# Does Philadelphia Get Much International Exposure?



## Geo_Lee_2001 (Apr 15, 2014)

I was wondering how well-known Philadelphia is in your country compared to New York, LA, Chicago, etc. Many people (including me) think that Philadelphia is better than those cities and it's extremely underrated.


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

People in the UK would have heard of it, but still struggle to think of a single thing connected with the city, possibly barring the odd sports team.


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## Geo_Lee_2001 (Apr 15, 2014)

Well, Philadelphia has better museums, food, arts, and urban parks than New York. For people from the UK, it's probably not the most pleasant memory but the Declaration of Independence was written and signed here, signifying the 1st independent nation to break away from the British Empire. Also, William Penn was from London and he planned Philadelphia's grid based on a rejected idea for rebuilding London after the fire of 1666. In the 1700's Philadelphia was the "Second city of the British Empire" and the wealthiest, largest, and most progressive city in the American colonies. 

Lastly, the Liberty Bell and Big Ben (the bell) were made by the same foundry, Pass and Stow.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

Even next door in Canada, Philadelphia draws a blank. We know of it because of sports (NBA, NHL, MLB), but our gaze never reaches any further. Philly suffers from being in the eternal shadow of NYC. Canadians can relate somewhat. We live in the eternal shadow of the US.

We seem to be emerging from it however. Philadelphia will have no such luck.


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

In Denmark it's pretty much only known from the opening song to "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" or whatever thatold Will Smith sitcom was called.. and of course the occational crime-cop show..


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## Wunderknabe (Jun 29, 2010)

Philadelphia for most germans is probably this:










The city is nowhere near as popular as the others you mentioned.
However, I know and like P. although, so far, I've never been there.


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## FNNG (Jul 25, 2011)

Wunderknabe said:


> Philadelphia for most germans is probably this:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


haha it always reminds me about the cream cheese.


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## alexandru.mircea (May 18, 2011)

Not really.

I follow an architecture blog and at some point the guy visited Philly and posted a lot of pics with the typical red brick architecture there. Since then, I really want to visit the city someday.


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## Wapper (Feb 24, 2011)

For Belgium: same answer as Freki and Wunderknabe. I actually think that this applies to most countreis in continental Europe.
The brick architecture looks great and very unique for an American city :cheers:
Though brick architecture is not really very excetional over here


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## william of waco (Jul 13, 2008)

I lived there for three years and I feel that the reason it is not well known is because it just doesn't want to be. It is a metropolis but with a small town attitude, which I why I loved it so much. It is perfectly content with letting the traveler discover all its hidden wonders. If you love architecture then you will love Philadelphia. You need to let it grow on you and it's a very fun city to explore.


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## 009 (Nov 28, 2007)

the cream cheese is much more well known than the city, seriously


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## Jay (Oct 7, 2004)

In Spain people have heard of it, considering it's easily as big as Madrid or Barcelona but nothing else really, maybe the movie or sports teams. 

I do agree Philly is really underrated obviously because it's basically a shadow city of one of the worlds largest most important cities. NY is only a 70 minute train ride or 2 hour drive away.


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## spotila (Oct 29, 2004)

Philly..umm.. cheesesteaks, cream cheese, It's Always Sunny, Comcast Center, King of Prussia Mall..., lots of stadiums in one place, Camden is poor, City Hall was the tallest for ages, ~6 million in the metro, largest counties by population in PA (barring Pittsburgh at #2 (Allegheny county?)

Weird linking with I-95 but they're sorting that out? Plus that terrible interstate people talk about that heads up to King of Prussia being way too narrow or something? Liberty bell and Independence Hall. 

That'll do ^_^

But to answer your question, most in New Zealand would know of Philly only by name


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## Troopchina (Oct 7, 2005)

In Croatia its pretty much the same as other from Europe have already said.

I'd say not only NY, LA or Chicago are more well-known, but also Boston, Washington, Miami & San Francisco


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## sebvill (Apr 13, 2005)

Are we talking about the Philly Cheese Steak? I love it.


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## sebvill (Apr 13, 2005)

In Latin America I think is


Miami
New York

Los Angeles
Orlando

San Francisco
Chicago
Washington DC




Houston
Atlanta
Boston
Dallas


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

Rev Stickleback said:


> People in the UK would have heard of it, but still struggle to think of a single thing connected with the city, possibly barring the odd sports team.


Yeah, and maybe from Cold Case.


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

Basically Declaration of Independence, crime and cream cheese :dunno:


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## Latin l0cO (Nov 8, 2004)

I grew up in north jersey, and the first time I ever visited Philly was only about 3 years ago. It's a charming city but given it's proximity to NY and DC, it gets little exposure. The same issue happens with Baltimore and the CT cities.


