Is everyone from Philly trash?

OP = Racist troll

0 / 100

FF

What about Will Smith?

It’s a non-elite city. Despite having nice wealthy beautiful areas and a history of old money established families. Now the general urban attitude is one of anti-elitism, pro-working-class, unpretentious - to the point of aggressively boorish behavior. Philly was a city in decline since the 70s- so people who grew up there were steeped in a “downtrodden losing city” vibe. Now it’s different somewhat with a more cosmopolitan, hipster vibe - but those people are just starting to have kids.

Yes, and all the white men look like ogres.

The people always running their mouths on here are transplants. You aren’t from NYC. You aren’t from LA. You aren’t from Miami or Chicago or any of these cities people wanna live in. I am. You aren’t.

Nobody wants to live in Philadelphia. It's been going downhill since the 50s.

Philadelphia Sexy

The only problem I have with Philadelphia is the local accent and its variations. Ugliest in all the United States.

So very ugly.

I know wonderful people in Philadelphia and the museums and architecture are great; but it can be a surprisingly provincial place and doesn't always protect its resources or play up its own strengths. But Center City has improved amazingly over the last 20 years and the inner suburbs are spectacular.

I don't find the Philadelphia accent as grating as I do certain Long Island or Southern or New England accents.

Wasn’t that where Grace Kelly and Katherine Hepburn strutted their high toned selves?!

I’m confused...

Grace Kelly - perfect example. Working class Irish American parents passing as high WASP. As all the old money “Philadelphia Story” Main Line families fled to NY and LA, all that was left was descendants of immigrants who took over their Main Line mansions.

This site has turned into one race bait thread after another. And you fags lap it up.

What's a "mainline" family? One that shoots dope together?

It is a very cosmopolitan place.

It's only only function is as a go-to movie location when the producers don't want to set it in NYC or LA for some reason.

For example "Philadelphia" was set there because no audience would buy the homophobia coming from a NYC law firm...never mind that a "white shoe" law firm would never exist in Philly...mass audiences weren't aware of that.

Baltimore, Philly, and any city in NJ.

[QUOTE] The people always running their mouths on here are transplants. You aren’t from NYC. You aren’t from LA. You aren’t from Miami or Chicago or any of these cities people wanna live in. I am. You aren’t.

So you're "from" ALL those places? Oh my!

[quote] Nobody wants to live in Philadelphia. It's been going downhill since the 50s.

Uh, honey, Philly is trendy now, full of translates, hipsters and gays. Row homes go for half a mil. You obviously haven’t been in Philly for years.

[QUOTE] Uh, honey, Philly is trendy now, full of translates, hipsters and gays.

I think you meant to say Trans, hunty.

It looks like a place that could be an up and coming place. But also a dangerous place:

R!1 Wrong! Grace Kelly was half German Chris Matthews has spoke about her Germanic beauty before. He has said that he had never seen an Irish girl look like that in Philly,she was definitely mixed.

R1 provides no proof of racism, just attacks. But so it goes these days.

[quote]Uh, honey, Philly is trendy now, full of translates, hipsters and gays. Row homes go for half a mil. You obviously haven’t been in Philly for years.

Philadelphia is not a success unless it's real estate is as expensive as that of Boston. It's still a Rust Belt city.

And we like it that way, bozos!!

[quote]Philadelphia is not a success unless it's real estate is as expensive as that of Boston.

It is. The housing market is insane. All the houses are gutted and restored.

Don't be ridiculous. There are $20 million houses in Boston at the top end of the market.

Here's a $15 million house in Boston.

I'm not trying to sneer at Philadelphia, R25. The city I live in has a stagnant economy, lots of public debt and is growing very slowly. (Its boom years were about a century ago.) But you know very well that Philadelphia is much less important and prosperous than it was in the first half of the 20th century. If you live there, you know all the problems much better than I do.

New Hope is where all the B List gays live now.

What happened to New Hope, PA? How come I never see threads about DLers vacationing there?

New Hope is no longer a vacation destination. It’s a suburb of the suburbs of Philly. McMansion developments and the nice farmettes are owned by pharma reps who work in Bucks and Montgomery counties. Very little quaint left.

Philly’s strength is it’s grittiness. People - myself anyway - are over the super-wealthy cities with insanely overpriced housing and cost of living filled with global capitalists and their subsidized children. Philly provides a 2019 urban experience without the prissy gloss, insane expense and douchey super-rich behavior that has overtaken NY, LA, SF - even Boston and DC. You can open a little experimental restaurant, it’s not a police state looking to hassle you for petty things, bars and restaurants that have been around and have character can stay open because rents are reasonable. Most importantly you can afford to live a modern urban life decently there and not spend your life feeling poor - and still have access to all the other major cities if you desire - as well as great suburbs when you get tired of the city.

[QUOTE] it’s not a police state looking to hassle you for petty things

And SF and LA are? They allow you to poo and pee on the streets there.

Well - not SF. But NYC cops will harass you for anything. It’s part of whats made the city sterile.

r14 the guy from Chinatown said people have different Pro-NOWN-see-A-shuns. Everyone else in Philly says pro-NUN-see-A-shuns

As with most accents, the vowels give us away. Philadelphians have a strange "o" sound. New Yorkers go to a show (SHO) in Philly the same word rhymes with cow.

R18 "Row homes go for half a mil. You obviously haven’t been in Philly for years"

Well, yeah, but they go for a couple of million in DC and Boston and SF.

Affordable doesn't always mean profitable. Look at Baltimore.

Thank goodness. Let’s keep it that way

R6 is wrong.

Philadelphia was declining for decades, but that all changed and the city has been growing for a dozen years now. It's on the upswing, not a decline.

