TetRefine

No I don't think it'll hit 2M people again, at least any time soon. I bet it'll even out at around 1.65-1.7M in 20 years or so. I think thats a good estimate, and I think the people moving in will be wealthier and far less trashy then what populates a lot of the city right now. And there is nothing going for Wilmington. There isn't even anything for it to build on, and I bet it'll continue to be just an oversized ghetto for the foreseeable future.

Here I think lies an interesting generational gap on where people desire to live. My grandpa was a born and raised Brooklyn-ite (BedSty to be exact). His family had been in New York City since the 1860s. When he came back from his stint in the Marine Corp in 1953, everything had started to change for the worse. His once white, working class Brooklyn neighborhood was being taken over by poor blacks who were turning it into a ghetto. He packed up and moved to Long Island where he raised his family and remained till he died. My mom, growing up in 60s, 70s, and early 80s New York always thought of the city as the hellhole it was during that time and was turned off completely from urban living. I came of age when cities came out of their slump and began to thrive, and I can only associate New York with being big, bustling, and attractive, not a crime ridden ghetto. We just don't have that fear of black people and cities that people older then us do. I would far prefer a 600 square foot, very expensive apartment in the heart, of say, Manhattan, over some generic house in the "city" of Phoenix any day. I grew up in the suburbs with a decent size house, a big yard, little league, and all that other stuff, yet it isn't that great. Everybody is the same, everybody is close-minded, and there is absolutely nothing to do. I'd much rather suffer from a higher COL and get all the benefits of a big city rather then settle in some suburban city like out west or just a suburb. Just me though.

Here's the thing. Philly is growing slowly by comparison, which is more sustainable when you compare it to the explosive growth many southern cities are feeling. They can keep up better with the demand because plenty of housing stock and public resources already exist to serve the growing population, but just needs updating. Remember, Philadelphia was originally meant to handle 2M people and it can easily do so again in the future. You are right about the school systems, but as gentrification takes over and the scum of the city gets pushed out and higher quality people move in, that problem will eventually fix itself too. As far as Philadelphia's population comparing to those cities you mentioned, they aren't even real cities to begin with. Phoenix is nothing more then a massively overgrown suburb that swallows up everything in its path. Its almost 600 square miles compared to Philly's 135, and nowhere does that place even look like a city. Philadelphia can't annex surrounding areas like western cities because it's already an established city. There are very few real cities outside the Northeast (Chicago, SanFran, maybe LA) but thats about it. Most western cities are nothing more then a few tall buildings and then sprawling suburban homes. So I say let them overtake us in population, but they'll never be a true city.

My favorite quote from that video is former Philadelphia mayor and ex-Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell saying, "If I had predicted that in less then 20 years they'd be selling condominiums in downtown Philadelphia for 12 million dollars, they would have had little men in white coats come take me away." That to me sums up the transformation that this city has gone through since the bottoming out of the early 90s.

Get a degree in something that has a direct job link to the real world. There is a reason many humanities/English degrees are mocked by everybody else. Unless you plan on grad or law school, they are pretty much worthless.

Enjoy! I have heard San Diego is a beautiful city, with perfect weather and lots of things to do. My personal favorite thing to do while on vacation at the beach is to watch all the hot shirtless guys tanning in the sand, but thats just me.

I guess there is just something about being in a car, stuck in traffic, that just makes people pissy and impatient, regardless of which coast you live on.

I don't think going fast equals aggressive. For example, driving in Manhattan is very slow but extremely aggressive. You have to be very skilled and very aggressive to drive through Manhattan, which is why I love it. Even though California traffic is legendary, I always thought the West Coast laid back attitude made for a less aggressive experience even in rush hour. When I was in Vegas on the strip I remember thinking how much more courteous drivers were there despite the congestion. During rush hours in New York or Philadelphia, its dog-eat-dog and the car horn and middle finger are essential driving tools. Interesting difference I guess.

Never been one for celebrity crushes, but Dave Franco is an exception.

