Why is Philly not considered cool like Chicago/NYC? (shops, airport)
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I would like to meet these people and listen to their logic because I cannot wrap my head around the thought of Philadelphia lacking fun or vibrant areas, especially compared to Hoboken, which is fun and cool, but not a fair comparison. Are you and your friends just looking circuit parties, and base a city's desirability and vibrancy off of that?
I have taken friends from all over the world to Philadelphia and almost all of them love it and were shocked at how large and vibrant it is. And my New York friends are always up for a Philly weekend for a change of scenery.
Lastly, can you stop saying "most people" unless you were referring to your select friend group.
Philadelphia is not your favorite city (okay), but your comments come off as kinda ignorant (in a harmless why, but it sounds like you don't know anything about the city and are judging it harshly based on your rainy afternoon visit).
Agree, I don't get it...
Again, I work in Urban Planning. Im not speaking through myself here. Most people cannot find the Hoboken’s and Lincoln Park’s and Village’s of Philadelphia. If they did, Philadelphia wouldnt have the reputation it did. Im not saying its a bad city by any means, but where do you go out and have fun? Wall to wall people? Outdoor cafes? Cool new scenes. And eclectic restaurants. I genuinely dont know and everytime im in Philly I cannot find it. Im halfway to Philly from NYC, and mostly everyone has the same question. It doesnt mean we dont like Philly.. it means people dont know where to go.
Im not saying it doesnt exist.. but its certainly not apparent as the average person will stay somewhere around Center City, the Liberty Bell and the market. Which is urban and dense, but not exactly vibrant and cool and eclectic.
While I agree with most of this. On your last paragraph, mosr people i know who do not like Philadelphia a) went there, b) already live in/around other big cities c) are party people who love vibrant fun areas.
I think the issue, again, is being around city center which dulls out fast. Its urban and busy sure. But not eclectic and bussin like the Villages or Hoboken. Like most people cannot find that equivalent of Philly. I still dont even know where that is
True, Philly has no satellite cities or suburbs along the lines of Hoboken. And our analogous neighborhoods to those in Manhattan are all lower-key versions of them.
The analogue to Greenwich Village, for instance, is the Gayborhood/Midtown Village/Washington Square West (the last of these is the umbrella over the other two subsections, which overlap).
But you might find this bit of information both interesting and maybe even explanatory.
Back in 2015 or thereabouts, The Philadelphia Inquirer did a breakdown of net migration patterns between Philadelphia and New York over the preceding decade by New York City borough.
The population flow was net towards Manhattan by several thousands. This makes sense IMO because no other urban environment in the country is like Manhattan, so if you can afford to live there, you will if you want the ultimate in urban vitality.
I think that less than 100 people net left Staten Island for Philadelphia.
A few hundred moved to Philly from the Bronx.
About 5,000-6,000 Queens residents did so, slightly more than the number that moved from Philadelphia to Manhattan.
And something like 18,000-19,000 Brooklynites moved to Philly, accounting for the overwhelming majority of the net migration.
My explanation for that is this: The Brooklynites figured out they were paying New York prices for the Philadelphia experience and decided it would be better to pay Philadelphia prices for it.
BTW, since you're a Bay Stater, it seems to me that the knock on Boston is that its nightlife is somewhat wanting, and that's in comparison to Philadelphia too.
Love Philly but...
Philly doesn't have as many "cool" neighborhoods to visit.
Philly has DC and NYC nearby which makes Philly a "stop by" visit or a if "we have time" stop over.
And... I wouldn't consider Chicago necessarily "cool" either. Many visit just bc it's the biggest city in the Midwest. Not because it's Orlando or Vegas or NYC or DC etc. Btw, lived in Chicago and love the city as well.
Again, I work in Urban Planning. Im not speaking through myself here. Most people cannot find the Hoboken’s and Lincoln Park’s and Village’s of Philadelphia. If they did, Philadelphia wouldnt have the reputation it did. Im not saying its a bad city by any means, but where do you go out and have fun? Wall to wall people? Outdoor cafes? Cool new scenes. And eclectic restaurants. I genuinely dont know and everytime im in Philly I cannot find it. Im halfway to Philly from NYC, and mostly everyone has the same question. It doesnt mean we dont like Philly.. it means people dont know where to go.
My experience in Hoboken was that it actually gave me strong Philly vibes. But even Hoboken's commercial activity really seems to be centered on one major commercial corridor: Washington Street. Are you really saying the vibrancy of 53K city cannot be found in a city of 1.5 million? I'm not trying to be flip, but it's just an odd assertion.
Don't get me wrong; I really like Hoboken. But even it's main commercial corridor is not as eclectic/urban as one of Center City's vibrant side streets: 13th Street. And that's just one street; Center City is one of the most thoroughly mixed-use downtowns outside of Manhattan, so its vibrancy is highly interspersed.
