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Philly has the reputation of being a historic city and a violent one but that not it's biggest reputation problem. It's problem is that it has little reputation to begin with.
Philly is seen less of a destination and, despite it's large size, more of a place you have to drive thru to get to somewhere else. It lacks the historic charms, liberal bastion, and educational reputation of Boston, the cultural, social, and economic dynamism of New York, and the national institutions and political intrigue of Washington. It suffers from the New Brunswick syndrome..........it's the province you have to drive thru to get to more appealing Nova Scotia or picturesque Price Edward Island.
Despite it's nice countryside and many pleasant towns, when driving from beautiful Quebec to charming Halifax, New Brunswick is the place you only stop to get gas and unfortunately for Philly it suffers from the same problem.
So it’s a historic city without any historic charm, despite literally being the most historic city in the nation? There’s no educational reputation despite UPenn being a Top 10 Ivy League School with the world famous Wharton School, and there being several other excellent schools with national name cache (Temple, Drexel, Villanova)? No cultural dynamism despite having one of the most significant Muslim, Italian, AA, Puerto Rican, Irish and Indian populations in the nation? Philly’s only problem is its proximity to the world’s most important city—and compared to other cities with proximity problems (San Jose, San Diego, Milwaukee, Fort Worth, etc), I think it does quite well for itself.
Indeed. As I always say, truly well-traveled, educated, and cultured people "in the know" are very aware of all that Philadelphia has to offer (which is why so many of its visitors are folks looking for a new urban adventure, largely from sophisticated cities like NYC, DC and Boston). It's never been a city that has gained glamour from pop culture, which is probably a good thing.
But, maybe it might behove you to see for yourself rather than believing in hearsay from other people with limited exposure to Philly. Lots of people from the rest of PA( like that girl from Hershey) dislike SE PA because, in part, it's the most liberal part of the state and where much of the state's wealth is concentrated. You might tell that girl that Milton Hershey started in Philadelphia.
Right now I'm sitting in a coffee shop filled with successful looking millennials and just about everywhere that I go in the city nowadays it's a similar story. I'm an oldhead Boomer and it's clear to me that I'm the oldest one in this particular shop. 46 million tourists came to Philly in 2016 so someone likes us!
Yeah, I'm not saying that is my opinion or experience, I'm just going based on the thread title which is about perception which does seem to be one of Philly's weaknesses, that was the only point I was trying to make.
It's only city's inferiority complex problem, not a reality: very historic city with a decent culture. This city already has a lot of respects from the media, unlike San Jose, which gets none.
What I don't understand is how Beacon Hill in Boston is proclaimed to have the "most photographed street" in America or something, but Society Hill in Philadelphia is literally the same exact thing, and also larger.
Here is a good question for actual Philadelphians.
Does it bother you when Boston steals the light sometimes? Because things Boston gets credit for, are things that Philadelphia is also known for. Or do you like flying under the radar? Maybe that's why so many people are pleasantly surprised when they visit. I would definitely say Philly is undermarketed.
I don’t buy that Boston steals Philly’s “light.” In 2015, the pope visited Philly and not Boston. In 2016, the Democratic Party Convention was in Philly, not Boston. In 2017, the NFL draft was in Philly, not Boston. And guess which city hosts Jay Z’s annual Made in America festival? You’d be wrong if you guessed Boston.
Philly is the 4th largest US media market while Boston clocks in at No. 9. And according to this site, Philly, not Boston, is among the top 10 most visited cities in the US: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/...in-the-us.html.
I really love Boston, but which city is stealing which city’s “light,” exactly?
That's news to me. I'm from Upstate New York as well, and I've been going to Philadelphia for over ten years. Everyone I know pretty much loves it there among my age demographic (20s/30s), and it doesn't take a back seat at all. There are also a good amount of sports fans of both cities as well.
I've been going to Philadelphia far more than Boston over the years. In fact, I went to Philadelphia first and Boston after, and Boston reminded me of Philadelphia, not the other way around. The green parks, the universities and colleges, the colonial history, the sports teams and fans, the local foods, the charming suburbs. Philadelphia has always had a very historic, old money, educated vibe that is also prevalent in Boston, which should make sense, because they're both cut from the same cloth. The perceptions of Boston that outsiders have is what I have always thought about Philadelphia first. Boston is not superior to Philadelphia IMO. How could a city that feels so much smaller (and is smaller) be superior? Philadelphia has never taken a backseat to me when it came to Boston. I always thought it was the other way around.
I think the issue is with Baby Boomer mentalities of cities. Our parents brought us up telling us how bad New York was, or Chicago, or where ever and we run the show now. Millennials love big cities and we're reviving them.
Philadelphia is hip and always has been to me at least, and I have been almost everywhere. Anyone who thinks otherwise just has a bias against it in my opinion.
It's one of the top 5 urban experiences in the US for my money.
You're generalizing about Philadelphia's Boomers. It was us , and younger Silents , who started the renaissance in Philly which began nearly 50 years ago with the food scene. Something most everyone who lives in, or visits Philly, takes for granted today.
Boston does a hell of a job marketing itself, whereas Philadelphia doesn't. That's the difference. But they're actually extremely similar cities characteristically. Just because Philadelphia has ghetto areas doesn't mean it's not allowed to have historic charm, liberal bastion or an educational reputation. That blows my mind. Only Boston is allowed those things because it doesn't have much ghetto? I don't understand.
When people think history, do they really think of Boston first? It's incredible, but also insane at the same time, because Philadelphia oozes with history. I mean, it's Philadelphia here. Does anyone know their US history? They're the same damn city almost!
Noam Chomsky is a Philadelphian for crying out loud. He represents the old world Philadelphia academic to a T.
Actually, another academic, the late Digby Baltzell, wrote, Puritan Boston and Quaker Philadelphia, which attempts to explain how Boston and Philadelphia are not the same damn city and why they aren't.
I don’t buy that Boston steals Philly’s “light.” In 2015, the pope visited Philly and not Boston. In 2016, the Democratic Party Convention was in Philly, not Boston. In 2017, the NFL draft was in Philly, not Boston. And guess which city hosts Jay Z’s annual Made in America festival? You’d be wrong if you guessed Boston.
Philly is the 4th largest US media market while Boston clocks in at No. 9. And according to this site, Philly, not Boston, is among the top 10 most visited cities in the US: https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/...in-the-us.html.
I really love Boston, but which city is stealing which city’s “light,” exactly?
It wasn't on size I believe the comment meant one superior or even attributes? But perception issues Boston seems to have avoided. It's gentrification was much sooner then Philly's. It also is in NYC's shadow .... but never called looked over as Philly gets or claims?
Philly remained a row-housing building city.... well into the 20th century. Boston did not. But still maintained a higher density (not that it means better in the least to me). Philly is on a grid and Boston is not. Something about older curvy quaint streets adds to a European feel.
Certainly, Boston on the opposite side of mighty NYC doesn't really steal Philly's light. But Philly's dimmed much more in the past and Boston's much less in perception. Another decade and these perception differences may be totally old news?
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