Welcome To The Jungle: An Introduction To Philly Nuances

My sister's good friend Darlene just moved to Philadelphia from Boston and has already done the wisest thing she could do: ask me for advice regarding the cool places to go in Philly. Philly can be intimidating to outsiders, especially if you are from up North where it's a bit colder: environmentally and emotionally. What I remember from my time in Boston is that people are perfectly content to ignore each other on the street; in fact, if a stranger addresses you on the street they must either be asking you for money or are getting ready to do some dark deed. Strangers who talk to you for the sake of talking to you don't really exist. Maybe that was just my impression?

In comparison, Philly can be a bit "in your face." Random people are always talking to you, whether they be harmless crazies (who you're never really sure if they're talking to you or to some invisible person X standing next to you) or normal folk who like to reach out to others and, for example, complain about the snow or how bad the traffic is.

Oh and concerning that traffic, drivers are rude and/or enraged all the time. Get used to people honking at you, whether it be to catcall or to curse at you because you're trying to cross in the cross walk. Moreover, if you take a second to get your car in gear when the light turns green, that's a second too long and the dude behind you will honk at you. The following anecdote pretty much sums up this phenom: my friend Emily and I were on our way to the climbing gym one day and stuck in traffic. As she pointlessly laid down on her horn multiple times, I raised my eyebrows and looked askance at her. "What?!" she barked at me. I softly asked whether or not beeping at the gridlock traffic was really helping the situation. She explained that she knows it's not going to speed things up, but it makes her feel better to be rude. She is at least doing something. And that would explain this honking phenomenon; though it still annoys me...

On the flip side, the other people who randomly talk to you on the street are just trying to connect with the world and are perfectly normal. When I'm walking through my neighborhood, most people say hello to each other when passing or at least smile. When you get on the bus, you always say hello to the driver and likewise give thanks and salutations on the way off. At the hospital, most people greet you with a "Hey there baby girl" and say goodbye with a "You take care now, sweetie." Often people will make conversation in lines. It's nice. I really like making connections with the people in my city.

I do remember, however, when I first moved here and how suspicious I was of random people talking to me. I'd just ignore them, avert my eyes to the ground, and keep walking. What did they want from me? I think it took me a couple of years to adjust to this laid back, talk to your neighbor style. Maybe these friendly manners are influences of the South?

For newbies, the other intimidating factor about Philly is that the neighborhoods change dramatically from town house to crack house and back again within blocks of each other. If you don't know your way around, you can feel very out of your element and wonder what you are doing there. Often times in Philly, the coolest places to go are little, hole in the wall places that are off the beaten path. It takes time to learn how to navigate the streets and the best (and safest) routes to all of your locations.

The good news about this last concern is that the city is spending millions of dollars on 'urban renewal.' This means that the city and private owners are buying out and renovating property from the poorest neighborhoods. The results are incredible: neighborhoods that were sketchy five years ago are now completely safe and hip. For example, the University of Pennsylvania has been buying up dilapidated houses and businesses (we're talking houses that look like a bomb went off in them) in West Philly and making them livable and safe. Along with the renovations has come increased police presence. The West Philly neighborhood I used to live in used to be slightly sketchy (hey, but I only paid $250/month!), now, there is a security officer on every corner, lighting, and call boxes. Temple has been doing a similar buy up in North Philly.

On the downside, the regular folk that used to live in these areas are being pushed farther and farther to the periphery. With the recession going on as well, these people are not happy and this is the cause of a lot of the violence in the outskirts of West and North Philly. If you look at a map pinpointing the crime and violence in Philadelphia, not much occurs in Center City (an occasional burglary; mugging is more common)--the most violent crimes are all concentrated in Southwest Philly and North-north Philly for the most part. We Center City-ites can feel safe, but I wish we could come up with better solutions for the regular, hard-working folk who just can't afford the revamped neighborhoods and grocery stores, rather than forcing them into even worse neighborhoods.

On a final note, I love Philly. I loved it even before I moved here. I also know a lot of people who didn't like it at first, mainly for the above reasons. However, after exploring the neighborhoods and finding their niche, they also learned to love it. Now they can't imagine leaving. My best buddy Emily is one of these converts (she's from Massachusetts too : ) ).

My next post will be on my favorite places to go in Philly. Stay tuned.