If you live in center city philadephia, what is the point of owning a car? There are plenty of options that don't involve using a car to get around that frankly are faster, biking is a great way to get around that honestly cuts the time in half considering you don't have to deal with traffic.
Indeed. Center City is the most walkable part of Philly and Philadelphia is one of the most walkable cities in America! It just depends on your personal situation. Some people commute out of the city for work, etc. and can really benefit from having a car. Again, it's all situational.
Appreciate your opinions. Isn't there a contradiction between complaining about vehicle pollution them complaining about difficulties having your personal polluting vehicle? In my experience, little kids like back yards, but when they're 13 and 14 they don't care anymore, and many actually prefer the freedom of the city to the suburban dependence on mommy and daddy driving them everywhere. Sad to kind of agree with you about many "low end" places. However, in corner stores in Fishtown/ Richmond people are helpful and friendly.
there is a price we pay to live in these wonderful cities, as a life long 63 years old Bronx NYC resident , there are things that we deal with every day , i have a driver license but i never drive, cultural differences, cost of living but , for myself, i wouldn't trade this for a free castle anywhere In Europe or a mansion in any suburbs anywhere....
@@finegoldstones How can anyone know what it is like to live anywhere except the place they have lived for their entire lives? I grew up just outside of Philly. Lived in a few parts of Philly. Lived in Boston's South End. Lived in southern Virginia. Now I live in central PA and wouldn't move back to any of those places. No traffic, little crime, no smelly homeless, safe, good school, relatively inexpensive, people with good work ethics and a sense of community. This guy from the Bronx is so convinced the Bronx is amazing because he has been told this his entire life and never lived elsewhere. This is like some rando claiming Italy is terrible to visit yet they have never been there.
@@finegoldstones the Bronx is unique, I went to school with friends from every continent and every country in the Americas , the Bronx is alive , is close to airports, stadiums, you get in the metro down to Manhattan, a short half hour ride and see a concert , a play . we have the Yankee stadium, of course, there is street violence but , that's how our country was formed , with wars , wild west , organize crime so , is a cultural thing. there are poor people , but we are almost a million and a half residents so , imagine if everyone was rich ? believe me , the Bronx is a lot better than what many people say....
@@cvn6555 I don't mean to correct you but , while I live in the Bronx all my life, it doesn't mean that I have never seen other places or countries, I have traveled the whole east and west coast , to Florida, Louisiana and all the Caribbean islands and Mexico , the difference is that when I go somewhere, I don't compare or criticize or complain, I go and enjoy the food, interact with local people and if there is trash and poor people, well it isn't like I never seen that before....
@@LcWash Traveling someplace and living someplace are very different things. You would know that if you had lived elsewhere. Not to be insulting but you really do not know.
I lived in South Philly off of East Passyunk for four years. In 2018 I left Philly and moved back home. Street parking was a nightmare. I'm use to living in a single family home with a 2 car garage. Two years ago I purchased a condo in Center City for part time use. Philly real estate is a lot more affordable than some of the places I lived. I travel a lot for work. Fast food workers are lazy and rude (no matter where you live) It has gotten worst since the pandemic. I was more surprised how unfriendly and unprofessional my full service condo building staffers are. Luckily I don't live there full time. I visited the condo building several times before making the purchase and everyone working there seemed to be nice and friendly. What I've learned they're like that if they know you are looking to buy or visiting the property with a realtor.
What!? That's it -- Pollution, Parking, No Backyard and Lazy Service workers!? Those don't even make my top five. How about our blistering slums, crime, homeless, bad airport -- have you seen the new airport Pittsburgh(!) is building, and the prevailing "okay is good enough attitude?"
@@phillyguy199 My point is not much is happening in PGH. The current airport is nice and big. Flown in many times as I have family in the area. Philly has so much more going for it than Pittsburgh in my experience and opinion.
@@livingincentercity Pittsburgh is getting an aspirational airport with an arrival terminal that will be on par with what's being built globally. I feel our airport represents the Philly attitude of "okay is good enough." It's dirty, dumpy and joyless and makes a terrible first impression.
