1. Favorite place to get dinner in Philadelphia. One of my favorite places to eat is White Dog Café in West Philly, at 3420 Sansom Street. Great organic meals made with local ingredients. It’s really fun to sit at the bar and order one of their burgers, and catch happy hour.
2. Coolest Philly attraction that people outside of Philly don’t know about. The Mütter Museum is really neat. It was founded by the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and is both a place of learning and art. It is a huge collection of medical oddities of every kind. It is often featured on several historical television programs that focus on medical marvels.
3. The weirdest or funniest thing that you’ve ever seen/experienced while taking public transportation. It always comes down to the people you share the bus, train or subway with. It is the everyday characters that can make a commute interesting or entertaining. I think some of the weirdest experiences are when Septa goes on strike and everyone has to figure out a different means of transportation. Whether it’s train riders that now have to figure out the bus schedule or the other way around. The last time Septa was on strike (buses, subways and trolleys), there was a week of strange things that went on with the trains. In one week, an incoming train caught on fire and commuters had to scramble out of emergency exits and windows. And later that same week I was on a train that was behind a train that struck a Septa Inspector heading towards Fern Rock. My train immediately went back into the City. There was no other way to get to Glenside since the buses were not running.
4. Best and worst part of living in the middle of the city. It’s great to walk everywhere and have all of your favorite places just a few blocks away. Worst part is if you have crazy neighbors, high rent and not having a car to escape. Also wish there were better grocery stores in Center City. Something you might take for granted when you live in the suburbs.
6. Nicest park or public space in Philly. I live a block away from Rittenhouse Square Park and really enjoy having it close by. Another place is Fairmount Park and also the Schuylkill River Trail, which stretches around 100 miles out from Philadelphia to Pottsville. A great scenic way to run or ride a bike.
7. Favorite bar. Monks Café at 264 S. 16th Street. This place is known for their vast selection of beers, both on tap and bottled. The food is great too.
8. Favorite place to get desert. Dessert at Max Brenner near 15th and Walnut. Great place for anything chocolate! With dinner and drinks it can get expensive, but just a fancy dessert ($15) a really great place to take someone for a special occasion. Another yummy place to grab dessert is Brown Betty’s, located in the Liberty Place. They have a few locations in the city, but in Liberty Place they specialize in cupcakes at $3 each. I have gotten cupcakes from them for years and have never been disappointed. Unless you get there too late and they sell out.
9. Are there any annoying neighbors in you’re building? Yes, mostly younger people who are living on their own for the first time. And having thin walls and old squeaky flooring doesn’t help.
10. One thing that people assume about Philly that you know to be wrong. Perhaps the one thing that I have experienced is employment. Most people commute into the city for work, where I have found all of my jobs post college out of the city. Even during the recession, Philadelphia is still a hard place to find employment. This is really true for creative people since there is not that many places within the city like there is in New York. There is a huge pull of talent with very few places to work. Another thing is shopping. I feel like there are a lot of people that come into the city to shop for clothes, but I feel like I need to make trips out of the city, like to the King of Prussia Mall or South Jersey to find a variety of things that aren’t necessarily expensive and high end. Things that I would consider to be normally priced and age appropriate
11. Favorite activity in the city on a Saturday. World Café is a really fun place to go to for music and drinks. You can catch some really great independent musicians and it’s an easy walk from Center City.
12. Do you ever wish that you lived in a quiet suburb? Yes when I want to get away from the noise. I would also think that it would be easier to own a car in the suburbs and being able to travel. Hopping in a car and going on an adventure would be convenient. Living in the city and having to rent a car and get in back in time is a real hassle.
13. Favorite place to get a slice of pizza. Pine Street Pizza at 1138 Pine St.
14. One reason why Philadelphia is unlike any other city. As a city, I love the mix of the old with the new in terms of architecture. The city has a lot of wonderful old buildings that are inner mixed with newer, modern buildings. It’s amazing to look one direction and see City Hall, and then turn and look and see the Great Comcast Building.
Photography credited to Sammy Nickalls via LocoMag, Jordan Richards with her permission and Libby Parks via Creative Commons licensing.
