Philadelphia, where the past merges with the future, is one of the country's premier cities. From America's most historic square mile to the cutting edge medical research centers at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University , Fox Chase Cancer Center, Wistar Institute and Monell Chemical Senses Center, to the new Pennsylvania Conventional Center to five-star restaurants and first rate orchestra, ballet and art museums, Philadelphia is a world-class city with something to offer everyone.

  Philadelphians agree that Philadelphia, like New York City, is a "city of neighborhoods". There is a great continuity of political and social life that has endured for many generations in the various sections of Philadelphia. These range from the high-income suburban district known as the "Main Line", to the ethnic neighborhoods of North and South Philadelphia. One of the five largest American cities, Philadelphia is the one in which business and community interaction have the more intimate quality of a small city.

  Philadelphia also offers a more affordable lifestyle than most major United States cities. According to the U.S. League of Savings Institutions, the median cost of new or existing housing is well below the national average. During the past ten years, Philadelphia has opened a tremendous number of reasonably priced restaurants and cafes that have been well received. Philadelphia is also distinguished as the safest of the nation's ten largest cities, according to a recent publication of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

  In addition, the physical environment in Center City is exceptional. Like Boston, Philadelphia has superb examples of eighteenth century American commercial and residential architecture, as well outstanding buildings from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These architectural gems sit directly adjacent to modern office buildings in Center City. A typical Philadelphia business executive can, for example, emerge from his office along the Broad-Market Street office corridor, walk a few short blocks to one of the narrow eighteenth century cross streets, and dine in a renovated building that dates from the early 1800's. The picturesque mixture of old and new enhances the ambiance of Center City and allows it to retain its charm. Many old buildings have been officially designated historic landmarks and are being renovated as part of major development schemes.