Why is Philadelphia a great place to live? (Pittsburgh: city hall, lease)

[tarp]

Let's face it... every U.S. city has been destroyed by policies that favor the rich and marginalize the working class.

Philadelphia just has that same decay to a greater degree than other major east coast cities.

Compared to Detroit, Philadelphia is heaven.

[john_starks]

big time cool city closest to NYC & DC & every ocean

where are you gonna find that in the world

[Phil A. Delphia]

Show up to your interview wiping a cheesesteak stain off your tie, and have a Tastykake sticking up out of your shirt pocket.

[phillies2011]

Originally Posted by Phil A. Delphia

Show up to your interview wiping a cheesesteak stain off your tie, and have a Tastykake sticking up out of your shirt pocket.

Ugh. I would not hire someone who can't eat cheesesteak without messing up their clothes.

[Phil A. Delphia]

Originally Posted by phillies2011

Ugh. I would not hire someone who can't eat cheesesteak without messing up their clothes.

Would you hire someone with a sense of humor?

[MacoMatt]

Philly-bound - I was just in your situation not too long ago. I too am moving to Philly pretty soon. When I first started using this forum some people were thrashing the hell out of the city. They made it seem like a hell-hole. But when you start talking to the people that actually want to give you advice, it doesn't seem that bad. Personally, after talking to some of the Philadelphians on this site, I cannot wait to move to Philly. I've have also visited and am going this weekend to check out my new school and apartment. I really enjoy Philly. And as for safety...I live near chicago right now and every big city has a crime problem...not just Philly. So avoid the bad areas and have some street smarts. And for places to live...university city and the Clark park area are very nice and charming. I hope the interview goes well and enjoy your time in Philadelphia

[pman]

Originally Posted by tarp

Let's face it... every U.S. city has been destroyed by policies that favor the rich and marginalize the working class.

Philadelphia just has that same decay to a greater degree than other major east coast cities.

Compared to Detroit, Philadelphia is heaven.

what? Philadelphia was a very wealthy city when the US started implementing policies that stole from the "rich" and gave to the poor. as it turned out, it simply steals from the expensive and gives to the inexpensive, but hey, that gets you elected. Philadelphia is a far more interesting city than DC or Boston and in better shape than baltimore.

[FacultyM]

Philadelphia has some very good qualities: several well-known and world-class universities, history that is like nowhere else in the country, excellent shopping and excellent parks. Fairmount Park is beautiful. Having said that, I found that I liked Philadelphia better when I wasn't staying in the city!
Here is why: it is situated between two rivers and is cloudy much of the time. The summers are very, very hot and humid and the Septa system is not as good as other subway systems I have encountered because the stops never seemed within a reasonable walking distance to where I wanted to go (i.e., six blocks or more).
So, I would suggest looking at commutable (40 minutes) Cherry Hill, NJ where there is lots of sun, you have access to all of the great things about Philadelphia without having to deal with the cloudy, humid, non-walkable aspects of the city. You will also be closer to the shoreline.
Best of luck. Oh, and that post about the cheesesteak and the tastykake... that was so funny, I almost spit my coffee out.

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

Originally Posted by FacultyM

Philadelphia has some very good qualities: several well-known and world-class universities, history that is like nowhere else in the country, excellent shopping and excellent parks. Fairmount Park is beautiful. Having said that, I found that I liked Philadelphia better when I wasn't staying in the city!
Here is why: it is situated between two rivers and is cloudy much of the time. The summers are very, very hot and humid and the Septa system is not as good as other subway systems I have encountered because the stops never seemed within a reasonable walking distance to where I wanted to go (i.e., six blocks or more).
So, I would suggest looking at commutable (40 minutes) Cherry Hill, NJ where there is lots of sun, you have access to all of the great things about Philadelphia without having to deal with the cloudy, humid, non-walkable aspects of the city. You will also be closer to the shoreline.
Best of luck. Oh, and that post about the cheesesteak and the tastykake... that was so funny, I almost spit my coffee out.

I'm not sure that your argument is relevant to the OP, but either way there are still several things wrong with it.

Philadelphia surely doesn't have an "extensive" subway system. But if one is working in Center City there is a good chance they are within walking distance from either the Market or Broad Street subways. And if one wants to take the subway, you base your life decisions off of that. When you include buses, light rail, and commuter rail it is a very extensive transit system. In addition to that, sure the trains don't stop at every single tourist trap, but it serves the major institutions, universities, business districts, as well as a lot of nice neighborhoods.

Furthermore, I don't really see how if a less-than-extensive subway system is the problem, Cherry Hill is the answer. If you want a better transit system than Philadelphia, your only answers are going to be NYC, Chicago, or going abroad.

The walkability thing makes no sense. Subway system aside, Philadelphia is one of the most walkable cities in the country, period.

Furthermore again, although I've never actually been to Cherry Hill, and my background is not in meteorology, I have trouble figuring out how it could be any less cloudy than Philadelphia.

[Pine to Vine]

Originally Posted by FacultyM

Oh, and that post about the cheesesteak and the tastykake... that was so funny, I almost spit my coffee out.

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

Furthermore again, although I've never actually been to Cherry Hill, and my background is not in meteorology, I have trouble figuring out how it could be any less cloudy than Philadelphia.

Actually FBR, your line about Cherry Hill almost made me spit out my wine.