Philly, my city, my LTCF experience, (and my Philly LEO experiences)

[reels18]

If this story is not true, it should be.

Mom and Pop traveled to Philly to visit their son attending Temple University. They got lost in town around City Hall. They found a policeman and asked him for directions to Temple.

The cop answered with a straight face, "Just keep going north on Broad Street until you start to fear for your lives".

[soberbyker]

Originally Posted by reels18

I would have to hit the lottery jackpot twice to be able to afford the taxes in Chadds Ford.

Other than the normal county & property tax why would they be so high? They have no township services, they use the State Police to patrol their township, they contract for trash removal individually, I know I have a trash route out there.

Upper Darby's taxes are probably just as high, and we have all the services.

Bill

[soberbyker]

Originally Posted by reels18

If this story is not true, it should be.

Mom and Pop traveled to Philly to visit their son attending Temple University. They got lost in town around City Hall. They found a policeman and asked him for directions to Temple.

The cop answered with a straight face, "Just keep going north on Broad Street until you start to fear for your lives".

I would wager it's true. The area around Temple's main campus is called "The Badlands" When I was driving a tri-axle we were digging a hole for a new medical building for Temple. I had an incident that made up my mind to apply for my LTCF.

A few years before that I worked for a paving company, a lot of the city streets get paved at night, we always had 4 or 5, off duty but in uniform and patrol cars, cops with us when in north Philly.

That said, I lived and worked in and around Philly most of my life. Like anywhere else in the world, it has it's good and bad sections. Once you know where they are and what time to avoid them the city can be and is a pretty cool place.

Bill.

.

[larrymeyer]

Originally Posted by phillychoppin

We live in a very nice section of Havertown and outside the fact that philly (and its problems) is so close, I consider our town to be ideal. Its quiet and has good schools.

My only hesitation about raising my kids here is that most of my memories of my own childhood revolve around freely riding my bike for miles and spending entire summers in the local woods building forts with my friends.
I cannot imagine my own kids having those experiences anywhere in delco.

Maybe I am wrong or maybe I am kidding myself but I would still like to move back to a more rural are to raise my children.

The only problem is when it comes to jobs and money. I work in the technology industry for a company on Market street. There is just not much work for me in my home town.

I had an uncle and aunt some cousins that lived in Havertown. Also an aunt that lived in Broomall on Lawrence road. The uncle that live in Haverford live on the street behind the old Red Arrow trolley barn he worked for Red Arrow. My aunt his wife worked at the courthouse in Media. The Republican party (read Judge Blackburn) wanted him to run for sheriff. I wish he had as he was guaranteed a win. Maybe I could have been sheriff and then there wouldn't be any problems with LTCFs in Delco.

Oh well wish doesn't help we all miss one opportunity in life my father turned down a job with Walt Disney when Disney worked for the Philadelphia Inquire. Works out if he'd of taken the job I may never have met my wife

[mythaeus]

Originally Posted by rtrageser

I've only been to Philly once, to visit my sister, who lives in West Philly and goes to UPENN Vet school. She absolutely hates the city, but tolerates it because the vet school is ranked very high. Last year, she lived near 46th strret on Spruce. Not a very nice neighborhood. Her house had bars on all the windows, and you didn't want to go up very much on Spruce from her place. She now lives on Locust, at 42nd. It's a lot nicer there, plus security building. That being said, when i was there, it wasn't all that bad.

We walked around the west philly area a little, she showed me the new vet school building, and then we went down to a sports bar near center city for dinner. Prices weren't bad, food was good, etc... The next day, my Dad and i went to see the Liberty bell, and walked around sightseeing. I wouldn't want to live there but I had no trouble visiting. It helped that she told us which areas to stay out of.

It is intersesting that no matter what bigger city you live in, most people like it for different reasons. I like pittsburgh, that's why i live here, but i don't live IN the city. I know which areas to stay out of, and for the most part, have never had a problem. I was talking toa person and they were telling me how much they loved philly, loved living there, and I said that my sis hated it. They were shocked, until I told them where she lived. The person I was tlaking to lived in the suburbs. Big difference. For those of you who live in or know Piittsburgh, it would be like comparing living in the Hill District to living in Mt lebanon or Moon or Monroeville.

Ron

It cracks me up everytime someone claims to live IN Philly turns out to be either from Camden, NJ or in NE Philly. I guess there is the inconvenience of explaining exactly where they are, but there is also that North Jersey mentality of "I am from New York City".

