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Philly is quality, I have no idea why it isn't being presented more as a great city. It's location is pretty hard to beat, and if NYC is so expensive why not Philly? I mean it shouldn't be too hard to reduce crime like what has happened in NYC.
New York is much more than Philadelphia.
- New York is infinitely more connected to the world than Philadelphia, which for a metropolitan of it's size is extremely limited. Philadelphia is a place with pockets of cosmopolitanism whereas all the other 12 top 13 metropolitans are more so. Philadelphia is bottom of the list in foreign airport activity. It's a great American city but it's not beyond that.
- New York is the media center of the United States. It attracts jobs that Philadelphia does not have in creative class. New York is the center for literature, media, fashion, video game production, technology, innovation whereas Philadelphia is not. This is immensely reflected by their cost of living & income levels.
- New York is FAR more dynamic both physically along the coast (Philadelphia is landlocked) & socially. New Yorkers are some of the most well traveled people on the planet, they've lived in various places around the country & world whereas Philadelphia is one of the most migration stable places in the country- they don't particularly lose nor gain.
- New York's transit infrastructure, especially roads & highways, tunnels, everything are wayyyy ahead of Philadelphia which in my opinion could really use a major face lift for all of the things.
- New York caters more to than just "historians", it's got a nightlife that's entirely geared towards every type of genre & it's produced in high quality with late night options. It's a place for the filmy types, creative types, foreign types, everyone to get a little piece of something. New York has by FAR more varied & interesting attractions.
- New York is an architectural gem, displaying incredible architecture from every era in both quantity & quality. Philadelphia is not this way.
- New York is infinitely more polished up than Philadelphia. I'm literally taken away with how much New York's improved & so is my father who grew up in the area his entire life and was born and raised there recounting on how awful it used to be in the 70's & 80's. Philadelphia is slowly improving but it's very unpolished and deplete looking in comparison to New York, Boston, or Washington DC by FAR.
- New York is FAR safer, it's the safest it's ever been while Philadelphia struggles to handle crime by either staying stagnant or increases. By metropolitan area, it has the 5th highest murder rate in the United States & only trails Memphis, Detroit, Birmingham, & one other place on that. It's a luxury for a city like Boston when you can live there, go block by block in a clean, modern yet historic, well kept city, safely walking with no end in sight and not having to deter for "crime neighborhoods".
There's a significant reason why Philadelphia is much cheaper, I'm not saying its a bad city at all and I can see why people would live there but in my opinion it's just an average joe American city that's slowly improving but talking present day- yeahhh no way. New York caters to people that want to launch their ideas at the world because it's infinitely more educated, affluent, creative, cosmopolitan, & offers more opportunities than Philadelphia. New York is a place where if you succeed you are rewarded generously on one of the worlds largest stages, Philadelphia is average joe. Your success will buy you a nice house for relatively cheap and give you a great Middle Class life but it will never & has no possibility of offering the lifestyle or even a tenth of the lifestyle New York can offer. There's a reason New York is known throughout the world and toured from around the world, while Philadelphia goes under the radar even in our own country. It's not a leisure destination nor a creative class destination or even a very high educated destinations. It's a great American city but hardly an international one.
When I think of "elite" American cities I think New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, & Chicago. Miami & Boston as good runners up.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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^ You don't have to sell me on NY, I love NY, though not even to buy one of those cliched T-shirts lol.
I just think Philly should be more prominent that it is. I've seen videos.etc and it's one of my favourite American cities. In fact I love all the BosWash cities, I've been to all but Philly. Was pleasantly surprised by DC, Boston is so pretty and NYC is my favourite city on the planet.
I agree with your analysis of Washington, D.C. It feels strangely modern and yet it's historical. There are so many neo-classical architectural buildings that it ought to feel like Rome or something, but it doesn't. I think it has to do with the genius of the people who designed the layout of the city.
Thanks BigCityD, we're both always on the same page. I'm a pretty big fan of your posts, just wish I could leave more reps more often but they wont let me .