I know this is generalizing & generalizing is bullshit but my husband lectures at various universities & African Americans - especially women - don't consider Kamala Harris African American or "black." To them, she's Indian. Caribbean blacks also consider her Indian. There are lots of Indians in Caribbean countries and. Indian Caribbeans & Afro Caribbean have different cultures.

Wrong thread

I went to college in Philly and it was a great place to start adulthood. Training wheels for city life, so to speak. But I knew I didn't want to turn 30 there.

Why?

r30, you may not be seeing threads about vacationing in New Hope because, at least for Gays there is much less there now. No more Prelude, or Cartwheel. The Raven has closed. There is only the Cub Room left, which is nothing to travel any distance to hang out there. It is one small room. I find it a town overwhelmed with straights, a real tourist trap of a place. Why go there? I found the guys there clique-y and not that friendly.

But Grace...

Four of the last five mayors have been absolute idiots, including the current bozo.

the previous one was a stooge

True, R43, New Hope is not a gay town anymore. It's just another wealthy Bucks county suburb. Main Street has lost much of its charm. Although the Bucks County Playhouse has reopened and has brought some new life and tourist dollars to the area.

Lambertville, NJ, right across the bridge is still one of the prettiest towns int he Northeast. I love the Boat House - stop there every time I'm in Philadelphia.

I love its nightlife

No, Philly is not “an elite city.” LOL. We don’t want to be. We’re gritty and unpretentious and we value authenticity over credentials or hierarchies.

We are also not “in decline,” at least not any more than any other large rust belt city. We have a crime problem (like most cities), and a trash problem (ditto), and woefully aging infrastructure that state and federal government won’t address (again, very typical). We also have a long, rich, and prominent history, a distinct culture, a world class restaurant scene, beautiful architecture, exquisite cultural amenities, 4 legendary major league sports franchises, 2 rivers, hundreds of neighborhoods, every ethnicity imaginable, and a thriving resistance to the Trump regime that’s primed to flip PA back to blue again. Laugh at us all we want; we don’t give a fuck! NO ONE LIKES US AND WE DON’T CARE!

Also there’s really nothing left of the world Grace Kelly grew up in, and the Katherine Hepburn movie has more to do with old money on the Main Line well outside of the city than the city itself, let alone the city of today.

[QUOTE] I found the guys there clique-y and not that friendly.

You just described Ft. Lauderdale

That actually describes the gay scene in every American city.

It describes Bear scenes.

[quote] The only black people I know from there are Bill Cosby and Will Mega from BB1, who was super loud and obnoxious.

How did you meet them? Do you still stay in touch with Cosby in prison?

Also: why is this important? Why did you start a city-bashing thread and then list two celebrities as “the only black people” from there that you know?

Btw, Patti LaBelle, Will Smith and Questlove are all from Philly too. The city is about half black, the majority non-famous.

It describes every scene, R53.

I enjoyed my visit to Philadelphia. I loved the historic buildings, the area around Rittenhouse Square, City Hall, etc. However, I drove by Mt. Pleasant Mansion and the residential area east of there looked pretty scary.

[quote]Btw, Patti LaBelle, Will Smith and Questlove are all from Philly too. The city is about half black, the majority non-famous.

somehow this made me laugh. I've met questlove, he's even bigger and cooler in person

The Raven closed! Wow. Gay New Hope is now officially dead.

Philly is a better gay weekend anyway. I think the Philly gayborhood is POSSIBLY the best in the country. Cute little 18th century alleys and buildings, lots of gay bars, great restaurants - all within about 3 square blocks. Lots of cheap hotels and an easy weekend train ride from NY or DC. One of my favorite destinations.

Really R58? I like the bars, but it's VERY small (both physically and the size of the community)

God bless Hookup Alley though

Yeah, because "Hookup Alley" is such a safe place to meet people:

Yeah, because "Hookup Alley" is such a safe place to meet people:

That guy looks familiar. And he was murdered on the outskirts of the city, not in an alley at the heart of the Gayborhood.

Philadelphia was just named the #1 city in the WORLD to visit in 2020 by National Geographic. Every city thread on DL is full of fatuous haters who will dismiss any asset a place has to offer. But Philadelphia holds a special place here for uninformed, dated, anecdotal observations that bear little resemblance to the actual city. I've lived here most of my life. It's a great place. The past decade has seen a complete transformation, not only of Center City, but all of the neighborhoods surrounding it.

I love to travel, and aside from a few surprisingly disappointing places, I have enjoyed just about all of my exploring. As someone who lives here I can't imagine that most people who visit here would have anything other than a great time.

Oh, and for the Bostonians who judge the value of a city by the price of its real estate, here's a new condo on Rittenhouse Square listed for $25,000,000. Yes, that's Twenty Five Million.

Is Philly dirtier than NYC?

R31 is the raven still in New Hope, PA?

Philly is one of the only affordable cities left with a thriving gayborhood, great walk ability, good public transport and vibrant arts, restaurant and social scene. The fact that it isn’t as expensive as Boston - as well as twice the size - is an asset. More diverse, less uptight and more real. Normal middle class people can actually afford to live there - a rarity in 2019.

R64 It wasn't an answer about valuing a city by the price of real estate but rather the relative cost of what were described as row houses for $500,000 in Philly. If you can buy one (no idea if that means the shell or rehabbed or of what size, construction, location, etc) for that in Philadelphia, good luck to you. I hope - unlike what happened to people in Baltimore over the last 30 years or so - you get your money back when you go to sell. No one said a city's value can be judged by the price of the real estate. It says people are willing to pay more elsewhere: you'd be lucky to buy a studio apartment for $500,000 in Boston, New York, or San Francisco today. People are willing to pay more to be in those places. I assume it's because most of 'em can afford to, not because they're better people, as otherwise they wouldn't be paying those inflated prices. Some can't afford them and live elsewhere.

