When I was an undergraduate student in Philadelphia, I didn’t pay much attention to the political and economic aspects of the city because at the back of my mind, I always knew I was moving to New York. International students like me relate most to cosmopolitan cities like New York, London etc. These cities speak to our displaced mentalities on a more visceral level. And they attract other people, like us. I remember when I started job-hunting, it didn’t even occur to me that Philadelphia might have interesting opportunities for me. New York was the be all and end all.
And like I always knew, I did move to New York after graduation. Only to make a move back to Philadelphia within a year for my career.
But this time, it’s different. This time, I’m genuinely interested in Philadelphia. If cities belonged to a high-school, Philadelphia would be New York’s strongest competitor: atleast geographically! It’s almost like we live in NY’s shadow. I love NY, don’t get me wrong. But I’m not jaded anymore. New York is not the be all and end all, like I believed once. Yes, so Sex and the City and Independence Day happens in New York and terrorists attack NY to cripple the nation and all cool people live in NY and stories float around about making-it-in-new york. But that’s it’s essence. And fortunately for New York, it’s not concealed or left for people to discover. With other cities, like Philadelphia, it may take time and maybe effort to really discover it’s essence.
It’s a conundrum that faces not just Philadelphia. We are home to some of the best colleges in the country and obviously attracts smart students. But why then do they move after graduating? Is it the jobs, the action, the nightlife, the money? What is it that does not help the city retain it’s talent?
While it’s not NY, I think we have a fairly impressive list of companies HQed around here. I am puzzled. Is it the people? Will more companies come to Philly if we attracted NY-like people? Or will NY-like people come to Philly if we attract more companies (more jobs) ?
I started reading Richard Florida’s book, The Rise of the Creative Class," yesterday to help me understand this situation better. The basis of his work is how creative people are leading the current cultural and economic shift. He also makes an interesting argument: for cities to prosper, they should attract (and retain) the creatives.
I’m curious. What role can I play in assiting Philly to become the one more cultural and economic hub like other American and international cities?
PS- In case you didn’t know, Philadelphia will soon become the nation’s first completely wireless major city.
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January 17, 2007 at 11:20 am
I too left Philadelphia after graduating from Temple to go to New York. I truly believed that New York was the place to be and that there were no opportunities in my field (graphic design) in Philadelphia. But I miss Philly, tremendously. My boyfriend is there and every time I visit I always dream of coming back. One day I will.
It is in fact true that creative people attract folks to cities. We are the pioneers. We made places like Bed Stuy and Red Hook in Brooklyn cool places to live. We revived the Northern Liberties and Fishtown neightborhoods because we could not afford to live Society Hill or Old City. Where we move, businesses follow. We bring our studios, galleries and poetry jams then come the cafes, boutiques, and restaurants. Suddenly it’s a hip place to be. Then developers come and build condos and the next thing you know it’s the most expensive place to live in the city. It’s amazing!
When I was still in Philly, I remember there was a huge problem with rentention. So I think it was the city government that started an initiative/organization to help keep graduating students from leaving. I knew I was leaving so I never looked into it but I wonder what it entailed. Do you remember hearing anything about it?
I too would like to somehow be involved with helping Philly become a more cultural and economic hub. I don’t know what it would take but it’s seems like it could be an interesting task. In the meantime Philly remains a little secret waiting to be told.
Sorry for the long comment. Also I will check out that book, it sounds good.
January 17, 2007 at 11:42 pm
The Knowledge Industry Partnership (www.kiponline.org) was created a few years ago to address the issue of college student retention. While this is a worthwhile effort, many students still leave the city after graduation to pursue jobs in highly-desirable fields (e.g. advertising and finance in NY, television and motion pictures in LA, etc.). Once Philly develops a cluster of firms in one or more creative industries, then we will see more students staying in the region after college. City government can support young businesses in these fields with tax incentives.