at the number of pro sports teams a city has. Philly has all of the big 4. SD only has one now, which is a shame since the Chargers were a fixture. This isn’t to say SD isn’t an awesome city. Great weather and Beautiful city. But it does seem to be overshadowed by LA. When I think of Southern California, I think of LA because LA city proper (and it’s counties), are huge.
Be that as it may, San Diego isnt that much further from Los Angeles as Philly is from New York. And San Diego doesn’t exactly stand out that much from Los Angeles in terms of climate, scenery, or culture. It was also a mid-sized city for a long period of time until it boomed in the 1970s while Philly has been a top 10 city for much of its history. This is apples and oranges in comparison when all is said and done.
Perhaps you should’ve asked that question in the first place, so you won’t have to come back to constantly move the goalposts to make San Diego “win” this poll since you’re not getting the answers you wanted and asking a heavily biased question like this. As a former resident of California, I definitely know that it is a large state. Be that as it may, San Diego isnt that much further from Los Angeles as Philly is from New York. And San Diego doesn’t exactly stand out that much from Los Angeles in terms of climate, scenery, or culture. It was also a mid-sized city for a long period of time until it boomed in the 1970s while Philly has been a top 10 city for much of its history. This is apples and oranges in comparison when all is said and done.
In a previous post you invoked the San Francisco to diminish San Diego In this contest.
San Diego is 500 miles from San Francisco, which means they aren't even in the same geographic region. Like I said, California is a big state.
Conversely, Boston is only 300 miles from the Philadelphia, D.C. a mere 140 miles.
Its not really apples and oranges given the poll question and the overall historical context. San Diego had designs on being a major player in the region going back pre-1880. Though they failed in this endeavor, the basic theme of two cities vying for primacy in Southern California goes back to this this time period.
If you search the internet for articles about Philadelphia life being compared to NYC life, you'll find quite a bit, which is confusing to me as this thread poll overwhelmingly indicates Philadelphia stands on its own apart from NYC:
In a previous post you invoked the San Francisco to diminish San Diego In this contest.
San Diego is 500 miles from San Francisco, which means they aren't even in the same geographic region. Like I said, California is a big state.
Conversely, Boston is only 300 miles from the Philadelphia, D.C. a mere 140 miles.
Its not really apples and oranges given the poll question and the overall historical context. San Diego had designs on being a major player in the region going back pre-1880. Though they failed in this endeavor, the basic theme of two cities vying for primacy in Southern California goes back to this this time period.
If you search the internet for articles about Philadelphia life being compared to NYC life, you'll find quite a bit, which is confusing to me as this thread poll overwhelmingly indicates Philadelphia stands on its own apart from NYC:
You missed my overall point that Philly is the primary city in its state, has an identity all its own partially due to that and makes it distinctive from NYC while San Diego is not and hasn’t been for a long time...the transcontinental railroad going to Los Angeles instead of San Diego in the 1800s more or less sealed its fate, so bringing that up was pointless since LA became one of the primary cities in California. I didn’t bring up San Francisco to diminish San Diego, but emphasizing the differences in how Philly is the primary city in its state while Los Angeles and San Francisco battled it out for dominance in California for a long time while San Diego was somewhat left out in that, and was a much smaller city for much of its history and its identity being “anti-LA” isn’t as strong as Philly’s brand. And again, San Diego was a much smaller city for a long time before it boomed in the later half of the 20th century, while Philadelphia has been a top 10 city for hundreds of years with an identity all its own separate from NYC despite their proximity to each other.