People from Philadelphia sound awfully defensive about the place, something you don't hear from people in many other cities whether they're economically successful or not. Why the chips on your shoulders? No one from the other cities mentioned is likely to say "NO ONE LIKES US AND WE DON’T CARE! " because it's not an issue in any of them: lots of people do like them and willingly pay a lot more to live there. And in many other places as well. It seems, though, that people in Philadelphia very much DO care. If it's so great, why the inferiority complex?

R61 and R62, that story does not take place in Philly nor “on the outskirts,” hook-up alley is not a thing in Philadelphia. The article clearly states in the opening paragraph that the man was killed in Chester, PA, 18 miles and 2 counties away from Philadelphia.

R68, I don't think either of my posts were in the least bit defensive. I said I loved Philadelphia and most of the other cities I've visited, but found the general negativity about the city to be misinformed. Where is the defensiveness in the writing or syntax? My post about real estate prices was simply responding to R26 and R27 that Philadelphia also has a robust real estate market.

It is funny though that the people who display the greatest degree of condescension on threads like these are the ones who call out people for being defensive. Reread your post. It's baldly patronizing. Declaring someone has an inferiority complex is the cheap trick of someone who reflexively needs to project superiority. It's more smartass than smart, if you know what I mean.

R68, those are an awful lot of words just to say that you hate Philly just like every other Basic Bitch.

No question Philly generally has an inferiority complex. Hard not to when you are 1.5 hours from NYC and have the same general structure, used to be the center of the US and have lost most of your wealth to NYC and CA over the past half century. It’s part of the general insecurity in living in a second tier city - combined with the insecurity of working class life in general and the disenchantment of the white male middle class specifically that made up a good portion of Philly area.

All of that doesn’t detract from it being a good city with lots to offer at an affordable price. But it is a uniquely Philly trait for old timers - less so for millennials and newer transplants.

It is interesting that the biggest boosters and believers in creating the 'new' Philadelphia have come from outside the city. Ed Rendell, the D.A. and 2 term Mayor who jumpstarted the redevelopment of the city was a New Yorker.

And to be honest, most of the Philly 'old timers' have moved to New Jersey. There's not a person on my block who was born in Philadelphia.

R69 - ah, Chester - now THAT is worthy of a trash post. It is so far gone, it makes Camden look like Beverly Hills. But it’s a suburb.

Yeah I think the old timer Philly people are all moving to Florida or Texas. Which is where they fit in. Lots of Deplorables in Northeast and South Philly. Fortunately beingreplaced by immigrants and millennials.

It will be interesting to see how it changes in the next 10 years. Curious if the turnaround will hold. The key roadblock is lack of a thriving business sector. Hospitals and schools are good for stability - but growth will take more than just Comcast. And God forbid someone buys Comcast. All the job growth is in the suburbs - which is good for the metro area but not necessarily helpful for Philly tax base.

R61’s story is also 5 years old. 5 years old and 18 miles outside of Philly... anti-Philly trolls are really scraping the barrel here.

When I go to Philadelphia I just feel like I do anywhere else in Pennsylvania except there are more people. It's that working middle class pragmatic politically fluid purple vibe. The people wearing the suits on the streets are the same as the people wearing blue collars. They all are the same more or less and know it. The city invented Independence and equality. It didn't like monarchs and royalty in 1776 and it doesn't like them now.

I can take most of the Philly area accents except the one where people can't say the "ow" sound. Down = dine, town = tine, downtown = well it's just too stupid sounding to be believed.

Philly Snoop/Al.Pa.Ca lives there and as I remember he loved it.

What about Allentown? Is that a nice place?

Easton, PA is where all the gays have been moving to. 75 minute commute to Times Square, can't beat that.

Yes, and so is everybody who lives in YOUR state. You’re pathetic, OP.

Take one of your anger pills R82

R77 - good insight. Very true - it is a city that eschews elitism. Whether it’s the Quaker history of simplicity or the egalitarian history, it’s decidedly unpretentious. One of the things I like about it. Though it can devolve into acceptance/glorification of boorish behavior. Ex, sports fans.

R83 ok, done! I still feel the same.

That place is the exception not the rule, R64. Median house price in Boston is 410,000 and in Philadelphia, it's 205,000. Anyway you spin it, Boston has a more robust economy than Philadelphia. People earn more and are willing to pay more for real estate. Not sure of the reason why Boston has a stronger economy. I've heard that it's a leader in new medical technology and has some of the best hospitals in the country.

Reality is that stronger job market = higher real estate prices. San Francisco is a good example. Doesn’t mean it is inherently a better place - just that there is a stronger economy. Which is a good thing of course. But given how out of control RE prices have become relative to income even in those booming cities, I think economically cooler cities are much livable - assuming a middle class salary. I’ve lived in booming cities and the costs seem to eat up the salary bump. And with more work mobility, cheaper cities are just more attractive to me now,

Aww, I like Philadelphia. The one gal I know from there is a try-hard fashionista in NYC now, but she’s all right.

And I know a nice breeder couple who moved to New Hope. They’re a little crunchy, a little hipster.

R86, apples and oranges. There are 1,100 properties for sale in Boston greater than $450,000. In Philadelphia there are over1,300 properties for sale over $450,000.

The difference? Boston is a small city with a low poverty rate. Philadelphia is a very big city with a very high poverty rate. But Center City Philadelphia which is comparable In size to downtown Boston has a greater # of properties above 450K.

This is a very specific discrepancy with big rust belt cities. There is significant wealth just as there is real and significant poverty. Median and average prices within cities with higher poverty rates mask the wealth that’s actually driving the cities prosperous central corridors.

Would be interesting to compare Center City Philly to Boston. Would guess both are similar in size - and the Philly core has completely different demographics because it excludes the urban ghettos. Whenever I’m in Boston, it strikes me as a much smaller version of Philly - but also wealthier and more reserved and uptight.

