Metro Detroit now smaller than Phoenix?

[English]

That's because everyone in Philadelphia and Boston actually commute into Philadelphia and Boston proper for work, versus the commuting clusterfuck we have in Detroit.

Philly makes you wish you didn't have a car. Back home, auto travel is the most convenient way to go, but now that I'm here my vehicle just seems like a big albatross around my neck. I chose a place in NW Philly last year because it reminded me of home [[much more green space in Mt. Airy/Germantown/Chestnut Hill) but now, I'm trying my best to move into Center City or University City either this summer or next. The auto commute isn't fun at all, parking is exorbitant, and the PPA [[Philadelphia Parking Authority) makes Detroit's meter maids look like the Tooth Fairy. People here are more afraid of the PPA than the police.

Last year, SEPTA was rated the #1 mass transit system in the country:
http://articles.philly.com/2013-02-2...lou-gambaccini

Philly was rated the #1 place in the country for a bike commute:
http://www.uwishunu.com/2011/05/phil...ta-in-the-u-s/

The maddening thing is that the ONLY major difference between here and Detroit is that Philly is part of the East Coast megalopolis... and the weather is slightly [[very slightly) warmer. The racial demographics of Philly aren't that dissimilar to where Detroit was in the 1970s... it's a very black/white city, with Latinos favoring New Jersey, but otherwise, sticking to a few neighborhoods.

But this is no paradise. Conservative Philadelphia magazine has just sparked a regional race conflict with their feature article "Being White in Philly" --

http://www.phillymag.com/articles/white-philly/

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/w...-Part-Two.html

White and black Philly residents then proceeded to have a free-for-all about this. Some of the debate reminded me of home, with people screaming at each other online, but there were prominent white people who came out against it. And Mayor Nutter, who reminds me of a Philly version of Dennis Archer for some reason [[the white business community loves him, while the black community has mixed feelings), has just issued a complaint to the Human Rights Commission, which surprised me and a lot of other people:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20...e_article.html

So what does Philadelphia magazine do? My prediction as a 35 year old Detroiter was "they're going to say f--- you, Mayor Nutter" since that's what the local media I've known all my life promotes... division, divide, white vs. black, city vs. suburbs. But no, they're going to have a summit on race:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/d...on-Monday.html

I've only been here for 7 months. But my first impressions are this:

The biggest difference between here and home is that the reactions to crime and race issues are the exact opposite of what I was used to as the status quo.

From my point of view, white Philly residents are a bit like white New Yorkers in NYC of the 1970s and 1980s. My white baby boomer friends in my field talk about being mugged back then in the Big Apple as if it was a Fact of Life, in this disaffected "sh*t happens" tone. But it didn't make them abandon New York. Same here in Philly. Part of the reason is pricing and geography [[the East Coast megalopolis is constrained by the Appalachian mountains and its subchains, you can only sprawl so far), part of it is because the commutes here are so awful [[no way would I consider a move out to the 'burbs; people think I live in the boondocks and I'm still in the city), and part of it is because there's just a different mentality.

As a result, Philly's population continues to rise:

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...lowTwt_PHBrand

Detroit's biggest issue isn't race or crime, from this vantage point. Everyone has race and crime issues. What's killing us is transit and quality of life. People think I'm crazy to have a car. No one here believes me when I say that Detroit doesn't have viable mass transit. One brother, a train conductor, actually told me I was pulling his leg.

Really, I think that "proximity to everything" is what's caused Philly to gain population this decade for the first time in 50 years. NYC is totally commutable. I'll never forget the first time I did the Megabus trip a week after I moved here. In about the time it takes to get from downtown Detroit to Lansing, we went from Philly's 30th Street Station to seeing the NYC skyline. I've met several people who commute to NYC for work. Rent in Philly is half the price and the cost of living is cheaper [[although magnitudes higher than in Detroit, which hasn't been pleasant). You can also get to DC in 2-3 hours by train or by bus... it's not as easy of a commute, but it's doable. Boston is 4 hours by train. There's nothing that Detroit can do about that, until/unless the feds decide that every region deserves the same regional rail they enjoy in the East.

But to listen to Philadelphians, their city is the crappiest place ever, and filled with problems, etc. There is a very blue collar "swag" that natives have, no matter what their racial background. It's really quite endearing because they remind me of Detroiters.