Also, you might be “confused” by the results since you’re a west coast/San Diego homer and probably don’t know anything about the East Coast. If you’ve actually have ever been to Philadelphia or learn to understand how the concepts of time and distance are very different back East than they are on the West Coast. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so busy attempting to emphasize their similarities and try to understand the nuances and differences between Philly and NYC, that many of us in here have attempted to explain to you and you continue to ignore that and keep linking these tired articles, which are mostly marketing pieces from real estate agencies. Plenty of us on the East Coast (and actual Philadelphians) have explained to you and other posters how Philadelphia is still pretty distinct from NYC. You can continue to be confused by the poll results, keep moving the goalposts to get the answer you want, but the results speak for themselves for good reason. All these articles you’re linking don’t disprove what we’re trying to explain to you about how Philadelphia is still pretty distinctive from NYC despite their similarities. I lived in San Diego and Los Angeles for many years and now live close enough to Philadelphia and NYC to notice these things and why my answer still stands.
Don’t ask for opinions and get in a tizzy when they don’t agree with your limited worldview.
You missed my overall point that Philly is the primary city in its state, has an identity all its own partially due to that and makes it distinctive from NYC while San Diego is not and hasn’t been for a long time...the transcontinental railroad going to Los Angeles instead of San Diego in the 1800s more or less sealed its fate, so bringing that up was pointless since LA became one of the primary cities in California. I didn’t bring up San Francisco to diminish San Diego, but emphasizing the differences in how Philly is the primary city in its state while Los Angeles and San Francisco battled it out for dominance in California for a long time while San Diego was somewhat left out in that, and was a much smaller city for much of its history and its identity being “anti-LA” isn’t as strong as Philly’s brand. And again, San Diego was a much smaller city for a long time before it boomed in the later half of the 20th century, while Philadelphia has been a top 10 city for hundreds of years with an identity all its own separate from NYC despite their proximity to each other.
Also, you might be “confused” by the results since you’re a west coast/San Diego homer and probably don’t know anything about the East Coast. If you’ve actually have ever been to Philadelphia or learn to understand how the concepts of time and distance are very different back East than they are on the West Coast. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so busy attempting to emphasize their similarities and try to understand the nuances and differences between Philly and NYC, that many of us in here have attempted to explain to you and you continue to ignore that and keep linking these tired articles, which are mostly marketing pieces from real estate agencies. Plenty of us on the East Coast (and actual Philadelphians) have explained to you and other posters how Philadelphia is still pretty distinct from NYC. You can continue to be confused by the poll results, keep moving the goalposts to get the answer you want, but the results speak for themselves for good reason. All these articles you’re linking don’t disprove what we’re trying to explain to you about how Philadelphia is still pretty distinctive from NYC despite their similarities. I lived in San Diego and Los Angeles for many years and now live close enough to Philadelphia and NYC to notice these things and why my answer still stands.
Don’t ask for opinions and get in a tizzy when they don’t agree with your limited worldview.
A little historical trivia to back up this observation:
Of the 10 largest cities in the United States, only two have been in the top 10 in every decennial Census since the first one in 1790.
They are New York and Philadelphia.
I think the point about San Diego being in the same state with Los Angeles and San Francisco is quite salient.
On the East Coast, to come up with California's population of 33 million, you would need to put New York and Pennsylvania together, then add Delaware to it. (Adding New Jersey would overshoot the figure by about 8 million or so, but otherwise, that would be the geographically logical state to complete the picture.)
The Northeast remains the most densely settled region of the United States. The cities are closer together and there is less totally undeveloped land between them. And because the cities have been around longer, they have had more time to develop their distinct identities.
Two large, some may even say giant cities that are similarly situated south of two of the top Alpha cities....in the world.
Philadelphia is sometimes mentioned as a plausible alternative to New York City, but San Diego is seldom considered such to Los Angeles.
Given this context, which city stands on its own the best? Which one stands on its own the best and avoids the stigma of being an afterthought to its northern neighbor?
Please vote in that context, not "lol Philly is so much better" or vice versa. I understand that Philadelphia runs laps around San Diego in big city amenities, and that San Diego has the weather/beaches...which one stands up better against its Alpha neighbor as its own distinct place?
The bolded makes no sense to me.
IMO, it's impossible to judge the extent a city "stands on its own" without considering its relatively size and amenities.
