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Anyway, the 2nd part of post now qualifies your the initial post; now, the people you know were moved to Richmond or Atlanta by universities/jobs. The first round statement implied they left Philly because of old row homes, they had no $$, and high crime; now they were moved by Universities to Atlanta and Richmond and miss their vibrant walkable 'hoods in Philly...moving on now on this as well.
It's hard to know. I listed two concepts that could play out a lot of different ways. When someone grows up poorer, they typically deal with more blight and crime than those with money. If someone gets an opportunity to move someplace else, most places not being close to as urban as Philly (95% of the US?), it's not surprising that they will find the new place more comfortable and refreshing. The promise of more square footage and a small yard could be very attractive.
Of course almost nothing in life is black/white, so it's reasonable that once the new experience is broken in, things from where someone grew up might be missed/appreciated more. Point being, it wouldn't surprise me if people in Atlanta, from Philly, begrudge their Philly experience. Philly is great, but there's also a lot of pain, suffering, and poverty here.
That's pretty funny considering Chicago is much more similar to its fellow Midwestern city sibling Detroit. Talk about throwing stones in a glass house.
We don't even know if his story is true. It could be it could not. He seems bent on making this thread about the negatives of Chicago as if that meant anything for Philly. Personally if I had to choose between the two cities I would actually choose Philly. His post looked like bait to be honest. Not the only one in the thread either. He did after all read a post that compared Philly to Newark as a negative about Black people when NOBODY MENTIONED RACE.
I think for many people, Philadelphia does have a perception problem that goes back several decades. The 1980s and '90s were a bad time for the city. During those decades, the population continued its decline; the infamous MOVE bombing took place in West Philly; the city's severe financial problems worsened; the Chestnut Street transit mall failed; City Hall tower was wrapped in scaffolding for years due to lack of funds to finish restoration; the streets of Center City were strewn with trash (hence the sobriquet "Filthadelphia"), and on and on. Philadelphia seemed then to be the poster child for the decline and fall of the great American city. Philadelphia has improved greatly since then, but unfortunately old negative perceptions die hard especially amongst those who have not visited here in a while.
I don't think those things much matter anymore. There are a lot of younger people in Philly who don't know about the MOVE bombing to say nothing of people living elsewhere. I don't think Philly is held back by what it used to be any more than Manhattan is held back by what it used to be.
The perception problem Philly has, IMO, is that it's sort of irrelevant given its close proximity to NYC. In 2017, I think it's seen as a cool/hip place among younger adults, but one that's still substantially inferior compared to the offerings of its much larger neighbor. In a sense, the city has Kyrie Irving Syndrome. Only Kyrie can escape Lebron's long shadow.
Start off by walking down Newbury street or Boylston in Boston and compare it to what in Philly? Walk down Commonwealth Avenue to Boston Common. Does Philly have a huge park like that right in the vibrant part of town? Go to Fenway Park and hang around there after a game and compare it to what in Philly? Go to their waterfront and look at all the boats and ferries moving tourists around and whale watching, etc. Take one of those Harbor trips around the beautiful islands in the Harbor with amazing homes on the cliff sides. Shall I go on?
Remind me again where this street has an equivalent in Philly?
This couldn't be more wrong. In fact it's remarkable how well Philly's and Boston's highlights match up with each other. If there were a beauty contest Boston would probably win, but it would be by a squeaker. Let's see:
Boston has Beacon Hill, Back Bay, South End and Bay Village. Philly has Society Hill, Rittenhouse/Fitler Square, Fairmount and Old City.
Boston has Commonwealth Avenue. Philly has the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Boston has Boston Common. Philly has the Independence Mall. Philly also has some gorgeous squares (Washington and Rittenhouse) that Boston doesn't really have analogs for.
Boston has Boylston and Newbury streets. Philly has Walnut and South.