You also reference Lincoln Park. A very lovely urban neighborhood, for sure. But where is the eclectic vibrancy there of which you speak?
Again, with all due respect, I just don't follow the reasoning.
And as far as I'm concerned, there's absolutely no real analogue to any NYC neighborhood outside of NYC. The scale, pedestrian activity, and density is completely incomparable to any other city in the US. Period.
My experience in Hoboken was that it actually gave me strong Philly vibes. But even Hoboken's commercial activity really seems to be centered on one major commercial corridor: Washington Street. Are you really saying the vibrancy of 53K city cannot be found in a city of 1.5 million? I'm not trying to be flip, but it's just an odd assertion.
Don't get me wrong; I really like Hoboken. But even it's main commercial corridor is not as eclectic/urban as one of Center City's vibrant side streets: 13th Street. And that's just one street; Center City is one of the most thoroughly mixed-use downtowns outside of Manhattan, so its vibrancy is highly interspersed.
You also reference Lincoln Park. A very lovely urban neighborhood, for sure. But where is the eclectic vibrancy there of which you speak?
Again, with all due respect, I just don't follow the reasoning.
And as far as I'm concerned, there's absolutely no real analogue to any NYC neighborhood outside of NYC. The scale, pedestrian activity, and density is completely incomparable to any other city in the US. Period.
Philadelphia clearly has its vibrant areas within its core and most vibrant areas outside the core seen as hip and gentrifying areas. Neither Chicago or Philadelphia needs to be compared here as lacking. NYC is in its own class.
This video of last year outdoors with some dining outdoors from Lincoln Square, Ravenswood neighborhoods, Lakeview and Lincoln Park neighborhoods and ending in the Lakefront park of the same name there around a 6-mile bike trip. This is on c-d and a repost video.
Very quickly after the start. Goes down diagonal Lincoln Ave you mention for some blocks. Here just not yet in Lincoln Park. Northwest a few miles of there and Wrigleyville in the Lakeview neighborhood and biking in a Zig zagging pattern thru different dense for Chicago streets and down diagonal Clark St till into Lincoln Park. Much of it is business corridor stretches in Chicago fashion vs a NYC.
Hopefully this lays to rest outdoor dining here and business streets vibrant. Just not NYC dense or dense but great aesthetic areas.
As for Lincoln Park neighborhood and others. Clearly have its long continuous stretches of business corridors with density of residents to support it. Clark St is continuous from by the core thru the North side highly desired areas. There is Broadway Ave a diagonal street Halsted Ave and goes thru the Boystown heart of the Gay neighborhood and DePaul U is in the area. No one should say we need to judge vs NYC to a Hoboken to knock either city down.
There are some great videos of biking thru these Chicago North Shore continuous great neighborhoods and not cheap and far less gritty also. A few diagonal city streets run thru them adding more converging streets. The city street grid is still intact and all have alleyways with parking and garages. Also the power lines and city furnished trash bins all across the city.
I will post some long videos I do not know how to take snippets of. But the maker is my favorite youtube streetscape video maker and HD colorful videos on great days.
I am doing these as if one is going to question outdoor cafe's and retail corridors not found. Especially using Lincoln Park thru Lakeview with its sub-neighborhoods of Wrigleyville and the Gay neighborhood and Roscoe Village in the mix. It is clear how clean with tons of apartment/condo corridors and tree-lined streets between them with many single homes to 2-3 flats as some standard Chicago housing. Just not part of the city bungalow housing neighborhoods that began arounf 1920 thru 50s 60s footprint varieties as yo travel across the Northside and into the Southwest side.
This first video was just posted to Youtube recoded on Oct. 3rd 2021. This one is not really Lincoln Park. But the area just to the north and going thru and fully around Wrigley Field during a game and at its end again as Clark St is closed to traffic for tho onslaught of people heading to all the open-air bars.
What us nice is it goes off the main streets to the housing. Both wood-frame pre 190p homes and apartment buildings with many new infill and old, also the Chicago greystone homes.
Starts with some clips from parts of his video and then going thru a Lakeview neighborhood sidestreet. Onto Addison St that would go to Wrigley's front, but he goes down other residential streets and down Clark still open but gets closed near Wrigley before it lets out. Hist the rear of Wrigley Field then.
Goes by the old Metro Theater where Metalica just had their surprise concert with videos on Youtube of the concert. The Metro is after the 11:00 minute mark and its front on Clark St Metallica played at in 1983 before they were too big for it and chose it again 38-yrs later. Also some bars there he goes by and getting close to the back of Wrigley.
Once you see street vending Cubs gear. You know you are close. Notice the Full-Sized Trash Truck by the 13:50 mark. These are what Chicago has a fleet of. The back of Wrigley right after and goes thru it and back onto Clark St by bars and thru other streets and alleys. Alleys are the norm for Chicago and where most trash pick-up.
