Philly is loaded with history and things to do and see. Alot of good bars, resturants, clubs and shops. Good place to visit, although i wouldn't consider living or working there.

Its been 12 years since I was last in Philly so I know alot has changed.  I loved visiting the historic sites i.e. The Liberty Bell, however outside of the tourisit attractions or downtown.  I remember alot of Philly neighborhoods to be old and rundown.  Again that was 12 years ago so I'm thinking things have changed.  One thing I did like was that people were out and about walking and public transportation was great.

Taxes are rising but not as much as the crime rate...which is not isolatd to the poorer neighborhood. City hall has suffered from severe internal corruption for the past several decades. This would include the current Mayor...
Public transporation is filthy, unreliable and isolated hence dangerous to women and children who are frequent victims on Septa.
Local businesses move out (due to high city business privledge taxes)or close faster than others move in.
Rent is extreamly high for being a MID-WESTERN (there is no eastern cost to Philadelphia or Pennsylvania) city in all the neighborhoods thought out the city.
Overall the houseing market does not reflect National trends of a slowing market.
Overall, I rate Philadelphia among the poorest cities to live it...maybe unless you isolate your living to the Burb communities and commute.

On the upside...Philadelphia prides itself on its average musueums, parks, restraunts, arts....and being "close" to NYC.....
All so sad for a city that MIGHT have something to offer but Philadelphia can not complete with NYC nor should. Vert Pathetic and Sad City..

Today is October 27. On this date in history, in 1682, William Penn founded the City of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia was a planned city, and Penn hoped it would lead to a better society. He planned lots of wide streets, alleys and open spaces to prevent it from becoming a warren as had London and other European cities.

Philadelphia reached its present geographical size in 1854 when the existing city of Philadelphia was amalgamated with many surrounding smaller communities, including Germantown, South Philadelphia, West Philadelphia and many others.

It has always been one of the five or six important cities in the United States.

The most underrated city in America, and one of the most beautiful!!! Best restaurant city, best local cuisine (pretzels, cheesesteaks, hoagies); only drawbacks is having a very bad subway system and not as diverse as NYC, Boston, Chicago, and Miami, but still all good!!!

Philly is a great city. Full of history and very charming for its size.

Very stimulating city full of history, culture, and many urbane charms. Great food especially for cheesesteaks and Italian and also a surprising number of high calibur restaurants. Great and extensive park system including beautiful Fairmount Park. Gorgeous archetecture including post modern skyscrapers like the Liberty Place towers and the best looking city hall in the country with its impressive clock tower. Atractive suburbs to the north and west of the city and a very favorable location on the Northeastern corridor within a short distnace to New York, Washington DC, Pocono's, and the Jersey Shore. Loses a star for some parts of the city having urban blight, poverty, and high violent crime rates that is too much for the city or state to tackle and needs to be adressed nationally. Not so sure I would want to walk around Center City alone at night either. Otherwise one of the better cities in this country.

I agree that Philly is way Underated. It did not come to my attention until I spent 6 years in the navy and traveled the world abroad. I vist and lived in different cities, wich let me know that philly has something specail about it. I ounce vowed to leave and never return, But it was the great culture and vibrance that brings you back. Sure the city has a blight problem in areas. But all big cities and even some little towns have there's areas to. No Cities are perfect.So if you have never been to PHILLY GIVE IT A TRY YOU MIGHT DISCOVER WHAT I HAVE!

Philadelphia is underrated as a city. It is a good city to live in if you like City Life and want to live in an affordable city with a variety of things to see and do. Philadelphia is really like a big city with a (tough) small town feel. It's a blue-collar city and the residents have an attitude, but it also is a city with a great deal of history, culture and class. Yes it's dirty and there is crime to worry about, but there are also great parks, museums, Architecture, restaurants, clubs, night life, Good pro teams, very good colleges, decent neighborhoods, variety and diversity and good food. Philadelphia is also centrally locacted in the Northeast. You can go to New York, Atlantic City, Baltimore or Washington ,DC easily from Phila. Boston, Pittsburgh, Richmond , Va. are reachable from Phila. Pennsylvania offers The Poconos , New Jersey the Shore , Maryland- Crabs, all within range of Phila.You can also go to Delaware, if for no other reason than to say you've been there. MTV's The Real World was filmed in Philadelphia because they recognized this underrated city. There's more to it than people realize and a lot of that is good stuff.

Aside from a good mall here or a good sports center there, Philadelphia is an unremarkable city that is crowded, dirty, and impolite. Although the citizens are somewhat nicer than those in New York City, they aren't by much. Litter crowds the streets and the noise is terrible. Even cool freeways can't bring this city up to me.