Phoenix unofficially passed Philadephia in population this week, making it the 5th largest city in the nation. This really pisses off the people in Philadelphia.
Oh sure, they can deny it all they want. But the truth is, this really gets under their skin.
I don't know why they're so butt-hurt about this. Phoenix is growing--so what? Because we've outgrown our 1970 city limits, they accuse us of "cheating" by expanding the size of the city.
Well, if its cheating to continue providing plenty of living space without stacking people right on top of each other, then I for one am glad we cheat. I love having a nice big backyard for my dogs to run in. I like having a garage to store my jet skis in and a driveway to park my car in. These things are rare in Philly. Most people in Philadelphia have a house that's squeezed in so tight with their neighbors that you could lean out your bedroom window and spit on theirs. They have no yards, and they fight for parking in the street. Who the hell wants to live like that?
They accuse us of being uncultured and say that we live in the middle of nowhere. They say that New York and Washington DC are just a train ride away. Fine--but if I really want to go to New York or Washington DC, there are airplanes to take me there. As for culture, well... clearly the people who say this have never visited here. They have this perception that we all have dirt yards with cactus all around, and that we all wear cowboy hats and drive pickup trucks.
Been to Scottsdale lately? I've never seen so many expensive, fancy cars in any one place in my life. And last time I checked, we had plenty of cultural arts events to take advantage of in the valley.
The bottom line is they're acting like sore losers. When the census bureau released their report last year, the Philadelphians were doing a lot of trash talking about Phoenicians. I'm not even sure what the fighting is all about. Is it really that big of a deal?
If the people in Philadelphia want to lure away a big chunk of the Phoenix population over to their neck of the woods, be my guest. The traffic is getting heavier here every year, and I for one would like to see the growth slow down a bit.
Quit your whining, Philly. We really don't care.
Now shut up and bring me a cheesesteak.
Posted by geekchik at May 20, 2004 11:46 AM