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I was raised in Philly and still have family there. Philly's proximity to NYC , some really rough areas near Center City (downtown), belligerent resident attitudes LOL (sports fans), financial woes of the past and racial issues its seems hurt its reputation. Since 1980, the city lost 500,000 residents, a quarter of its 2 million population of 40 years ago. THAT speaks volumes more than anything else. Chicago, NY, D.C. and Boston never saw that big an outmigration, maybe NYC came closest. NYC cleaned up faster though while Philly was still struggling.
However, within the past 8-9 years, Philly has stopped losing population. The downtown is as vibrant as ever. Its more affordable than D.C. NYC and Boston too and having five colleges there, draws in young adults.
Philadelphia's big population loss, like most industrial cities, was from the mid 20th century to the late 20th century. 1970 to 1980 was its biggest decade of loss. Our peak was over 2M in 1950, but we've been recovering population since 2000 and now sit close to 1.6M. It will be interesting to see how COVID impacts things for us.
Chicago's population peaked in the 1950s as well, at 3.6M. They are now at ~2.7M. That's nearly a 1M net loss, which is obviously more than Philadelphia, even accounting for scale.
So we weren't the only big city to hit hard times in the latter half of the 20th century. That shouldn't be news to anyone.
Also, there aren't really rough areas near Center City anymore. Closest that *could* qualify would be maybe the rougher parts of Point Breeze or Mantua. Neither are too bad in my opinion.
I don't think anyone in real life has too much of a complex about NYC, or would see it as a downside. Surely NYC will monopolize a few industries in which Philly is lacking, but otherwise, most people see it as a practical asset. As someone who loves to visit NYC, but wouldn't want to live there, despite loving urban living in Philadelphia, I love the access that I have to NYC.
That's just a Florida thing. Florida never really shut down like other states did.
Yep. Which is really a reflection on how terribly Florida has handled everything (as opposed to commenting on how more responsible cities/states that are taking public health seriously have "less going on").
And the FL idiocy continues even now. But that's a whole other thread.
Philadelphia's big population loss, like most industrial cities, was from the mid 20th century to the late 20th century. 1970 to 1980 was its biggest decade of loss. Our peak was over 2M in 1950, but we've been recovering population since 2000 and now sit close to 1.6M. It will be interesting to see how COVID impacts things for us.
Chicago's population peaked in the 1950s as well, at 3.6M. They are now at ~2.7M. That's nearly a 1M net loss, which is obviously more than Philadelphia, even accounting for scale.
So we weren't the only big city to hit hard times in the latter half of the 20th century. That shouldn't be news to anyone.
Also, there aren't really rough areas near Center City anymore. Closest that *could* qualify would be maybe the rougher parts of Point Breeze or Mantua. Neither are too bad in my opinion.
I don't think anyone in real life has too much of a complex about NYC, or would see it as a downside. Surely NYC will monopolize a few industries in which Philly is lacking, but otherwise, most people see it as a practical asset. As someone who loves to visit NYC, but wouldn't want to live there, despite loving urban living in Philadelphia, I love the access that I have to NYC.
Yeah Philly's population loss was 20%. Boston actually had a larger drop, ~28-30%, and still is down 15% from the peak.
Philadelphia didn't lose as much as people think. Its just waiting for the rebound.
Philly isn't considered cool? That would be news to me.
Maybe because this thread was started in 2013?? Philly is a great city. It's a great alternative to other expensive east coast cities like New York and DC.
No it isn’t. Neither is Chicago.
In my opinion what a cool city is is a city people move to then figure out the details of building a life later. That is LA, NYC, maybe Nashville and Atlanta.
M
People move to Chicago, Seattle, Philly, Boston or the Bay Area for a high paying good job.
People move to LA or NY, live with 5 roommates and be a bike corrier or bartender just to be in those places.
In my opinion what a cool city is is a city people move to then figure out the details of building a life later. That is LA, NYC, maybe Nashville and Atlanta.
M
People move to Chicago, Seattle, Philly, Boston or the Bay Area for a high paying good job.
People move to LA or NY, live with 5 roommates and be a bike corrier or bartender just to be in those places.
People move to LA or NY, live with 5 roommates and be a bike corrier or bartender just to be in those places.
LA and NYC have a near monopoly as cultural epicenters (Nashville and Atlanta don't come remotely close to either, although I recognize they have strong entertainment industry profiles).
At the end of the day, the conversation about "coolness" in 2021 just comes down to the best branding machines and biggest darlings of Instagram. It's actually pretty vapid and superficial.
Cities with the purest "coolness" are really those that are off-the-radar, at least in my book.
In Philly's case, it has quietly cultivated a very strong "scene" amongst the creative/artist subset--particularly amongst NYC expats--although getting to back to my point, it's not of the nationally-profiled pop culture variety.
Absolutely. The talent and money flowing in to Atlanta right now is nuts. The whole strip club culture as the place where new music gets played is a thing. Hard to say if LA is even bigger at this point but it probably still is. I’d add the tech building is not nothing either.
What is Chicago all about these days?
Absolutely. The talent and money flowing in to Atlanta right now is nuts. The whole strip club culture as the place where new music gets played is a thing. Hard to say if LA is even bigger at this point but it probably still is. I’d add the tech building is not nothing either.
What is Chicago all about these days?
There's tv and than reality. Realistically most people moving to Atlanta are moving due to jobs and cost of living. The "cool factor" is an afterthought. And I'm a person who moved to Atlanta because of the entertainment industry. Yes there's a lot of people that move to Atlanta specifically for the entertainment industry. And there are cool things about Atlanta, but I tell people all the time Atlanta is also really regular. Strip club culture is not as ingrained in Atlanta culture as rap videos would have you believe.
That's why I tell people you want to get a glimpse of how Atlanta really is watch Childish Gambino show "Atlanta". It's a surreal show but it's the most accurate depiction of Atlanta. But I still find it hard to believe how Atlanta is cooler than Chicago.
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