I don't think so, R89. Median house price is an accurate measure of the value of real estate. Average house price gets skewed by really expensive or really cheap real estate.

Pretty hilarious that someone is posting about overpriced real estate as a sign of a “better” city. Maybe for you, Monopoly Man.

Riiiight. Because economically depressed cities don't have cheap real estate.

Okay. There's also homicide rate:

Philadelphia 20.06 Boston 8.35

R92, property is not necessarily overpriced. Property has a value. Like the shoes you wear. Maybe they’re Italian leather, or maybe cardboard. As long as you paid their value you’re in good shape. Same with real estate.

Real estate is as expensive as the market can support. A more expensive city just means there is more people with money in the city.

Not necessarily a good or bad thing, that's just how the market works.

Boston is a port; Philadelphia is industrial.

Boston has Harvard and MIT; Philadelphia has top schools and close proximity to Princeton, but the academic side of life does not influence the city to the same degree.

Boston is Puritan; Philadelphia is Quaker.

Boston is aristocratic; Philadelphia is egalitarian.

Boston is high culture; Philadelphia is folk culture.

Boston has done a better job of preserving its historic fabric overall.

Boston is a small city surrounded by dense, autonomous suburbs; Philadelphia has suburbs too, but incorporates a greater stretch of the overall area.

Boston is far enough away from New York to maintain an economic identity. Philadelphia is between NYC and DC and sometimes gets overlooked in the process.

R43 is the Bucks County Playhouse still in business?

OP, Your husbands name is Bubba and your sister is a Crystal. Also, you’re a troll.

[quote] What's a "mainline" family?

If you have to ask, you'll never be anywhere near one.

Main Line is a set of early suburbs of Philly that were always wealthy and “old money”. Philadelphia Story with Katharine Hepburn captured it. Large country estates. Now mostly subdivided

Isn't Pine Valley on the Main Line?

They're asking for $25 million, R64. That doesn't mean they'll get it. Is 1911 Walnut Street even built yet?

Class epitomized.

Grace’s childhood home.

Ah Villanova...they call it Vanillanova because it's so white.

Villanova the school is white suburban kids -except the basketball team. The town is just super wealthy - but Dr J used to live there. The liberal arts schools there are more Main Line-y.

I love the enthusiasm and ethnic ornithology

"Philadelphia consistently ranks above the national average in terms of crime, especially violent offenses. It has the highest violent crime rate of the ten American cities with a population greater than 1 million residents as well as the highest poverty rate among these cities. It has been included in real estate analytics company NeighborhoodScout's "Top 100 Most Dangerous Cities in America" list every year since it has been compiled."

And that's why I loathe Philly.

Watch the local Philly evening news channels. The amount of crime and the brazen nature of the crime there is hair raising.

Yes Center City is better now than it was 20 years ago, but it still can't shake it's 1970s ghetto vibe.

Parking lots, parking garages, men loitering, some of the ugliest looking cheap low rise buildings: a lot of Center City still looks like a dump.

And Philly lacks density, it just doesn't feel like a big city. It just so not sophisticated.

Have you met any Mainline families, R99?

[quote]And Philly lacks density, it just doesn't feel like a big city.

The density rankings of big cities in America are New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago...and then Philly at number 5. It's a dense city.

You are basically attacking it for not being as dense as New York. That is always the problem with Philly, because it is close to New York it lives in New York's shadow a bit with people comparing to the two.

No city in America measures up to New York, it's the big city of America. Compared to the rest of the county Philly is a very big and dense city.

Just in terms of total urbanity, the Philadelphia region is also the fifth largest urban cluster in America.

[quote]Have you met any Mainline families, R99?

It's Main Line.

Philadelphia I like, Lower Bucks, on the other hand, is awful. worst of the city and the suburbs put together.

Thank you, R110. I am slightly intoxicated...

La Ronda, a mansion built in 1929 in Bryn Mawr, was purchased by an anonymous owner hiding behind a corporate front. He demolished it in 2009 because it didn't have air conditioning. Lovely.

R107 sounds like 1970s suburban frau. Or my 80 year old mother who sits in her suburban house watching Fox and the local news which highlights all the violent crime happening in “that dirty city”. Poverty and crime go hand in hand. Since Philly has greater poverty, it has more crime - primarily in poor neighborhoods. But it is also what keeps it affordable. Like NYC in the 70s. Great wealth has arguably ruined the creative, interesting aspect of gay cities.

And the statement that Philly lacks density is bizarre. One of most dense cities in US. A valid point is that large portions are horizontal instead of vertical - rowhouse neighborhoods are more common outside Center City.

[quote] Isn't Pine Valley on the Main Line?

And Llanview!!

Philadelphia doesn't even make the list of the cities with the highest crime rates r114. r107 is trying to crow on like it is Baltimore or Detroit.

R109, this is the issue with all cities according to most people on DL--they always complain that no other city is as good as NYC and that its better than any other place and if you are living anywhere else, it's because you are "settling". I bet these people are the types to move to Los Angeles and complain about the lack of good pizza, bagels, etc.

Agree R117 - though I think people are beginning to appreciate trade offs. The crazy real estate prices in the major cities have forced people to consider more affordable alternatives - hence Denver, Austin, Nashville, Philly are getting attention and interest.

r52, You are right, that describes the gay scene in every American city. HOWEVER, this is about New Hope, PA, a tiny 2 stop light town where it seems we all know each other, at least on sight even if we don't hang with each other. Where's the love?

Too bad the Raven is gone.

[quote][R107] sounds like 1970s suburban frau. Or my 80 year old mother who sits in her suburban house watching Fox and the local news which highlights all the violent crime happening in “that dirty city”.

