10 Things People Who Went to College in Philly Learned Outside of the Classroom
10 Things People Who Went to College in Philly Learned Outside of the Classroom
The Value of a Token
There are only two nationally known places that use tokens as currency, Philadelphia and Chuck E. Cheese. Even though the concept of using tokens is outdated and makes every day #throwbackthursday, those tokens are like gold when you’re in college. Those pieces of worn out copper sealed in that plastic baggy that you have to use your teeth to open symbolize freedom. Freedom to move around the city on adventures, especially when you can’t go home on weekends. So whenever we found a token in a previously worn pair of pants you pretty much had to thank the big man upstairs.
The Value of Good Corner Bar
Once you hit the 21 mark in college the focus is now getting drunk legally and at a reasonable cost. Fortunately for those students here, Philly has more corner bars than fresh food places. You can literally walk out of your house in any direction and end up at a bar. Finding a good one is key. If you went to school in Philly you had that 1 good bar that never let you down, whether it was dollar drinks nights, dollar tacos, or the great music, it was like your own version of cheers. Although, you may now have a career going and frequent fancy shmancy lounges your college bar will always be home.
You Can Live Like a Baller on a College Budget
Everyone had that one set of friends that had the awesome house with little to no furniture. They threw the best parties and seemed like ballers when in reality they just got really lucky on a great deal. Hey getting a sick bachelor pad in Philly was relatively easy. Although, there were factors such as how much you got back in your refund checks and how many people are you willing to share 1 bathroom with, off-campus housing is really not that expensive. If you look at other big city colleges we are like the Dollar Tree of off-campus housing.
The Value of the Chinatown Bus
If you ever had the need to go to NYC all you needed was $20 and a great playlist. The Chinatown bus was a poor college students golden ticket out of Philly. Weekend trips to the big apple were like nothing. If you were from NY and came to school here you could legit go home and get home cooking every weekend for less then the price of eating out. If you had roommates and no sense of shame you definitely had to bring the leftovers back on the bus and it didn’t matter if the bus smelled like your grandmother’s kitchen.
Homeless People are People Too
Let’s be real for a second, Philly colleges are in an urban environment so every school has it’s fair share of homeless in and around the school. During your time at school you tend to get cool with at least one and may even get on a first name basis. Whether they were entertainers singing or dancing for change or just lowkey sitting on a bench you come to respect the homeless a lesson that many kids in cozy college towns don’t get. Although as a student you will be pretty broke it’s a reminder that being broke and being poor are two separate worlds.
How to Fight a Parking Ticket
Nothing is more frustrating than getting ticketed by the PPA. The worst part is it throws your budget way off track. That all-you-can-eat crab buffet you planned to go to on the weekend is out the window. Now it’s back to Ramen Noodles and cereal. If there’s one aspect of the “judicial system” you learn outside of a classroom, it’s how the PPA courts work. Moving into Philly if you didn’t know how the PPA system worked before, you left with a PHD in PPA Economics when you graduate. Having a car here in Philly isn’t about if you will get a ticket just a matter of how much will you eventually owe these fools who pimp out the city so hard it would make Ice Berg Slim blush.
Off-Campus Food Spots That Accepted School Currency Were Clutch
Whether Temple Diamond Dollars or Drexel Dragon Dollars, it was the equivalent of playing Super Mario and being little Mario about to fight King Koopa and you find a flower. Yea it was that clutch. Especially being strapped for cash at 1 am , and you have a hankering for some General Tso’s Chicken. 4th meal can only hold you over for so long. The fact that off-campus spots like Chinese stores and other eateries accepted school currency is what helped a lot of us survive. So let us give thanks.
Working/Interning in Center City was the ish
Landing a job or internship downtown for the first time made you do the Diddy-bop. It’s where all the big boys worked and you went ahead and got yourself a big boy job. Let’s face it working anywhere else just wasn’t as cool or convenient. Sure that offer in Conshohocken paid more but after factoring in traffic, time, and food options an offer in Center City paying less was just more attractive. With the food choices, subway access, and the ability to shop of the fly, nothing beats Center City. Besides nowhere else can you hit the happy hours mixers and network with a few hotties.
You Were Never Jealous of the Penn Kids, Just Their Campus
Look you can have all the Temple pride, LaSalle Pride, or St. Joe pride in the world but the reality is UPenn’s campus is the iiishh. It is pretty much a self sustaining city in its own. Almost as if school officials decided to play a real life Sim City to build the perfect area so their students wouldn’t need to mingle with society. Although, University City may not be as popular as it once was several years ago, it still reigns supreme as far as college campus’ go. So although other college kids won’t be envious of the UPenn kid’s SallieMae bill they’ll always be envious of their campus.
It’s Not Too Bad Staying Here After Graduation
Look no matter what city you live in there’s going to be complaints. Sure Philly has its fair share of flaws. Is Philly a perfect town? Heck no. But if you’re looking to start a career it’s a great place to start. This place is a bargain town, try buying a 3+ bedroom home in the big apple off a entry salary. The realtor would not only laugh you out of his office they’d probably call in their friends just so you can repeat your pipe dream. Not to mention having to compete for entry level jobs withe hoards of other fresh graduates. Philly is affordable and every industry is relatively easy to break into considering that networking here is even easier.
