A NY'er visiting Philly.... (Philadelphia, York: living, train, architecture)

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by sj08054

Seriously folks.

Why are people so defensive when it comes to Philly? OP is just noting that it was not busy. NYC and Philly is completely different. There are spots in Philly that is very busy (even on the weekend). The bottom line, Philly isn't congested like NYC and probably never will.

Because being so close to NYC is a "problem" that no other large city in the country has. It's hard not to find the juggernaut of NYC being intensely intimidating. We will never get the respect that New York does.

Some of you probably saw the article about Philadelphia being the largest city in the country that still doesn't have direct flights to Asia. Why? Because it's not cost effective because we're too close to NYC.

[*Sweetkisses*]

Originally Posted by sj08054

Seriously folks.

Why are people so defensive when it comes to Philly? OP is just noting that it was not busy. NYC and Philly is completely different. There are spots in Philly that is very busy (even on the weekend). The bottom line, Philly isn't congested like NYC and probably never will.

Maybe because hes pointing out the obvious? I never understand people that go to a different city and expect it to be like said city. It doesn't make sense.
I will admit I came off strong. Sorry OP.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by FamousBlueRaincoat

It's not even just sundays - I work near 8th and Market and nearly every day coming in during rush hour (7 AM to 9 AM) the streets are weirdly quiet - been doing it for years and it's still odd and depressing There was more hustle and bustle on Minneapolis streets during the AM rush hour, even with skyways competing with sidewalks for pedestrians - or on nice summer farmer market days on Nicollet Mall (of course downtown is less of a destination there - so it doesn't have nearly as much evening or weekend traffic as Philly). And as he said he's a native Brooklyner - I can attest that I feel like there's as much street life in the little known Queens neighborhood that I'm from than most anywhere in Philly, aside from a few downtown spots.

Now things definitely get busier throughout the day - Chestnut Street around Independence Mall gets awfully busy around the lunch hour and on the weekends, as well as the West Market area. And there tends to be a big hustle and bustle of low-income folks coming down to do shopping on East Market during mid-day, although that seems to be less now that the Gallery is half empty.

And there are definitely parts of the city more consistently busier - like Rittenhouse, or Broad or Market closer to City Hall. But it needs to be the right time of day on the right day where you get that mix of workers, tourists, and residents for Philadelphia to really feel like it's got some life to it.

But the OP's not a troll and there's no reason for people to be so hard on him. He wasn't even being critical, and had positive things to say as well.

Certainly one big problem with the dead zone of 8th and Market is the enormous surface parking that the owner has not developed.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by wawaweewa

I was in Philly for about 6 hours just walking the streets; parked on 8th and Market.

It seems like everyone was packed into the Reading Terminal Market? Where are the people?
I wasn't expecting the madhouse that NYC is but the streets were kind of empty? I was raised in Brooklyn and Brooklyn's even more dense in some of the quieter neighborhoods.

Philly definitely has most of the big city amenities but not the density and general craziness. Intriguing to this NY'er.
Your sub shops at the $10 price point are definitely better than anything we have.

I was dumbfounded when I entered the Kimmel center and was free to roam the place. Imagine doing that at Lincoln Center. lol

Oh, and your homeless are weirdly nice wishing me a good day and all. I genuinely felt bad for them.

I'll definitely visit again. It's a nice change of pace.

On a summer weekend they might be at the shore, in the Poconos, at the zoo, in Fairmont Park. . .

[MikeNigh]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Because being so close to NYC is a "problem" that no other large city in the country has. It's hard not to find the juggernaut of NYC being intensely intimidating. We will never get the respect that New York does.

Some of you probably saw the article about Philadelphia being the largest city in the country that still doesn't have direct flights to Asia. Why? Because it's not cost effective because we're too close to NYC.

Clearly shows the disadvantage of being a major city too close to NYC, even Detroit has non stop access -
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...Q.kGk712jr_5oA

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

Clearly shows the disadvantage of being a major city too close to NYC, even Detroit has non stop access -
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...Q.kGk712jr_5oA

Right. Sigh. Isn't it crazy?

We can't, obviously, do anything about our proximity to NY. We do get folks moving here, or checking it out more, because they are simply priced out of NY.

[Redddog]

I think the positives outweigh the negatives in regard to proximity to NYC. For me anyway.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Redddog

I think the positives outweigh the negatives in regard to proximity to NYC. For me anyway.

But it also contributed to the,imo,insulting reference of Philadelphia being the "6th Borough" which gained some traction a few years ago.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by Redddog

I think the positives outweigh the negatives in regard to proximity to NYC. For me anyway.

I think differently. How do you weigh the positive and negatives?

Lets say NYC was 1000 miles away instead of 100, you think that would do more harm than benefit?

[MikeNigh]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I think differently. How do you weigh the positive and negatives?

Lets say NYC was 1000 miles away instead of 100, you think that would do more harm than benefit?

I think the harm ultimately is that philly isn't better integrated. There needs to be a high speed rail.