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To be fair, I'd rather live in Philly over NYC or Chicago. It's the only city that, in my opinion, world-class amenities without the materialism and superficiality that you find in New York, Chicago, LA, SF, DC, and Boston.
I definitely agree with that as I strongly dislike NYC (haven't been to Chicago in years). But in terms of popularity on a national and global scale, NYC(#1) and Chicago(#2) take the cake. LA is also popular but for completely different reasons.
Coming from the Midwest (Twin Cities), out of all the east coast cities, Philly, followed by DC and Boston, interest me the most. The history of those cities trump NYC (in my opinion).
I definitely agree with that as I strongly dislike NYC (haven't been to Chicago in years). But in terms of popularity on a national and global scale, NYC(#1) and Chicago(#2) take the cake. LA is also popular but for completely different reasons.
Coming from the Midwest (Twin Cities), out of all the east coast cities, Philly, followed by DC and Boston, interest me the most. The history of those cities trump NYC (in my opinion).
Probably, but NYC has some incredibly old areas and of course a lot of history. It was at one point the nation's capital (I believe it was actually the first capital under the Constitution). My favorite old, historic parts of NYC are neighborhoods with tightly packed, cobblestone streets. Some of them really resemble Europe. Of course I also love NYC's brownstones, but those and row houses in general aren't exclusive to New York.
Because Philadelphia is underrated which is a good thing. I like the fact that Philly is underrated. Not all cities can be like NYC, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle as far as getting lots of attention and credit. The reality is that there has to be some cities in this country that kind of fly under the radar a bit and don't quite get the credit that they deserve. I personally love how people don't seem to appreciate Philly. Philly has kind of an underdog feel to it that I just love. Philadelphia is truly the Rocky Balboa of cities which makes it a badass city to me. Philly will always have a cool edge to it and cool character to it that other cities just simply don't have.
I live in Seattle and people are always talking about how great Seattle is and how Seattle is so up and coming and how Seattle is just the best and most perfect city in the country compared to every other city. Don't get me wrong, I do like Seattle, but people always praising how good Seattle is really gets old and annoying to me sometimes. So I personally kind of like how Philly is a city that seems to go overlooked while everybody just keeps talking about NYC, Chicago, and other cities. So for me, Philly getting overlooked and overshadowed by all of these other cities just makes me like Philadelphia even more.
Last edited by 007jamesbond; 12-21-2013 at 01:25 AM..
philly is poorer and more run down, doesnt have as much glitz and glamour as nyc or chi
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenlite
i think economy/job market is one of the most important things here, philly doesnt have a great, booming job market that attracts a buncha new people, nyc and chi are much bigger and have much more opportunities, even if their economies are not that great now
Quote:
Originally Posted by citylove101
For what I see, Philly has a much more "blue-collar" "sports-bar" vibe than NYC or even Chicago, and that probably detracts from its hip factor for a lot of people. Folks probably still associate "Rocky" movies with Philly more than almost anything else except maybe music. And the best (popular) music from the city IMO isn't alt rock or something hipsterish like that, but jazz, Hip-Hop, and R&B.
Philly is also physically smaller than NYC or Chicago, so what hipsterdom exists is on a smaller scale geographically, which means that you have to search it out a bit more than you do elsewhere. Not like ChiTown or NYC where there are several larger hard-to-miss neighborhoods that claim to be cool (even if they're not really.)
In a nutshell, this. The city itself (not the metro area) has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country which has led to pockets of "cool/trendy" among a large amount of working poor/lower middle class neighborhoods. There are favorable comparisons to Brooklyn but what it boils down to is an exodus of people living in Brooklyn who couldn't hack making a living there and are trying it out in Philly. Sort of the "poor man's version" which by definition typically isn't "cool".
Your question is vague. Is your question "why is Philly not considered cool AS" (implying equally) , or "cool LIKE" (implying cool too) the cities that you mentioned? If your question is the latter, where and how did you get a consensus that the city it is not considered "cool"? There are plenty of people who think who think Philly is one of the best and "coolest" cities in the US and then there are some people who differ. The same goes the for every large major US city such as NYC, LA etc. Every major city has its lovers and haters. Its all subjective.
