Security in Philadelphia vs Baltimore
 

Anyone been to these cities in the states?

I'm planning to head to either one of the for work for half a year or so... was wondering whether you guys have any input on them in terms of the safety/nightlife there.


For example, I've heard some stories where Philly is really unsafe at night and lots of muggings/gangbangers come out at night, so it's best to stay inside. I also don't want to deal with thefts and such, so i guess choosing the place to stay within that city will be crucial in that respect...

Recommendations/suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Philly may sound bad but its much better than Baltimore.

very true
been to philly once and it was not bad

"The Wire" always pops up in my head whenever I think of Baltimore

jersey philly new york full of gangbanger after 9pm

Go to Philly and get a cheesesteak!

I heard they are the best in the world! :thumbsup:

faaack i want a cheesesteak

not a fan of cheesesteaks. would take a japadog hot dog any day. those are :drool

That's because the Cheesesteak came from Philly.

Having worked in Philly before, stay away from Frankford ave where the subway runs. Its where people get shot, mugged, and beaten up. Not to be racist, but there are a lot of African Americans living there (almost like saying Richmond is 100% Chinese), and you see a lot of street gang activity, even during the day. The nights in Frankford Hospital ER are spent removing slugs from bodies of people being shot. I remember driving down that street during the day and seeing a bank being robbed. As well, don't dangle your arm wearing your watch out the window if you're in that area - you'll get it chopped off. I was warned by people working in area when i did that by mistake (more like yelled at to bring my arm back in the car).
Other than that, Philly is cool. If you're into sports, the stadiums where the teams play are all in one area, right beside each other, so you could catch a baseball game, and then walk right over to a basketball game or a football game.
There are war ships parked near the city, so something to visit and see on the weekends.
The downtown part of the city is pretty large, and parking is decent, not too expensive. You can go see the Liberty Bell and things like that, but the lineup is long (we waited an hour to get in to see the cracked bell). There is a Chinatown like here, and there is also a large gate to get in just as we do in Vancouver. However, I don't remember it being very big.
Cheesesteak...hmm...first night I was there, we went to Geno's Steaks, which is supposed to be the best (thats what we were told). There were lineups but we eventually got some. Pictures all over of people that had stopped by to get cheesesteak, like Jay Leno and other celebrities. The cheese is basically cheesewhiz, so if you don't mind that, its ok i guess. We also tried the competitor across the street: Pat's King of Steaks. Mind you, its like the Starbucks we have on Robson - they're right beside each other, and yet people still line up for it. We tried one more place while we were in Philly - Steve's Prince of steaks. Steve's Prince of steaks was better in my opinion.

^^ Too bad the Eagles suck

Either way every girls needs a good raping.

maryland is like the US capital of shootings haha. I was in baltimore and could hear gunshots when i was in my hotel in downtown baltimore.

philly's ok, i walked aruond there at night alone in downtown and seemed pretty safe. just dont go to sketchy areas.

Thanks Iceman and J. Where were you guys staying during your trip at Philly and how much roughly per month?

I'm going to be working in downtown if I take it up and I got some friends that recommend the International House of Philly, which is located really close to Upenn, just over the bridge from downtown I think. However, for a single room it seems pretty pricey... It's roughly $720 US per month which is just a single room with a shared bathroom and with/without kitchen.

The private rooms which can accommodate 2 people, with private bath and no kitchen was $890 per month... Seems only good if you can share the private month to work out to be $450ish per month. Curious as to whether you know living near UPenn at the Ihouse is much safer compared to what you said... Iceman, at Frankford. Frankford definitely is an area I would not even think of going, it's pretty scary just from your description alone.

I've also heard some stories where people would just drive up to visit their friend, and when they're leaving to get in their cars once done the visit, there would be a holdup with African Americans who demanded their money, and after, even shot and killed one of the innocent person.

Since you dont pay rent in vancouver it's pretty hilarous that you complain about those prices being expensive.

Yeah if you don't have to go to Frankford, don't.

When i was working there, the company was paying for food and accommodations, so didn't really have to care much for it. That and i was there for less than 2 weeks.

UPenn is much safer than where i was working (Frankford). Its far far far far away from the stuff I saw.