Yeah, it's weird. Guns are fine, with a rudimentary permit, but no knives. I had to find a bladeless multi tool to cover the basics.

Be aware that Philadelphia has some crazy laws about knives. It's mostly illegal to carry one within city limits. I spent most of my life with a Swiss Army Knife in my pocket, but that's a crime here, and I'm not relying on Krasner's discretion to avoid trouble.

From the city's Municipal Code:

§ 10-820. Cutting Weapons in Public Places. 269

   (1)   Definition.

      Cutting Weapon. Any knife or other cutting instrument which can be used as a weapon that has a cutting edge similar to that of a knife. No tool or instrument commonly or ordinarily used in a trade, profession or calling shall be considered a cutting weapon while actually being used in the active exercise of that trade, profession or calling.

   (2)   Prohibited Conduct. No person shall use or possess any cutting weapon upon the public streets or upon any public property at any time.

      (a)   Exception: This restriction shall not apply to the use and possession of cutting tools by emergency personnel of the Philadelphia Fire Department, whether on or off duty. 270

   (3)   Penalty. The penalty for violation of this Section shall be a fine of not less than three hundred dollars ($300) and imprisonment of not less than ninety days.

You'll probably do better in one of the major cities, which means Phiily or Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is 300,000, with a metro of 2.4 million. Philly is 1.6 million, with a metro of 6.3 million. Phoenix is a hair bigger than Philly, with a metro of 4.9 million, but again, it's a lot larger geographically. There's only one other city of more than 100,000 in the state, which could lead to a huge culture shock (my wife had the opposite issue, coming to Philly from Cochise County).

Seeing what you're paying in rent, it's cheaper in Philly, even in nicer neighborhoods. I pay $1400 for a 2/1 rowhome in working class Philly, but that is on the high side. I won't claim there's no crime, but it's not the lawless hellhole some claim. It's also hugely diverse and has just about everything you could want. It's also similarly sized to Phoenix populationwise, though much more compact.

My wife and I moved from Southern Arizona to Philly a year ago. Setting aside the seasons and climate differences, it will depend a huge amount on where exactly you're coming from and going to. Large swathes of the State are less diverse than you may be used to. Work is also a question. What sort of jobs are you looking for?

Edit: Just saw IT work. That's always a relatively easy job to find work in, but as always, easier near larger communities.

Headed to Orlando. Mad at The Mouse?

I moved to Pennsylvania from Arizona. It sucked readjusting to the changes because Arizona doesn't change. My poor Arizona native wife had never had tondeal with it.

I worked for a charter school in California in the late 90s. The "education" was a joke, all xeroxed packets the kids read at home before taking a 50 question multiple choice test. Meanwhile, the founders paid themselves fat salaries, including paying their teenage daughter six figures as the CFO while she was studying art in Paris. So I learned early that for-profit schools are a farce.

It's super easy to make, as long as you don't need it immediately.

https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-make-creme-fraiche-in-1-easy-step

I suspect they're not bothering to transfer it. But yeah, if I could get the five towed it would be great for everyone. Right now a single guest to the neighborhood, or work truck, throws off the whome situation. It any of the vacant houses fill, and don't have rear parking, it's foing to get ugly.

There are five on my block that haven't moved in the year I've been here. The dead one near mine belonged to the guy two houses down who died before we moved in. Someone removes the mail periodically, but that's it. Otherwise, the house and car just sit. It's an older car, like late 80s/early 90s, so it has zero value, and the heirs have no reason to bother selling it.

I'm trying to convince the landlord to let me dismantle to creaky rear deck so we park in the back.

I struggle with this in my neighborhood. Lots of places with room for three cars but only two end up there with way too much room on both ends and the middle. As for the other, I'm lucky I didn't have to go anywhere today because I don't think I can get out. I get that the guy in front of me is trying not to block the hydrant with his giant work truck, but the guy behind me is four inches from my bumper with over a foot and a half between him and the dead car behind him. Rolling back six inches would have helped a lot. Of course, getting rid of the five dead cars on the block would help, but that's unlikely anytime soon.

I lived in a "tourist" town for 15 years. It's the same thing. People do all sort of horrible shit that they'd never consider doing where they live.

Got it. It's been a while since I've done materials stuff. Thanks!

That was my thought on the falling facade. Eventually, things fail, especially in those sorts of conditions.

Totally agree. I left another state filled with those guys and feel 100% safer in my Near Northeast neighborhood than I ever did there, and I'm a middle aged white guy myself. I've managed to block most of the worst offenders, and other than the Mandatory 4k guy, whom I don't mind, the crime talk is pretty minimal. Moving to this city is the best thing my wife and I have ever done, other than marrying each other.

That's fair. I would rate it best among the chains, but that's like saying Burger King is good burgers. Technically burgers, but not good ones.

Pizza Hut. Can we really call it pizza?

That sucks! I walk my dog twice a day, and there's only parking on one side, so I've gotten pretty familiar with them over the last year. It started with the one right next to mine, and I started actively looking after that. All four tires being flat is a dead giveaway.

Only two? There are four, if not five, on my block! At the moment, there's still enough parking but several homes are being rehabbed right now. If they don't have rear parking the pressure is going to increase soon.

Lol, not worried about you, but you never know who's reading! And after moving across the country to pursue this, I hope you'll forgive some (possibly excessive) caution on my part.

If one's business model depends on exploiting workers, one shouldn't be in business. I'm in Philly so $15.00 seems to be the functional minimum, so I'm looking at $18.00 to help get better folks.

It's still close to the vest because it's an under-served market. I'm thrilled you asked, but I don't want to get beaten to the punch. I hope you're not offended.

Thank you! A nice living and providing a few good jobs will make me happy.

Woohoo! I'm in the process of forming one. Actually, have all my legal ducks in a row and am lining up funding, so this is great to hear. I'm in Philly so there are extra hurdles, but I spent a career on the other side of that counter in other places so it doesn't intimidate me.