I saw everything from veiled muslim women, to big puffy hundred dollar bill jackets, to gold teeth and do-rags, to a man in a shiny purple suit - complete with hat & feather and cane. I kid you not.
“Y’all got jobs? What kin I do to git me oneadem jobs?” was the most commonly axed question.
I got out of Philly in ‘97 and went back for the first time last summer. I was pleasantly surprised at how much Center City and University City had been built up with restaurants and shops. But... walking around Market St. was depressing. The people looked poor and the ones who didn’t look angry looked apathetic. I had to deal w/city employees on several occasions and found them less than helpful. I went back to my old house in Univ City and found that the clean, well-stocked and pleasant Korean grocery was now dirty, bare and run by Dominicans. Several stores were empty and the area (in which houses are selling now for almost $300K!) looked run down.
I could have gotten a nice faculty position in Philly, but opted for the heartland. Seeing Philly again, I know I made the right choice.