Philadelphia is a city located in the southeastern part of the state of Pennsylvania, at the confluence of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers. It is the largest city in the state and the fifth largest in the United States. William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia professed the idea of brotherly love between co-religionists and so the city was named Philadelphia in honor of this, which translated from Greek means “The City of Brotherly Love”. At the time of the great migration from Europe to the US colonies many people moved from New York to Philadelphia because the idea of brotherly love made them feel much more welcome than the packed streets of NYC. With people coming from so many different places racial incidents were commonplace and many people moved quickly to avoid trouble where they could. And of course New York’s loss was Philadelphia’s gain. moving quote
In the 18th century, thanks to the largest freshwater port and fertile agricultural land, Philadelphia became not only an advanced city but one of the most modern cities in the world for its time. The wealth of the region was reflected in the architecture of the city’s cultural institutions and houses built by local residents. The historical part of the city still preserves the atmosphere of a small, quiet town yet prosperous, exactly as Philadelphia and other colonial cities looked like during the time when the United States of America was being created.
There are many things for which the city was the first. For example, in 1876 the country’s first fair was held at which the phone was presented. It may not sound very interesting today in this age of mobile devices but back then it was the pinnacle in communications technology before which only single sounds could be passed along a line using Morse code. Just think how long a conversation would have taken when you required 3 tones to make a single letter of the alphabet! Two years later the first building equipped with electric lighting was presented here. Before this, and to be honest for quite some time after, it was all candles and gas lamps, canals and coal fires. But in an effort to be the most advanced city of the age Philadelphia was one of the first American cities built on a design single plan meaning that any constructions had to be agreed upon to fit in with the city build model. But this feature was not just for the looks of it, even though it left spaces for orchards and parks, it was a safety feature designed to limit fire damage and limit the spread. Surprisingly if we compare New York to Philadelphia we see that Philly’s grid design actually came long before that of NY. About 130 years before.
In addition, Philadelphia is the first American city which began to implement programs for the acquisition and installation of contemporary public art for the improvement and development of the city proper and also the surrounding regions. The first of these programs, the Percent for Art Program, was adopted by Philadelphia and shortly after 1959 more than 400 works of public art were installed. Today, there are more than 700 works in the style of public art here. So it is fair to say that the city is by far the first in America by the number of monuments and various art installations.
After your relocation from New York to Philadelphia is complete, try to find time to get acquainted not only with the city’s attractions, which are celebrated in tourist brochures, but also with those that may not be as widely known. Because it is these hidden gems that are what make the city beautiful, unusual and unique. For example, take a walk on South Street. This is one of the brightest streets of Philadelphia (from a creative point of view). It is filled with unusual paintings, drawings, signs and murals as well as the Magic Garden which is a truly unique piece of street art. It is designed as a big house with a street maze. Both inside and outside, everything is completely covered with mosaics, but very unconventionally. It is a mix of colored bottles, bicycle wheels, tableware, ceramic tiles, statues and fragments of mirrors. It is so unusual yet so well crafted that it has made this made the street one of the city’s major hidden attractions.
Moving from NY to Philly will also be a culinary experience and you are about to discover some new dishes. The most well known among then is of course the famous Philly cheesesteak. It is a long loaf of bread essentially with fried steak, onions and of course cheese. If you are a fan of hearty meals you will love Philadelphia. The city has a kind of cult of food. A huge number of different restaurants representing many cuisines of the world are always open and on offer here. The locals love nothing more than the finest delicacies of meat and fish, hot pretzels with salt, submarine sandwiches, scrapples, tastykakes, Irish potato candies and a whole host of other things.
So plan your move from New York to Philadelphia today and get ready for a delicious life.