Wil Reynolds: Turn city entrepreneurs into a Philly cheerleading army

Another in the Entrance Exam series, as part of the Why I Love Philly campaign from Young Involved Philadelphia and Indy Hall. Tell the world why you love where you live by tweeting #whyilovephilly.

Wil Reynolds, The founder of SEO shop SEER Interactive, is passionate about growing the Philly tech community (read: Philadelphia the city first, and then the region.)

Reynolds, 34, who was leading the now deceased Phillyblog at its time of closure and launched its successor Philadelphia Speaks, grew up in Willingboro, N.J. but moved for a spell in Connecticut. Reynolds came back to his roots in the region, moving to Northern Liberties. In the process, he has developed a perspective to be sure. Like how we need to create a Philly cheerleading army out of local entrepreneurs.

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Choosing Philly over Vienna: JavaScript experts Thomas Fuchs and Amy Hoy

Another in the Entrance Exam series, as part of the Why I Love Philly campaign from Young Involved Philadelphia and Indy Hall. Tell the world why you love where you live by tweeting #whyilovephilly.

People who specialize in JavaScript or front-end web development know Thomas Fuchs and Amy Hoy.

Thomas, born and raised in Vienna, created the script.aculo.us JavaScript library and was one of the core members of the Ruby on Rails development team. Amy Hoy, from Baltimore, is a web designer and Ruby on Rails expert,
known for her humorous and understandable way of explaining difficult concepts.

Together, they create slick web products (including time management software Freckle), run the always sold out JavaScript master class, and consult on various projects. This is also the pair behind the always viral Twistori display of emotional tweets on Twitter.

Recently, this internationally known and well-traveled couple decided to move from Vienna, Austria to Philadelphia.

Frustrated by Vienna’s lack of a supportive tech community, they decided they could be more creative and productive in Philadelphia. The couple is still in transition — spending a few months in Philly, then a few months in Vienna. They plan to be in Philadelphia full-time by the end of the year.

Comparing Philadelphia favorably to other cities in terms of green spaces, friendly people, and general optimism may seem unique, but the pair might suggest that people’s perceptions of Philadelphia are changing for the better.

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Jake and Amanda Feifer O’Brien call Philadelphia gritty, challenging, and home

Another in the Entrance Exam series, as part of the Why I Love Philly campaign from Young Involved Philadelphia and Indy Hall. Tell the world why you love where you live by tweeting #whyilovephilly.

Tonight at National Mechanics in Old City is the campaign’s kickoff event from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. RSVP here.

How did a girl from Michigan and a guy from California end up living in the Italian Market?

I met Jake (@flailmonger) and Amanda Feifer O’ Brien (@forkspoonknife) in early 2007, soon after they moved to Philadelphia. We were enrolled in a continuing education class called Center City Savvy. The class was epic – our persistent teacher managed to secure us private audiences with the Secret Service, Le Beq Fin chefs, and Mayor Nutter, among others.

Four years later, Jake and Amanda could lead their own tour.

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Jared Valdez: Why I chose Northeast Philadelphia over San Francisco

Another in the Entrance Exam series, as part of the Why I Love Philly campaign from Young Involved Philadelphia and Indy Hall. Tell the world why you love where you live by tweeting #whyilovephilly.

Maybe we’ll see growth in the migratory pattern from San Diego to Northeast Philadelphia.

Jared Valdez (@jaredvaldez) could start a trend. He certainly sings its praises enough.

“I grew up in San Diego, where I literally only owned one pair of long pants and they were for funerals and weddings,” Valdez, 30, says, noting his casual uniform of shorts and T-shirts. He attended San Francisco State University and had to buy some more pants. Then “I relocated to Northeast Philadelphia where I need long pants a good chunk of the year.”

And though he says he’s debating between setting up shop on the Lawncrest commercial district of Rising Sun Avenue to help build it up or moving to somewhere like Mt. Airy to join an already thriving community, he, his wife and son aren’t leaving Philadelphia anytime soon.

Below, the founder of  the Philadelphia Community Development Resource Center talks about settling down in the Northeast, why neighbors may be the best brain drain prevention tool and more.

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