Is Philadelphia a fun place to live?

Answer 1

It really depends on where you are coming from. If you're coming from the suburbs of Bucks Co., or, say, Hershey or Pittsburg, then yes, Philly is a fun place to live in. If you're coming from NYC, probably no. If you're coming from the west coast, no. If you're coming from Idaho, yes, that sort of thing. I was born and raised there, and I loved Philly as an adult for about 10 years, then I got bored bored bored.
Philly center city or along the water is great, but too expensive for most folks to live.
The Chinatown in Philly is one of the best.
The job market is so-so to bad, so most folks have to commute outside the city (a drag and a hassle) and still have to pay high city wage taxes.
The city, at it's core identity, is still very blue collar, which means people will curse you out over a parking space and your neighbors will be drunk and loud by 11 am game day. Sports are hyper-important;sports tickets are super-expensive, and the sports teams are so-so at best.
Privacy is unheard of. Sitting on your stoop and watching what the neighbors are doing is a prime activity.
It is very racially segregated which I don't like. You may; I believe that Philadelphians do like it, both the segregators and, in some cases, the segregaties, as it were. Only Mount Airy has integerated peacefully.
It's not the most accepting place for people who are different or, God forbid, gays or lesbians.
Stay away from North Philly, dangerous, Fishtown, Kensington, and Port Richmond, trashy, the North East, no-mans land and also trashy (all the Kensington folks move there) and parts of the art museum area (also dangerous). Philly is a place of neighborhoods. People don't say, "I live in Philly"; they say, "I live in Manayunk."
Just FYI, I'm a white married hetero professor, but I like different races and gays and lesbians. I also like smart, educated people, which is why my Philly neighbors got to be a real drag.
It does have positives too, like the best darn restaurants ever. Try Caselli's and Dimitris. Of course cheesesteaks and hoagies are great.
It has things like Jam on the River and the Manayunk Bike Race, which are fun. It has one of the best art museums in the whole USA, and the Barnes museum just outside. It has ok, but expensive, theater and orchestra, etc.
It is close to the Jersey shore, to the Maryland shore, to Delaware for cheap shopping, Pocanos for skiing, and Wash. D.C. and NYC., but most Philadelphians are not explorers, so they never go to those places, except maybe the shore because they have to try to escape the summer heat (2 weeks in a row of 90+ degrees with 90% humidity without a break are not uncommon in the summer).
People tend to be grumpy all the time, which really started to bum me out as I am an upbeat person. No one will thank you for your purchase or smile at you.
It has a lot of crime, especially people smashing out your car window and emptying out your car.
It has poor city service with trash pick-up only weekly (smells in the summer) and streets not plowed in the winter, and public untilities (gas, electric, and water) that cost a lot, way more than other more expensive places in the world like say, Los Angeles, and are staffed by rude rude people. Good luck getting your cable TV installed and dealing with the cable companies. Although not the best programming, direct TV is your best bet there.
Public transportation is very plentiful, but pricey, and the staff rude rude rude.
School system is poor, to say the least. And I'd say that for public and Catholic.
City is very Catholic, btw.
Many apartments have pest problems like mice or roaches because the houses are old and acces is easy.
The architecture is beautiful and the historical stuff is great, but Philadelphians care about neither, with few exceptions.
Hope this helps you decide. I lived there from 1964 to 2003. Now I live in Los Angeles, which IS a fun place to live. ;)

Answer 2

I want to answer your question while rebutting (sic) chad roscue.
I have lived here for 47 years.
First, to answer your question, it is a very fun place and for young people especially. (That is my answer). Check out the college population here, second only to Boston. Family people usually live in one of the neighborhoods where housing is reasonable, and have all the benefits wished. Older people whom had moved to the suburbs are moving back in droves because of the conveniences.

You will not be happy here being stuffy, snobby, arrogant, phony, self-centered. Blue Collars and the sons and daughers of blue collars will smell a rat and treat you like one. You can be a garbage collector in Philly, and have dinner with the chairman and founder of Comcast. This is a very friendly town, and in fact, New Yorkers, accustomed to the fast pace of New York, will come here to relax and not be looking over their back all the time. People will stop what they are doing to give you directions, all the time.

Other facts;
1. Are sport tickets expensive? Depends on your point of view. I don't think $15 is expensive for a Phillies game. Compare to other cities.
2. The city is not racially segegated anymore. There a some parts far few and between.
3. It is an accepting place for gays. Too much I think. They are all over holding hands.
4. Kensington has a lot of poor and uneducated people. So what else is new?
5. Commuters don't spend more than an hour getting to work, if that. Unless there is a little snow, which usually melts the next day. There are trains going everywhere also. His comment really cracked me up on commuting.
6. There are no earthquakes, mudslides, tornadoes, hurricanes, or whatever.

Answer 3

Philly is a great town....no place I'd rather be.
I grew up here. I lived in NYC for 4 years, but now I'm back in my hometown.
Go Birds

Answer 4

Hell yeah it is. Lots to do and see. Nice places to eat and what not. You will love to love Philly for real.

Answer 5

it's so much fun. I was born around there.

Answer 6

yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!