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I prefer Manayunk over South Side, which is interesting, but seemingly a bit deader, esp the neighborhood generally.
As a Philly resident, I don't frequent Manayunk restaurant and bars on the Main Street strip that often: to me, they are nothing special I couldn't find in Center City, which I find much more interesting and lively, or in up-and-coming neighborhoods like Fishtown, Passyunk Ave or University City -- and now, many areas of rapidly gentrifying North Philly, such as Girard Street or Broad & Fairmount, etc. And given the nature of Manayunk's extreme typography and location tucked along the Schuykill River, the neighborhood seems isolated from the rest of Philly -- like it's a whole other city... On top of this, parking in Manayunk is an expensive pain in the ass, given the neighborhood's high popularity and dense, narrow entertainment/retail district (hey, it's Philadelphia, what do you expect?); trying to find a street spot often means parking blocks and blocks away, sometimes up in the neighborhoods or under the dark, foreboding SEPTA railroad viaduct...
... speaking of which, Manayunk has a major leg up on the South Side by having the elevated Regional Rail station right near the core of the neighborhood. We have used the train to attend the Manayunk Arts Festival and I've shot over Main Street by train after work from Center City to bar hop with friends. Direct train service, connected to the entire Philly region, is a big plus (even though one must be patient and time their comings and goings given SEPTA Rail's quirky, infrequent service).
All that a said, what I do find fascinating about Manayunk is the hillside community, itself; those old houses on those steep narrow streets. It has the feel of an old European village.
And Pittsburgh is still somewhat underrated / overlooked from a national standpoint.
A little story for example, many of my acquaintances are always interested in trips to Orlando, Tampa, and few other sunbelt cities, and I mentioned Pittsburgh as a new city to try. I got blank looks as if I was joking...one person even said I have no desire to visit there...
I cannot for the life of me understand the appeal of places like Orlando or Tampa, yet to some, cities like Pittsburgh are seen as uncool, not desirable, overlooked, etc. (Cincinnati too). Maybe its just ignorance? They're also gay men obsessed with parties and scene-y things, I guess Orlando fulfills that lifestyle more than Pittsburgh?...
*Warm/sunny winters
*Healthy growth rates vs. a "best days are behind it" feel (stagnation).
*Less provincial due to all of the recent transplants
Yeah im not a fan of visiting places like Orlando. Sure, 20 years ago it was great and worth it. Now? Absolutely not.
Places that interest me to visit are Denver, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Chicago, etc...
Its more fun visiting well rounded cities and visiting places like these. I mean, people enjoy it. Boston was ranked the top summer destination in the country three years in a row. Obviously, people like big cities with things to offer. Now if more people found out about what other places have, they could squeak their way up the list. I just don't think people know of good urbanity. Pittsbrugh (and Philly) are unique.
As far as the bolded, this is an extremely unpopular opinion on this forum, but the average person in the real world doesn't care about urbanity.
They just want their dollars to go far in healthy, functional cities.
To answer the topic of this thread, Manayunk has definitely intrigued me. As mentioned in another thread, I'm strongly consider South Philly for my next relocation (several years out).
Philadelphia's also unique in that's it's one of the only traditionally urban major cities (aside from Chicago) that has remained mostly intact *AND* where the long-time natives haven't been pushed out due to gentrification.
Not to diminish Pittsburgh's pockets of urbanity, but I don't really consider the city/metro as a whole to be in the same league as Philadelphia.
Last edited by citidata18; 01-30-2021 at 01:50 PM..
It baffles me how Portland and Austin have more name recognition by millennials, when Pittsburgh is the far superior city in terms of assets and amenities. And not to mention the amazing topography, that can only be rivaled by San Fran and Seattle.
I’ve been to all three - I totally agree about Austin. It’s vastly overrated and really lacking in cool walkable areas outside the city center.
But Portland and Pittsburgh are pretty comparable in that regard. Portland has a great restaurant and bar scene and there are a ton of cool, quirky, walkable neighborhoods throughout the city. Good transit and lots of fun places to go. So I would not say Pittsburgh is far superior to Portland in terms of assets and amenities - they’re pretty close.
To answer the topic of this thread, Manayunk has definitely intrigued me. As mentioned in another thread, I'm strongly consider South Philly for my next relocation (several years out).
Philadelphia's also unique in that's it's one of the only traditionally urban major cities (aside from Chicago) that has remained mostly intact *AND* where the long-time natives haven't been pushed out due to gentrification.
Not to diminish Pittsburgh's pockets of urbanity, but I don't really consider the city/metro as a whole to be in the same league as Philadelphia.
It's not. wonderful city that punches above its weight, but in a different (lower) tier than Philadelphia.
And metro Pittsburgh doesn't hold a candle to metro Philadelphia.
Both are fantastic neighborhoods in fantastic cities. One major difference is that the South Side of Pittsburgh is very much a part of Pittsburgh's core, whereas Manayunk is an outer neighborhood in Philadelphia's Northwest section. Roxborough, Manayunk and East Falls are sort of Philadelphia's Pittsburgh-lite neighborhoods, somewhat resembling the city in both the natural and built environment.
Last edited by Muinteoir; 02-01-2021 at 07:17 AM..
I prefer Manayunk over South Side, which is interesting, but seemingly a bit deader, esp the neighborhood generally.
As a Philly resident, I don't frequent Manayunk restaurant and bars on the Main Street strip that often: to me, they are nothing special I couldn't find in Center City, which I find much more interesting and lively, or in up-and-coming neighborhoods like Fishtown, Passyunk Ave or University City -- and now, many areas of rapidly gentrifying North Philly, such as Girard Street or Broad & Fairmount, etc. And given the nature of Manayunk's extreme typography and location tucked along the Schuykill River, the neighborhood seems isolated from the rest of Philly -- like it's a whole other city... On top of this, parking in Manayunk is an expensive pain in the ass, given the neighborhood's high popularity and dense, narrow entertainment/retail district (hey, it's Philadelphia, what do you expect?); trying to find a street spot often means parking blocks and blocks away, sometimes up in the neighborhoods or under the dark, foreboding SEPTA railroad viaduct...
... speaking of which, Manayunk has a major leg up on the South Side by having the elevated Regional Rail station right near the core of the neighborhood. We have used the train to attend the Manayunk Arts Festival and I've shot over Main Street by train after work from Center City to bar hop with friends. Direct train service, connected to the entire Philly region, is a big plus (even though one must be patient and time their comings and goings given SEPTA Rail's quirky, infrequent service).
All that a said, what I do find fascinating about Manayunk is the hillside community, itself; those old houses on those steep narrow streets. It has the feel of an old European village.
Agreed on the "old European village" feel; Manayunk is the only "hill town" within the Philadelphia city limits (there are a few others in this region, though none that captures the look and feel the way Manayunk does).
But as far as not going there because you can get the same sort of experience or better in Center City, there's no reason for anyone who does this to feel guilty about it: Manayunk is an adult playground for Main Line college students and recent graduates.
And oops,"topography." "Typography" deals with fonts like the one used as the default to display text here.
There's a whole 'nother thread for discussion of SEPTA issues. Several of them, in fact. We could go to town on the wasted potential of Regional Rail.
And oops,"topography." "Typography" deals with fonts like the one used as the default to display text here.
Oh well as they say: haste makes waste.
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