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by ChrisFebruary 23rd, 2006 1:24 am
One of the unsettling things about having a very middle class family income and renting in Center City Philadelphia in 2006, is that you can see and feel yourself being priced out of your lifestyle. Each new condo conversion and each new high rise erected, feels like another nail in the coffin of the slightly skanky, but very cheap and fun lifestyle that Center City has given so many us for years. Curse the New Yorkers and empty nesters if you like, but it’s like cursing the rising tide. There’s nothing you can do about it. Maybe not today, but one day soon, your landlord is going to realize that he can sell off your apartment to some empty nesters for a half million dollars and you’re gone.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that the city is doing well and that people want to be here. This is really an odd time in this city’s recent history, in which people are actually voluntarily moving into town from far away and exotic locations like Queens and New Jersey. This is new and exciting. We’re used to seeing people leave. Nearly every friend I had growing up, as well as both of my siblings, left the area the very first chance they got, and they aren’t coming back…Bleh, this is getting stupid.
Anyway, I really just meant to point to this Philadelphia Weekly interview with Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron, which covers quite a lot of ground with regards to the building boom. Lot’s of good stuff, so have a look.