After the first Wrigley bike by. It is down Clark St, thru some of the neighborhood streets and alleys. Down Broadway St a bit a diagonal one and back up toward Wrigley as the game has people rolling down closed streets and filling bars. Cardinals Cubs game day. All there for a good time cheering for either team and mixing on bars.
After the 54:00 minute mark. It is back by the near Wrigley Field bars and the complete bike around the stadium. New buildings and old housing very pricey today. This then is all the bulk of the rest of the video. Some more of the neighborhood near the end and alleys.
Full HD in youtube posted thus month Oct 3rd 2021.
This one is a bike ride from the edge of the city proper and its farthest reaches of the Northwest side I call home. Going down the wide here diagonal Milwaukee Ave. Thru the cities North side ending on the edges of Lincoln Park. These are continuous great neighborhoods of like 10-miles tgru the North side.
Begins in Norwood Park. Mostly 50s 60s stock Chicago homes and light colored brick of that era. That is my favorite urban city home of Chicago them eras. These 50s 60s common example of housing of these great homes a bit after the 2:00 min mark. Well built and aged well.
Hits maybe 6 neighborhoods or more till goes only a few blocks into Lincoln Park and ends. From a year ago 2020.
Chicago does do outdoor dining pretty well in these top areas of hip professionals supporting them. Do not expect NYC dense or grit. Nor Philadelphia full neighborhood connected housing.
It was founded by Quakers, anything fun was outlawed.
They didn't build anything that would obstruct the view of the statue on City Hall.
Until the 1970s sale of alchohol was banned from midnight Saturday night to noon on Sunday.
and on and on
Love Philly but...
Philly doesn't have as many "cool" neighborhoods to visit.
Philly has DC and NYC nearby which makes Philly a "stop by" visit or a if "we have time" stop over.
And... I wouldn't consider Chicago necessarily "cool" either. Many visit just bc it's the biggest city in the Midwest. Not because it's Orlando or Vegas or NYC or DC etc. Btw, lived in Chicago and love the city as well.
Philly has plenty of "cool" neighborhoods, but other people have already mentioned them. Fwiw, I'd much rather visit Chicago than Vegas or Orlando.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boompa
It was founded by Quakers, anything fun was outlawed.
They didn't build anything that would obstruct the view of the statue on City Hall.
Until the 1970s sale of alchohol was banned from midnight Saturday night to noon on Sunday.
and on and on
None of this has any bearing on today's Philadelphia. Our nightlife, festival, parade, and block party scenes are excellent.
Philly has plenty of "cool" neighborhoods, but other people have already mentioned them. Fwiw, I'd much rather visit Chicago than Vegas or Orlando.
None of this has any bearing on today's Philadelphia. Our nightlife, festival, parade, and block party scenes are excellent.
I'd quibble with you on the parades, which IMO are either underpowered or underattended for a city this size. (Our Pride parade, for instance, draws much smaller audiences than those in Boston, NYC or Washington, even after adjusting for population differences.)
But we do block parties like no one else. Continuing in the LGBTQ space, Outfest in October outdoes the parade in June (though the festival at the end of the parade is well-attended). It will be interesting to see what the new Pride Collective does with the Pride festival this fall, which will take place close to the weekend that had been Outfest (Sunday closest to National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11 — next Monday). Actually, given the lack of publicity right now, I suspect that we won't have a bona fide Pride event until next June. Four months is an awfully short time to put together a large-scale event.
I'd quibble with you on the parades, which IMO are either underpowered or underattended for a city this size. (Our Pride parade, for instance, draws much smaller audiences than those in Boston, NYC or Washington, even after adjusting for population differences.)
But we do block parties like no one else. Continuing in the LGBTQ space, Outfest in October outdoes the parade in June (though the festival at the end of the parade is well-attended). It will be interesting to see what the new Pride Collective does with the Pride festival this fall, which will take place close to the weekend that had been Outfest (Sunday closest to National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11 — next Monday). Actually, given the lack of publicity right now, I suspect that we won't have a bona fide Pride event until next June. Four months is an awfully short time to put together a large-scale event.
I used to love Outfest. It far outdoes Philly pride (which is generally not great). Outfest should be Philadelphia's big LGBT event, plus it draws more crowds from nearby big cities since there is no other big event happening around this time.
Back to block parties, Philadelphia does do them well. Rittenhouse just had their fall fest a few weeks ago, it looked as lively and bustling as ever.
Philly has plenty of "cool" neighborhoods, but other people have already mentioned them. Fwiw, I'd much rather visit Chicago than Vegas or Orlando.
None of this has any bearing on today's Philadelphia. Our nightlife, festival, parade, and block party scenes are excellent.
It was dull then, it is dull now coincidence? I doubt it
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