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KingBooRadley t1_ivq78at wrote

Reply to comment by No_name_Johnson in which east coast city is most comparable to Baltimore? by caw2k22

I lived in Philly before moving here. I don’t see it.

Philly seems hostile to me. When I got here I was shocked that people you don’t know will just greet you on the street.

Philly had much better food, but Baltimore is catching up.

Philly is a proper city. Baltimore is a big town.

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YoYoMoMa t1_ivqfodv wrote

Philly also has functional transit.

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the-denver-nugs t1_ivsc2xd wrote

ehhhhhhh I heard the same. went to philly this year. tried to take transit to the basketball arena. it was a homeless shelter in the subway, like tents all over. walked back up and took an uber.

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jabbadarth t1_ivqt56a wrote

Personally I think Baltimore is half philly and half Richmond. We have the same architecture and accents as Philly but a slower feel and more casual laid back people like a more southern city like Richmond.

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Jtwohy t1_ivrizhb wrote

To be fair we were a slave state in the union and south of the Mason Dixon line kinda makes sense our culture is a bastard hybridization of both

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the-denver-nugs t1_ivsby42 wrote

ehhhhhh i'm from richmond. baltimore is richmond but like richmond 20 years ago. also what is people greeting you on the street? baltimore people are like richmond when it was ghetto, they greet you to ask for a cig or money lmao. nobody else talks to strangers here. I had more convos with strangers when I visited with strangers in philly this year and in richmond this year dispite living in baltimore full time and only going to philly/richmond for a week each.

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KingBooRadley t1_iwggw03 wrote

Actually, I think people just don't greet YOU on the street. Please consider how you present yourself. From what I can see, it's not a good look.

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the-denver-nugs t1_iwnj0mo wrote

again i have lived in other cities. did you disregard that part?

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Hisyphus t1_ivr1krv wrote

To be fair, many (many) years ago, Baltimore was a big city

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A_P_Dahset t1_ivvmcjf wrote

This part. Baltimore is a city running significantly under capacity, and a city that for a number of reasons, has not been able to make the public investments in infrastructure needed to re-densify and grow---this is particularly true in the housing and transportation/transit sectors. A focus on upgrading housing stock and expanding mass transit infrastructure is an economic development and population growth strategy in itself. Given Baltimore's history as a major industrial hub and much larger city, the "Smalltimore" term actually bothers me a bit. For reference, as of the 2020 Census, Baltimore is smaller than Boston, DC, and Seattle for the first time in US history---if we had serious leadership around here, they would take note and be thinking in terms of what moves do we need to make to catch up and compete with these formerly "little sister" cities.

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schmatteganai t1_ivqso23 wrote

Philly is meaner and has more potholes; I would argue Baltimore's food is better on average (although Philly has more good high-end options) with the exceptions of Chinese food, pizza, and cheesesteaks. Philadelphia currently has a more functional city government and a larger population, although that varies from decade to decade.

But on most other counts, they're very similar cities culturally.

I don't think the accents are that similar, though.

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FortWendy69 t1_ivr1rbt wrote

I mean if your exceptions are cheesesteak and pizza, what’s left at that point?

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Alexexy t1_ivs97vs wrote

We got pretty solid Ethiopian food.

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FortWendy69 t1_ivtsox6 wrote

Thanks for the tip. Particular place recs? Low budget if possible.

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Alexexy t1_ivtu470 wrote

They're not particularly expensive. I know of only 2, Dukem and Tabor. I personally like Dukem more but I had this really good Ethiopian beer at Tabor. If you're ever motivated to cook your own African food, Tabor is located right next to an African food market.

Oh, and I want to expand on the initial comment I made. We also have a pretty decent seafood and if you're willing to travel out to Ellicott City, there's a bustling korean/Asian food scene.

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schmatteganai t1_ivvquiw wrote

Seafood, Korean, West African, Ethiopian, Soul Food, Greek Food, non-pizza Italian, Salvadoran, Mexican, Vietnamese, ice cream......the best thing about Baltimore's food scene, though, is that the cheap-to-mid places are usually excellent, not just the $$$ places. A lot of cities- Philly included- don't have that level of just baseline commitment to good food on behalf of people opening up restaurants.

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FortWendy69 t1_ivx9cbi wrote

stahp, youre making me hungry. I really gotta try these ethiopian places i keep hearing about

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professorparmesan t1_ivqtsjq wrote

Yes!!! I’ve always thought Philly has a hostile vibe too. People here are by and large much friendlier and more welcoming to outsiders

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the-denver-nugs t1_ivsc8f3 wrote

people in baltimore are not friendly??? i'm from richmond, va. prefer philly for friendly people. i live in baltimore and have taken a vacation in philly this year. everyone was fine.

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PleaseBmoreCharming t1_ivrpctp wrote

Baltimore could be a "big city" if the county and city were to formally merge and create some more cohesive urban form between the two. I think you could do this by focusing more growth/development on the former arterial corridors like York Road, Edmondson Ave, Harford Road. I mean, you're looking at over 1.4 million people who live within the city limits AND within the County's Urban/rural demarcation line. If that's not a "big city" I don't what is. I can't think of another place in the Western world where that wouldn't be considered such.

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Infinite_Magnetic7 t1_ivu359b wrote

Good points, but the "powers-that-be" seem to want Baltimore to stay this "little old country town by the bay".

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logaboga t1_ivre77k wrote

Well, baltimore does literally mean “big town” in Irish

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hsfe5 t1_ivrvro7 wrote

I have family in Delaware Co., PA. Agree about the Philly vibe. Baltimore people are not as hostile.

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AdDue1062 t1_ivtebh1 wrote

I've lived in most major East Coast cities and Philly feels just as small as Baltimore compared to both NYC and Toronto. Baltimore is barely smaller than DC.

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Infinite_Magnetic7 t1_ivu2lwg wrote

Philly has always been hostile place as far as I can remember. Still a lot of good, hard-working people up there.

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