Philadelphia

It's quite ghetto, lots of crime. Even in the nice (i.e. "white") neighborhoods.

HERE we go again

I’ve lived here for 23 years. I’ve been in relationships with life-long Philadelphians. My next-door neighbor is.

When I hear things like r1 it makes my blood curdle but also makes me love philadelphia even more because you know what? Philadelphians LOVE to hate people like r1 and it only makes them happier that they live in this wonderful (and flawed) city.

The monthly thread. 🤡

Right. “Time to shit on philly”

Mr. Snoop @ R2?

You're welcome to it.

r2 the crime is fucking nuts.

Do you think Tom and Lorenzo ever post on here?

R6, sure, but it’s VERY specific, and honestly has fallen pretty dramatically in the past couple years. But I live here, you don’t. I’ve never been mugged, I’ve never been broken into. I figure that I’m lucky, but I’m also street smart and was even before I moved to philadelphia. Kids with their parents play on my street as I type this, and I live in the MIDDLE of philadelphia. The architecture is fantastic, some small streets are more quaint than anything in New England. The cultural institutions are formidable. A friend( who is a bit of an extremophile) just enjoyed 29 different performances at the fringe festival. But students of mine are performing with the philadelphia orchestra tomorrow (to date still the most recorded orchestra in history) so I’m going.

I work in NYC and would NEVER move there, though I’m happy to visit. I’m fine with people not wanting to live here, and most of us in Philadelphia feel the same way.

In Phaildelphia all seemed to breathe...

...ah, fuck it. It's a hell-hole.

I was there for a long weekend last fall. I thought it was delightful. Lovely old colonial neighborhood right near the gayborhood, lots of good restaurants, history, and some first-rate museums (Barnes!). Had a great time and thought it wouldn't be bad to live there.

I was only there once for a day and a half, but I liked what I saw and the energy.

r10 - you could have been a friend of mine who visited from NYC. we simply wandered through the smaller streets in the gayborhood and he was enchanted, something that really doesn't exist in NYC, and after that I sent him off to the Barnes, which rivals the Frick for art works

what IS on philadelphian's minds is the plan of the new mayor to push through construction of a new 76ers stadium RIGHT in the middle of chinatown. Like DC we will then likely lose a vital part of the city for a pipe dream. Millions will be spent and for naught

R12 we also saw and heard the Wanamaker organ, which was fun. I ate a cheese steak and, while it wasn't horrible, it's not an experience I need to repeat.

that isn't a representative of the dining culture in philly. if I went to New Orleans I wouldn't really associate hurricane cocktails with the cuisine of the area. it's mainly for tourists. a shop in the italian market where I live serves them, but more people than not get roast pork on a roll with some broccoli rabe and provolone. this neighborhood also abuts up against "little Saigon" so great banh mi are as likely for lunch as that

I've never heard of "Philadelphia," but Center City should be avoided at all costs. The strumpet streetwalkers selling their wares on Locust Street work 24/7!

I moved from Mt. Airy to California 23 years ago and I still really miss that neighborhood.

I’ve been there a couple times for work. Not my fav city but it’s got plenty of charm especially is you’re a history buff. We drank at a pub where the founding fathers got doused. That was fun. And the food market in the train station is the best I’ve ever experienced.

r17, why on earth did you do that? Mt airy *IS* California. hope that you're happy!

R18, that's called reading terminal, and yeah, one of the best

The reason why I started this thread was because I just spent a couple of days in Philadelphia. I found it somewhat charming, but "off" in a way that I cannot pinpoint or describe. Some of the streets are tight and it didn't seem all that clean, but I'd definitely go back for a longer stay. I see that President Biden's infrastructure program is hard at work there. Lots of new construction, renovations, and road work. The guy who valeted my car was the most gorgeous thing. I even had a cheesesteak, but I refused to get cheese whiz on it.

FWIW, R1's post is invisible to me. I only block the most truly noxious trolls – mainly for legit racism and/or misogyny – so I assume whatever it posted was offensive.

Which was the point. Please don't feed it.

[quote]Some of the streets are tight and it didn't seem all that clean

Philly can be grimy, but "tight"? like the streets are narrow? well. . they were made in the early 18th century, some are literally 300 years old.

[quote] I even had a cheesesteak, but I refused to get cheese whiz on it.

two strikes against you right there, bunky. you only get a cheesesteak when dead drunk, and yeah, the whiz helps choke it down. it's not daily fare.

