Quote:
Originally Posted by Quixote
I would say Philadelphia feels more generic American (owing to the larger German population, but far fewer English, Scottish, and Scandinavians/Nordics) than Boston, but also less WASPy (more Polish, Jewish).
|
Everyone is taking this definition way too literally.
The Western Suburbs of Philadelphia are super leafy and rich (Main Line, Southern Chester County). Dotted with stone or masonry homes in canopied neighborhoods full of top notch public and private schools (and colleges). And it's not an errant random town or two, but a contiguous string of towns that go on for miles virtually uninterrupted. I don't care who lives there. It's WASPY. The homes are stone and brick. The lots rather large. Many townships in the area have preserved 25+% of their land as green space. There are still townships with unpaved roads and zoning for horses on property within 45 minutes of Center City Philadelphia. The over-arching style is understated. You rarely see flashy homes (even when they are huge) with gaudy materials. Everything, even new...is stone, clapboard, and brick. No vinyl. No stucco. If you saw more than a handful of homes on the Main Line out of tens of thousands with a stone or marble floors and gaudy crystal chandeliers and silver fixtures you'd color me surprised. It's just considered tacky and almost no one does it.
There are a handful of regions in the country that match the aesthetic. West Chester NY and Fairfield County CT. The Western Suburbs of Boston. Parts of Montgomery County MD. Maybe parts of Lake County IL.
And that's it. Pretty much end of story.
Threaded Mode