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I found Philly to be a bit boring and much of it lacking character. The grid pattern with wide streets belie its age and while helping traffic flow give it little charm. Much of the historic parts are a bit from downtown area by city hall where I stayed. Seemed to have little connection to the Delaware River. It was a wasteland between the stadiums and center city. Would not know you were in such a big city on the nearby streets. South Philly neighborhood with Italian district and steak & cheese places was dumpy. Area by Temple was downright scary. Liked parts of the city (Independence Square/University City/South St) but they weren't really cohesively connected. My overall impression was rather blah and felt the city tried too hard to be like NYC but failed.
wide streets? there are only but a few wide streets, that part surprised me
It s only cause Philly is too close to New York City, If Philly was in Montana it would be THE City
No to answer your question Philly Does Not have "The Worse" reputation plenty of cities would kill just to get to Philly's status
In Media I hear about Philly every now and then, In real life I don't hear about Philly too much unless I'm at at restaurant and Philly Cheese Steak is on the Menu or At a Major Airport. Never hear anybody saying they are moving to Philly, Never hear somebody say they are going to Philly for the weekend or vacation or whateva
I found Philly to be a bit boring and much of it lacking character. The grid pattern with wide streets belie its age and while helping traffic flow give it little charm
Stopped reading here. Dead giveaway that you never actually been to Philly. Also, see Boston or Providence for a boring east coast city with little charm.
Stoped reading here. Dead giveaway that you never actually been to Philly. Also, see Boston or Providence for a boring east coast city with little charm.
Wrong. I have been there. Had however been to probably every other major northeastern city before as I did not have an overly strong desire to go there. Not really impressed by what I saw.
Quite frankly I do not see this perception problem. Yes Philadelphia gets overshadowed by NYC (not surprisingly) but whenever there discussion about the great cities in the US, Philadelphia is usually among the top 10.
wide streets? there are only but a few wide streets, that part surprised me
Wide streets? Philly's narrow streets and warren of cobblestone passageways are pretty much a signature feature of of the city. Residents and visitors to Center City are walking on the exact same grid of streets and visiting the very same 5 public squares commissioned by William Penn in 1682. Pretty amazing piece of history, huh?
I found Philly to be a bit boring and much of it lacking character. The grid pattern with wide streets belie its age and while helping traffic flow give it little charm. Much of the historic parts are a bit from downtown area by city hall where I stayed. Seemed to have little connection to the Delaware River. "South Philly" It was a wasteland between the stadiums and center city. Would not know you were in such a big city on the nearby streets. South Philly neighborhood with Italian district and steak & cheese places was dumpy. Area by Temple was downright scary. Liked parts of the city (Independence Square/University City/South St) but they weren't really cohesively connected. My overall impression was rather blah and felt the city tried too hard to be like NYC but failed.
Sir, You can call the area between downtown Philly and the stadiums alot of things but its definitely not a wasteland. Upwards of 400,000 live there and the population density of Center City + South Philly is 35,000 people per sq mile. Thats top 1% in the USA. It might not suit your personal taste but wasteland is the wrong description.
Philadelphia doesnt have a grid pattern of wide streets. Maybe Market Street + Broad Street I would categorize as normal city streets. Ben Franklin Parkway was meant to be a grand boulevard but other than that the street grid in Philly is probably more compact than any city in the USA.
And truth be told Philadelphia didnt try to be like NYC. Its more like NYC tried to be like Philadlephia and surpassed it measurably.
Wide streets? Philly's narrow streets and warren of cobblestone passageways are pretty much a signature feature of of the city. Residents and visitors to Center City are walking on the exact same grid of streets and visiting the very same 5 public squares commissioned by William Penn in 1682. Pretty amazing piece of history, huh?
Philly's charm is one of the reasons we decided to move here. But not everyone sees or appreciates that.
I can't wait to read that poster's other trip reports... Like how he didn't get a "big city feel" in Manhattan or thought Boston's historic architecture was very ugly or couldn't find any interesting skyscrapers in Chicago
Last edited by Fitzrovian; 07-23-2017 at 01:04 PM..
Philly is arguably the second best urban environment in the U.S., after NYC.
I would say, yes, it's underrated, at least if the criteria involves urbanity.
I disagree. Chicago and San Francisco are better.
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