Philadelphia Roundup — Just Philadelphia Being Philadelphia

Philadelphia isn’t without its share of interesting stories about various people, establishments, and happenings across all parts of the city.

The city is known for many things, and the latest edition of “The Philadelphia Roundup” loosely answers the question: What makes Philadelphia Philadelphia?

Kansas City Comparable to Philadelphia? What??

Travel book publisher, Lonely Planet, released its “Best Destinations to Travel in 2024” list and ranked Philadelphia as fifth on the list, writes Victor Fiorillo for Philadelphia Magazine.

Philadelphia is one of only two U.S. cities to make the list, with Kansas City being the other.

The same city whose NFL team is the reason Philadelphia isn’t the home of the 2023 Super Bowl champions, and also the city embracing nearby Berks County native, Taylor Swift.

Read more about why Kansas City is miles apart from Philadelphia both figuratively and literally at Philadelphia Magazine.

Philadelphia Among Cheapest U.S. Cities for Retirees

The cost of living has been on the rise, so looking for affordable-but-high-quality places to live is paramount, writes Laura Begley Bloom for Forbes.

Financial services company, Empower, has ranked Philadelphia as the fifth cheapest U.S. city for retirees. 

The list looks at factors, such as home affordability, cost of living, and tax friendliness.

Read more about the most affordable cities in the U.S. in Forbes. 

Workers Are Returning to Center City

The number of workers in Center City isn’t quite at pre-pandemic levels, but has been increasing, writes Richard Florida for Bloomberg. 

Philadelphia has recovered about 70% of its downtown workers, while the city has rebounded by about 84% of its visitors from 2019 levels.

Learn more about Philadelphia’s, and other metro cities’ pandemic recovery in Bloomberg.

Amtrak’s Plan to Increase Ridership

Amtrak is using funds from the 2021 infrastructure bill to modernize its biggest hubs in hopes of increasing its ridership, writes Rich Thomaselli for the Orlando Sentinel. 

Among those hubs is 30th Street Station, which has already seen some renovations in recent years.

Read more about Amtrak’s aim to increase its ridership in Philadelphia and elsewhere at the Orlando Sentinel.