<p>How safe is UPenn's capus???</p>
<p>I heard that its in a really bad area of Philly. However, I also heard other comments saying that the safety is not "that bad".</p>
<p>Any opinions?</p>
<p>I think as long as you stay IN the campus and aren't wandering around at like 3 AM you're fine</p>
<p>it's safe. I wouldn't go wandering around at 3AM <em>alone</em> anywhere. The city of Philadelphia has had a crime/violence wave of sorts this year, but this isn't true of the campus. Do students have to worry about safety? No. Use common sense - lock your door, don't walk alone at night. It's simple.</p>
<p>Essentially we have a nice gentrification bubble. Things can only improve citywide once we get our new, non-retarded non-incompetent non-corrupt mayor installed.</p>
<p>There's been a slight uptick in the amount of crime on campus as well as city-wide and even nation-wide. But overall the campus is fairly safe and your chances of being a victim are pretty low, esp. if you take common sense precautions. Campus crimes are not unheard of, but overall you are safer living in the city where you don't drive as much - the chances of being in an auto accident at some rural school where everyone drives to get around are MUCH greater than being injured thru violent crime at Penn. But cars are familiar to us so we don't see them as threatening. In general people have a screwed up perception of what is risky and what is not.</p>
<p>Ask yourself this. </p>
<p>"Can i beat up an 11 year old?"</p>
<p>If yes then no, if no then yes.</p>
<p>I find UPenn to be surprisingly safe, really, I even go out at night all the time and find it hard to believe that philly has such a high crime rate, but philly is the crappiest city ever though</p>
<p>
Where have you been in Philly? Center City? Rittenhouse Square? Old City? Society Hill? The Art Museum District? Northern Liberties? Manayunk? Chestnut Hill? Fairmount Park? Based on your statement, I assume not. Philly has a lot of great neighborhoods, cultural attractions, and amenities that compare favorably to any other large city (including NYC, Boston, etc.). You should explore them a bit before passing judgement on the city's relative merits.</p>
<p>Agree with 45%. Philly may not be the best city, but at least it's better than Detroit, Cleveland or Pittsburgh...</p>
<p>"but philly is the crappiest city ever though"</p>
<p>Also agree with 45%. You have to get out of West Philly to appreciate how much the city has to offer.</p>
<p>In terms of cultural attractions and amenities (historic sites, museums, music, restaurants, etc.), parks (largest urban park in the US), and scenic historic neighborhoods, Philly compares well with the best of cities. But that's OK--I didn't realize that when I was at Penn, either.</p>
<p>Hopefully, you guys will be able to get off campus a bit during your 4 years at Penn and get to know some of Philly's truly wonderful offerings.</p>
<p>I was comparing it to cities like Palo Alto, CA and Pasadena, CA where Stanford and Caltech are</p>
<p>somebody's got a few resentments there . . .</p>
<p>"I was comparing it to cities like Palo Alto, CA and Pasadena, CA where Stanford and Caltech are"</p>
<p>What can you find there...farms?</p>
<p>(I'm from california, btw :P)</p>
<p>Pasadena? Palo Alto? Are you kidding me?</p>
<p>Philly is no San Diego or Boston (my two favorites), but a two-day visit was long enough to realize that it was a legitimate city. Based on your choices I assume you prefer the sleepier, suburban, bucolic setting. Penn might not have been the best choice for you...</p>
<p>What's Philly got? Let's see:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The 3rd largest Art Museum in the country (Philadelphia Museum of Art), the largest collection of Rodin sculptures outside of Paris (The Rodin Museum), the largest private collection of Impressionist and Post-impressionist paintings in the world (Barnes Foundation), the oldest art school and museum--and one of the finest collections of American art--in the country (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts), etc., etc. In other words, in terms of major art museums, Philly is rivaled only by New York City and Washington, D.C., and THAT'S IT.</p></li>
<li><p>Fairmount Park, the largest urban park in the country, and one of the largest in the world. Its 9,000 acres--ALL within the city limits of Philadelphia--include densely wooded forests, miles of secluded hiking trails, beautiful meadows, a lovely river (the Schuylkill) that is one of the major centers of competitive rowing in the US, a tranquil stream (the Wissahickon) that has been attracting Philadelphians to walk and ride horses along its banks for over 2 centuries, 18 colonial mansions of which many are now house museums, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>One of the "Big 5" orchestras in the US--the Philadelphia Orchestra (the other 4 are Boston, NY, Chicago, and Cleveland)--which has been world-renowned for over 80 years; the fabulous Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia; the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, which brings in world-class string quartets, etc. throughout the year; the Curtis Institute of Music, widely considered to be the finest music conservatory in the US (much more exclusive than Julliard), which presents free recitals by some of the world's greatest classical musicians 3 nights a week; etc., etc.</p></li>
<li><p>An incredible restaurant scene. Both Gourmet Magazine and Conde Nast Traveler Magazine have called Philadelphia one of the best restaurant cities in the US. Within Center City alone (a mile or so from Penn's campus), there are now more than 200 sidewalk cafes. The City also has the Reading Terminal Market, one of the largest indoor food markets in the country, and the Italian Market, one of the largest outdoor food markets in the country, both within a couple miles of Penn's campus.</p></li>
<li><p>Historic, interesting, and lovely neighborhoods, such as: Center City, which now has the second largest downtown residential population in the US, and which continues to grow with several high-rise buildings with million-dollar condos currently under construction or being planned; Society Hill, which has the largest collection of colonial-era buildings in the US, and a stroll through which takes you back 250 years; Old City, full of great restaurants, art galleries, and night spots; South Street, with some of the funkiest few blocks you'd ever wanna stroll; Manayunk, a 19th-century riverfront mill town that is now one of Philly's bustling restaurant and boutique neighborhoods; I could go on and on with more neighborhoods, but you get the idea.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>There's LOTS more (I didn't even touch on the historic attractions, night life, beautiful suburban areas such as New Hope, Chadds Ford, etc.), but I'm tired of typing.</p>
<p>BOTTOM LINE: people who really know what Philly and other cities have to offer--and don't just have a superficial appreciation/understanding of the city--understand that Philly compares very favorably with the likes of Boston, Chicago, D.C., etc., and has an incredible amount to offer to anyone who's sophisticated enough to appreciate it. And guess what? As the national media has recently acknowledged, it's only getting better:</p>