Agreed. Who is to say that Philly isn't already cooler than NYC or Chicago? It's definitely cooler than Boston, DC, San Francisco IMO. What makes Philly cool is that it is a major urban city with a very unique culture and history that flies under the radar probably because the city has never really promoted or marketed itself until very recently.
I mean Philly is probably one of the only major cities in the US that just doesn't care what the rest of the county thinks of it.
Isn't that the definition of "cool" lol?
To be fair, I'd rather live in Philly over NYC or Chicago. It's the only city that, in my opinion, offers world-class amenities without the materialism and superficiality that you find in New York, Chicago, LA, SF, DC, and Boston.
Philly suffers from being wedged between the nation's financial centre and most important city and the capital. One would think a city might benefit, but it's just too overshadowed. Once upon a time Philly was the biggest, most important city in the US and second biggest city in the world after London, but those glory days seem distant. Internationally, it should still capitalise on it's better location than Chicago and become more international. Chicago benefits from being the primate city of a very large region and a huge transport hub.
I definitely agree with that as I strongly dislike NYC (haven't been to Chicago in years). But in terms of popularity on a national and global scale, NYC(#1) and Chicago(#2) take the cake. LA is also popular but for completely different reasons.
Coming from the Midwest (Twin Cities), out of all the east coast cities, Philly, followed by DC and Boston, interest me the most. The history of those cities trump NYC (in my opinion).
Chicago is certainly not 2 in popularity, maybe for Midwesterners I don't even think it's top 5 nationally
I haven't been there yet but based on what I've heard it has the same cool urban city vibe as Chicago/NYC
Thanks for posting an interesting question. Personally, I find NYC to be in a tier of its own - that's why it rarely shows up in head-to-head comparisons on CD. I would guess people in this country know more about NY that any other metro given its exposure as the country's financial, media and cultural capital. LA probably comes in second due to the overload of exposure we get from its entertainment industry. From there, it's open.
Whether Philly is as "cool" as NYC and Chicago is of course subjective. I'm not even sure what "cool" means to you. Center City is recognized by many as one the top 5 downtowns in the US. Is that "cool"? It has the greatest concentration of historical structures in the US functioning in the middle of a vibrant city. Is that "cool"? It has a growing population of folks in their 20s and 30s driving up prices in the gentrifying neighborhoods ringing Center City? Is that "cool"? It's home to one of the largest urban concentrations of college students in the US. Is that "cool"?
Everyone will have their own definition of what constitutes "cool." And some people place higher and lower premiums on ""coolness" with regard to their own QOL. Whether or not people move to Philly, like Philly or think Philly is "cool," I do think the city should be on the short list of cities every American should visit due to the role it played in the founding of the nation. Hoepfully you'll be able to make the trip one day and judge the city with your own eyes.
Thanks for posting an interesting question. Personally, I find NYC to be in a tier of its own - that's why it rarely shows up in head-to-head comparisons on CD. I would guess people in this country know more about NY that any other metro given its exposure as the country's financial, media and cultural capital. LA probably comes in second due to the overload of exposure we get from its entertainment industry. From there, it's open.
Whether Philly is as "cool" as NYC and Chicago is of course subjective. I'm not even sure what "cool" means to you. Center City is recognized by many as one the top 5 downtowns in the US. Is that "cool"? It has the greatest concentration of historical structures in the US functioning in the middle of a vibrant city. Is that "cool"? It has a growing population of folks in their 20s and 30s driving up prices in the gentrifying neighborhoods ringing Center City? Is that "cool"? It's home to one of the largest urban concentrations of college students in the US. Is that "cool"?
Everyone will have their own definition of what constitutes "cool." And some people place higher and lower premiums on ""coolness" with regard to their own QOL. Whether or not people move to Philly, like Philly or think Philly is "cool," I do think the city should be on the short list of cities every American should visit due to the role it played in the founding of the nation. Hoepfully you'll be able to make the trip one day and judge the city with your own eyes.
^true
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