Quote:
Originally Posted by OyCrumbler
An older city can have its architecture beautified and restored. What you're seeing with Baltimore and Philadelphia are good bones with ragged flesh and skin, but large parts of that can still be restored given some time and effort and some neighborhoods of both cities are already seeing that with some neighborhoods of both cities already starting to go on the upswing, though with Philadelphia quite a bit further along than Baltimore. You can see neighborhoods in overall wealthier cities like London, NYC, DC, and Boston which have been able to restore some of those areas which had fallen on hard times and are now some of the most vibrant and coveted neighborhoods in those cities.
Well it has more to do with me having different standards for a place. I'm really one of those people that have enjoyed every single place I've been to- even places like Kolkata & Cairo but it varies to what extent.
I basically have three core things to go off of:
- Well kept city, polished, clean, safe, charming, romantic, literate, progressive, modern yet storied, & exhilarating.
- Stunning environment both physically & geographically
- My ability to stand the people living there (in real life I'm an introvert), who I already know there, & how much they mean to me
On all of those accounts a place like Philadelphia or Baltimore fail to measure up. For example if I cant lean on my first standard then I quickly look for things from my second, if that falls short then I resort to my third.
What I like about Shenzhen in comparison to Philadelphia is that it's a megacity- I've never been but I can only imagine it has that megacity vibrancy to it and it's a relatively young place. Back in 1982 it was smaller than Savannah (Georgia) with less than 400,000 people & within 30 years it's one of the worlds megacities & one of China's most prosperous cities. What you describe as a "lack of character" is a non-factor to me most times. See I do like a bit of a regional flavor but it's not a necessity. What people describe as soulless I see as fast paced- people walking about the streets in black pants, black shoes, white shirt, black blazer, holding iPhone's and constantly being in a rush to get somewhere. I like the chaos even though it may imply a monotonous culture versus somewhere that people dress more casually across the spectrum with every color represented, jeans, and talking about their regional sports. It's not my thing.
What you describe as a lack of history doesn't matter to me either. Ironically I'm a rare kind where I value the history as the texts have them, if I want to appreciate the Declaration of Independence for a day I'll trek to the Library of Congress to see it, that's the end goal for me to see the artifact that changed the history of this country altogether instead of going and seeing the desk & pen that created it in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is a great city historically but it doesn't hold the artifacts that some want to see because it's history is broadly based off people and actions rather than physical artifacts. I've gone to some of the lecture meetings in Philadelphia for the revolution, Quaker summits, & so on and I've always found myself yawning out within the first 5 minutes there. Whereas here in Washington, I can drive to Douglas' house and see it, I can go to the Smithsonian, I can go and see the National Archives, I can see the Space Shuttle, I can see the Vietnam Memorial and put my hands on the names and walk down the memorial touching them- getting emotional and becoming more self patriotic about it.
What I find ironic is that for all the history places like Charleston, Philadelphia, Savannah, & Saint Louis have I've always been mystified with the history in New York, Boston, or Washington far more. I don't know why but I guess it's just an unexplainable subconscious realization.
To me Philadelphia doesn't deliver on the first aspect in my list of 3 things. It's the opposite actually- I want to live in a state where progressive idealism is widespread where gays & lesbians alike have the right to marriage- here in the DMV they've accomplished just that in Maryland. I want a place that's polished and taken care of- it makes the place feel much more like those that live there & run the city actually care and respect their home to improve upon it. I'm not talking about what's going to happen in the future- I'm talking about presently because every city in America (including Detroit) is seeing beautification & immense changes (positively). I want to live in a place that gives me an acceptable feel in modernity, through technological advances in both engineering & socially. People that are interwined with the world of the Internet & the gadgets. As for charming, exhilarating, & romantic, this one is a non-factor but it's always nice to be in a place where you can let your emotions run Washington (charming), Boston & San Francisco (romantic), New York & Chicago (exhilarating). Philadelphia also has a great lack in modernity, especially for my Matrix, DREDD, Jetsons, iRobot type of standards.
My second point being geography & physical environment. Take Boston for example, it's actually quite a lovely city along the harbor with such lovely lush & green hills to a distance which often times come peddling down to the coast and the thing is you don't have to drive 50 miles to get the coast. It's there, the city is built densely along it. Mainly because water calms my mind, it puts me in a very calm state, I'm not a beach person but the way the cities like Miami, Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco are built vertically along the water is indescribable. The water taxi's, the cruise ships, the architecture tours by boat, the vast and endless sight of a "no end" to the water, as well as catching the breeze above the water and going like "yeahhhh streaming from Europe or Africa" & whatnot.
