Philadelphia: Mid-Atlantic or Northeast? The great debate
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Hoo boy. Is Philly in the Mid-Atlantic — or the Northeast? We have true believers on both sides.
Why it matters: After 701 people cast votes in Axios Philadelphia's poll, the jury is still out!
State of play: Technically speaking, the Mid-Atlantic region eked out the slimmest of victories as of Tuesday, with 50.1% of the tally. That's one vote, folks.
- Yes, but: Some of you told us you agonized over the choice, and made the case for inclusion in both.
Between the fault lines: The pick has everything to do with how Philly views itself and what big cities we feel more culturally connected to.
- Are we more simpatico with Boston and New York City? Or D.C. and Baltimore?
What Team Mid-Atlantic's saying:
- Philly doesn't have the "New England" vibe that one would associate with the Northeast.
- Mid-Atlantic makes more sense because we're clearly not New England.
- Philly has more in common (culturally) with Wilmington and Baltimore than NYC.
- That's what I was taught in school.
What Team Northeast's saying:
- Philly's too hard-edge to be anything but Northeast.
- It's a state of mind and politics. Philadelphia is Democratic and working-class roots are more in line with the entire Northeast.
- Pennsylvania is the deep south of the Northeast.
- The Mid-Atlantic runs from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, i.e., cities that call the ocean "the beach." Philly is the beginning of the Northeast, where they call the ocean "the shore."
😵💫 Head-scratcher: A minority of Pennsylvanians (9%) would lump the Keystone State into the Midwest region, per a 2023 study from Emerson College.
At any rate: The federal government sometimes sticks Pennsylvania in the Mid-Atlantic.
- See the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- OTOH, the Labor Department and U.S. Geological Survey put Philly and Pennsylvania squarely in the Northeast.
Amtrak says Philly's in the Northeast Corridor, but AAA calls our roads Mid-Atlantic.
The bottom line: Don't count on the government or business to settle this debate.
Our thought bubble: We love either-or arguments, but perhaps it's best here to split the baby.
- Philly, the cradle of democracy, shares cultural and political identities with both regions.
- And we basically own New England, so it's accurate and inclusive to say Philly is both. Any other argument is mid. Game over.