Definitely agree with you about the laziness of a lot of service workers, both in restaurants and retail stores. It seems like there is a lot of class resentment, people who don’t want to be helpful. One thing you didn’t mention that’s a major problem for me (and I love Philly) is the homelessness. Vagrants sleeping on the streets, in every train station. They’ve basically ruined the Fashion District (Gallery Mall) and every Septa and Patco Station has them sleeping on the ground with bags of filthy belongings, or in dome tents, and one arrives at one’s destination smelling like pee. Why do we put up with this? We need a solution that’s compassionate to help these people, but also makes the city nice and safe for the rest of us.
I have been given many excuses by fast food workers why they couldn't make any food: "We're cleaning." "We're about to close....in an hour and 45 minutes." "My coworker is about to go on break."
You’re right about “we’re about to close”. I never really heard that until I moved to Philly, but here if it’s within two hours of closing time they have chairs on top of the tables, the kitchen is closed, and they’ve done basically everything they can do to send the message that they don’t want you here.
There are back yards in Philly, just not in Center City. It depends on which part of the city you live in. Northwest Philly, parts of West Philly, Northeast, all have neighborhoods that feel more suburban with backyards than other neighborhoods. You just have to know where to look. Philly is way more than just Center City and South Philly.
Appreciate your honesty. A lot of youtubers only talk about how great Philly is, but no place is perfect. As much as I love Philly I completely agree with the points you brought up! Here's my gripes about Philly. Again, I love this city, but since we're being honest here I'll list a couple things I dislike about Philly. 1. Why is there garbage everywhere? This baffles me. The garbage pickup is hampered by the narrow streets, and the garbage is picked up by hand. So you end up with garbage getting tossed around and scattered. In other cities, all the garbage is put in large bins which is collected by a truck that can lift the bins. No human laziness is involved so all the trash gets collected easily and quickly. 2. Aggressive hobos and crackheads. They are relentless. They are much more emboldened in Philly than in other cities. Not only will they demand money and sometimes accost you, but they poop everywhere in the alleyways. You see them passed out on people's doorsteps or the middle of the street, mumbling and yelling non-sense to themselves. They break into your car, and assault people randomly. This is a problem in all major cities but it's particularly bad in Philly. 3. Teenagers are scary. When you see them in groups, you have to put your headdown and walk away from them. I've so far witnessed several muggings, and everytime, it was a group of teenagers. 4. The biker gangs. What is this, Akira? In other cities, driving without a license plate will get your bike impounded. No if, and, or buts. Why are the police so afraid of impounding these illegal bikes? 5. Customer service regularly sucks. You mentioned in your video but I just want to reiterate it. Going to a McDonalds and ordering a cheeseburger is going to get you a look of contempt from the workers. Like you're inconveniencing them.
I’m not saying these aren’t legitimate gripes but they’re not unique to Philly. Pollution is a problem in all big cities, even in CA where I’ve lived for the last 18 yrs ,despite all the efforts to minimize it. Parking? Yeah, it’s tough in Philly due to all the old narrow streets for one,just like in Boston. But honestly parking is a hassle in most cities and when you have the walkability and transit that Philly has,there should be less driving period. A congestion surcharge like they have in London & other cities might help curb that. As for lack of backyards, there are lots of parks that help obviate that issue. Rude/lazy service workers? I haven’t lived in Philly in almost 20 yrs now but I remember plenty of friendly people, as long as you treated them like human beings and not peons. I’m actually planning 🤞🏼on retiring in Philadelphia, I miss the city and its charms immensely.
@@gracedagostino5231 CA is nice and there’s a lot I love about it. But it doesn’t feel like home to me . I like 4 distinct seasons and honestly the almost never ending sunny days feel oppressive to me. I also dislike how car centric it is here, I miss being able to do most of my day to day activities on foot or via transit. And while there are the missions (I love them!) there’s not that sense of history that you feel in Philly or other east coast cities - I was a history major, I like old things!😉 I fully appreciate how you love CA and while I’m fond of it, it’s ultimately not for me.