Hon, I lived in Manhattan from 1975 to 1983. You haven't. I know cities.

[quote]Poverty and crime go hand in hand.

No shit genius. And who said otherwise? Yes, Philly is a poor city, that we know.

But different than other big cities in the US, the crime in Philly is increasing. There were more homicides last year than 10 years ago. Rather than getting better, it's getting worse.

[quote]But it is also what keeps it affordable. Like NYC in the 70s. Great wealth has arguably ruined the creative, interesting aspect of gay cities.

Please don't mention 1970s NYC and Philly in the same breath. Philly was never a creative hub. Not in the 70s and not now.

[quote]And the statement that Philly lacks density is bizarre. One of most dense cities in US.

*sigh*

Persons/square mile: NYC - 27,012.4 ---- Philly: 11,379.5

It's density is less than Newark. Just slightly above Miami.

Weird R120 - selective statistics can prove any point - such as density. And your assumptions are wrong. But we get you have a point to make about Philly. What affordable cities do you suggest? Seems like there are trade offs for every city vs affordability. For a dense walkable affordable city with a big gay scene, the only ones in the US are really Philly and Chicago.

Define trash...

R120 immediately proves my point, complaining that Philly isn't dense because it isn't as dense as New York. Everything has to be compared to New York.

Please take a look at the rest of the country, see the low density sprawling southern cities like Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Atlanta.

Philadelphia is one of the densest cities in the country.

Philadelphia was never a creative hub?

Bullshit.

[quote]immediately proves my point, complaining that Philly isn't dense because it isn't as dense as New York. Everything has to be compared to New York.

No everything doesn't have to be compared to NYC.

But who the hell cares about about Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Atlanta? They don't feel like big cities either.

Do you travel? Do you ever get out of the US? Philly just doesn't have the hustle and bustle. Doesn't have the sophistication. Isn't cosmopolitan. It's not a world class city. A no, doesn't have the density.

It feels almost southern (US) to me. A little sleepy and slower.

You may find those qualities positive. Fine.

Philadelphia may or may not have been a creative hub, but Philly does have cheese steak sandwiches, so there's that. And a cheese steak just can't be done right outside of Philly.

And there is good pizza, too.

R120 / R125 is a troll. Say blue - he will say red. Whatever.

Looking at cities to live on under $75,000 comfortably without a car, Philly and maybe Chicago have the most to offer. I like Houston - but it’s sprawl is an issue. Nashville and Atlanta are too sprawling and southern. Denver is interesting - but Philly is denser and offers more. I’m over super expensive cities - just not worth the cost and hassle after a while.

Got it. People who disagree with R127 are trolls.

Look Philly is walkable. And it's affordable. Never said it wasn't. Never mentioned those aspects of it.

I talked about the things I don't like about it: the crime, "it's 1970s ghetto vibe", the Center City with it's "parking lots, parking garages, men loitering, some of the ugliest looking cheap low rise buildings: a lot of Center City still looks like a dump." and how it " just doesn't feel like a big city. It just so not sophisticated." And the density: I just don't get a big city feel about it.

You so desperately want everyone to like Philly.

And about walkability: I don't own a car. I've never had a drivers license. I walk.

I've only ever come into Philly by train or bus. And I've never been through the city in a car.

Yes, Philly is walkable but there has been too much development without regard to an interesting street experience. Too many blank walls, the base of skyscrapers that relate poorly to the street. The parking lots and parking garages that I mentioned.

A few months ago I walked way down Broad Street from City Hall to South Philly. Just a very disjointed, ugly cityscape.

Broad Street has always seemed weird. There are spectacular buildings lining it in the City Hall district but it just seems to trail off to nothing after a few blocks. That said the urban fabric is very much intact on the side streets and there are plenty of gems. But it's all at a smaller scale than New York or Boston.

Philadelphia is to NYC , what Milwaukee is to Chicago, very close, lots of day trips , but in it's shadow

Of course, more New Yorkers move to Philadelphia annually than any other city in the world

Year after year....

[quote]Broad Street has always seemed weird.

And unnerving. Again the lack of density. It was during the day but I felt like I was the only person on the street. Not a citified experience.

And try walking from City Hall to the 30th Street station.

[quote]Of course, more New Yorkers move to Philadelphia annually than any other city in the world. Year after year....

May be true, Philly's population is increasing, but despite that, it's still what it was in 1990. And LESS than it was in 1980.

True enough [R131], but then try walking Walnut or Pine Street east to west. Completely different experience, and on a historic level New York no longer can show.

Lacks density. Just like my ass.

I keep hoping someone will purchase and renovate the fabulous but abandoned Lynewood Hall. I'd give anything to be able to wander around inside that mansion.

Density refers to the number and height of buildings, not number of people.

Mainline? Poof. Americans are tacky rubes.

[quote] Yes, Philly is walkable but there has been too much development without regard to an interesting street experience. Too many blank walls

Philly has some of the highest concentration of urban art in the country. Almost every block has a mural. You’re taking about a philly that hasn’t existed in forty years.

Philly is rough. As bad as Baltimore. I didn't feel safe walking the streets alone after dark there.

Philly is rough. As bad as Baltimore. I didn't feel safe walking the streets alone after dark there.

[quote]Philly is rough. As bad as Baltimore

Except it is literally not. See the link at r116.

[quote]Density refers to the number and height of buildings, not number of people.

Density usually refers to population density, the number of people per square mile. Philadelphia has 11,233 people per square mile, making it the fifth most dense major city in America. As a comparison, something like Dallas has a density of 3,645 people per square mile. A fraction of Philly's density.

a lot less lipgloss in philly

Every Philly thread has rubes bleating about the streets being unsafe, like you can get stabbed waiting in line to see the Liberty Bell. It’s hilarious to actual residents. There is random crime of course, and there are parts of Philly that you want to avoid, but they’re also easy to avoid and not near any of the tourist spots or most of the decent neighborhoods. Years ago there were bad pockets all over South and Northeast Philly just a mile or two outside center city, but those places all gentrified in the past 20 years. The worst areas are still in North Philly, unfortunately not far from Temple’s campus, but still easy to avoid even for Temple students.

