Big City Survival Tactics, Philadelphia

Because Philly is highly dependent on tourism, in every area that would have a lot of tourists, you'll find more danger from the drivers than from criminals. The areas which truly are dangerous -- and they definitely exist in Philly -- have nothing worth visiting.

Thus, a simple rule: if you, as a visitor, have no reason to go to an area of Philly, then don't go. Do this, along with following typical street smarts (as noted above), and you'll have more trouble with cars than with crooks.

I took the subways a few times and I noticed one thing - most people wait upstair and not on the platforms. I guess thats the way how you can tell whether the platforms are safe or not....That was Day Time & I just followed . Its always good to be on the safe side !

Walking the streets after dark is not fun. I've had people ask me for drugs, hit on me, try to touch me, etc. Make sure you have some friends with you, and ignore any people that come up to you. A firm "no" works well too. My friend always brings a pocket screecher, just in case.

any city is not exactly the safest... but if you're not from here, you might not realize that philly can turn ugly in a matter of ONE block. Depending on where you are of course
IF you visit - stay away from North Philadelphia - unless someone you know who lives here wants to drive you thru it, don't go there - its worse than dangerous, and there's nothing to see anyway except for dire poverty, gangs, and lots of drugs... whatever you do - don't take the train there eitehr - bad experience! temple university is there, which may make it sound safe, but trust me - its not.
As for West Philly - the area around UPenn... some streets are going to be ok, and then you'll turn the corner adn you'll be in a war zone. Stay where all the students are..
Center City is ok for the most part - the only thing you want to be careful of is the subway or market east and suburban stations at night - Suburban more so b/c its so far under the ground that no ones cell phones work - if you were to need help, you will be stuck - no reception... and there's never any security at night making sure things are ok - if anything, try waiting at 30th street where there's more people usually - Market East can get shady too... especially at night if you're alone - a lot of homeless guys sleep there which is understandable, but again, there' sreally never any security.
I've lived here for over 10 years and only had a few problems - it all comes down to being street smart -

even during the daytime in this city, i felt very much unsafe. we were approached by strangers trying to talk to us, and also my family members were on a tour bus while someone was shooting a gun in the area! they had to cancel the tour. i would DEFINITELY not go out in this city alone at night, and be careful during the daytime. many of the smaller streets are empty during the daytime, except for one or two shady looking people, so watch out!

I have lived in Center City Philadelphia for 13 years and feel very comfortable walking anywhere in it, South Street to Vine, alone, up until about 10 pm. You can in fact walk anywhere you're going in the Center City area...it's not all that large.

As in any city, don't dangle your purse from your shoulder or put it down on the ground while you take a photo. Don't engage shady-looking characters in long converstions. Panhandlers are not dangerous. I often give food, but never money.

I work in the University City area and also feel quite safe there in the daytime. Because of less traffic and less light, I am somewhat more leery of walking around this area by myself at night.

I lived in Philly for about two years and not once have felt that I was in danger. Okay, one night I felt a bit weird in the subway as they were some really weird people there, but apart from that I can say that if you use your common sense, Philly is quite a safe place to be. First - City Center is really safe. I worked for a criminal lawyer in Philly and know from there that hardly any serious crime happens here. Lots of crime happens in North Philadelphia and another really nasty spot is the corner of Broad Street and Girard. Don't go there. If you come for sightseeing, you will mainly be in City Center anyway. I lived on 'Temple University campus and the campus is pretty safe. But don't go to the adjoining areas. On the corner of Cecil B. Moore and Broad Street some of my fellow students had to witness a double murder on a Sunday afternoon. To sum up: stick to City Center, University City and Temple Campus. South Philly is okay during daylight, though not too recommendable. Stay away from Northern Philadelphia. The subway is pretty safe during the day. In the evening, don't take it if you don't have to or stay within a group of friends. Rather take a cab or a bus. Avoid getting gas at night, you might be surrounded by shady figures asking for money within a few seconds (happened to a friend of mine). Apart from that - do what you should always do: don't wave around with money and don't go into unfamiliar and shady areas.

Ok. every major city in the world has traffic problems... and I have been in most of them haha. But, what is unique about the east coast of the U.S. is that there are so many major cities very close together.. Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington D.C. So, when you travel you have to worry not just about the traffic in one city but others.

The pic I took here was the third major traffic jam I was in driving from Dover, DE to Philadelphia on Interstate 95. One was a 13 mile backup!! When I drive to Washington D.C on business from Philadephia, I count my blessings when I can make it all the way there without being in a traffic jam. There is always heavy traffic on the major interstates between the cities and within them as well.

If you planning on driving on the east coast... realize the time frames for your normal rush hours.. 7-9 am and 4 - 7pm, Monday to Friday. But... also realize that in the summer months traffic is very very heavy on Friday nights going south and East and on Sundays going North and west. This is mostly beach traffic and you can get stuck in some nasty traffic jams at toll booths or bridges. Just hope there isn't an accident somewhere ... yikes :)

Friday nights and Sunday nights can get heavy all year also because a lot of people commute from where they work.. to where they live or have family.

In Philadephia.. listen to the AM radio station 1060 for traffic updates.... I don't go anywhere without tuning in and if you have computer access, check out the traffic.com website before you take that drive.