Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
They are similar in that they are both cities, but the geography, culture, people, etc. are vastly different (and not in a bad way). The two cities are not very similar at all, IMO.
I have many friends in Center City (and a couple of suburbs) who drive/take the train to NYC regularly for shopping, theatre, and dining, which isn't a bad deal since Philadelphia is not far. However, if the cities are so similar as many from Philadelphia try to claim, I don't know why a rational person would bother to trek the ninety miles for such pursuits.
And, for the record, I do like Philadelphia, in context, knowing what to expect from the city, and it's limitations. I am not a "NYC is supreme, and all others must bow down" person who seeks to bash Philadelphia at all.
I think Philly is somewhat similar. Honestly I've never been and I'm just going off what I've heard through family, co-workers, friends, etc. I've heard people compare it to Queens and Brooklyn.
north east philly is similar to queens, olde city philly is similar to residential homes in manhattan, north is similar to brooklyn only more dangerous, south is nothing sort of like staten island. Ever watch the 6th Sense? That's another nice part of philly west of center city. Philly burbs are definitely more pleasant than ny/jersey burbs.
Some neighborhoods in Philly do parallel New York . CenterCity, Olde City,Rittenhouse Square , the Art Museum area and Spring Garden areas are like Manhattan. ( gentrifying Southwest Center City and Brewerytown is like Harlem.) Queen village/ South Street skews Greenwich/West Village and Society Hill is alot like the UES.South Philadelphia is Brooklyn's little sister. Also University City / Powelton Village is also very Brooklyn like ( Both are ethnically diverse and Univ. City's Victorian rowhouses and twins compare with Brooklyn's Brownstones). Northern Liberties and Olde Kensington parallel Williamsburg/FortGreene .Fairhill is the Philly version of Spanish Harlem with it's El Centro D'Oro (the Golden Block). Central West Philly and Mantua compares with Bed-Stuy. Near and central Southwest Philly are reminders of East New York and and also East Germantown and Logan remind me of Brownsville.Central North Philly ,West and Central Kensington, Hartranft, , Hunting Park ,Tioga-Nicetown ,Allegheny West are all like the South Bronx and Germantown is like the West Bronx. West Oak Lane ,East Mount Airy , Cedarbrook,Wynnefield , Far Southwest Philly (near the Int'l Airport)and Overbrook all remind me of Wakefield and other parts of northeast Bronx. Fishtown is similiar with Greenpoint in looks and feel and Port Richmond is alot like Ridgewood in Queens with both areas having a large Eastern European population. The lower Northeast ,Olney- Feltonville and East Oak Lane are similiar to Queens, Chestnut Hill is alot like Bronx's Riverdale.West Mount Airy is alot like Northwest Bronx with integration in harmony. Andorra and the Far Northeast remind me of Staten Island with their suburban feel. Both Cities have their Chinatowns which are pretty similiar.However there are areas in Philly( Bridesburg, Manayunk, Lower Roxborough, Wissahickon ,East Falls-all good areas - Harrowgate,Frankford/Northwood and Juniata Park- all in serious decline )that don't match up with any areas in NYC and visa versa(Lower East Side,East Village ,Upper West Side, Mornigside Heights Washington Heights/Inwood etc. in Manhattan; and parts of Brooklyn,Bronx and Queens). IMO NYC and Philly can be twins and other ways they are worlds apart.
Last edited by otters21; 02-26-2009 at 10:02 PM..
Reason: incomplete post
Some neighborhoods in Philly do parallel New York . CenterCity, Olde City,Rittenhouse Square , the Art Museum area and Spring Garden areas are like Manhattan. ( gentrifying Southwest Center City and Brewerytown is like Harlem.) Queen village/ South Street skews Greenwich/West Village and Society Hill is alot like the UES.South Philadelphia is Brooklyn's little sister. Also University City / Powelton Village is also very Brooklyn like ( Both are ethnically diverse and Univ. City's Victorian rowhouses and twins compare with Brooklyn's Brownstones). Northern Liberties and Olde Kensington parallel Williamsburg/FortGreene .Fairhill is the Philly version of Spanish Harlem with it's El Centro D'Oro (the Golden Block). Central West Philly and Mantua compares with Bed-Stuy. Near and central Southwest Philly are reminders of East New York and and also East Germantown and Logan remind me of Brownsville.Central North Philly ,West and Central Kensington, Hartranft, , Hunting Park ,Tioga-Nicetown ,Allegheny West are all like the South Bronx and Germantown is like the West Bronx. West Oak Lane ,East Mount Airy , Cedarbrook,Wynnefield , Far Southwest Philly (near the Int'l Airport)and Overbrook all remind me of Wakefield and other parts of northeast Bronx. Fishtown is similiar with Greenpoint in looks and feel and Port Richmond is alot like Ridgewood in Queens with both areas having a large Eastern European population. The lower Northeast ,Olney- Feltonville and East Oak Lane are similiar to Queens, Chestnut Hill is alot like Bronx's Riverdale.West Mount Airy is alot like Northwest Bronx with integration in harmony. Andorra and the Far Northeast remind me of Staten Island with their suburban feel. Both Cities have their Chinatowns which are pretty similiar.However there are areas in Philly( Bridesburg, Manayunk, Lower Roxborough, Wissahickon ,East Falls-all good areas - Harrowgate,Frankford/Northwood and Juniata Park- all in serious decline )that don't match up with any areas in NYC and visa versa(Lower East Side,East Village ,Upper West Side, Mornigside Heights Washington Heights/Inwood etc. in Manhattan; and parts of Brooklyn,Bronx and Queens). IMO NYC and Philly can be twins and other ways they are worlds apart.