[QUOTE] a lot less lipgloss in philly

You haven't seen the trannies in Hookup Alley.

[QUOTE] a lot less lipgloss in philly

You haven't seen the trannies in Hookup Alley.

I've never quite understood the whole density argument. Why would you want to live jammed so tightly in with so many other people? I like a city with some open space. It's always seemed to me that the more dense some cities become the crazier some people seem to get.

^^^ Los Angelesian

Mainline gays:

Mainline gays:

Anderson Cooper is from NYC.

Lots of people want open space...which is why they live in surburbia r146.

A city is supposed to have density, it's what makes a city a city. Density means convenience, you can run errands on foot, you can navigate with public transit. Low density means it isn't very walkable, everything is spread out and requires getting in a car to do anything.

You can be Mainline and be from New York. "Mainline" just means a rich person from the USA.

I'm mainline.

I'm mainline.

I have never heard the term "Main Line" used to refer to anyone but people from Philadelphia. "Mainline" is not a term.

'Cause people let me tell you It sent a chill up and down my spine When I picked up the telephone And heard that he'd died out on the mainline.

[quote]You can be Mainline and be from New York. "Mainline" just means a rich person from the USA.

No... No, it doesn’t. This is completely false. Where are you from, R152? Have you ever visited the US?? I’m not sure where you got this information from, but that’s not what “mainline” means in this context, nor is it used to mean “a rich person from the USA.” Maybe where you’re from, but not in the US and certainly not with regards to the Philadelphia Mainline.

The Philadelphia Mainline refers to a specific set of towns that were served by a particular line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were populated by very wealthy “old money” WASPs. Today they are just affluent suburbs. They’re nice towns with some beautiful homes and expensive real estate, but they have little of their former glory or glamor, and no real influence over the Philadelphia of today. They’re just sleepy satellite towns for rich people.

Contrary to popular belief, Grace Kelly was not from the Mainline, she was from a working class Irish/German Catholic family that became wealthy before she was born; the family home still stands in the neighborhood of East Falls, Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Mainline:

It's two words: Main Line

Spelling mistakes make Baby Jesus cry.

What about this?

What about this?

Really R158? So even shitpiles like Reading and Allentown are considered Main Line?

We're talking about Philadelphia's Main Line. The link to the wikipedia article is in R158. I assume they know the correct spelling.

[quote]So even shitpiles like Reading and Allentown are considered Main Line?

They list the communities that belong to the Main Line in the wikipedia article under "Demographics". No mention of Reading and Allentown.

OK well R158 said the whole state was Main Line.

OK well R158 said the whole state was Main Line.

No, wikipedia is showing that the Main Line is in Pennsylvania, but doesn't include the whole state, just the suburbs of Philadelphia.

R124, right?! Philly soul is, in my opinion, the peak of soul music. Anyone who doesn't acknowledge Philly Soul is dumb.

[quote]Philly has some of the highest concentration of urban art in the country. Almost every block has a mural. You’re taking about a philly that hasn’t existed in forty years.

You really don't get it do you? Uh... yes Philly has decorated many of it's depressing blank walls with bright garish murals.

The beauty for walkers in a city like NYC is that the urban fabric is so tight and intact: no vacant lots, no parking lots (of which Philly abounds)...the neighborhoods flow into one another. The "street wall" is filled out and it is continuous for long, long stretches. Making the walking experience pleasant.

R169, Chicago has a similar issue regarding it's urban fabric but it's constantly improving. Sure, it has many parking lots but I don't mind driving in Chicago. Driving on Lakeshore drive is one of the best drives in the country. The big issue with Chicago is that many of it's industrial neighborhoods lost a considerable amount of population and they are now being gentrified.

[quote] OK well [R158] said the whole state was Main Line.

WTF? Can you read?? R158 simply posted a link to Wikipedia. The image is from the Wikipedia page. Nowhere did anyone say the whole state was the Main Line. Try thinking first next time.

R170

Center City Philly with it's disjointed urban fabric. Not making for a very rich walking experience. And sorry, but at night the feeling is unnerving.

Desolate

R172, that does look more disjointed than downtown Chicago to me.

Getting to the museum on foot.

[quote] I like a city with some open space

philadelphia has the largest urban park are, Fairmont park - and it looks like this for miles and miles.

r172, you see "disjointed" i see variety.

the area around the art museum is indeed a big mess.

[quote]You really don't get it do you? Uh... yes Philly has decorated many of it's depressing blank walls with bright garish murals.

i think that they're beautiful, fuck off, cunty

[quote]philadelphia has the largest urban park Fairmont park

Up out of the way. Not integrated into the city like Central Park.

but it's much larger and better

Central Park is gross. It smells and is dirty. I find Lincoln Park in Chicago to be much nicer and the views are (in my opinion) better. I have heard Prospect Park in Brooklyn is much nicer and less crazy than Central Park and Frederick Olmsted thought so too.

Different parts of the city have different vibes - it’s relatively large. Its about 60% bigger than Boston and twice the size of DC. You really need to carve out Center City - which is twice as dense as Boston or Chicago and much more affluent than the rest of the city. More comparable to Boston or DC.

The issue with Philly is vast areas of rowhouses outside of Center City- with pockets of abandonment similar to Detroit. Most people will never see those areas except on a train. Outside of Center City, it’s almost like an urban suburbia of single family rowhouses. Though these neighborhoods are very walkable and transit friendly, some of them are isolated patches of extreme poverty. This is where the majority of crime occurs that makes the nightly news.

