I was born and raised in Philly. It is controlled by Democrats. It is a disaster. We had a saying for visitors. “If you want any love here, you better bring your brother with you.”
A very good friend of mine (who happens to be black) refers to her hometown of Philly as ‘The City of Brothers.’
Well, that is not entirely accurate. Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods. When I was a kid there were black neighborhoods, Jewish meighborhoods, Italian and Irish neighborhoods.
For some reason the most beautiful girls we encountered in high school always lived in neighborhoods that required crossing other ethnic communities. In fact, if you were unlucky, you got stomped into a meatball by the neighborhood guys whose turf you dared to be caught in.
Through the years whites moved to the suburbs and blacks gradually became numerous enough to take political power. There are still ethnic neighborhoods, but Democrats control power in the city. The mayor is black. Members of City Council are black, but there are still representatives of most ethnic groups in Council too.
Republicans seem resigned to being perpetually in the minority. They get there slice of the patronage jobs and it looks like they will never regain control.
As far as I am concerned I was fortunate to get out of there. About the only thing I miss about the place is Chinese food and the Italian market in South Philly.
Philadelphia has many historic sites, including the Liberty Bell. It is a great place to visit. It is also a great place to be from.