You can prefer Boston's offerings on each of the above, but that would be totally subjective. Objectively, there is no clear winner here. The main difference is that Philly has more gritty spots mixed in between and has more racial diversity, so the atmosphere is quite different. But that's not objectively better or worse -- some might like Philly's mix better and others may prefer Boston's.
You can prefer Boston's offerings on each of the above, but that would be totally subjective.
I think subjectivity is the crux of this thread. If preferences for physical environment is subjective (and for the record, I agree with you), then clearly so is "perception."
This is why city-data, and perhaps American society more generally, can be so frustrating. There's so much obsession with "perception" and "image" that people tend to have a hard time actually evaluating places in their own terms on the merits and what they offer for their day-to-day life and meaningful experiences.
That's a far more complex evaluation than relying on some cherry-picked Google street view images, a purely academic ranking of the most "global cities", or what you read in passing on your news app headlines.
i think it all depends on your expectations. Everyone probably has a different perception of Philly. Some judge it from downtown, Rocky, the museums. If you go by that, it makes Philly absolutely beautiful. But for me, I moved out 2011 to move to MInnesota. when i come back to visit, I see a poor city. I have family in Chester and Upper darby. So im more familiar with West Philly. I see a poor city full of garbage and litter. I see people standing on street corners not going to work. I see the hustle and bustle. i see the bad public school system. i see the amazing food and always having something to do. As u can see, everyone sees Philly differently.
We don't even know if his story is true. It could be it could not. He seems bent on making this thread about the negatives of Chicago as if that meant anything for Philly. Personally if I had to choose between the two cities I would actually choose Philly. His post looked like bait to be honest. Not the only one in the thread either. He did after all read a post that compared Philly to Newark as a negative about Black people when NOBODY MENTIONED RACE.
Just because you don't like an observation, especially one that's true, doesn't mean you can use the ''bait card''!
So, someone says Philly is a larger Newark. Urban blight, crime, and poverty. You don't have to mention ''black people'' when the comparison between Philly and Newark is made, it's there. This is America after all.
How often is the term ''racist'' thrown around when no one mentions race? All the time...so deal with this point. When someone is showing you around esp the post-industrial legacy cities...''this area used to be really nice''...think Austin, South Shore, Roseland, or Lawndale in Chicago for example; or in Philly, ''the homes and architecture in Germantown, this used to be so nice here''....NOBODY MENTIONED RACE either.
I wonder where in Philly these supposed ''west coast clients'' are going that they make the Newark comparison? Let's see, what areas are full of blight, crime, and poverty?
I didn't like the comment/comparison, deal with it.
Also, the ''Philly is the Detroit of the east coast'' (but according to you Philly's not really on the east coast) is true; I was relocating to Philly from Chicago when this comment was made. I also heard someone that visited Philly to relocate say that it was ''too black'' for him so he opted for Pittsburgh. I also heard a black woman on a CTA bus say she doesn't like to go to downtown Chicago because it's ''too white''. Why is this so hard to believe?
After all, we're reminded daily about what a racist country we live in.
i think it all depends on your expectations. Everyone probably has a different perception of Philly. Some judge it from downtown, Rocky, the museums. If you go by that, it makes Philly absolutely beautiful. But for me, I moved out 2011 to move to MInnesota. when i come back to visit, I see a poor city. I have family in Chester and Upper darby. So im more familiar with West Philly. I see a poor city full of garbage and litter. I see people standing on street corners not going to work. I see the hustle and bustle. i see the bad public school system. i see the amazing food and always having something to do. As u can see, everyone sees Philly differently.
When anyone is in West Philly they see garbage, litter, and people standing on street corners; when anyone is in certain areas of any large older industrial cities they see the same thing. The bad public school systems, same thing.
Other than the people living there, why would anyone go there?
Then there are the nice areas. Philly is no different than most of the same type of cities.
What is it about Minnesota that makes it so nice that it can't be replicated in Philly, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, or Detroit?
What is it about Minnesota that makes it so nice that it can't be replicated in Philly, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, or Detroit?
It has more white people.
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