Philly is NOT trash.

Philadelphia is often stereotyped as a city that is 'ghetto', 'trashy', 'dangerous', and just in general not nice at all. I would love to crush that stereotype and invoke realization about how great and, not to mention, important, Philadelphia is.

Every city has its 'scary' parts. The parts where tourists do not want to see or go to when they visit. New York has them, Chicago has them…all cities have these parts. Philadelphia, of course, is no different. I have met people that believe that Philly is solely made up of these ‘scary’ parts. Those people could not be more wrong.

I feel very comfortable walking around Philadelphia during the day. At night, any place gets scary but I feel comfortable walking around with a group of people, just like anywhere else. Philadelphia’s Center City is very nice, as well as Old City, Spruce Street Harbor Park area, the Art Museum area, Chestnut Hill, Penn's Landing, Manayunk, Rittenhouse Square, etc.There are many nice parks in Philly, too. There is so much to do in Philadelphia. It is a great place to visit and is honestly very nice nowadays.

(Rittenhouse Square)

(Spruce Street Harbor Park)

Besides the stereotype of Philly having no nice areas, people often forget that America came from Philadelphia. Straight up—the independence of our nation started with Philadelphia. There is no arguing it.

1776. Sound familiar? I would hope so…

1776 marks the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Where was this document signed? Philadelphia. Where was the U.S. Constitution written? Philadelphia. Where was our nation’s first capital and almost forever capital? Philadelphia. Where is the Liberty Bell? Philadelphia.

Visiting Old City is unreal. You can go see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's work-space, and even Betsy Ross' house! Betsy Ross made the American flag, in case you forgot. This section of Philly is crawling with history, and you can truly experience colonial times when visiting it, with opportunities such as colonial re-enactments and period pub tours.

I cannot avoid mentioning how amazing the sports atmosphere is here in Philadelphia. Philly sports fans are the most fun and dedicated fans out there. Being a part of that community while at games or watching games is unreal and cannot be put into words (Trust the Process).

Now that you know Philadelphia is very nice and full of history, come on down, up, or over and visit! America was born here—in the city of 'brotherly love' (Philadelphia is a Greek word that means ‘brotherly love’).