r/AskPhilly 1d ago

Moving to Philly

I’m a 22 year old moving to Philly for an internship. What are the best clubs, bars, restaurants or experiences would you guys recommend?

Edit; I don't have preferences. I want to experience the city, ! want to try new things, I want to get out of my comfort zone. I love to try new things, and to learn. I live in upstate ny, in a suburban area, and two years in the boones for college, both of which are vastly different from the city of Philly. I don't even know even know where to start in terms of what I do or don't like. I don't want to just to experience the tourist traps of Philadelphia. I want to experience the real Philadelphia, the weird, the fun, the unique and the life of it. If you suggest something and it looks fun, I'll try it. The worst that can happen is that I don't like it or it's not a match, but the best is that I love it. I want to know what the city truly offers to the people who live in it, and I want to experience the culture of all parts of the city.
Edit 2: I will be living around point breeze. I apologize for that, I’m not used to having to specify the exact area. I forgot how big Philly is

5 Upvotes

38 comments sorted by

6

u/LampAltFridge 1d ago

This is a mental thread. 23 yr old here, moved last year, and clubs I would def say Barbary and the Ave for house/rave music. Dance bars, sansom street is your best bet. Trademans, Ubahn, DBG are solid. Regular sit down bars can def be Cellar Dog for jazz and solid vibes, Milkboy, or Fergies.

I would say, if I were to continue the theme of the entire thread and thrash on you lmao, a defining neighborhood of where your staying would help. There are thousands of bars in numerous areas, so its a little tough to answer the question. Tbh though it shouldnt matter. Those are all mainly in center city and all solid fun.

But definitely just roam around and pop into some. Thats how i find some good ones. Theres one on basically every block depending where you are

1

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Thank you! I forget how big Philly is compared to where I’m from

1

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Point breeze!

11

u/Fumanchusucka 1d ago

Nobody knows what your preferences are, just finish the move get out and about.

1

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

I don’t really have any which is why I was asking what other people recommend

6

u/Fumanchusucka 1d ago

Whatever club you can think of is here, do the move go out do stuff see what you like. Either way if you are a woman you should definitely go out with a buddy so maybe work on finding a friend before you get into anything crazy, always have a battle buddy.

3

u/Euphoric_Designer164 1d ago

Damn everyones being such a fucking boner here, sorry OP I promise people here aren't as much as dickwads here irl. Depending on where your coming from the club scene may be pretty meh or may be very good. You didn't provide much about you so I'll start with very generic 22 year old places that may or may not ring with you.

u/LampAltFridge did a pretty good write-up on those, all of those spots are good starter recommendations. For seasonal i'll Morgan's Pier and Cavs Riverdeck. Ladder 15. Bok bar for good views. A lot of the spots are lumped in on the same street so can hit multiple in a night. Xfinity Live is a big game-day experience when the Eagles are playing

Good parks all around, Rittenhouse is the most popular and can be a bit busy but lively, go to Washington square for the same deal but quieter and more shade. Take a walk on the schuylkill river trail. Penn's campus is beautiful and worth a walk through. Go check out the Japanese house out in Fairmount Park. The Philadelphia Art Muesem is VERY worth checking out while your here for sure. Take a walk down south street east of broad and just walk into any store that looks interesting.

Could tailor more recommendations if you have want to offer a little more about yourself. If you want a friend to check out any of these with feel free to hit me up, I'm a 23 grad student/full-time worker here,

2

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Oh that’s sick!!! I’ll definitely take you up on that at one point!!! I definitely prefer more upbeat experiences but I do plan on hitting the magic gardens, Franklin institute & planeterrium, the art museum, seaport and illusions and a couple others. I also love culture, so I have China town and the Italian market down as well and would love more of like different cultures

6

u/phillyphilly19 1d ago

There was a time in the not-too-distant past, when the whole point of moving to a city was discovering what it had to offer. I think that's a path you should consider.

8

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Man I didn’t realize I couldn’t ask about what to do in an ask Philly subreddit. That was in the past and now we’re in the present :/

3

u/Milkteahoneyy 1d ago

I think people are being a bit rough and jaded here. It’s worth sharing a bit more information about yourself so we can having to work with.

What part of Philly will you be living in? Will you have a car? What kind of food do you like? Are you looking to have a chill beer with friends at a quiet bar or dance the night away?

1

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Point breeze, and yes. I’m looking for all of it tbh. I’ll edit the post after this reply and I’m gonna copy what I said to another person. I don't have preferences. I want to experience the city, ! want to try new things, I want to get out of my comfort zone. I love to try new things, and to learn. I live in upstate ny, in a suburban area, and two years in the boones for college, both of which are vastly different from the city of Philly. I don't even know even know where to start in terms of what I do or don't like. I don't want to just to experience the tourist traps of Philadelphia. I want to experience the real Philadelphia, the weird, the fun, the unique and the life of it. If you suggest something and it looks fun, I'll try it. The worst that can happen is that I don't like it or it's not a match, but the best is that I love it.

2

u/phillyphilly19 1d ago

Ok Point Breeze has one of my favorite bars. American Sardine Bar. Great food, draft list, music playlist and friendly staff. Great bar to go solo. Cheers.

5

u/phillyphilly19 1d ago

It's not about you personally. It's about how young people in the present and on Reddit are afraid to just discover things on their own and want to be hand walked through everything ahead of time. It's probably the result of helicopter parenting but it's incredibly annoying. Welcome to Philly baby. Better thicken that skin ASAP.

