My partner ran the Philadelphia Marathon last weekend (she crushed it), and we just arrived in Brooklyn for the next few days so I thought I would take a brief moment to reflect on Philly. I think it gets a bad reputation nationally, either when the sports fan inevitably do something crazy after a big win, or when suburbanites need to clutch their pearls about some “big city problems”.

The Good

I loved the time I spent there though. I’m sure it doesn’t come as a surprise, given that I am a fan of cities in general, but honestly Philadelphia is a great place to be. Sure, it doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of New York, but it doesn’t need to either. Philadelphia shines as an affordable city, with excellent urban fabric, and has almost all the makings of a truly world-class city. It’s not perfect (I have a bone to pick with SEPTA – the regional transit agency), but it sure beats [insert sprawling California “city” here].

I think that the charming walkability of Philadelphia is best exemplified by East Passyunk Avenue, in South Philly. It’s a diagonal street, running southwest to northeast with a smattering of charming stores, restaurants, and homes. The diagonal street makes for strange blocks, which is always nice on a walk. It offers strangely shaped buildings, and plenty of opportunity for a quick side trip down another street as it comes up.

Streets like East Passyunk are pretty typical in every city – not unlike Monroe Street in Madison, or Belmont in Portland. And while every city has its architectural feel giving it a sense of place, I think Philadelphia’s is particularly nice. Maybe Robert Moses would disagree, but the dense row houses serve double-duty in making Philadelphia great. For one, they are dense – which allows more people to live in a given area which then can patronize local businesses and then like. For two, they are dense – which allows for more overall housing in the area, which means things are generally a bit more affordable. Of course density does not always mean affordable – but it helps. Just compare a row house in a desirable Philadelphia neighborhood to a detached house in Portland (or don’t, and let ignorance be bliss on housing prices).

Of course, it’s not just charming walkable streets. Philadelphia also has a fascinating history, which makes it a good place for sightseeing. Independence Hall and the surrounding area are worth checking out, and the older areas around Penn’s Landing (that aren’t directly adjacent to the freeway) are excellent to wander. And if you are a fan of cool buildings, Philadelphia has a glut of wonderful architecture to see – including the best looking City Hall in the country.

The Bad

When you look at a transit map of Philadelphia, it looks pretty good. SEPTA has an extensive regional rail system, with reasonable frequency (for US regional rail at least). It has two well-used Subway Lines (on Broad and Market) serving most of the city fairly well. And it has a reasonably extensive streetcar network and bus network as well!

And I hate to rag on a transit agency, but it was incredibly frustrating to use. When we landed in the airport, and had to take a bus to the hotel on the first night (the hotel shuttle wasn’t running! Which is a whole fiasco I won’t get into again). Since we didn’t have cash, we figured we could just pay with a card like you can in New York, Portland, Chicago, and many other cities. Or at least, we figured we could download the SEPTA app and purchase a bus ticket – like Denver, or Seattle. But no, we couldn’t do any of those things! Not even a virtual bus ticket! This experience was pretty bad, and felt pointless. SEPTA has a contactless card payment system, but you need a special physical card purchased at a physical location.

Then, the next day, we figured we could take a train into the city – because surely a train station would have a ticket kiosk. But no, it did not! And again, I would’ve just boarded the train if I knew there would be a conductor that I could buy a ticket from (like Metra). This is pretty critical information, but SEPTA has no information about this on their website. I am trying to figure out your transit system, and use it! Why is this so difficult?

Maybe because of these bad experiences, I had a generally negative attitude towards even riding the subway while in town. I rode the Broad Street line a few times, and thought it was fine. A bit dirty, and with a confusing fare policy still (does the one-ride ticket cover a transfer to another line? I still don’t know). All of this is just frustrating – when I visit a city, I want to use transit to get around. SEPTA needs to make things at least tolerable for the tourist, and honestly if they just had a way to purchase a transit ticket on the app I would have no complaints. I’m used to downloading an app every city I visit, why can’t I do that in Philadelphia?

I won’t give any credence to the idea that Philadelphia is dangerous. Here is a YouTube video that does a good job on issues with urban crime, I don’t really feel qualified on speaking much on it. Needless to say, I felt pretty comfortable walking around and going about my business in the city.

Final Thoughts

Quibbles with SEPTA aside, Philadelphia is an excellent city still. All the issues with the transit service are fixable, hypothetically at least. It’s charming, walkable, and easy to get to. It’s a fascinating, affordable – $2 PBR! A mortgage a regular person can afford! $10 world-class food! – and fun to boot. It’s one of the most diverse cities in the country – both economically and racially. And that alone makes it worth a visit – it has everything a good city has, and more.