Also, you might be “confused” by the results since you’re a west coast/San Diego homer and probably don’t know anything about the East Coast. If you’ve actually have ever been to Philadelphia or learn to understand how the concepts of time and distance are very different back East than they are on the West Coast. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so busy attempting to emphasize their similarities and try to understand the nuances and differences between Philly and NYC, that many of us in here have attempted to explain to you and you continue to ignore that and keep linking these tired articles, which are mostly marketing pieces from real estate agencies. Plenty of us on the East Coast (and actual Philadelphians) have explained to you and other posters how Philadelphia is still pretty distinct from NYC. You can continue to be confused by the poll results, keep moving the goalposts to get the answer you want, but the results speak for themselves for good reason. All these articles you’re linking don’t disprove what we’re trying to explain to you about how Philadelphia is still pretty distinctive from NYC despite their similarities. I lived in San Diego and Los Angeles for many years and now live close enough to Philadelphia and NYC to notice these things and why my answer still stands.
Don’t ask for opinions and get in a tizzy when they don’t agree with your limited worldview.
I happen to be a native of Pennsylvania, good try though I guess.
Anyone who doesn't tow the party line for the northeast establishment must be some kind of fringe regional homer, as conventional wisdom would appear to dictate.
If those articles I linked are marketing pieces from realtors, doesn't that just make it even worse? Why do they need to invoke NYC to promote real estate there? I wonder if there are similar articles using Los Angeles's name I.D. to gin up interest in San Diego real estate? I doubt it.
Philadelphia is the primary city in a much smaller, much less populated state. Throwing San Francisco into the mix in a conversation about the relationship between San Diego and Los Angeles would be like pointing out that Philadelphia was overshadowed by Detroit (roughly same distance) for quite some time.
I happen to be a native of Pennsylvania, good try though I guess.
Anyone who doesn't tow the party line for the northeast establishment must be some kind of fringe regional homer, as conventional wisdom would appear to dictate.
If those articles I linked are marketing pieces from realtors, doesn't that just make it even worse? Why do they need to invoke NYC to promote real estate there? I wonder if there are similar articles using Los Angeles's name I.D. to gin up interest in San Diego real estate? I doubt it.
Philadelphia is the primary city in a much smaller, much less populated state. Throwing San Francisco into the mix in a conversation about the relationship between San Diego and Los Angeles would be like pointing out that Philadelphia was overshadowed by Detroit (roughly same distance) for quite some time.
California is one state, Pennsylvania and Michigan are two different states last time I checked. What goes on in Sacramento (legislatively) affects the state as a whole, from Eureka to San Ysidro. I brought up San Francisco only because it’s perceived to be the #2 city and a lot of people don’t immediately think of what’s perceived to be the #3 city in California - San Diego. Most people think of Los Angeles and environs first when they think of Southern California and San Diego is often seen as an afterthought or an extension of Los Angeles. So yeah, I brought up SF, get over it.
Also, you really haven’t stated your case or made a compelling argument regarding San Diego being more distinctive from Los Angeles besides it being less crowded compared to you linking articles trying to prove that Philadelphia being more similar to NYC. As for those articles being marketing pieces, realtors are in business to make money and if that entails appealing to NYCers to move there they’re going to do what they have to do. Philly has been more stagnant in growth than Southern California in general, so they’re attempting to poach people. That doesn’t mean that everyone in Philadelphia thinks of it as a mini-NYC. The average Philadelphian is far too proud of their city to reduce it to that. And no, I couldn’t see Realtors in San Diego bringing up LA because much of San Diego’s culture revolves around the mantra that “we’re NOT LA.”
I could be wrong, but I feel that the average person that lives outside the Northeast wouldn't know that Philadelphia and NYC are as close together as they actually are. I know I didn't until fairly recently. I would have guessed that NYC to Philly was about as close as NYC to Boston, so I never really associated the two (aside from both being massive Northeast cities).
Conversely, most people would probably know that San Diego and LA are close to each other since they both fall under the SoCal umbrella. I've only visited SD/LA a handful of times, but both have a similar enough vibe to me that I could see why the average person might lump them together.
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