It seems xequa, he of big cup fame, has visited the City of Blankbaby, more commonly know as Philadelphia.
What does he think of my fair city? The entire post is here but I have picked out a quote:
In sharp contrast to the Northern Virginia/DC area, Philadelphia is definitely a place with some character, some incomprehensible charisma. The city is filthy, and even the nice areas seem a bit slummy, but there is a strong and notable feeling of neighborhood that much of the rest of America lacks.
Most of that seems to be positive, but I take offense about the slummy and filthy parts. We all know that major cities are ‘untidy,’ but I don’t think Philadelphia is filthier than any other city of its size, and I live in Center City for goodness sake (which is located, oddly enough in the center of Philadelphia). Center City is Downtown Philadelphia, and over all I would say it is fairly well kempt. Now, being a recent addition at Philly myself, I can not say I have been to every part of this grand city, but it was good enough for Ben Franklin, so it is good enough for me.
I am tempted to end this entry with ‘Go Eagles!’ but I am not going to for two reasons:
- I don’t care about football
- See first item
So, go eat a cheese steak, read the Declaration of Independence and be good to one another.
One response to “Filthy Philly?”
Wow. All this publicity, and I’m not even in your “I read many blogs” list…
I did very much like Philadelphia. The place is a welcome contrast to the bullshit bourgeois, la-te-da land of Arlington that I now live in. Philly has a distinct felling of sincerity. It is a far more inspiring place than Northern Virginia/DC.
As far as the filth: During my informal tour of the city, I got the standard “this is a good neighborhood, and this is not” schpiel. Outward appearances were identical. Filth however, is not a wholly bad thing, if I may try and persuade you to believe that. Filth is indicative of real people with real lives, not a world of suburban middle managers demanding that a housing committee tend to the unpleasantries of maintaining land. In many respects, grit is truth. That’s why I liked living in New Orleans- hands down a far more filthy city than Philly.