Philadelphia International

As part of its World Class Greater Philadelphia initiative, the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia convened a gathering of local leaders to discuss headlines from 15 years from now that we aspire to, and what it would take to get our region to accomplish those achievements. I sat at a table that included a key person in the Nutter Administration as it relates to business attraction, and as the topic that was assigned to our table was transportation, I was heartened to hear from her what I had hoped and guessed: that non-US firms are ringing up Philadelphia looking to establish a US presence via the City of Brotherly Love.

And why not? If you’re going to be in the US, you’ll want to be accessible to Washington and New York. You need a big enough region with a diverse enough mix of neighborhoods to accommodate both your senior execs and your administrative staff. And cost of living is a factor. Sounds like Philly could work for you.

To be sure, industry clusters and pre-existing ties certainly play a role. But if the slate is clean, an objective analysis often ends up with Philly bubbling up to the top. I was glad to hear that site selectors from Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America get this.