Why Philly Over Boston/Where Should a Young Professional w/ Dog Live? (Philadelphia: transplants, crime)

[JacksonPanther]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I'd attribute the absence of regular street sweeping outside the special-services districts not to the city's high poverty rate but to a city government that often misplaces priorities.

That, and the general slovenliness of the great bulk of the population.

A city with more money has fewer hard choices to make when deciding where to spend its resources, so fewer opportunities to "misplace priorities."

Why would Philly people be more slovenly than anywhere else?

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by JacksonPanther

A city with more money has fewer hard choices to make when deciding where to spend its resources, so fewer opportunities to "misplace priorities."

Why would Philly people be more slovenly than anywhere else?

Good point on the first question.

As for the second, I dunno, but just to provide a data point, when I lived in Boston, I don't ever recall seeing someone trying to force an empty soda bottle through the closed doors of a moving subway train as a means of disposing of it. Nor do I recall walking down blocks where the wind whipped up storms of discarded trash and paper along the sidewalk, as happened on a few occasions along East Passyunk Avenue above the Acme. Someone put that trash there.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Good point on the first question.

As for the second, I dunno, but just to provide a data point, when I lived in Boston, I don't ever recall seeing someone trying to force an empty soda bottle through the closed doors of a moving subway train as a means of disposing of it. Nor do I recall walking down blocks where the wind whipped up storms of discarded trash and paper along the sidewalk, as happened on a few occasions along East Passyunk Avenue above the Acme. Someone put that trash there.

Yeah there is definitely a culture of litter here that I have never seen anywhere else. My first week living here when I was in south philly I remember seeing a person in a car at a stop light just throwing trash out the window on to the street. I remember “where the hell did I just move to?” Now such things still disgust me but no longer surprise. In south philly I would see otherwise sweet Italian grandma types walk to the corner to throw their trash in the sewer. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen people just drop their soda bottle or food wrapper on the ground.

In mt airy the litter situation isn’t as bad. Most street trash seems to come from lazy trash/recycling disposal. Maybe the trees make people less inclined to litter?

[rowhomecity]

Originally Posted by KansastoSouthphilly

Yeah there is definitely a culture of litter here that I have never seen anywhere else. My first week living here when I was in south philly I remember seeing a person in a car at a stop light just throwing trash out the window on to the street. I remember “where the hell did I just move to?” Now such things still disgust me but no longer surprise. In south philly I would see otherwise sweet Italian grandma types walk to the corner to throw their trash in the sewer. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen people just drop their soda bottle or food wrapper on the ground.

In mt airy the litter situation isn’t as bad. Most street trash seems to come from lazy trash/recycling disposal. Maybe the trees make people less inclined to litter?

I think the trash collection system is the culprit. Open bag trash collection is a major problem with the litter piles more so than people throwing it on the street.

The city should issue city wide covered trash cans for its residential neighborhoods so trash is not blowing everywhere.

This would probably see more of an impact and a more positive step for the trash problem than the controversial street sweeping proposals.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I'd attribute the absence of regular street sweeping outside the special-services districts not to the city's high poverty rate (of the 10 largest cities in America, Philadelphia is the poorest; this usually gets rendered around here as "the poorest big city in America," which is not the case unless you restrict your definition of "big city" to cities with 1 million or more inhabitants within their political borders; there are only 10 of those) but to a city government that often misplaces priorities. (Politics in Philadelphia resemble those of no other American city as much as they do Chicago's, and both cities have longstanding reputations for political corruption.)

That, and the general slovenliness of the great bulk of the population.

I'd also attribute Philly's lack of ability to do even the most basic things from a organizational perspective on the disparity of motivations between the state and the city.

But for sure, Philly, on it's own, is like a severly mentally disabled person unable to care for themself.

[Fireshaker]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

I'd attribute the absence of regular street sweeping outside the special-services districts not to the city's high poverty rate (of the 10 largest cities in America, Philadelphia is the poorest; this usually gets rendered around here as "the poorest big city in America," which is not the case unless you restrict your definition of "big city" to cities with 1 million or more inhabitants within their political borders; there are only 10 of those) but to a city government that often misplaces priorities. (Politics in Philadelphia resemble those of no other American city as much as they do Chicago's, and both cities have longstanding reputations for political corruption.)

That, and the general slovenliness of the great bulk of the population.

To expand on the latter point, money aside, many longtime residents (such as those in South Philly) also have resisted regular street cleaning because they don't want to move their cars once a week. So it's kind of a self-fulfilling / self-defeating cycle of trash.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Fireshaker

To expand on the latter point, money aside, many longtime residents (such as those in South Philly) also have resisted regular street cleaning because they don't want to move their cars once a week. So it's kind of a self-fulfilling / self-defeating cycle of trash.

So crazy. These people would fight to the death to be able to leave their cars for weeks at a time. Or to be able to park in the median. City Council seems to agree with them.

[Redddog]

dupe

[Wells5]

Boston over Philly by a country mile. I recommend looking in Middlesex County, west and north of the city. Easy commute to downtown Boston via the bus or the MBTA or both. Lots of dog friendly apartments in the city of Malden within your price range.

[bridge12]

Ignore the negadelphians. Philly, by far, over Boston. For all the reasons mentioned around affordability but I just wanna give another plug for the weather. Boston has colder, snowier winters and awful cold foggy springs. Winters are much easier here and spring is actually enjoyable. Oh, Philly has a much better food scene, too.

I have a dog and live in a house with a small patio/yard. It's definitely a dog-friendly city. Plenty of places to take the puppers and some great dog parks.