Friday, March 02, 2007

How is Urban Life in Philadelphia

Recently, I have gotten a hits from the google search "How is urban life in Philadelphia." That is fantastic. I show up #5 on the search results for that one (probably higher now).

Urban life in Philly has its pro's and con's, but I really like it. It is not too big, like New York. But it is big enough that you an get the advantages of urban life. You can walk almost anywhere. Plenty of variety of stores (both big and small). Close knit neighborhoods. Almost any kind of restaurant of entertainment you could want.

I mention New York because I recently returned from a vacation there. My feeling was that while it was a lot of fun, it everything was just too big and impersonal. Philadelphia allows you to keep the personal touch, while still remaining urbanized. The Center City row houses are a big part of that, and they are interspersed all over the downtown area. I relish the fact that I only have to get into a car about 1 or two times a month, and even then I only drive a few miles. And, if I didn't already own a car, I'd jump at the chance to do Philly Car Share (no insurance, maintenance, and little gas).

The downtown parks are fantastic. Fairmount Park is the largest city park in the US (New York's Central Park is 843 acres compared to Fairmount Park's 9,200 acres). Plus, there are various small parks throughout the city (Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square, to name just a couple). And even well kept neighborhood parks (like this one, with two free, maintained tennis courts, a basketball court, playgrounds for various ages of children, a dog walking area, and even a water fountain play area during the summer) -- amazing.

Not that the city is perfect, far from it. But urban life here is good. Hope that answered your question.