Category cities

Philly is happy! Like, “Top 10” happy.

Center City Philadelphia at dusk.

 
You know how you go to read the news or check your email, and an article like “10 Best Cities to Work” or “10 Best Cities to Live” catches your attention? If you’re like me at all, you may say to yourself “Hmmm, I wonder if my city made that list.”

Well, Philadelphia just made a good one. We were just ranked 7th for the “10 Happiest Cities for Young Professionals,” according to Forbes.com.

One of my latest blog posts focused on the positive growth trend Philadelphia has been on for the last 6 years, and this article adds more optimism to that trend. It turns out that one of our largest growth groups (Young Professionals) thinks Philly is a damn good place to live and work.

In fact they’re very happy about working in Philadelphia. Maybe it’s our high-paying health sector, or our new found tech environment, or our trendy co-working movement that’s making people talk. Either way, Philadelphia’s YPs like what they are doing, even in a still-tough economy.

Once you stop to think about it, this is a very valid feather in our city’s cap. When young professionals (e.g. employees with less than 10 years of experience in a full-time position) move to a new city for a job, or decide to stay and work in the city they attended college in, it’s always good to know that they like where they are.

Companies in Philadelphia must be doing something right.

Philadelphia’s population continues to grow

 
Philadelphia’s overall city population grows … again.

For a city that did not have an increase in population (even a small one) for about 50 years, it’s a good sign that we have now grown every year for the past 6 years. Although they’ve been small victories (percentage-wise), our total population now sits at 1,547,607; which also makes us the 5th Largest US City.

Try not to confuse “Largest US Cities” with “Largest US Metros.” “City” refers to population within actual city boundaries, and “Metro” refers to population around a city’s recognized metropolitan area (which can sometimes include both suburban towns and even other cities). In Philadelphia’s case, our “Metro Area” also consists of the areas in/around Camden, NJ and Wilmington, DE.

Why is this important?

Well for one thing, it means that Philadelphia is a relevant city (by today’s standards) and people are attracted to living within its boundaries (regardless of taxes, schools, etc.). It also means that more businesses (small, medium, and large) are attracted to Philadelphia, and are setting up shop to cater to its new residents.

Urban living has become a popular trend all over the US in recent years, and it’s also part of my inspiration for the website and blog you are reading right now.

I was born and raised right outside Philadelphia’s city limits (in Abington, PA; which is part of Philadelphia’s “Metro Area”), and went to both grade school and high school in the Abington area as well. Abington was an awesome place to grow up, and it’s still a great town today. It wasn’t until I went to college (at La Salle University) that I was able to experience living within Philadelphia’s boundaries.

It definitely made an impact on me; a very positive one. The rest is history. Now over 15 years later, I still call Philadelphia my home and just bought a new home in Roxborough.

So if anything, it looks like my own personal tastes have followed the current trend toward urban living; and I’m still writing about it today.

Philadelphia ranks 2nd for “Affordable Housing + Transportation”

 
This may come as a surprise to some, but not to me.

Through my US travels, I’ve always thought of Philadelphia as a very affordable place to live for what it has to offer its residents. Please bear in mind that I’m comparing Philadelphia to our local competition: Boston, New York, and Washington DC (although, DC was the only other city to rank better in this study; who knew).

I’m not going to compare Philadelphia to cities like Indianapolis or Cincinnati. They’re great cities, but very different from the Northeastern US and both have completely different locations/offerings. My reasoning, I’m trying to do an apples-to-apples comparison; not apples-to-oranges (as the saying goes).

All of The Big 4 cities offer similar things such as large historical metropolises, dense populations, thriving downtowns and/or central cores, convenient locations, and similar climates. Plus, they all have easy access to mountains, rivers, lakes, beaches, the Atlantic Ocean, and each other. Hence, they are easy to compare and contrast in a general sense.

When you look at these 4 cities side-by-side, Philadelphia has a lot to offer at an affordable price. This is a great article that talks in further detail about why Philly ranked 2nd.

Check it out when you have time.