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London prosaic and residential? Maybe in the 1980s.
Key terms: Affordability and epistemic state.
If you can afford to live centrally and experience the best of its international jetset capital and luxury sector, then there's really nowhere else in the world like London. The city will come across as the most vibrant, sophisticated and elegant place in the world.
Case in point, during much of the latter part of his tenure as mayor of New York, it was said that Bloomberg was deeply enamored of London, much more so than his hometown, buying Belgravia property to host social events and spending too much time away from the Big Apple because of it.
If you live somewhere like Walthamstow and your idea of nightlife is visiting places like Soho or Camden three times a week to experience the eclectic pub crawl ambiance, then you would get complaints about London being "residential" or "a village".
I feel like I should defend NYC from some comments that I think are unfair here. It has improved a great deal since the 1990s, though gentrifying a bit clumsily in many places, it is much cleaner than it used to be and continues to become cleaner over the years. It won't be so visible for now for so long as we have an incompetent liberal mayor in office who seems intent on alienating just about everybody, but these problems are transient. At some point in the future (after De Blasio's second term) the city will have a republican mayor who will take measures to clean up the city.
Likewise London is not quite the glimmering, technological utopia that some make it out to be. I admit, it sure is heading that way though and it's difficult for any cynic not to be impressed by how much the city has improved over the previous ten years.
I feel like I should defend NYC from some comments that I think are unfair here. It has improved a great deal since the 1990s, though gentrifying a bit clumsily in many places, it is much cleaner than it used to be and continues to become cleaner over the years. It won't be so visible for now for so long as we have an incompetent liberal mayor in office who seems intent on alienating just about everybody, but these problems are transient. At some point in the future (after De Blasio's second term) the city will have a republican mayor who will take measures to clean up the city.
Likewise London is not quite the glimmering, technological utopia that some make it out to be. I admit, it sure is heading that way though and it's difficult for any cynic not to be impressed by how much the city has improved over the previous ten years.
Both him and Cuomo.
Public transit in New York City is getting noticeably worse, while costing more, underpinned by state mismanagement and irreducible structural deficits. And it was pretty dire to begin with. I look forward to the day that upstate legislators give due acknowledgement to the fact that the city drives the state economy. Until then, the subway will continue to regress back to the 1970s.
I have lived in London for 10 years and I go to NY on a regular basis. The more I discover NYC the more it reminds me of London. Not Manhattan of course but if you venture outside to different areas it looks/feels like London, I spent signifcant amount of time in Brooklyn last week and it felt like I was in London. Anyone else feels the same?
I have been to London 4 times and to New York City maybe a hundred times.
And yes, they do feel similar to me. Public transportation, street-level vibrancy, shopping, museums, city parks, iconic buildings, density, global importance, etc., are all on a similar level in the two cities.
If you think New York looks 'run down' and dirty try (large swaths of central) San Francisco *. On my many trips to Gotham (I remember the city back in the 70s) I'm struck with how much cleaner and less edgy Manhattan is compared with SF. Walking around downtown is far less intimidating than the same in San Francisco.
Every single person I've met from London says they prefer NYC. Granted these people are in their 20s and are either living in NYC or visiting, but still they have all enthusiastically stated they prefer NYC for all the common reasons one would (or wouldn't)
Every single person I've met from London says they prefer NYC. Granted these people are in their 20s and are either living in NYC or visiting, but still they have all enthusiastically stated they prefer NYC for all the common reasons one would (or wouldn't)
I'm not going to enter into which do you prefer (I'm actually a native Londoner), but as a long time adopted San Franciscan who often travels to both cities - Gotham does look pretty good these days.
I prefer London over NYC, in fact I can't stand NYC. But my kid likes London as in number one and NYC as in number2. She can't stand Boston, it's a little too small for her.
Every single person I've met from London says they prefer NYC. Granted these people are in their 20s and are either living in NYC or visiting, but still they have all enthusiastically stated they prefer NYC for all the common reasons one would (or wouldn't)
Not that this thread is about which city is 'better', but I've yet to meet (in person) a single Londoner who prefers New York to London. Only recently, my sister, who lives in London, visited New York for the first time and hated it. Isn't it funny how anecdotes work?
If I'd asked them ten years ago, I think they would have opted for NYC with the 'grass is greener' bias. More recently, with all the development and renovation taking place, Londoners seem to take much more pride in their hometown. The London boosterism on display in these forums also suggests this.
I agree with the other poster that the determining factor in most cases is social status. The more financially secure people seem to connect more with London given that it's much more of a gated enclave for the rich.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CTDominion
Is NYC losing its luster? The whole city seems so worn out recently.
It is strange isn't it? Only over the past few months. It feels like someone has sucked the soul out of the city assisted by the creep of empty storefronts appearing everywhere. It is not the first time either, if anyone remembers how the city was in the first few years of the downturn.
Last edited by Grigoriachel; 11-24-2015 at 08:20 PM..
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