I accidently left two Philly neighborhoods out of my previous post: Upper Roxborough compares with Staten Island and East/ New Kensington also compares withWilliamsburg/Ft. Greene.
It's funny how people from Philadelphia seem to always be drawing parallels with New York and trying to prove that Philadelphia is "just like " NY while people from Boston go out of their way to point out the differences and firmly believe that Boston is a much better place because of the differences.
Just an observation.
I just dont see it. I dont see Philadlephians begging for NYC's acceptance, or trying to compare itself favorably to NYC. The Philadlephia area is kind of in its own little insulated cocoon. I dont think its strives to have NYC's pandemonious insanity nor DC's parasitical tendencies of feeding off the rest of the country for its own survival and growth.
The people in the Philadlephia area dont think they are better than NYC or inferior to NYC, they simply don't care about status, pretty much just want to be left alone to do their own thing.
However, if the cities are so similar as many from Philadelphia try to claim, I don't know why a rational person would bother to trek the ninety miles for such pursuits.
I think your above premise is a myth on the Philadelphia end. I have a fairly extensive network of friends and associates ( native Philadelphians-mostly suburbanites) and I have never heard any of them craving to go to NYC.IMO most of the parralels of the two areas usually come from former homesick NYers who may be disenchanted with their move.
The yearning for NYC? I'm just not seeing it gang.In Philadlephias defense the Philadlephia that you guys are trying to depict(N + W Philly ghettoes) makes up about 0.005 % of the 5,000 Philadlephia metropolitan region. Keep in mind that most(80%) of the people in the Philadlephia area live in the suburbs and view NYC has overpopulated, congested, gritty.
20 minutes west of Midtown puts you in the stuffed urban mayhem of N Jersey. 20 minutes west of Center City Philly puts you in Valley Forge. I dont see the people form SE Pa howling to bust a move.
They are similar in that they are both cities, but the geography, culture, people, etc. are vastly different (and not in a bad way). The two cities are not very similar at all, IMO.
I have many friends in Center City (and a couple of suburbs) who drive/take the train to NYC regularly for shopping, theatre, and dining, which isn't a bad deal since Philadelphia is not far. However, if the cities are so similar as many from Philadelphia try to claim, I don't know why a rational person would bother to trek the ninety miles for such pursuits.
Out of curiosity, are these people from Philadelphia originally? I've found that the people who always go to NYC from Philly (or DC) are usually from elsewhere. Some are from NY and want to visit "home" and others are from someplace else in the country where "going to Manhattan" is a bigger deal. I grew up in Philadelphia and went up to NY maybe once every 2 years. Aside from driving through last fall, I haven't been there in almost 4 years. New York's a great city, and of course I went up as a kid to see things like the Empire State Building or Broadway, but if I want a nice night on the town or to see a show, why would I pay more and drive 90 miles?
As far as similarity, if you're comparing it to other areas of the country, sure they're similar (as much as you'd expect almost any 2 places in such proximity to be). However, they're two very distinct cities that never will (and never should be) exactly the same.
Out of curiosity, are these people from Philadelphia originally? I've found that the people who always go to NYC from Philly (or DC) are usually from elsewhere.
Actually, the friends I am thinking of who do this are originally from Philadelphia, but they prefer the offerings in NYC, especially shopping and theatre, since Philadelphia has some great restaurants.
I'm a Philly native and I concede that New York as a whole is in a class of its own, comparable to some of the great cities of the world.
That said, I believe that if you remove Manhattan from the equation, the other boroughs are similar in neighborhood feel and "attytood" to Philly. There might be more of a cultural melting pot up there which is cool. Center City itself is sort of a two square mile version of Manhattan... except that you don't have to make "six figures" to afford a "300 square ft" apartment... yet.
Moderator - Lehigh Valley, NEPA, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Education and Colleges and Universities.
When I post in bold red, that is Moderator action and per the TOS can be discussed only via Direct Message.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