Al

[mythaeus]

Originally Posted by Jelanen

Well, I grew up in the hills of western NY and its pretty much like central PA. I now live in Montco and commute into N. Philly every day. I hate cities. It always smells like crowded human rot. If its not the sewage its the trash. If its not the trash its the exhaust fumes. I don't like the attitudes, I don't like the crowding, I don't like the gangs. I have to go into that rat infested hole every day and tbqh, I resent it. Thankfully its only temporary. I'd much rather be surrounded by woods and fields full of game than buildings and people who need to be power washed, let alone bathed. I've never had dinner at a froofy Philly restaurant(and I've been to them) that was anywhere near as good as a grilled tenderloin from a deer I shot myself and I've not been to a show, play, or symphony that was as relaxing or awe inspiring as just sitting on the porch in the evening listing to the peepers. Maybe its just me, but the creation of God is far more enjoyable than the works of man.

An elephant is not its tusks, trunk, legs, ears, or tail...N. Philly is not all of Philadelphia. There are many a place in Philadelphia where there are no gangs, attitude, etc. I don't like the fact that many people see/know only 1 part for Philly and think that's Philly. I do enjoy the fresh air and quietness of nature, from time to time, but it's the city atmosphere that I love. To each his own.

Al

[mythaeus]

Originally Posted by Philadelphia

My wedding reception was on the Moshulu. Good times.

You started a great thread here. There are plenty of places that are shitholes in philly but most places/neighborhoods are really great.

People not from here can't go by just what they read in the papers and I'm guilty myself of highlighting the problems we have without pointing out the good.

As far as OC in philly, carrying an exposed gun is almost equivalent to tying a stack of twenties to your belt. Forgetting the issues with LEOs for the moment, unfortunately the realities are it's just not smart. We recently had a shootout where an undercover cop was following a couple of armed muggers; when the muggers heard the undercover's police radio they knew he was a cop and so started shooting at him. Some of our thugs are not afraid of guns or even cops and a gun grab or a shoot-the-guy-with-the-gun is not some remote abstract mental exercise.

My experience with PPD is similar to yours. They are professionals who want to be respected as such and behave accordingly. Are there knuckleheads, sure, but same as anywhere else there are always outliers.

I could go on I guess but again, good thread.

Thanks for the words! I have to make it to Moshulu for sure then. I have been avoiding it for fear of touristiness. Things are very dynamic here, constantly honestly making efforts to get better. Just thinking about summer in the parks and Art Museum make me smile. New places are popping up everywhere and there are so many GREAT bars with killer microbrews!

I like your analogy on OC in Philly. Legal or not, common sense dictates otherwise. Rights parallel responsibilities. Just as you don't yell "bomb" in airports, OC in Philly invites trouble. The horse is long dead . As a very recent gun owner, I am trying my best to educate my friends and people I know about guns and laws that I learned from the guys here on the forum and elsewhere. I already got half of my friends out to shoot for the first time (one more coming in about 30 minutes) and working on the other half (I have quite a few friends).

Al

[mythaeus]

Originally Posted by reels18

If this story is not true, it should be.

Mom and Pop traveled to Philly to visit their son attending Temple University. They got lost in town around City Hall. They found a policeman and asked him for directions to Temple.

The cop answered with a straight face, "Just keep going north on Broad Street until you start to fear for your lives".

That's a good one! I bet it's true too. Can't say the LEO didn't have a sense of humor .

Al

[mythaeus]

Originally Posted by soberbyker

I would wager it's true. The area around Temple's main campus is called "The Badlands" When I was driving a tri-axle we were digging a hole for a new medical building for Temple. I had an incident that made up my mind to apply for my LTCF.

A few years before that I worked for a paving company, a lot of the city streets get paved at night, we always had 4 or 5, off duty but in uniform and patrol cars, cops with us when in north Philly.

That said, I lived and worked in and around Philly most of my life. Like anywhere else in the world, it has it's good and bad sections. Once you know where they are and what time to avoid them the city can be and is a pretty cool place.

Bill.

.

Yup, Temple has its own (and large) campus police barrack. My wife went to Temple and I never let her come back on her own when taking late/night classes. I wouldn't be surprised if some students CC when taking night classes there.

I think other than Baghdad, your statement on anywhere else in the world is true .

Al