Philadelphia, A Great Place
12 March, 2001

On a travel bulletin board I frequent, there are a lot of people who, for some unknown reason, don’t like Philadelphia. Perhaps they’ve never been there and have only heard bad things about it. They even tell travelers not to bother going there and make it sound like a horrible place. Being the "champion of places that no one else seems to like" that I am, I decided to make a positive post about Philadelphia, which I love. I did cop quite a bit of flack from people who are hell bent on thinking that it’s a terrible place, but that doesn't bother me as I know it's great. Here’s what my post said:
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I've seen a lot of slagging of Philadelphia on this site and just wanted to say a few words about it. I am not from Philadelphia, but spent the year of 1999 living there and loved it. I left because I found a job in Europe.

Philadelphia is often overshadowed by it's neighbors, NYC and Washington, DC, (both of which I also love) albeit unfairly. It's the 5th largest city in the USA and has a lot to offer. For travelers to recommend that people skip visiting Philly is, in my opinion, absurd.

There are a lot of historical sights to see in Philly, after all, it is called the "Birthplace of America." One could easily spend many days seeing the different sights and visiting the different museums. The tourist offices have an excellent (free) magazine that lists all of the sights to see.

Philadelphia loves celebrations. There are usually two or three festivals per month in the summer. I attended the following types of celebrations when I was there: Native American, Irish, Puerto Rican, Polish and Mexican.

I found that the best time of the year to be in Philadelphia is the week or so before Independence Day (the 4th of July). The celebration starts long before Independence Day itself. In 1999, the celebration began on 25 June and lasted until July 4. Every day there were celebrations of one kind or another (free movies, parades, music, festivals, etc). I got very little sleep during that period as after work I was out late at the different celebrations.

A little known charming thing about Philadelphia is the Mummers Parade, held yearly on January 1st. It's a grand parade of music, costumes, dancing and shows. I had never heard of Mummers before I moved to Philadelphia, but absolutely love them now.

There are many wonderful restaurants in Philadelphia. You can easily find something to suit your budget, no matter how big or small that may be. Philadelphia's gastronomic "claim to fame" is the Cheesesteak, which is wonderful. However, if you were to ask 10 Philadelphia's where to get the best one, you'd get 10 different answers. In my opinion, Jim's Steaks, at 4th and South, has the best. There are excellent, inexpensive, Italian restaurants in South Philly. Philadelphia also has many nightclubs to have fun at.

Transportation is good in Philadelphia. There are efficient busses, a two-line subway and a very good commuter train system. There is also something called Phlash, a system of purple busses that go to all of the major tourist areas. When I was there, a day pass cost only $5 for the regular transportation system (SEPTA) and $4 for Phlash.

That's about it. I just wanted to give Philadelphia some of the credit it is due and encourage travelers from all over the world to visit. I had a great time and met a lot of great people when I lived there and will definitely visit again when I am back in the USA. Perhaps if I ever move back to the USA, I'll move back to Philadelphia.

Cheers and happy travels