City employees are the laziest of them all. Especially the streets dept (Trash Collection) and the PPD (Police). Taxes keep going up public services keep going down.
near minimum wage = near minimum effort - this is true in every city As for #2, it would be nice if more firms moved into the city instead of placing themselves literally as close to the city limits as possible just to avoid taxes. Then less people would need their cars and less people on the road = a better experience
You forgot about the rampant crime, the DA who does not prosecute, shoplifting, shootings, burglaries, car meetups, kia boys, car jackings, junkies all over the place. besides that, everything is great.
Crime is way down, chief. Hard as that might be for you to accept. Or even want, bc you seem like the kind of guy who wants/needs to have Others to complain about.
You just described 90% of the large American cities ... Many of those problems don't exist in the suburbs. There are also some areas closer to the suburbs but still in Philly that give you that suburb feel. From what I can tell you mostly have lived in the denser center city areas. But neighborhoods like Roxbourough, E. Mt Airy and the Far Northeast don't have many of the problems that you mention. I live in East Oak Lane. I always have parking. The air quality is good enough to jog thanks the lots of large trees. The biggest surprise is that we all have backyards where we can cookout, install a pool, etc.
Same issues in ANY large city... you'd probably have the same vid after 2 years in ANY other large city..you clearly say "almost any other" city... and you get sentimental about suburbs you've lived in
I hate Philly but for none of these reasons. It’s super rude, very dangerous, segregated racially and did I say dangerous? The gun violence is way too much.
If you live in center city philadephia, what is the point of owning a car? There are plenty of options that don't involve using a car to get around that frankly are faster, biking is a great way to get around that honestly cuts the time in half considering you don't have to deal with traffic.
Indeed. Center City is the most walkable part of Philly and Philadelphia is one of the most walkable cities in America! It just depends on your personal situation. Some people commute out of the city for work, etc. and can really benefit from having a car. Again, it's all situational.
I’d add rude people. Very rude.
Appreciate your opinions. Isn't there a contradiction between complaining about vehicle pollution them complaining about difficulties having your personal polluting vehicle?
In my experience, little kids like back yards, but when they're 13 and 14 they don't care anymore, and many actually prefer the freedom of the city to the suburban dependence on mommy and daddy driving them everywhere.
Sad to kind of agree with you about many "low end" places. However, in corner stores in Fishtown/ Richmond people are helpful and friendly.
there is a price we pay to live in these wonderful cities, as a life long 63 years old Bronx NYC resident , there are things that we deal with every day , i have a driver license but i never drive, cultural differences, cost of living but , for myself, i wouldn't trade this for a free castle anywhere In Europe or a mansion in any suburbs anywhere....
And what do you feel is wonderful about the Bronx/NYC? If you can describe it
@@finegoldstones How can anyone know what it is like to live anywhere except the place they have lived for their entire lives? I grew up just outside of Philly. Lived in a few parts of Philly. Lived in Boston's South End. Lived in southern Virginia. Now I live in central PA and wouldn't move back to any of those places. No traffic, little crime, no smelly homeless, safe, good school, relatively inexpensive, people with good work ethics and a sense of community. This guy from the Bronx is so convinced the Bronx is amazing because he has been told this his entire life and never lived elsewhere. This is like some rando claiming Italy is terrible to visit yet they have never been there.
@@finegoldstones the Bronx is unique, I went to school with friends from every continent and every country in the Americas , the Bronx is alive , is close to airports, stadiums, you get in the metro down to Manhattan, a short half hour ride and see a concert , a play . we have the Yankee stadium, of course, there is street violence but , that's how our country was formed , with wars , wild west , organize crime so , is a cultural thing. there are poor people , but we are almost a million and a half residents so , imagine if everyone was rich ? believe me , the Bronx is a lot better than what many people say....
@@cvn6555 I don't mean to correct you but , while I live in the Bronx all my life, it doesn't mean that I have never seen other places or countries, I have traveled the whole east and west coast , to Florida, Louisiana and all the Caribbean islands and Mexico , the difference is that when I go somewhere, I don't compare or criticize or complain, I go and enjoy the food, interact with local people and if there is trash and poor people, well it isn't like I never seen that before....
@@LcWash Traveling someplace and living someplace are very different things. You would know that if you had lived elsewhere. Not to be insulting but you really do not know.
