What are Philadelphia's major occupations and which ones are growing the fastest?

I don't know about the population changes, but in my opinion, they're not only minimal but inconsequential. I haven't noticed any uptick in people leaving Philly just as I haven't seen a surge of people coming in. In terms of jobs, I would think that Philly is most renown for blue-collar type employment. While blue-collar work may not be what you're aiming for, keep in mind that blue-collar occupations typically require white-collar supervision. That being said, I think Philly and South Eastern PA's market in general is in Healthcare, from insurance carriers and pharma to hospitals. We don't have the financial sector that NYC has, although Philly is working to change that with things like the Cira Center near 30th Street Station and the soon-to-be Cira 2 and potentially the ACC--the American Commerce Center which is slated to become the "world's(?)" largest LEED certified commercial center. Also, the exodus from NJ is well-known and can be attributed to many reasons. First and foremost--you're right--is taxes and car insurance. While I don't know many people who make the jump strictly for insurance, I do know of people who've left solely because of the taxes...they're insane here. Our property taxes rank as the highest in the nation, and the influx of people into DE is proof. I also don't think that there really is any reason to stay within NJ, unless your office headquarters are there. Most of the jobs will require you to move to Philly or NYC, as neither one is more than 2 hours away by train. They're our corporate centers in NJ. I know that the property taxes in Northern NJ are much worse than Southern NJ's, and as you get closer to the cities, your insurance will jump as well, especially in the NYC suburbs of NJ. Sources: me...NJ resident, real estate background. Now, in terms of comparing Boston and Philly, I can't help you. I've never been to Boston, so I can't compare, but Philly is much more central to the rest of the Mid-Atlantic, i.e., Baltimore, Washington and NYC which are full of American history and reasons to visit. I think it's central location alone can make it more desirable than Boston, but again, that's without experience.

The best place to move to is subjective and sort of like a gamble. One person may love living in Philly because it just worked out well for him or her which is due to things out of our control and some within our control. Others might hate Philly and Boston may look very good to them. There is no way to know until you get there and live for a while. I'm facing this same problem There are too many choices. Where I live now I hate it - the people really suck. But if I moved 2 streets down instead of where I am now I might have loved it. As far a being friendly, I don't think much of any of the major cities in the mid-atlantic or the northeast are friendly. I hope I'm wrong about this. I live in PA and I do know that a place near the border - STroudsburg has had major influxes of immigrants over the past 20 years. Same thing in Hazleton, Lancaster, and Lebanon. I don't know if this is the same for a big city like Philly. I would imagine that all cities including Boston and Philly have immigrants coming in but at what rate I'm not sure. \ Friends who have advised me on where to move have pushed Boston over Philly but that's just their opinion.