Surprisingly, many of the long-time poor neighborhoods are being gentrified by millennials. Part of the reason Philly will remain relatively affordable are these large swaths of neighborhoods into which gentrification can seep. New construction is filling vacant lots and whole neighborhoods have been cleaned up. But there will always be cheap and poor areas in Philly. Will never be completely gentrified like NYC. Which I think is good - affordability and diversity of income allows for creativity and small businesses to survive.

Once you exit Center City, there are blocks and blocks of nothing but abandoned buildings and crack dens. This goes on for miles.

And Philly's white-ethnics? They live in ugly buildings they call "tripledeckers" and stare with suspicion and resentment at anyone who walks by.

Once you exit Center City, there are blocks and blocks of nothing but abandoned buildings and crack dens. This goes on for miles.

And Philly's white-ethnics? They live in ugly buildings they call "tripledeckers" and stare with suspicion and resentment at anyone who walks by.

[quote]Once you exit Center City, there are blocks and blocks of nothing but abandoned buildings and crack dens. This goes on for miles.

Bullshit. Where? South Philly? West Philly? Grad Hospital? Fairmount? Fishtown? You’re full of shit.

[quote]And Philly's white-ethnics?[bold] They live in ugly buildings they call "tripledeckers”[/bold] and stare with suspicion and resentment at anyone who walks by.

I’ve lived in this city for 35 years and I’ve never heard of a “tripledecker.” They’re called rowhomes or rowhouses and most cities have them or variations. You sound idiotic.

Everyone who lives in Philly has a criminal record and most are missing at least one limb from the constant violence. The entire city is perpetually on fire. Avoid the subway because it’s just one long rape room. Don’t make eye contact with the locals because they have evil powers and can turn good men to stone with just one look. Don’t go out after dark, that’s when the 200 lb. mutant rats emerge from the sewers to feast on human flesh. The Reading Terminal market is nice but watch out for the roving gangs of Amish thugs whole shove you into a butter churn just for kicks.

I was part of the "brain drain". In fact, I left a few months before this was written.

Philly is an American Naples. Yes Naples is a port and has some beautiful things to see but it is still a shithole. Especially when compared to other Italian cities. I like Phily though. It is far better than NYC's biggest current shithole,The Bronx. That place is still a fucking eyesore and an embarrassment.

And an update, which says things are improving but...

"But for the lives of many Philadelphians, things haven’t gotten better. Philadelphia is still the country’s poorest big city. Income inequality is now worse than any other, save for Miami and Atlanta, thanks in part to scattered pockets of wealth creation."

[quote]Bullshit. Where? South Philly? West Philly? Grad Hospital? Fairmount? Fishtown? You’re full of shit.

Here you go, R185. Btw, I've only visited Philadelphia once and I loved it. I'd love to go again. I'm sure the sketchy neighbourhoods are easy to avoid.

Philadelphia's Academy of Music. Beautiful.

Tripledeckers got a laugh. Confirmed troll. Because there is no such thing in Philly. Boston has houses divided into floors - ex, Dorchester. Maybe they are considered triple deckers?

Philly houses were built small to begin with -and they are called Trinities. One floor per room. Even into the present, people largely live in individual townhomes - it’s a city of townhomes, aka rowhouses. Which is good and bad.

In both Philadelphia and Baltimore about half the housing stock is rowhomes. They are quite unique among American cities architecturally.

Agreed 193 - for better or worse. At least lots of room for gentrification - both horizontal and vertical growth. But blocks can be dragged down by one or two abandoned buildings or crime houses, But witnessing Fishtown and Kensington has made me believe anything is possible,

Triple deck-ahs? In Philly? No, R183, you took a wrong turn from Southie in Boston. The vast majority of houses in Philly are two story row homes. They are all alike; generally 1200-1400 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 1 bath, on 16' x 80' lots, built in 1925 (or there abouts). On street parking. Railroad (straight through) design---first floor, you walk into the living room, through the dining room into the kitchen. The staircase is on the side leading up to a second floor hallway with three bedrooms and a full bathroom in the middle.

This is what's happening to them all over the city now (link). Rooftop decks are the new bat signal that tells everyone you have "arrived".......even though they never get used. This one is hideous.

These (in D.C.) are nice looking.

[quote]Here you go R185

That’s a random photo of boarded up rowhomes. It could be anywhere in the city, but it’s definitely not near Center City and it in absolutely no way proves this that you wrote at R184:

[quote][bold]Once you exit Center City[/bold], there are blocks and blocks of nothing but abandoned buildings and crack dens. [bold]This goes on for miles.[/bold]

You’re an idiot.

Since you’re also the idiot who claimed Philadelphia has homes it calls “tripledeckers,” you’re clearly an obvious troll too.

[quote]Avoid the subway because it’s just one long rape room.

TBH, r186, the Broad Street subway is pretty awful, especially the way it reeks of industrial strength "cleanser" chemicals you can smell from the street.

I 💜 Pillisburgh!

R186!! Okay,I’m laughed out loud, really loudly!

[quote]That’s a random photo of boarded up rowhomes. It could be anywhere in the city, but it’s definitely not near Center City and it in absolutely no way proves this that you wrote at R184

R184 and R190 are not the same person. The area around Girard College looks sketchy. That's Center City adjacent.

Love how active this thread is. R86 is the best so far. It really is what many of my suburban Philly family think of the city. Like it’s still 1982 - combined with a specific suburban Philly isolation from the city that is unique. Despite one of the best suburban-City transit networks in the country, most would never take public transport. They drive into the city once a year for a show and are terrified of the drugs and murders that they see on TV - even though Center City is as safe as NYC. As a long time NY-er, Philly is a great affordable alternative that gets better every time I go.

