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Then you are in the minority, at least in my experience. It seems that literally every native I come across is angry/bitter/resentful/negative about the city. All I constantly hear is "I want to get the hell out of here". Then go! Nobody is stopping you! I support your desire to leave 100% if you refuse to progress with the rest of this city.
I just haven't had a good experience with native Philadelphians, and DelCo people are even worse.
It's kind of funny. I'm a transplant here. I'm not in love with Philadelphia, and I am going to leave at some point. And I'm increasingly excited to leave it.
Another possibly funny thing is that so many transplants are here to begin with because they have some type of issue with wherever they came from. Yet they fail to see why someone who's been born and raised here, perhaps in a neighborhood without a ton of amenities going for it that they may not even like, perhaps after receiving a completely inadequate education, or having a lack of job opportunities anywhere close to the neighborhoods they live in, Or perhaps they don't even have the means of getting out to see what life is like elsewhere and decide that they actually do prefer Philadelphia and come back may have a different opinion on the city. Or they never took the opportunity when they are younger and now just feel stuck.
I mean, people get down on where they come from for all kinds of reasons. I don't see what the point of getting upset at them about it is. My parents lived in New York City from the 60's to the 90's. You should hear them talk about it. It's a completely different perspective than someone who moved there because they wanted to be there. Whether they moved there to work on wall street, go to art school, or just slack around in subcultures. I questioned them on it a lot when I was younger. But now I see that for people like my parents, leaving NYC was probably the best thing for them, because NYC largely stopped being a place where it was beneficial for people like them to live.
But most of the people I get along with are indeed native Philadelphians. Natives are what makes cities interesting. They make places different than other places. Something largely being wiped out in the bigger cities in America by gentrification and supposed-cosmopolitanism, where even independent establishments are basically delivering a similar prepackaged experience that the market wants. It's on its way here now though, a little later than elsewhere.
I live in NW Philadelphia. Which is the same part of the city I did when this was posted - but I moved from Germantown to East Mount Airy in the meantime.
BTW-I was just reading last night that 19119 extended beyond Stenton Ave into the mid 1970's-at which point 19150 was adopted. This adds another layer of complexity.
And that in turn may explain why the people I spoke to said "this was Mt. Airy" when they moved there.
Speaking in terms of ZIP code, it would have been - just as my corner of Germantown "isn't Germantown," so to speak.
I do find the history of shifting ZIP codes in this region an interesting if arcane subject. ISTR two or three city ZIP codes that crossed the city line in the 1980s. The out-of-city residents of those ZIP codes all had the boundaries changed so they were no longer in those postal zones. Why? Because auto insurance premiums were based on ZIP code, and anyone whose ZIP began with the dreaded digits 191 paid much more.
I mean, people get down on where they come from for all kinds of reasons. I don't see what the point of getting upset at them about it is. My parents lived in New York City from the 60's to the 90's. You should hear them talk about it. It's a completely different perspective than someone who moved there because they wanted to be there. Whether they moved there to work on wall street, go to art school, or just slack around in subcultures. I questioned them on it a lot when I was younger. But now I see that for people like my parents, leaving NYC was probably the best thing for them, because NYC largely stopped being a place where it was beneficial for people like them to live.
Yes. If I looked hard enough, I'm sure I'd find someone born and raised in Kansas City who hated it and couldn't wait to leave it. I have yet to meet that person, though.
And there's plenty of criticism of the city being meted out by people still living there over on the Kansas City forums. But its tone is different - it's criticism being meted out because they think the city can (be | do) better and they're dissatisfied with the (pace | lack) of improvement.
The reason why so many here comment about the negativity of the natives - I often tell people "Philadelphia is underrated, and nobody underrates it more than the natives" - is because so much of it is different in tone and character from that other type of criticism. You'll still see or hear from time to time talk of this famous slogan, coined by a marketing pro and slapped on billboards and buttons all over the city in the 1970s:
I know of no other city in the United States where anyone felt something like this was needed.
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But most of the people I get along with are indeed native Philadelphians. Natives are what makes cities interesting. They make places different than other places. Something largely being wiped out in the bigger cities in America by gentrification and supposed-cosmopolitanism, where even independent establishments are basically delivering a similar prepackaged experience that the market wants. It's on its way here now though, a little later than elsewhere.
I agree with you 100% here. And it's not just in Philadelphia that you feel that homogenizing trend.
But I don't think it will wipe out local color completely. San Francisco and New York are both (reputedly) cosmopolitan (I'm not so sure the term fits self-absorbed San Francisco so comfortably). You can still tell one from the other, and not just visually.
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I live in NW Philadelphia. Which is the same part of the city I did when this was posted - but I moved from Germantown to East Mount Airy in the meantime.
Just curious: what prompted the move up Germantown Avenue?
I have encountered on more than a few occasions a different type of "Negadelphian."
I'd call this crowd the "tough love" Philadelphians.
Their attitude towards outside critics could be described as, "I'll trash this place all I want to, but don't you dare!"
This group really loves this city and trashes it because of its numerous manifest flaws. But on the "exit, voice and loyalty" matrix, they fall firmly into the "voice" camp - because deep down, they're loyal.
Then you are in the minority, at least in my experience. It seems that literally every native I come across is angry/bitter/resentful/negative about the city. All I constantly hear is "I want to get the hell out of here". Then go! Nobody is stopping you! I support your desire to leave 100% if you refuse to progress with the rest of this city.
I just haven't had a good experience with native Philadelphians, and DelCo people are even worse.
