answer:I used to live in Philadelphia years ago, and just retiurned from a visit there. There will be some culture shock moving from Olympia. Philadelphia is a real major city. It makes Seattle look small (to relate it to your neck of the woods). PROS It has a very livable downtown if you like urban life. It has an incredibly good mass transit system including subways, elevated trains, commuter rail, as well as bus. I lived there and commuted quite a distance for ten years and did not own a car. I have friends that live there now and choose not to own a car. It has a vibrant restaurant and foodie scene, and would be a good choice for your new venture. CONS In some directions, you have to go fairly far to find that house with yard and swing set. Many neighborhoods are not integrated although many more are. It is neighborhoody like Chicago. South Philly is very Italian, for example. People are more stratified (in my personal opinion) than they are in the West. I was shocked to find when I was introduced to someone in Philadelphia, they would immediately ask me what religion I was (that had never happened to me anywhere in my life before). Still, the city is cleaner and the downtown more vibrant (sidewalk cafes everywhere) than when I left in 1986. My husband and I both said to each other that we would enjoy living there again. Climate. You will find the winters harsher (well than Washington winters used to be before the last few years) and the summers humid (you’ll adjust). Make sure you have at least a room AC for nights. The fall is gorgeous. Rural Pennsylvania is beautiful anyway and the leaves put on a show. It never gets really roastingly hot for endless days the way it does here in Orlando. Happy move.