Why I Love Philly: Guest Post from Commenters
NB: As I mentioned yesterday, one of my favorite aspects of blogging is the opportunity for feedback from readers. And as I also mentioned, I got a lot of feedback, all of it highly critical, about my Sour Grapes post. As new posts are written, older posts get scrolled into the archives, along with comments that deserve a larger audience. I’m taking three comments from readers, Tim, Somegirl and Steveeboy and elevating them to my first ever Guest Posts, because I think they not only do a great job of correcting me where I go wrong, they pointed out a number of Philadelphia’s better aspects that I overlooked. (I did grammar and capitalization edits, because I’m a stickler for that kind of shit.)
Tim
I’ve lived in Boston since 1992 (with the exception of a regrettable two-year return to Newport RI from ‘95 to ‘97) and since I’ve never been to Philly I can’t compare the two. I guess it’s all relative. There is much I love about Boston, but the gentrification, skyrocketing cost of living/plummeting of good jobs, and eradication of all the places and things that made the city a cultural (and subcultural) mecca in Boston proper has rendered the city all but useless. All places change and evolve, and let’s admit it, clubs like the Rathskeller were dead for years before they officially were forced to close in 1998 (not unlike CBGB’s slow demise into a pathetic shadow of its former self), but there is NOTHING in Kenmore Square (save for Nuggets Records, which somehow manages to stay afloat) that you can’t find in any other city now (The Gap, Pizzeria Uno, an overpriced hotel, etc.). This, of course, is the result of thuggish development by the Boston University machine, which drove dozens of honest, family-run small businesses like Kenmore Liquors and Bertha Cool (a used clothing store) into the ground. Nearby Landsdowne Street is a joke; the “rock†clubs there like Avalon and Axis cater largely to rich students. On the occasions where a good, legendary rock band plays at one of these venues, a strict curfew kicks in so the rock crowd has to make way for the Eurotrash dance crowd. Legends like X and the Bad Brains have had to do sets so painfully short that John Doe once apologized to the audience because they didn’t have time to talk to the crowd between tunes.
Most of the true Boston rock tends to happen in Cambridge clubs and other venues on the outskirts now (Allston, Quincy, Davis Square in Somerville, Inman Square on the Camb/Sville border, etc.).
Public transportation here sucks. There is no 24-hour service. While Brendan contends that our public transportation covers greater ground than Philly’s does, the T is outmoded and run by a corrupt, cash-flush quasi-public institution that year after year declines in service quality while continuing to hike fares. Few of the bus and train lines run on schedule or with any frequency, except in areas (BU, BC, Harvard) where there are people with money. I’m sorry, but it shouldn’t take you two hours to get from Brighton Center to Central Square in Cambridge (which, geographically, is about a 10 minute car ride or a 15-20 minute bike ride). It’s no wonder why the parking situation gets more and more competitive by the year. It makes more sense to drive yourself into debt (assuming you can afford it) as a car owner than to deal with the nightmare of public transportation.
Economy-wise, Boston took a major hit in the early 2000s, because its strongest industries had been technology and finance — Boston was actually considered at one point to be the Silicone Valley of the East Coast. Good jobs remain hard to come by, in spite of all the talk of economic growth. By being stubborn and sticking it out, it has gotten harder and harder for me to make ends meet in this city, and I don’t even have a family to worry about keeping fed and clothed. I have no idea how working families even survive in Boston (oh yeah, they share cramped apartments with other families in crime-and-violence-plagued areas like Dorchester, Mattapan aka “Murderpanâ€, Roxbury, and Chelsea).
I just hope the climate will change with the political shift. Our long-absentee governor, Republican presidential aspirant Mitt “The Stormin’ Mormon†Romney, will be giving his seat up to Deval Patrick, a smart, rich, socially-conscious Democrat and former Clinton colleague.
Steveeboy
I also think Brendan is a bit harsh on Philly.
From my experience Boston is VERY expensive, shuts down at 1am or so, and, perhaps most glaring, is extremely segregated. I mean like South African Apartheid segregated.
Also, I do not know how to quantify this, but how does one discuss the problem of the White-Irish Boston Masshole type? You know, the guys that show up at shows all fucked up drunk and deliberately bump into people in line just to start trouble? The ones that see a black person walking down the street and call them “nigger†to their face?
Philly, to me, seems like “the last city in Americaâ€. Unvarnished, un-re-habbed, still edgy, still dangerous, still independent. Still 19th century in so many ways.
There has been no “Disneyfication†of Philly, and in fact, our “Disney†spot is still a large hole in the ground–or it was last I checked.
Philly is still DIY in many areas, and in philly you can still buy a house for less than 100k… [NB: these days, only if you're willing to live in a REALLY bad, or really isolated, area. The days of low prices and a not-so-bad neighborhood are sadly over.]
Sure, people are pigs here, and they litter and will tell you to fuck off if you call them on it, but at the same time you can still walk down the street and drink a beer here–or smoke a blunt–and no one is going to hassle you. [NB: Totally true.]
There are things I hope will change here, but I hope they never change so much that Philly becomes Boston or NYC.
I might say that I am sick of people dissing Philly, but on the other hand, maybe I should ignore it since complaints about the city may keep people from NYC and Boston from moving here and fucking it all up.
This is the best place I have ever lived, and I don’t plan on ever leaving.
Somegirl
I’m with Steveeboy who outlines most of the reasons I love philly but was too lazy to write.
Also love that it seems to be filled with people who, like me, would be pleased if they never had to get dressed up again, so you can be as big of a slob as you want pretty much anywhere. potheads abound. middle aged people hang out in bars - I never saw that before, outside of the old man Blarney Stone drinkers. There’s loads of good cheap ethnic food. and Yard’s Philly Pale Ale!!!
And as someone who lived 15 years in NYC, yes, I do miss the fast and easy mass transit. but if you do have a car, this city is way easier to get in and out of, or around, than either Boston or NYC. There’s no comparison. and the tickets are cheap. And Philly isn’t dirtier than NYC either.
And I know you have big problems with the music scene, but I can go out dancing in clubs with my middle aged women friends and not feel like an old freak.
So I stand, partially corrected, by my commenters and friends. As I said in an earlier post, this kind of feedback and input is invaluable to me, and I cannot imagine why a blogger would deliberately do away with comments. These comments have made me a better thinker and forced me to re-evaluate my own ideas. Rock-n-roll!
One Response to “Why I Love Philly: Guest Post from Commenters”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
November 15th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
yeah yeah when i post i use caps too, but otherwise i’m too fuckin’ lazy.