Ben Gilbert: NYC has “More events, more interview[s], more networking”

This is Exit Interview, a weekly interview series with someone who has left Philadelphia, perhaps for another country or region or even just out of city limits and often taking talent, business and jobs with them. If you or someone you know left Philly for whatever reason, we want to hear from you. Contact us.
In the great big rise of geek culture from subculture to full blown community, video gaming has been a primary player.
In spring 2009, Joystiq was continuing its reign as preeminent gaming blog and content jewel of Aol. It also managed to have quite a Philly pull, from its Wharton-educated founder to a Fishtown-based editor and a pair of major contributors living in the region.
This past summer, one of those contributors, Ben Gilbert, who was also part of the Geekadelphia crew, made the jump and moved to Brooklyn.
Originally from Connecticut, Gilbert, 26, came to Philly for Temple University. Now the writer, who says he ‘developed a bit of hopelessness for Philly,’ talks about leaving, coming back and the Dock Street Brewery.



When and where did you actually leave?
I moved out of Philly in the beginning of last summer and now live in Brooklyn. I frequented several Philly neighborhoods in my time there, but resided mostly in the Art Museum area and near my alma mater Temple University. Admittedly, I probably spent more time at Dock Street Brewery in West Philly than anywhere else. Perhaps you haven’t had their pizza/homebrewed beer?
What are the primary reasons you left Philadelphia?
The reasons that I left Philly and the reasons that I moved to Brooklyn aren’t necessarily one in the same.
I work for AOL covering the video game industry and, frankly, there’s more for me to do in NYC — more events, more interview opportunities, more networking opportunities. Though VGI Philly is making some inroads, there’s very little game development and publishing in the Philadelphia area [compared to New York].
Also, I grew up outside NYC and love it. After living in Philly for so many years, I love Manhattan distinctly less than I used to, but Brooklyn feels more human.
On the other side of the coin, as much as I love Philly’s many wonders — the incredible beer culture, great works of art including the museum itself, intimate and distinct neighborhoods, Dock Street Brewery — there are some major infrastructure problems that, in my years there, I never saw much progress on. SEPTA, to me, stands out as representative of the city’s main, unaddressed issues that stay unaddressed.
Was there a specific event or moment that you realized you had to/wanted to leave?
It was more gradual for me. A combination of wanting to grow my career and move to a new place.
Was there anything that could have been done differently to keep you?
I think, over time, I developed a bit of a sense of hopelessness about Philly.
Whether that’s just me being me — I’m not the most optimistic person in the world — or that’s a genuine “Philly effect” is not for me to decide, but I always felt there was a lot of undeveloped promise in the city. I got the impression that the city’s government and long-time residents were the ones most interested in keeping Philly dilapidated and underdeveloped. That is absolutely anecdotal, so please don’t think I’m condemning all the Philly-borns.
Do you think you would return to Philadelphia under appropriate circumstances?
I’ve definitely thought about that. Despite my issues with Philly, there’s a lot to love. I’m not sure that it’d be in the next five years, but I could see moving back some day.
When someone you meet there asks about Philadelphia and its tech/startup/gaming/creative community, what do you tell them?
I’d say it’s small but incredibly passionate. Beyond you folks and the aforementioned VGI Philly, there’s Big Red Tank and Geekadelphia among many others — I tend to know more media than business folks, in case that wasn’t clear). It makes more sense for me, business-wise, to invest in Philadelphia where so much growth is possible and so much passion is evident. But then an accountant might say I’m nuts.
What is the perception you most often find of Philadelphia?
That it’s dangerous. I lived there for five years and never had anything happen to me — including a year on the edge of Temple’s campus in notoriously dangerous North Philly).
What’s the latest you’re up to that we can plug or look forward toward?
I get to cover a bunch of exciting stuff for my main writing gig at Joystiq.com over the next few months, including Game Developers Conference later this month and PAX East in mid-March. If you’re into video games and news about video games and said news being delivered to you online, look no further.