Last point being my familiarity & network. I know no one in Philadelphia, I have not a single friend or family member there and the ones that I did have went there to attend University of Pennsylvania, graduated, and moved somewhere else. I'm not particularly keen on moving somewhere that I'm not comfortable with in terms of network especially if it falls short on my other two points.
For me, it's an easy decision. I have yellow fever (also really into Caucasians too)- I'm South & Southeast Asian myself and I can have a field day in Shenzhen. It's a different culture than that is present here in America- that's one point that'll get me started. Next day I can have a field day testing & tasting out the food. Next day I can have a field day touring the gleaming sky bruisers where you can see clouds & the sky blue skies reflecting with the sunlight present of Shenzhen's skyline. Next day I can be overwhelmed by the vibrancy & huge megacity nature of the city. Next day I can take a joy ride on some urban highways through the concrete jungle that it has become in such short time. I can bask in the safety, modernity, well kept polished nature of the city, the culture, the food, the physical environment, & the geography.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OyCrumbler
I like modern architecture, too, but a lot of it I feel is devoid of any kind of ornamentation and character and large parts of Shenzhen feel that way to me. I do think it's a shame that so much of China's historic architecture has been bulldozed over though and wish there was just a bit more concern about that. There seem to be the idea that the old architecture in China is often just not salvageable to have modern amenities built in but there have been numerous individual building or even neighborhood examples of old architecture preserved to some degree with their interiors retrofitted with the conveniences of modernity which are amazing though it is sadly often easier to unthinkingly just plow everything under and put in another tower.
One thing I find disappointing about these "historical cities" in America is how fast the history fades out and how fast "average joe, USA" comes into the picture. I remember in Rome with my parents & siblings it was blocks after blocks, miles for miles of historical wall to wall significance. Here in America, it's like it's mixed use, you see an intersection with a historical church with stunning architecture then you see like a Chipotle right next door.
The thing with New York is, I love Lower Manhattan. I've truly felt like it's the most historical feeling place on such a large scale in all of America. Walking from Broadway to Canal and seeing the Chinatown & Little Italy (which seems to get smaller each time I go), then moving on to SoHo & the Flat Iron District and so on. The city is alive, the city is exhilarating, it's a beam of confidence when you see hundreds if not thousands on any given day joining you on these tours- sometimes it's a quick way to network and meet people, get their interests, exchange numbers, flirt, & so on. In Philadelphia- it's not as crowded and when it is, it feels like it's people from the surrounding area going on a trek again rather than a beautiful young woman accompanied by her two equally as beautiful friends from Hungary touring about (my true New York experience)- there's some dynamic to it.
In Boston, I took the duck tour & the double decker tour as well. It was fascinating but obviously was a drive from one point to another- it was 18 stops ending at Cheers adjacent to Beacon Hill & Boston Common. Boston is a lovely place, so youthful, energetic, lots of hot chicks, very safe, well polished, clean, respected, taken care of, beautiful natural setting, lots and lots of interesting things to see outside of just history. I saw the MIT museum at Kendall Square, saw the cosmopolitan aspect cross historical significance at both Longwood & Harvard Square. I saw Kenmore Square, my friend who accompanied me on my most recent trip to Boston even knew someone with a lavish boat that gave us a tour of the city from the Charles River & took off into the harbor and eventually the Atlantic Ocean. Lovely as hell small islands right next to the city with tiny beautiful lighthouses.
I just don't get the same experience out of Baltimore & Philadelphia. Are the bad cities? Of course not, but I'm hard pressed to find interest in them and I have a diaspora of different interests that make cities from as different as Denver to New York clinch my personal favorites. Then there are places like Dallas & Houston where I have a rich network of friends & family (my parents in Houston) as well as an awesome pad to go visit my parents in that I'll always value. They're not my top 10 but they're just slightly out of it because of the network altogether.
Philadelphia is an island for me, I know no one- it's hard to put passion in a place when it's nothing close to your personality regardless of how broad the personality is. No offense by any of this, like I said- I can see why people live there but I'm hardly impressed enough with it to consider joining them.
