10 Pros and Cons of Living in Philadelphia

Last Updated on March 12, 2021 by Filip Poutintsev

Ranking 5th among the most populated cities of the United States, Pennsylvania’s largest city, Philadelphia houses around 6 million people and is the Delaware Valley’s centre of the economy.

Living in Philadelphia

With around $388 billion of the GDP, Philadelphia has ranked 9th throughout the world among the most economical and rich cities.

Also, being the country’s fifth-largest metropolitan area, Philadelphia is a popular tourist destination with many other factors for attracting sports fans too. Moreover, this city also offers a never-ending assortment of tasks to get occupied with from restaurants to museums to live entertainment.

Widely renowned as The City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia is a very affordable place with immense access to greeneries. However, just like any other place, Philadelphia too is not perfect and has a lot of problems that need to be considered before deciding to move to this city. Thus, below are some pros and cons of living in Philadelphia which can aid you in deciding whether or not to move here.

Pros of Living in Philadelphia

The below-described points highlight the benefits you get by living in Philadelphia.

1. Greenery

The city of Philadelphia is abundant with ample green space where Square Parks like Washington and Rittenhouse enhance the city’s natural beauty. Also, this city comprises of the nation’s biggest city-possessed park, Fairmount Park that is about 9200 acres big, facilitating the residents to remain connected to the natural world.

2. Economy

The economy of Philadelphia is something that is considered developed not only in the U.S. but all over the world. This facilitates people with good career opportunities and aids in achieving success in their business. The prime economic zones in Philadelphia are biotechnology, manufacturing, financial services, and oil refining. With these many developed business and economic sectors, one with suitable abilities can find a job.

3. Opportunity

Philadelphia is home to many big companies like Wyeth and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Rohm and Haas Chemical Manufacturers, Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, and more. Anyone with sufficient knowledge and training is highly opportune to get employed in this city.

4. Weather

The climate of Philadelphia is defined as a humid subtropical climate, which means that the summer of this city is normally muggy and hot, spring and fall are mild, and during winter, it’s cold. The climate here is never too cold or too hot and snowfall during the winter is erratic with either numerous minor snowstorms or light snow during some winters.

5. Education

In Philadelphia, there are several private and public universities and colleges that focus not only in law but also in many other disciplines. This city is home to many Law and Arts institutes, making it feasible for those desiring a major in these areas. Moreover, this city also offers a decent edification for students desiring to specialize in any other field.

Cons of Living in Philadelphia

Below are some of the major cons of living in Philadelphia.

1. Overpopulation

As per the census report of the United States of 2010, the population of Philadelphia was around 1,526,006 people in total, determining the population density of this city in every square kilometre to roughly about 4,405.4 people. However, this much population wouldn’t have been an issue if the city had enough residential areas.

2. Tax

Living in Philadelphia doesn’t come cheap as you are mandated to pay the wage tax of the city in which taxes on wages, salaries, commissions, and further recompense are required to be paid by the resident as well as non-residents working in Philadelphia. Regardless of where they work, residents of this city are mandated to pay a 3.8712% wage tax, while the non-residents are required to pay 3.4481% wage tax.

3. Criminal Activities

Philadelphia is among the United States’ highest crime rate cities with a crime rate of 40 for every 1000 inhabitants. Throughout the U.S., this city is ranked 22nd in the category of the most dangerous cities. The prime reasons for increasing crime rates of Philadelphia might be due to unrestrained drug use and explicit videos.

4. Traffic

According to a study, Philadelphia is ranked the 18th most congested United States’ city, where drivers spend around 70 hours each year in congestion. Mainly because the business sectors and the population of this city own lots of vehicles, the city and its residents are facing such traffic jams.

5. Air Pollution

Philadelphia’s overcrowding has eventually led to the collection of a high amount of fumes and toxic gases into its atmosphere. More population means more vehicles and with the increase in the vehicle, a high degree of carbon footprint gets mixed with the air. Thus, Philadelphia is comparatively hotter than many city’s local areas and outskirts.

Conclusion

Hence, there were some pros and cons of living in Philadelphia which I hope were enough for you to understand what it is like to live there or even decide whether or not to move there. In summary, on one hand, you get awesome benefits like good education, great career opportunities, a nice climate, and enough greeneries that will appeal to you to move there.

But, on the other hand, there are some factors like overcrowding, pollution, crime rate, and of course jams that will be an issue if you decide to move there. Moreover, you will likely be spending more on taxes there compared to many other big United States cities because of the city’s wage tax system.