Philadelphia, also known as Philly and the City of Brotherly Love, offers a wealth of scenes from art and music, history and shopping, and a hub where foodies descend. These specialties are also all within walking distance of each other and/or 15-minute Uber rides.
Patrick Campbell, a real estate agent and team leader at Compass Inc., overseeing the greater Philadelphia area, the Mainline and Southern New Jersey, along with agents Becca Fischer and Moira McFadden, share what drew them to the city and what the biggest draws are for their clients.
Fischer is a lifelong resident of Philly – other than four years away at college – she and her husband are planning to stay and raise their family.
“I love the spontaneity of what the day may bring in the city,” she said. “Walking around, I can just have the best days bumping into people I know. It’s small enough for that sense of community. It’s a diverse, livable city … I feel you get everything you want out of a city in [Philly].”
Those are the same things that drew her parents to make the decision to stay in the city and raise Fischer and her sister.
“I look forward to raising my daughter here and having her experience the different cultures I experienced growing up,” she said, noting her sister and her husband also are raising their family in the city. “Both of our husbands are from the suburbs.”
Affordability of the city is what appealed to McFadden when she moved to the city as a 22 year old.
“[The area] is safe with stuff to do [all while] not eating a lot of your income being young,” she said.
In the late 1990s, McFadden said there was a big push to invest in creating infrastructure and a shopping district in Center City by former Governor and Mayor, Ed Rendell. In 1995, Stephen Starr, founder of Starr Restaurants, opened his first restaurant “Continental Restaurant & Martini Bar” in Center City. At the time Rendell was quoted in a local newspaper, “It was like a shock of electricity for the development of Old City and led the way for the restaurant revolution down there.”
Today Starr operates restaurants in Philadelphia, New York City, South Florida, Washington D.C. and Paris.
“Before that there were two restaurants in Old City, that’s it, there was nothing to do,” McFadden said.
Campbell said the walkability of the city allows him to walk or bike to every appointment.
“Center City is extremely walkable … from Old City to Fitler Square is a 25-minute walk,” he said. Along the route, people can stop and enjoy the district’s robust food scene, shopping and boutique malls as well as admire the history of the Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross House and row houses dating back to 1850.
Campbell said the residential neighborhoods along the Schuylkill River Trail are green and include dog and pocket parks and each neighborhood has a farmers’ market.
Although Philadelphia is the second largest city on the East Coast, sixth largest across the United States, those who live in the city often highlight the small-town feel.
McFadden said it’s all about the connections.
“We look out for each other,” she said. “It’s a small town masquerading as a city.”
