Home to about 1.6 million people, Philadelphia is where the country began, and you feel it walking through Old City, where Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and Elfreth's Alley sit within a few blocks of each other. Beyond the history, visitors climb the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, eat their way through Reading Terminal Market, tour Eastern State Penitentiary and drive out to Longwood Gardens.
It is one of the more affordable big cities on the East Coast, with rent and home prices well under New York's, though prices are rising. New York is only about 95 miles away, so it works as a base for the region. Center City and Rittenhouse are generally safe with normal care, but the Kensington Avenue corridor has an open-air drug market and parts of North, West and Southwest Philadelphia call for caution at night. Summers are humid and winters can be icy.