What I cherish most about Washington is that it's modern yet storied, it's fact paced, polished, clean, increasingly becoming safer, very literate- I get along so well with the people here who have an interest- a genuine interest in novels & literature, it's showcase of some of the worlds most priceless artifacts, it's incredible art galleries- hell sometimes the buildings look like they can be a gallery all on to themselves, it's very advanced transit network (I take yellow line every day- I drive sometimes), it's incredible presentable roads with such clear cut asphalt, it's power & influence, it's hold on news media (I'm a journalist in the making right now), it's draw to the technologically advanced minded, & so on. For me having lived in Ann Arbor, Dallas, Chicago, Austin, Singapore, Houston, Mumbai beforehand- Washington set the record for me- my soul searching for a place is over and I can finally feel at peace with supporting and calling a place home for the first time in my life. It took me 2 decades to find the right place that works for me but it's happened and while Chicago is fantastic (to me just as much as Washington) I just couldn't take the winters of the Great Lakes. I can only see myself live in New York over Washington because of the dynamic (as far as the United States goes) & London, Seoul, Osaka, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Melbourne, Madrid (for a spell but eventually back to Washington or New York), or a German city (for a spell but eventually back to Washington or New York), Tel Aviv (for a spell but eventually back to Washington or New York), or Chicago (for a spell but eventually back to Washington or New York- but my parents have a loft in River North so anytime visits here can result in prolonged stay), Toronto or Vancouver (for a spell but eventually back to Washington or New York) over Washington (in any order). Some of these cities (the ones with comments following their names in parenthesis is just to "break out" and try something different for a short time for a change of scenery in actuality only London, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, & Osaka interest me to lure me away from Washington forever.
Last edited by Trafalgar Law; 12-22-2012 at 02:09 AM..
The Pearl River Delta megalopolis is much newer, so it does has the newness factor, and it also has better weather than BosWash. However, overall I prefer the BosWash megalopolis.
Easily BosWash, although I would love to see Hong Kong. The USA was built in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Providence, and a slew of medium cities in between. For me, there is no better region in the US.
BOS-WASH by far. I have been to Guangzhou several times and have been to a couple of the other Pearl River Delta cities. Even though much of the Pearl River urban area is new, it is still run down looking, very much more of a "3rd world" vibe outside of the areas with money due to the fact that they are in China. To me that is not cool at all as a visitor. This corridor along with the rest of China is far, far from being fully developed in what that means on the ground, no matter how big their economy is.
some of the bos-wash area (ghettos) outside the areas with money are run down and 3rd world too. check out the anacostia in d.c., dorchester in boston, south bronx/bed-stuy/east ny in nyc.
to me that is also not cool (or safe) at all as a visitor. you have a much better chance of not being a victim of a crime walking at night in the "run down looking" areas of the pearl river delta than those of bos-wash.
Pearl river delta. Its ha smore history then the bos-wash and has a diverse landscape and tons of cities with urban living. Most of these cities still have a huge cultural importance and have retained some of their heritage.
some of the bos-wash area (ghettos) outside the areas with money are run down and 3rd world too. check out the anacostia in d.c., dorchester in boston, south bronx/bed-stuy/east ny in nyc.
to me that is also not cool (or safe) at all as a visitor. you have a much better chance of not being a victim of a crime walking at night in the "run down looking" areas of the pearl river delta than those of bos-wash.
A visitor to the eastern U.S. is highly unlikely to step foot in those particular areas of the cities you mentioned ... unless they are intentionally looking to do a "ghetto tour" of American cities.
Bos-Wash by far. Bos-Wash has the most interesting cities in America and among the world, and NYC is my favourite city in the world. Most of the cities in the PRD are too new and have no character. Hong Kong is the only one that interests me.
Philly = eww, pass the razor blade so I could cut my arm and bleed to death already...
Atlantic City = bathroom stop
Hong Kong = ♥
Dongguan = ♥
Shenzhen = ♥ 1 million times
Guangzhou = ♥ 1 million times
Macau = ♥
Foshan = k...
Huizhou = nice city
Jiangmen = nice city
Zhongshan = nice city
I voted PRD because they don't have Philly in China...
#Godihatephillysomuch
Last edited by scrantiX; 01-12-2013 at 05:20 PM..
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