What do you think of Philadelphia? Would you ever consider living there?

I'm biased, live in the city now. It's not for everyone, but if you embrace the city and people you'll be welcomed. There is a pride for the city by its residents that is unlike anywhere else I've been. Just look up the pictures of the celebrations on Broad post NFC Championship game win.

Pros: Good running on the rivers, green space abound, good food town, history and culture abound, running clubs, passionate sports culture, accessible to all major east coast metros

Mixed: Cost of living - cheaper than most large cities. Another poster mentioned this, but Philly is the poorest large city in the US (most people under poverty rate line). That bleeds into some cons on crime, but if you're in a solid neighborhood you shouldn't have any issues if you're not inviting trouble. You'll find reasonable rents in all nice neighborhoods compared to larger, flashier cities.

Cons: Crime happens and is not limited by neighborhood like some cities. The culture is not for everyone. The mindset has been shaped by circumstance to be blue collar and chippy. You won't find Midwest nice or west coast chill, nor will you find Boston, NYC, or DC's pretentiousness.

I'd say do it, you'll never find another place like it.

I'd probably ignore everything "FROM THE 410" has said as none of it makes sense as he seems partial to his city of Baltimore.

I grew up in Philly, spent my middle 20's & early 30's in Huntington Beach and then came back to Philly. I seen just as much drug use in HB that I see in Philly. There is also a lot of crime, but again, being back in the city for over a decade now, I have only had 2 issues (1) when I was living in Fairmount which my street bordered Brewery Town, I had my bike attempted to be stolen. But that was my fault for leaving it in eye sight in my apartments common area (2) I had a bobblehead stolen from my car but that's because I forgot to lock my car and people will walk the streets looking for unlocked cars. That's it in 10 years. The rule of thumb in any big city, if they can't see it, they won't try and steal it. Guns are definitely an issue, but I feel like that is pretty much everywhere in America right now and now just isolated to 1 city. If you look at the gun violence in the city, it tends to be around the areas one would associate with gangs and drug use. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. But I don't believe in guns, never carried one, never will and I walk the streets coming home from the bars late at night all the time.

I'm now in my early 40's, live around the corner from my sister who had 3 kids. She has no worries or issues raising her kids in the city and if you raise your kids correctly and you do the school system correctly, there is potential to send them to some of the top HS in the area (St. Joe's Prep which is private and Masterman which is public).

The running community here is top notch. You can find someone at any ability running your pace on any given day. Heinz Wildlife, Valley Green, Valley Forge, Navy Yard/FDR Park, Ridley Creek and the loop around the river by Boathouse Row.

Again, you get what out of it what you put into it. If you want to have a great experience, you will. If you want to find everything wrong with the city and find it a terrible place to live, you will do that as well. Its on you what you want to experience, not what people on here find. An example would be my now wife who said that she never seen herself living in the city (she is from Pottsville PA and spent 10 years in Delaware County), but after 3 years, absolutely loves it (aside from rush hour traffic having to travel to DelCo for work). Loves all the little places to eat. She is always finding something new she wants to try or a place to have a drink. And everything is 10-15m away and you're a short train ride to all those other big cities as I visit my cousin often to NYC (or race at the Armory when I am fit) and go see my cousin's in Annapolis. Small little getaways in every direction.

Hope this helps.

Actually live there (imagine that). I live in Center City. It's really nice in my neighborhood (probably nicer than where 99% of commenters live). Incredible restaurant/bar scene, affordable rent compared to comparable neighborhoods in other cities. I don't have run-ins with rude people pretty much ever. Most people in the nicer neighborhoods are transplants anyway here for the GREAT jobs in the city. Seriously, the whole city isn't an Eagles crowd. South Philly has some bars and restaurants with an incredible authentic clientele of real locals who are REALLY nice. They may be weird, drunk, and a little scruffy but places like Rays Happy Birthday Bar and other dives have a genuine community of regulars. Just stopping in for a night is a unique experience. The suburbs are also great with great school districts and plenty to do.