I lived in South Philly off of East Passyunk for four years. In 2018 I left Philly and moved back home. Street parking was a nightmare. I'm use to living in a single family home with a 2 car garage. Two years ago I purchased a condo in Center City for part time use. Philly real estate is a lot more affordable than some of the places I lived. I travel a lot for work. Fast food workers are lazy and rude (no matter where you live) It has gotten worst since the pandemic. I was more surprised how unfriendly and unprofessional my full service condo building staffers are. Luckily I don't live there full time. I visited the condo building several times before making the purchase and everyone working there seemed to be nice and friendly. What I've learned they're like that if they know you are looking to buy or visiting the property with a realtor.
What!? That's it -- Pollution, Parking, No Backyard and Lazy Service workers!? Those don't even make my top five. How about our blistering slums, crime, homeless, bad airport -- have you seen the new airport Pittsburgh(!) is building, and the prevailing "okay is good enough attitude?"
I have seen the PGH airport. Its usually empty.
@@livingincentercity Their new airport will not open until 2025.
@@phillyguy199 My point is not much is happening in PGH. The current airport is nice and big. Flown in many times as I have family in the area. Philly has so much more going for it than Pittsburgh in my experience and opinion.
@@livingincentercity Pittsburgh is getting an aspirational airport with an arrival terminal that will be on par with what's being built globally. I feel our airport represents the Philly attitude of "okay is good enough." It's dirty, dumpy and joyless and makes a terrible first impression.
Definitely agree with you about the laziness of a lot of service workers, both in restaurants and retail stores. It seems like there is a lot of class resentment, people who don’t want to be helpful.
One thing you didn’t mention that’s a major problem for me (and I love Philly) is the homelessness. Vagrants sleeping on the streets, in every train station. They’ve basically ruined the Fashion District (Gallery Mall) and every Septa and Patco Station has them sleeping on the ground with bags of filthy belongings, or in dome tents, and one arrives at one’s destination smelling like pee. Why do we put up with this? We need a solution that’s compassionate to help these people, but also makes the city nice and safe for the rest of us.
Reason 3456087 to build the new Sixers arena
I have been given many excuses by fast food workers why they couldn't make any food:
"We're cleaning."
"We're about to close....in an hour and 45 minutes."
"My coworker is about to go on break."
You’re right about “we’re about to close”. I never really heard that until I moved to Philly, but here if it’s within two hours of closing time they have chairs on top of the tables, the kitchen is closed, and they’ve done basically everything they can do to send the message that they don’t want you here.
Philly is the only city on the east coast where the minimum wage is still 7.25. Maybe pay people a living wage and they’ll be more “motivated”
If they were motivated they would not be in dead-end fast food jobs. They are lazy on the job because they are lazy people with zero work ethic.
There are back yards in Philly, just not in Center City. It depends on which part of the city you live in. Northwest Philly, parts of West Philly, Northeast, all have neighborhoods that feel more suburban with backyards than other neighborhoods. You just have to know where to look. Philly is way more than just Center City and South Philly.
For sure. My channel is mainly geared around CC.
I don't drive and I love Philly especially Center City which to me IS Philly 😂
100%
Appreciate your honesty. A lot of youtubers only talk about how great Philly is, but no place is perfect. As much as I love Philly I completely agree with the points you brought up!
Here's my gripes about Philly. Again, I love this city, but since we're being honest here I'll list a couple things I dislike about Philly.
1. Why is there garbage everywhere? This baffles me. The garbage pickup is hampered by the narrow streets, and the garbage is picked up by hand. So you end up with garbage getting tossed around and scattered. In other cities, all the garbage is put in large bins which is collected by a truck that can lift the bins. No human laziness is involved so all the trash gets collected easily and quickly.
2. Aggressive hobos and crackheads. They are relentless. They are much more emboldened in Philly than in other cities. Not only will they demand money and sometimes accost you, but they poop everywhere in the alleyways. You see them passed out on people's doorsteps or the middle of the street, mumbling and yelling non-sense to themselves. They break into your car, and assault people randomly. This is a problem in all major cities but it's particularly bad in Philly.
3. Teenagers are scary. When you see them in groups, you have to put your headdown and walk away from them. I've so far witnessed several muggings, and everytime, it was a group of teenagers.