Stop being obtuse, R190. You know damn well that your photo proves nothing and that there is no truth to the statement that there are “blocks and blocks” of abandoned homes and “crack dens” immediately outside of Center City and that this “goes on for miles.” Your photo proves nothing except that you are a troll just like R184.

Really. The neighbourhoods north of downtown have become gentrified. That's news to me. There are reports published by the Philadelphia police which show these neighbourhoods have the highest homicide rates in the city.

Check out the maps on page 14 of this police report. Look at the neighbourhoods coloured in brown. I guess life is too, too wonderful there.

No one is as shocked as I am that neighborhoods north of Center City have gentrified. Never would have thought it possible - and still doesn’t quite make sense to me given how many other nicer parts of city are struggling like West Philly. Close to $1 million new townhouse in East Kensington/Fishtown! Crazy. And north Broad St is gentrifying - which is the missing piece that could connect gentrified Fishtown to gentrifying Brewerytown. That the Divine Lorraine would be luxury apartments one day was unfathomable even 10 years ago.

It’s no use, R206. Our keyboard warrior has police reports and pictures of boarded up ”tripledeckers” to educate us all about the dystopian hellscape that is Philadelphia. She spells neighborhood with a “u” so you know she’s a well-informed local.

[quote]Check out the maps on page 14 of this police report. Look at the neighbourhoods coloured in brown. I guess life is too, too wonderful there.

None of those areas is near Center City. You’re still grasping for straws. Let it go.

You guys just look foolish by trying to sweep the poverty and crime under the carpet. Moving to Franklinville and Fairhill anytime soon? You know exactly what I'm talking about.

R209, no one is claiming that crime and poverty don’t exist in Philadelphia. We are arguing with R184’s claim, which you tried to back up at R190 and again at R205, that there are blocks and blocks of nothing but abandoned homes and “crack dens” that go on “for miles” immediately outside of Center City. Again, stop being obtuse. You clearly don’t know anything about Philadelphia if you think the police districts in the map at R205 are anywhere near Center City.

I was once on a plane that flew over Philadelphia 65 years ago. I made the mistake of looking out the plane window to catch a glimpse of it, and someone on the roof of their Philadelphia “Tripledecker” pulled out a gun and started shooting at the plane! We almost went down! I’ll never go back...

[quote]Moving to Franklinville and Fairhill anytime soon?

Both of these neighborhoods are about 3-4 miles north of Center City. They’re literally the worst slums of the entire city and pretty much the last to not be gentrified in some way. Give it a rest. You’re making a fool of yourself.

Fairmount and Brewerytown have gentrified? I doubt it. Not in any meaningful way.

Just north of the Upper East Side there are the scary slums of the South Bronx. Stay away from Manhattan, it is a crime ridden dump.

Fairmount gentrified 30 years ago.

This thread is getting absurd.

You didn't say anything about Brewerytown. What about Strawberry Mansion? Both of those neighbourhoods looked sketchy when I was there ten years ago.

Gentrified “in any meaningful way” = Single family homes start at 5 million, studio apts start at $8,000/mo.

Our little keyboard warrior is insanely classist. The existence of poverty anywhere inside of a city makes it totally unlivable, and gentrification needs to happen “in a meaningful way” for it to matter. Just some helpful real estate tips from our “neighboUrhood” troll.

I know. You're willing to twist yourself into knots to try to prove that low income, undesirable neighbourhoods don't exist near Center City.

[quote]Both of those neighbourhoods looked sketchy when I was there ten years ago.

Ten years ago! Well, you didn’t say that earlier. You really are an expert! Please, tell us more about what you saw “ten years ago.” Did you visit every neighborhood on this grand tour? Did the natives swarm you and beg for alms? Did you faint at the sight of Philadelphia’s fabled “Tripledeckers?”

I never used the expression tripledecker.

“Looked pretty sketchy” = “Might’ve seen a poor just out in the open”

[quote]Ten years ago! Well, you didn’t say that earlier. You really are an expert! Please, tell us more about what you saw “ten years ago.” Did you visit every neighborhood on this grand tour? Did the natives swarm you and beg for alms? Did you faint at the sight of Philadelphia’s fabled “Tripledeckers?”

No, but when I drove to Mt. Pleasant Mansion, the neighbourhoods just east of there had plenty of litter everywhere. I guess the residents were just really messy middle class people.

Litter! In a CITY?!?? My stars!

How reliable and up-to-date are the crime maps on real estate sites such as Trulia? I looked at a center city property on-line and it showed the crime rate as being high.

How dare you!!

I lived in Philly for a while. There are some really beautiful neighborhoods and amazing restaurants/things to do. The problem is that the touristy places look totally ghetto. If I had to live anywhere in the US besides NYC, I’d pick Philly. It has a “real city vibe” that I don’t get in most other cities (including Boston and DC).

[quote]Just some helpful real estate tips from our “neighboUrhood” troll.

It's not my problem you Yankees don't know how to spell. You can't spell "honour", "jewellery" and "catalogue" either.

R213, Brewerytown. 650K.

[quote] The neighbourhoods north of downtown have become gentrified. That's news to me.

Fairmount is one of the most popular parts of town. Or do you mean, nicetown? Olney? Lower bucks?

[quote] Fairmount and Brewerytown have gentrified? I

You’re blind, a cunt, or a blind cunt. Cunt off

[R227] A limey. Figured.

Or one of their sad colonials.

[quote]You’re blind, a cunt, or a blind cunt. Cunt off

And I love you too.

[quote]Litter! In a CITY?!?? My stars!

No, it wasn't just the litter. It looked like a rundown neighboUrhood.

R61 I remember when he was murdered, it was extremely sad. Did they ever find his killer(s) or who he was meeting on Grindr who murdered him? Rest in peace.

Not aware of that