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## Jay (Oct 7, 2004)

Latin l0cO said:


> I grew up in north jersey, and the first time I ever visited Philly was only about 3 years ago. It's a charming city but given it's proximity to NY and DC, it gets little exposure. The same issue happens with Baltimore and the CT cities.


You can't really compare Philly to Baltimore, Philadelphia is a bigger city than Washington DC and also used to be the capital of the US. I think it's NY that takes most of its glory away but it's still weird how underrated it is. 

I guess it's like a lot of people have heard of Hong Kong but never Guangzhou or Shenzhen despite how huge they are, or like Shanghai to Suzhou/Nanjing.


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

Geo_Lee_2001 said:


> For people from the UK, it's probably not the most pleasant memory but the Declaration of Independence was written and signed here, signifying the 1st independent nation to break away from the British Empire..


British tourists, if they were in the city, would visit those without the slightest care. They'd probably find them interesting.

"Empire" is thought of as a distant historic curiosity like rickets and small boys cleaning chimneys, and there have been so many nations that have gained independence that none of the independence days/events have any significance here. I think I was probably in my teens before I even knew the USA was once ruled by Britain.


I have been through Philadelphia, once, on a train.

I remember it stopped at a light by some suburb that was so rough that you wondered if the train carriage would be up on bricks when the light changed.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

Jay said:


> I guess it's like a lot of people have heard of Hong Kong but never Guangzhou or Shenzhen despite how huge they are, or like Shanghai to Suzhou/Nanjing.


That's a good analogy. Few talk about Shenzhen. Tianjin would be another one: a city of 14 million people 50 km from Beijing. Philadelphia is under rated, but it's smack dab in the middle of one of the most interesting regions in the world. Boston - NYC - Philadelphia - Baltimore - Washington. There's so much there.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

It doesn't have much of a profile here at all, very much overshadowed by NYC and DC.


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

I think it's very easy for people to completely overestimate how well know their countries/cities/landmarks/historical events etc are known abroad.

I know there's a vast number of people around the world who would struggle to name a single place to visit in the UK outside London, beyond maybe Stonehenge.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

True. Philadelphia is largely unknown outside the US, but the same could be said for the profile of Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow outside the UK. Everything in the UK lives in the shadow of London. People would have heard of Manchester United, but that's about it. Most people never look beyond London when they think of the UK.


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## Copperknickers (May 15, 2011)

Geo_Lee_2001 said:


> I was wondering how well-known Philadelphia is in your country compared to New York, LA, Chicago, etc. Many people (including me) think that Philadelphia is better than those cities and it's extremely underrated.


I thought it was a small provincial city until last year, I had no idea it was so big or so historically important. I can't think of a single film set there, and I doubt I'd recognise its skyline.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

Copperknickers said:


> I can't think of a single film set there,


How about er, Philadelphia.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

I think Trading Places with Eddie Murphy was set there. I could be wrong. :dunno:

And then there's this song:


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

And of course Elton John sang this one..


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## Yuri S Andrade (Sep 29, 2008)

Copperknickers said:


> I thought it was a small provincial city until last year, I had no idea it was so big or so historically important. I can't think of a single film set there, and I doubt I'd recognise its skyline.


What? Philadelphia is one of the favourite places to set movies/TV series. You probably don't watch much movies or don't pay attention on them:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_Philadelphia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_and_television_shows_shot_in_Pennsylvania

About not knowing its skyline, I agree with everybody that foreign average people don't know much about Philadelphia, but on SSC, where people are enthusiasts of skyscrapers, skylines and cities, I find it quite surprising.


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

I have to say I've never heard of most of those.. :shifty:


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## Yuri S Andrade (Sep 29, 2008)

Ok Jonesy, but when someone brings this subject (movies featured specific cities) like Copperknickers did, you'll imagine the person likes movies and also knows exactly in which city the story is set (like myself). 

If that's the case, it's very bizarre to say you have no recollection of movies set in Philadelphia.


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## memph (Dec 11, 2010)

Jay said:


> You can't really compare Philly to Baltimore, Philadelphia is a bigger city than Washington DC and also used to be the capital of the US. I think it's NY that takes most of its glory away but it's still weird how underrated it is.
> 
> I guess it's like a lot of people have heard of Hong Kong but never Guangzhou or Shenzhen despite how huge they are, or like Shanghai to Suzhou/Nanjing.


Suzhou, Nanjing and Guangzhou are good examples also because they were historically important in Chinese history like Philadelphia in American history. Although I think a decent amount of people would know there was a city called Canton, but might not realize it's the same as Guangzhou.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

Yuri S Andrade said:


> Ok Jonesy, but when someone brings this subject (movies featured specific cities) like Copperknickers did, you'll imagine the person likes movies and also knows exactly in which city the story is set (like myself).
> 
> If that's the case, it's very bizarre to say you have no recollection of movies set in Philadelphia.