Are California drivers as aggressive and impatient as their urban Northeastern counterparts?

Not to sidetrack again, but here is a interesting video that chronicles Center City's rise from the hell-hole it was in the early 90s to being one of the most populated and vibrant downtowns in America today.

This is a cool quiz that determines what region best fits your linguistic dialect. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html Of course, I'm a pure-bred, through-and-through Yankee and got Worcester, Springfield, and Newark. Doesn't get any more Northern than that.

Heres a neat artist's rendering video of what the new building will look like from different angles and areas.

Canadiens fans yet again showing how much of a classy bunch they are.... http://nesn.com/2014/05/canadiens-fans-throw-garbage-at-milan-lucic-as-he-exits-ice-gif/

Let's face it. The movement wants a clean cut, well-spoken, good looking, A-level white guy to use as their poster child for gay football players. Michael Sams fits the clean cut and well-spoken part, but he isn't white so he's not quite the "picture-perfect" spokesman many people wanted. It's kinda disgraceful because he had huge balls to do what he did before he was even established. I respect him to no end. But I am very cynical about the way the media and NFL is handling this. On a side note, his boyfriend (a former swimmer) is hot.

Sometimes yes, but mostly no and certainly not for a guy picked close to dead last. ESPN just did it because he was gay and they figured it would make good TV, which it did. They got their gay kiss, and everyone either went "awww", "ewwww" or "oh my god" when they saw it. It was good for ratings.

He allowed ESPN to put the camera in the room where he was watching the draft, so he essentially gave up his right to privacy.

I am in love with his voice. Stay With Me, by Sam Smith.

Most of Kensington is still like that in the video, but give it 10-15 years and I guarantee you it will go from the Black/Puerto Rican hell hole it is now to a gentrified, mostly White/Asian area. The poverty in Philadelphia is getting pushed farther and farther out, which is a good thing considering poverty has blighted and dragged this city down the past 30+ years. But alas, 2014 Philadelphia has nothing really to do with 2002 California culture so I'll stop now.

For those of you not familiar with how the NFL works, players who get drafted that low rarely even make it out of training camp or just end up getting assigned to the practice squad. I highly doubt you will even see him rostered on St. Louis when September rolls around. Sigh, the cynical part of me thinks in the back of my mind that the NFL orchestrated his draft just to avoid potential negative publicity. Especially after the whole Richie Incognito/Miami circus from last year.

Jeremy if you need to research modern day "hipsters", just take a walk through South Street, Fishtown, Northern Liberties, or certain parts of Kensington. You'll see a overwhelming tidal wave of these douchbags on every corner in those neighborhoods.

I find it really annoying how all they are focusing on is how ESPN caught him and his boyfriend kissing on camera when he found out he had been drafted. How about they concentrate on how he can contribute defensively to a bottom-rung team like they do with every other player. I Or is the whole gay thing too much for the media circus to pass up? Yes I know, I already answered my own question. SMH.

I couldn't live without my smartphone. Too much of my life is incorporated into that. I could easily dump TV/radio. All my show watching is done through Netflix, Hulu and other sites so cable isn't even necessary. The only time I ever listen to the radio is on short car drives. When I drive long distance I just plug in my iPhone and listen to my own music.

With all the conference quarterfinals wrapped up, here are the standings so far: TetRefine Total: 6/8= 6 pts. Kitt Total: 6/8= 6 pts Mark Arbour Total: 5/8= 5 pts slytherin Total: 5/8= 5 pts FrenchCanadian Total: 5/8= 5 pts Red_A Total: 5/8= 5 pts Ashi Total: 4/8= 4 pts Andy78 Total: 3/8= 3 pts W_L Total: 2/8= 2 pts And just for fun, contestants who are still in the running for picking the correct Stanley Cup winner: TetRefine, Kitt, slytherin, and FrenchCanadian.

Remember what I said about San Jose being choke artists? Congrats to LA. Thats a helluva comeback.