Depending upon their ages, many of these people haven't been happy about the city since Rizzo was mayor. It's been all downhill, in the minds of that crowd, ever since.
Just curious: what prompted the move up Germantown Avenue?
It's actually a longish personal story that I'll PM you with. But it didn't really have anything to do with not liking Germantown. Our apartment sucked, but we needed to find a new one in a hurry (so we limited ourselves to place near where we current lived). We looked at three places - one in East Mount Airy, one in West Mount Airy, one in Germantown. East Mount Airy won out due to being approved first and easy walking distance of both CHE and CHW (although now I'm back on the transpass and barely take the railroad anymore).
I do miss living in Germantown, it is probably the most unique neighborhood I've ever lived in, however abstract a concept that is.
I do miss living in Germantown, it is probably the most unique neighborhood I've ever lived in, however abstract a concept that is.
I don't think that abstract at all.
I told my Harvard classmates in my 35th reunion report two years ago that Germantown is probably the most socioeconomically diverse neighborhood in the city, and most of the Germantowners who I've said this to agree, even if a few need to think for a second before agreeing. That's a very rare quality in city neighborhoods these days.
It's loaded with history and has plenty of charming homes and well-kept residential blocks at all points on the household income spectrum. You can tell its central shopping district was once a big deal - that may be one of the most acutely felt losses in some ways - but it's still very solid, especially compared to some other neighborhood shopping districts in the city.
This is a neighborhood with very strong bones, and everyone I've met who lives here loves it.
Can you handle rents of, at least, $1500, unless you are thinking of having a roomate?
The average salary of a Fox School of Business grad with a BBA in Finance is around $51,000, so I might possibly be able to. I'm over $24,000 in debt with student loans and should hit a little over $30,000 by next year, so it will also depend on my repayment schedule. I would be more than willing to have a roommate/roommates, however!
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Originally Posted by kyb01
I'm female, as all of you know by now, and I'm pretty much where you and PhilliesPhan2013 are regarding moving around the city. PP2013 spent some of his formative years in Mill Creek/Carroll Park, which is not nearly as bad as some city neighborhoods, but it's kinda rough looking, so he is more than equipped to handle himself. My W. Philly family lives in Mill Creek. I go there a lot and I'm carless. When I was driving I thought more about more getting killed in a car crash than getting hurt on city streets.
Exactly right! I also spent a significant portion of my childhood in Chester, so rough urban environments don't phase me as thoroughly as others. Don't get me wrong, I always use my street-smarts; nevertheless, I'm pretty comfortable in the hood haha!
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Originally Posted by MB1562
I just haven't had a good experience with native Philadelphians, and DelCo people are even worse.
Delconians are the worst! Their negative attitude about the city is one reason why June 1st can't come soon enough. Before taking my current position in University City, I worked as a cashier in Delco all of last semester. When people would find out that I attended Temple, some people would either tell me how much they would fear for their child/children's life/lives, or how crazy I was for attending a college in such a "dangerous" neighborhood (if they think that is bad, they should probably go and visit 29th and Lehigh or 68th and Elmwood for a new perspective). I wanted to lecture them about how a lot of crime occurs because these suburban kids don't know how to live in the city. I am in no way blaming the victim, and I believe that these punk criminals who like to pick on Temple students should be punished to the fullest extent of the law; however, there are certain things that people shouldn't do at 1AM in any urban neighborhood. Having your face glued to your iPhone and leaving your doors unlocked are both not good ideas in any urban neighborhood.
Just be careful, young man! You saw those areas, now stay out of them. I take photos - shoot and scoot ... I wouldn't go into those neighborhoods without a motorized vehicle.
Thirty/thirty-five years ago, when I was a teen, I had the pleasure of 'exploring' the city with my dad on his tow truck (a side hustle to his Teamsters job). He had some balls, going into some of those neighborhoods ... amazing he never got set up and robbed, or worse. I know one thing, it taught me to appreciate Bridesburg.
When I was in my twenties and early thirties, I liked the thrill of those neighborhoods, (getting shot at in Frankford, me and my buddy breaking down near 8th and Marshall, bricks thrown at my car, looking for the corner boy who 'beat' us so we could run him down, seeing naked people wacked out on PCP, attacking buses or fistfighting - that sort of stupid nonsense), but once I got married I figured I made it this far, I just want to stay out of trouble and try to slide into retirement some day. I was actually very tame, I just put myself in a lot of situations that could have ended badly.
Stay out of Hunting Park and Frankford.
You and your buddy sure did some crazy s**t! I don't even think that I would attempt to do that at my young and crazy current age!
I can only count on one hand the number of times I have been to Frankford. I went to FTC to catch the 66 in order to explore Mayfair back in February. Another time, I got off at Arrott TC with the intention of catching the 75 to the Wyoming BSL stop so I could see the Logan Triangle last semester. Needless to say, that was the dirtiest area I have ever seen in Philly! Someone also offered me drugs, which I respectfully declined. It reminded me of 52nd and Market back in 2007!
The last time I had "too much fun" clubbing in Manayunk, I took the R from Wissahickon TC to Broad and Hunting Park after 2AM. When I reached the platform, this crazy lady started coming at me! Good thing the BSL was also fast-approaching! I had myself a mini-feast once I reached the Wawa on Broad and Walnut, so it was slightly worth it!
Also, it is a shame that Hunting Park is the way that it is. It has the bones to be one of this city's premier neighborhoods, imo.
Also, really like this photo my sister recently took of the Beury Building, Broad and Erie.
Last edited by 2e1m5a; 04-30-2017 at 11:06 AM..
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