4. The biker gangs. What is this, Akira? In other cities, driving without a license plate will get your bike impounded. No if, and, or buts. Why are the police so afraid of impounding these illegal bikes?
5. Customer service regularly sucks. You mentioned in your video but I just want to reiterate it. Going to a McDonalds and ordering a cheeseburger is going to get you a look of contempt from the workers. Like you're inconveniencing them.
I’m not saying these aren’t legitimate gripes but they’re not unique to Philly. Pollution is a problem in all big cities, even in CA where I’ve lived for the last 18 yrs ,despite all the efforts to minimize it. Parking? Yeah, it’s tough in Philly due to all the old narrow streets for one,just like in Boston. But honestly parking is a hassle in most cities and when you have the walkability and transit that Philly has,there should be less driving period. A congestion surcharge like they have in London & other cities might help curb that. As for lack of backyards, there are lots of parks that help obviate that issue. Rude/lazy service workers? I haven’t lived in Philly in almost 20 yrs now but I remember plenty of friendly people, as long as you treated them like human beings and not peons. I’m actually planning 🤞🏼on retiring in Philadelphia, I miss the city and its charms immensely.
@@gracedagostino5231 CA is nice and there’s a lot I love about it. But it doesn’t feel like home to me . I like 4 distinct seasons and honestly the almost never ending sunny days feel oppressive to me. I also dislike how car centric it is here, I miss being able to do most of my day to day activities on foot or via transit. And while there are the missions (I love them!) there’s not that sense of history that you feel in Philly or other east coast cities - I was a history major, I like old things!😉
I fully appreciate how you love CA and while I’m fond of it, it’s ultimately not for me.
Philly sucks, as does so many other cities. It's a shame, too. Could be a great place. Too many years of democrat rule.
City employees are the laziest of them all. Especially the streets dept (Trash Collection) and the PPD (Police). Taxes keep going up public services keep going down.
near minimum wage = near minimum effort - this is true in every city
As for #2, it would be nice if more firms moved into the city instead of placing themselves literally as close to the city limits as possible just to avoid taxes. Then less people would need their cars and less people on the road = a better experience
You forgot about the rampant crime, the DA who does not prosecute, shoplifting, shootings, burglaries, car meetups, kia boys, car jackings, junkies all over the place. besides that, everything is great.
That's not a problem in Center City. Anywhere else I couldn't tell you 😂
Crime is way down, chief. Hard as that might be for you to accept. Or even want, bc you seem like the kind of guy who wants/needs to have Others to complain about.
@@JimJupiter-h2t You're from Philly?
You just described 90% of the large American cities ... Many of those problems don't exist in the suburbs. There are also some areas closer to the suburbs but still in Philly that give you that suburb feel.
From what I can tell you mostly have lived in the denser center city areas. But neighborhoods like Roxbourough, E. Mt Airy and the Far Northeast don't have many of the problems that you mention. I live in East Oak Lane. I always have parking. The air quality is good enough to jog thanks the lots of large trees. The biggest surprise is that we all have backyards where we can cookout, install a pool, etc.
East Oak Lane is a different world IMO.
Yo, what are the condo buildings with parking!? having this issue during my search now.
Pollution and parking? How is this different from any other urban area? You realize Philadelphia is the 6th largest city in America right?
It's also the poorest major city.
@@monk4ever …and?
Same issues in ANY large city... you'd probably have the same vid after 2 years in ANY other large city..you clearly say "almost any other" city... and you get sentimental about suburbs you've lived in
Those lazy goddamn workers.
Fun fact: The words "Phil" and "20 years" are in the title. Just a couple of three things I noticed.
I Don't Care Why You Hate Philly
So why did you click the damn video?! 🤨
I hated living there. Too many litter and rude miserable racist people.
people hate working at jobs that treat them poorly. would you put effort in either?
This isn't true for all workers.
you don't look 25
I hate Philly but for none of these reasons. It’s super rude, very dangerous, segregated racially and did I say dangerous? The gun violence is way too much.
I hated living there. Too many litter and rude miserable racist people.
You should move to Cobbs Creek and un-segregate the city.
@@Nut-ml5wc I lived there til last year for 10 years
@@cougarbee When you left you contributed to racial segregation. Way to go...