10/20: Love letters in Berlin

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by mbpark
Washington DC? Mostly a hole and a ghetto that is really bad, except for the rich parts and government parts.

You had to bring up DC, Mitch.

Actually, I lived just outside of NE DC in Mount Rainier, Maryland--pretty much smack between Catholic University and the University of Maryland. It wasn't too bad, but it had its moments. I loved College Park. I loved living in Maryland as a whole, but I just hated living in the DC metro area. Especially those fucking pukes in Montgomery County.

Okay...got that out.

New York is cool.

I don't mind NYC, but if I were to ever move there, I'd want to live in one of the more down-to-earth areas. Maybe Staten Island or one of the nicer sections of Queens.

Philadelphia does have a crazy reputation outside the USA...However, I do try and change that by being very nice and considerate.

Most people in Philadelphia are relatively friendly, particularly South Philadelphia. My only notions of Philadelphia before visitng here were rough, dirty, cheesesteaks, the Broad Street Bullies, and Rocky. I was completely shocked when I saw how nice Philadelphia was. It was a big factor in our move up here last year.

Philadelphia is like most large American cities. It has racial polarization, a bad public school system, and high taxes. But Philadelphia has the old blue-collar character mixed in with enough cosmopolitan charm. And that works just fine for me.

However, I do think Philadelphia could be improved by removing a few certain neighborhoods, starting with Kensington and Port Richmond. Torresdale is much nicer.

Ah, Port Richmond is alright. It's just old and a bit run down. But it's still relatively nice. Now Kensington...well, let's just tear it down and start over.

Now then...T'dale baby!!! I love Torresdale! I am never leaving Torresdale unless it absolutely goes to hell. Torresdale is a relatively large area though, so it's broken into mini-neighborhoods. My own area is considered West Torresdale, Morrell Park, and Modena Park. I just say Torresdale or the far NE though. People usually figure that out. I like the fact that I feel like I live in the suburbs, yet am only 30 minutes from Center City by car, and have everything I need within a 3 block walk. Not to mention, 3 bus lines run along my street, one of them 24 hours a day. And the R7 is 5 minutes away.