Downsides - traffic is annoying if you try to leave the city. Infrastructure and public transit aren't great experiences but not as bad as people who don't live here will have you believe if you keep to yourself and pay attention. I've taken public transit around the city regularly for the last 5 years with zero issues. City wage tax sucks. City government is full of hacks. Luckily, real life isn't the daily news showing the absolute worst neighborhoods and worst things to happens, and the city government has little to no impact on my daily life. I love it! People who hate it LOVE to talk about Philly, I guess they're bored. Also, the noise about Philly government ruining the rest of the state is a JOKE. Harrisburg has put clamps on everything the city tries to do for years, actively sabotaging efforts by city government to combat poverty/gun violence/school problems in the name of freedom. Again, unemployed trailer dwellers and truck drivers in Central PA care waaaaay too much about Philly.

lol

Name another place like Chester County (Suburban Philly)

30 miles east - Center City Philly

30 miles west - Middle of Amish country Lancaster

2 hours northeast - Pocono Mountains

2 hours southeast - Cape May

Day trip to - NYC, Baltimore, DC.

Weekend trip to Boston.

Birthplace of freedom, best sports teams, and some of the greatest schools in the country.

I would only consider living either in Center City or the Old City. I used to visit Lower Merion in Bala Cynwood a lot in the outer suburbs which are very nice. Maybe check those areas out.

Letsrun: where snowflakes think every city is a warzone and only like soulless lily suburbs.

Many of the suburbs are very nice (Main Line). I wouldn't go to the city again, let alone live there.

My sister lived in Wynnewood since graduating from college in the early 90s (recently moved to NYC) and my mom moved up there in the early 2000s and is still in Havertown. I am originally from Boston and know the NE well. Philly is kind of a hot mess of a city. Much of the city was developed for working class factory workers. Developers built thousands and thousands of rowhouses all over the city and packed them in as tight as possible. This gives much of the city a very claustrophobic and dumpy vibe and keeps gentrification pinned into relatively small sections of the city because the north Philly neighborhoods are some of the worst in the NE and neighborhoods south of the city and up Mainline are just too dumpy to attract any gentrification.

If you want to move to Philly and will be working downtown, the main issue you will deal with is whether you want to deal with commuting on the Schuylkill from the burbs, taking a train from closer in communities or paying a premium on close in real estate. The real estate market is nothing like Boston or NYC, but the good close in neighborhoods and the areas with good schools do get a premium and are not cheap. My mother recently sold her house to move into an assisted living community. It actually took about three months to sell and her area did not see much appreciation the past 5 years.

Philly has really nice parks, museums, symphony, and restaurants. Independence hall is nice, but choked with tourists. Outer bedroom communities have nice small town centers like Wayne and West Chester. My sister always made us go to Longwood Gardens whenever we visited. It is an old DuPont estate with a massive botanical garden. In the winter, you can daytrip to small ski areas like Camelback and Elk Mountain. You can take the train to NYC for a day trip.

So, Philly is an acquired taste. You have to be willing to put up with a city that is a good 40% butt ugly and run down. And you have to manage the fact that the only highway through the center of Philly is just 4 lanes.

Seems like a penal colony based on the fans they have in the sports world. But the suburbs I have been to are downright idyllic.

You didn't mention the Chester Valley Trail 13 plus mostly flat miles from Wayne (Tredyffrin Township part) to Exton.

What about public schools? Real question. Are there good options for young families?

Public schools in Philadelphia proper are not good. Close-in suburbs are usually fine - but will vary a lot in price. Lower Merion, Haverford, and other spots on the Main Line will be more expensive than the other direction like Cheltenham, Abington, etc.

Look at the demographics of the schools. That’s a quick way to get a relatively accurate guess about their quality.

I haven't lived in Philadelphia but have spent a fair amount of time visiting there and have a number of good friends who live in the city. I've loved the city when I've been, hear almost exclusively good things from the friends that do live there, and would be more than happy to move to Philadelphia if the opportunity arose. Running seems great, bars are a lot of fun, good museums, more affordable than other east coast cities.

PA is cool. Philly is trash.

Is there any big city that's not trash? Homeless, crime, high taxes, insane elected officials, etc.

What bobblehead?

I'm gonna guess Carson Wentz.