I visited Philadelphia about 10 years ago and found it pretty charming. And actually just pretty

It’s a bit of a gem, with so many sites from times of the great treachery against poor dear King George III. It’s a great place just to wander, and I always stumbled across something worth seeing. It’s a little bit of a strange place, because historical scenes which could come from a storybook exist alongside seedy modern scenes which could be from a crime TV series.

I found interesting bookshops and a great Cheers-style bar just round the corner from the church where many of the Revolutionary leaders worshipped. I’d visit again any time.

[quote]I found it somewhat charming, but "off" in a way that I cannot pinpoint or describe.

As have I. Just to start: I've been to the Philly area nearly a dozen times over the past 18 months, as part of a remote work project. I'd been there once before, but I've now had a chance to thoroughly check the place out. I had essentially the same sensation that I've gotten in urban areas ranging from Portland to Atlanta. This is completely horrible, but I think the reason for its "oddly off / quiet / weird" state may just be because so many people who'd normally be on the street are passed out somewhere on heroin & fentanyl. I'm still in SF every six months or so, and it's now eerily "quiet" too, albeit in the context of not being approached by aggressive panhandlers. And since you can't just pass out on the street in most parts of town, people find underpasses and wooded areas to shoot smack (not unique to Philly, of course, but still). Obviously mental illness is common, but it seemed much more amped by meth when it was still the drug of choice.

I live in NYC, and perhaps the biggest difference on a daily basis is public transit. Philly's SEPTA system reminds me of the NYC subway 25 years ago, before stations had functional clocks and sound systems, along with tote boards showing when the next train will arrive. Last year I stayed in an Airbnb for a week and took a streetcar to the office, and while it was mostly street level, it went underground at a few points. And at one of them a homeless person was ALWAYS splayed out on the platform there. (I could tell they were alive solely because they'd shifted a lot.) You might see this in NYC at 4am on the G train, but inbound into Center City for the regular morning commute? Interestingly, they have a SEPTA Key that doubles as a reloadable debit card for the unbanked, but that also means Philly had contactless payments before NYC did with OMNY.

I wasn't alive 50 years ago when NYC almost went tits-up, but I know it almost had to declare bankruptcy at one point. Philly kinda feels like that right now. The pandemic amplified its problems more than most (along with severely crimping its budget), and while the problems there are obviously exaggerated by right-wingers looking to demonize "Democrat-run cities" (translation: lots of. The streets are in poor enough repair that I actually fell while crossing the street last year and broke my wrist! (I wasn't really watching where I was looking, but still.) I've likely criss-crossed about 90% of the streets between Spring Garden & South Philly. I am SEVERELY jealous of its astoundingly nice housing stock, namely its row houses. (I didn't know that they originated in Philly. Or that Wanamaker's was the first store to offer tags and fixed prices. Or that the term "gayborhood," which I've always assumed was a general descriptor for gay-heavy areas, stems from a literal Gayborhood in Philly.)

It's essentially a tarnished gem, and if anything I'm most concerned that it's becoming such a "reverse commute" place (e.g. people living in Philly and commuting to jobs in the suburbs). The entire Main Line area is obviously a stark contrast with anywhere inside the city, and I've heard more than a few tales of privilege that sound almost NYC-like. And the geography is rather baffling. At one point I stayed in an apartment located in King of Prussia; with a mailing address in Wayne; and located in Lower Merion Township. Still, it needs to be the other way around – having a thriving *urban* life – unless you want Philly to end up more akin to Detroit than NYC.

Finally, I'm tempted to post this as a "Tasteful Friends" thread – I'm not a fan of maximalist decor – but the fact that you can get a RIDICULOUSLY charming three-story row house (at link) for ABSURDLY LITTLE has me exceptionally jealous! Manhattan doesn't really have this type of "petite" row house or townhouse, but something like this would easily be $3M in the West Village. And while I dislike the design, I also know that kinda shit ain't cheap!

r21 aren't you quite the pissy hall monitor

R23, that “cheers” style bar is now owned by our very own Rob McElHenney

R24, I’m presently looking at that type of “trinity” - they are specifically a philadelphia speciality. You have a hobbit vibe? This type of 18th century house is for you. And the whole AREA is littered with them. Some really nice like this, some, not so nice - just like PHILLY!

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