Time Out spent the last three months polling readers around the world to find out what they love about their city. After plowing through 15,000 answers, pollsters were able to rank all 32 cities in the survey according to user feedback on topics like food, drink, culture, local neighborhoods, friendliness, affordability, happiness, and whether people were proud to live in their city.
It should come as no surprise that Philadelphians, being the proud bunch we are, secured the City of Brotherly Love a lofty ninth place spot on the list of most exciting cities in the world, and third in the United States—just behind Chicago (No. 1) and New York (No. 2).
Besides that general ranking, the poll reveals all kinds of cool things about the way Philadelphians see Philly. Perhaps most notably, it ranked No. 1 on the list of most affordable cities in the world, while still ranking high as one of the most enjoyable to live in. On the flip side, though, Philadelphians overwhelmingly said they would live somewhere else if money were no object.
Here are some other interesting tidbits we found:
Food and drink
- Philadelphians thumbs-up our restaurant scene. Seventy-four percent of users said they had eaten out in the past week, while 98 percent said they were happy with the city’s food options—so much so that we’re willing to wait for it. Only 6 percent of folks said they had never waited for a table at a local restaurant.
- Think we’re a beer town? Think again: 36% of us prefer wine.
Nightlife and entertainment
- We go hard: 84 percent of us have gone out on a weeknight this past week, and 45 percent of users said they had recently been hungover.
- But not too hard: By percentage, we have the least amount of drug users in the country.
- Our entertainment options are (nearly) limitless: Weighing culture, live music and nightlife, 97 percent of Philadelphians say that there’s usually a reason to get of their apartments.
- We’re cheap: Readers say a typical night out in Philly is almost $50 cheaper than it is in Miami.
Sex and relationships
- Is the whole City of Brotherly Love thing accurate? Yes. Sixty-five percent of survey takers say it’s easy to make friends here. We also have the least number of people who have rudely “ghosted” someone.
- However if sex is what you are going for, a full 22 percent think that it’s easier to get busy than find love in town.
- But we are certainly trying: 51 percent of readers are on a dating app.
- We’re honest: When asked, “What would you do if you found a wallet with cash in it?,” only 21 percent of Philadelphians say they would return the wallet but keep the cash.
- Maybe that has something to do with our family values. Ninety-two percent of us have spoken to a family member this week.
General city feedback
- What’s our favorite neighborhood? Center City.
- Our favorite thing about the Philadelphia? Historical pride.
- Our top five places that we love (barring the tourist crowds)? The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Reading Terminal Market, Independence Hall, Historic Old City and the Barnes Foundation.
- Our least favorite people? Those who talk loudly on their phones in public. And probably Cowboys fans.
Below is the complete overall ranking of cities, with U.S. cities in bold. For more interesting stats about your peers and other party cities click here.
- Chicago
- Porto
- New York
- Melbourne
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Lisbon
- Philadelphia
- Barcelona
- Edinburgh
- Tel Aviv
- Austin
- Paris
- Mexico City
- Shanghai
- San Francisco
- Berlin
- Tokyo
- Los Angeles
- Zürich
- Beijing
- Washington, D.C.
- Bangkok
- Moscow
- Hong Kong
- Miami
- Sydney
- Geneva
- Boston
- Singapore
- Istanbul