Most people don't make the connection between a movie and the city it is set in unless globally famous buildings/imagery is used like a London double decker bus, Times Square, the Hollywood sign, etc. I had no idea Rocky was set in Philadelphia, for example. To me it was set in a random US city and I never gave it more thought than that.

A lot of product is filmed in Toronto yet it's only Toronto audiences (and some others) that instantly recognize that it's Toronto. They take a few too many chances sometimes though. I actually say a British car commercial in 2001 with the CN Tower in the back ground yet they tried to pass it off as a US city. :hammer:


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## Copperknickers (May 15, 2011)

Geo_Lee_2001 said:


> Well, Philadelphia has better museums, food, arts, and urban parks than New York. For people from the UK, it's probably not the most pleasant memory but the Declaration of Independence was written and signed here, signifying the 1st independent nation to break away from the British Empire. Also, William Penn was from London and he planned Philadelphia's grid based on a rejected idea for rebuilding London after the fire of 1666. In the 1700's Philadelphia was the "Second city of the British Empire" and the wealthiest, largest, and most progressive city in the American colonies.


There are about 4 cities in the UK which also claim the title 'Second City of the empire', plus Calcutta in India, so I'm afraid Philadelphia wouldn't get much exposure from that. Besides, we have the First City of the Empire, who needs the Second . 

And as has been said, the average non-university educated Brit would have little idea that America was once ruled by the UK, we don't really get taught about the empire in school.


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## Copperknickers (May 15, 2011)

Yuri S Andrade said:


> What? Philadelphia is one of the favourite places to set movies/TV series. You probably don't watch much movies or don't pay attention on them:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_depictions_of_Philadelphia


Well according to that, its been in barely any major films in the past 10 years, just some minor thriller and horror films. Its been in a couple of blockbusters like Transformers, but nowhere near as many as New York, Chicago or LA. It doesn't seem to have been in any more films than places like Seattle or San Diego to be honest, which are equally poorly known in the UK, even if some people can name half a dozen films set there.



> About not knowing its skyline, I agree with everybody that foreign average people don't know much about Philadelphia, but on SSC, where people are enthusiasts of skyscrapers, skylines and cities, I find it quite surprising.


I'm playing Devil's advocate here somewhat. My home city (Glasgow) was used as a filming location for the recent World War Z film as a stand in for Philadelophia. It was all over the newspapers here. Our City Hall is actually quite similar to Philadelphia's.


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## Piltup Man (May 21, 2010)

Pretty much the only thing I know about Philadelphia is that I know roughly where it is geographically without needing to look it up on a map. Also, I know it's on a river.

Some people have commented that it is probably overshadowed by New York. I'd add that in terms of its history it is probably overshadowed by Boston. If someone were to ask me "Quick, name the first city that comes to mind when thinking about the American Revolution", I'd say Boston. Despite the fact that I know that Philadelphia played a major role in it too.


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## Adde (May 8, 2011)

isaidso said:


> A lot of product is filmed in Toronto yet it's only Toronto audiences (and some others) that instantly recognize that it's Toronto. They take a few too many chances sometimes though. I actually say a British car commercial in 2001 with the CN Tower in the back ground yet they tried to pass it off as a US city. :hammer:


Once you know how many shows are shot in Toronto you start recognizing it even if you've never been there. Same thing with Vancouver. I guess it's tax benefits that makes so many US productions locate their sets in Canadian cities? 

It always makes me think of Stargate SG-1. So many planets, yet they all look like the area around Vancouver.


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## Rascar (Mar 13, 2012)

I would probably need about five goes to spell it correctly, but that may say more about my intelligence than anything else:nuts:



Copperknickers said:


> There are about 4 cities in the UK which also claim the title 'Second City of the empire', plus Calcutta in India, so I'm afraid Philadelphia wouldn't get much exposure from that. Besides, we have the First City of the Empire, who needs the Second .


In Ireland the other day I heard the tag used for Dublin in an Irish documentary. Seemed a strange claim to me for more than one reason!

Glasgow, Calcutta, Bristol, Manchester, Sydney, Dublin, are candidates I've heard, probably the first two have the best claim.

To be fair the 1700s was a different era of the British Empire, a different type of empire altogether, so Philadelphia may have a claim.


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

Geo_Lee_2001 said:


> I was wondering how well-known Philadelphia is in your country compared to New York, LA, Chicago, etc. Many people (including me) think that Philadelphia is better than those cities and it's extremely underrated.


Like Britons, people in Austria might have heard about it but won't have much of an opinion about it, other maybe than "east-coast" and "as old as a city gets in the US". Some might think of German speaking heritage as well maybe. 

It is certainly not thought to be in one league with NYC, LA or Chicago. That doesn't mean that Philly is not a nice city. And of course for anyone who is interested in history, it is one of the best places to start a US trip.


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