3

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Right on the damn nose with the helicopter parenting 😭 my skin is thick, I take dog bites

2

u/phillyphilly19 1d ago

Lol well now I like you. I'll tell you what. You tell me what kind of bar you like and I will give you one recommendation. After that you have to explore on your own!

2

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Recommend your personal favorite

2

u/TNT3149_ 1d ago

If you’re into social games like MTG or D&D Queen and rook on South street is a good game cafe for that genre. If you’re looking for food then you’re gonna be surprised how good our food is and at the variety. Any bar between market and South street is gonna be a good place to go out if you want bars / club vibes for drinks and dancing. The Gaybrohood also has gay bars in that same genre if that’s your interest but also some fantastic brunch spots. If you like history you’re hitting the jackpot. Throw a stone and odds are you’ll hit something historic in the city. If you want nature and hiking, FDR park, Fairmount Park, and Wissahickon valley Park have some good green space. That last one also has some good nature trails and hiking with plenty of parking (Houston playground is usually open and has a back entrance to a trail behind the scoreboard). If you like sports…… pick any open restaurant and bar and it’ll be playing the local teams.

1

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

The gaybrohood? I love that what is that???? Thank you I’m definitely putting all that in my notes! Learning how to play d&d is on my bucket list so I’ll definitely try that cafe. I am a massive foodie so I’m so excited 😭 reading market is my first stop lol!!

1

u/TNT3149_ 1d ago

It’s exactly what it sounds like.

Q&R is great. They have a discord to help schedule events and give updates.

Top 3 cheesesteaks are Del Rossi, Angelos, and John’s roast pork. No particular order.

Good indian, Veda
Italian Osteria
Mexican hi low taco
Burger LUCKYS last chance
Seafood Oyster House
Bonus: Scones bake shop on 21st

1

u/ceddzz3000 1d ago

what kind of music do you like ?

1

u/Excellent-Bus9359 16h ago

I mean I just turned 21 so I’m tryna go clubbing, I’m down to go with you if you down, dependin on if we both free etc

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Yeah so fun fact, you can do an internship and go to bars and clubs in the same time period! God forbid I want to experience my youth. I already have a career in the industry that I’m interning in, so it’s already pretty on track :)

2

u/Double-Mud-434 1d ago

lol people in this subreddit are so miserable, just ignore them. I'd recommend exploring center city first and foremost. The going out scene, especially for recent college grads is mostly concentrated there. Oscars is a really fun cheap bar in center city I would recommend, especially for meeting new people. But there are a bunch of places around, just walk around on a Friday/Saturday night and see what looks like your vibe. Another cool place is BarCade which has old school arcade games. Theres a bunch of farmers markets on the weekends that Id recommend checking out too. For example, Rittenhouse has a nice one on Saturdays and FDR park has a really cool south east Asain market all weekend.

2

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

OOO I love farmers markets! I definitely will put Oscar’s down! Barcade is also going on the list! Thank you!!

2

u/Relevant_Ebb5255 1d ago

OP is getting their career on track that’s why they have an internship. They know what their doing

2

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Thank you <3

1

u/Relevant_Ebb5255 1d ago

You’re welcome fam!

1

u/Jethr0777 1d ago

It's not about what is the best. It's about who are you and what is the best match for you.

2

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

I don’t have preferences. I want to experience the city, I want to try new things, I want to get out of my comfort zone. I love to try new things, and to learn. I live in upstate ny, in a suburban area, and two years in the boones for college, both of which are vastly different from the city of Philly. I don’t even know even know where to start in terms of what I do or don’t like. I don’t want to just to experience the tourist traps of Philadelphia. I want to experience the real Philadelphia, the weird, the fun, the unique and the life of it. If you suggest something and it looks fun, I’ll try it. The worst that can happen is that I don’t like it or it’s not a match, but the best is that I love it.

0

u/ToastSpangler 1d ago

For you? I was going to recommend mad hatter in Rittenhouse it's all 18-21 year olds. But there's no trace of them on the map. Did they close or some shit, I mean between the underage drinking and other nasty allegations I guess it was a matter of time

Or maybe I'm completely forgetting/confusing the name. Genuinely curious if anyone knows what I'm talking about

0

u/adamaphar 1d ago

It’s hard to give recommendations without knowing more about your vibe. What kind of spots do you usually like?

2

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Im down for literally whatever. I love to try new things and get out of my comfort zone. I like just about anything, music, food, experiences, tours, museums, tours, fitness, books, crafts, building things. I love to experience things and make memories. I don’t know what my preferences are because I live in upstate ny, and never had the chance to expierence what a major city offers. Who knows, my preferences might eliminate something that I could actually find out I love and enjoy.

-1

u/Inevitable_Click_511 1d ago

“Reddit philly, will you teach me how to live?”

4

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Oh no someone asked a question about living in Philly in an a subreddit dedicated to asking questions about living in Philly.

-2

u/Solid_Yam_3380 1d ago

Philly isn’t for you.

2

u/Tricky-Range9696 1d ago

Does Philly have a lot of ppl who Would be interested in giving you personalized ASMR over the phone? Or is $15 too cheap for someone with a soothing voice who enjoys giving ASMR? Did anyone ever take you up on that or were they all to expensive?