American City most similar to NYC (New York, Rome: construction, universities, to live in)

[AAbsolute]

Originally Posted by erin3465

People always said it was Chicago, but when I finally got to Chicago, it felt nothing like NYC to me (besides the amount of skyscrapers).

For one, Chicago is really not that walkable on the whole, and there are parts where it almost feels like an NYC inner-ring suburb. Also, there arent that many areas that have that much foot traffic, it just doesnt feel that vibrant. And the people arent nearly as diverse or interesting.

If anything, despite endless differences I'd have to say (parts of) San Francisco are as close to the NYC "feel" as Ive seen in this country. The Market Street/Powell Street BART station area is very dense and bustling and somehow reminded me of parts of Manhattan. Also, despite the hills, it felt very dense and walkable, with lots of distinct neighborhoods in the same way that NYC has. The part of town with the Mission/Haight/Church Street/Marina/Fillmore neighborhoods all connected is the only part of a US city that has that conitguous walking neighborhood after walking neighborhood feel like NYC does (I guess downtown SF has several neighborhoods like that too, but the hills there make it more of a workout!). Also, lots of interesting people in SF, very diverse, etc...

Of course, overall NYC just dominates every other city in the country in terms of urban vibrancy, etc...IMO, parts of SF are as close as you can get, but still not really close at all.

Anyways, I live in Denver (for now) so I enjoy talking about cities that are actually urban...

Philly, Chicago, Boston, DC, Atlanta in that order. New Orleans had some of the european, but K-Town is F'd up now.

[lets_hope_for_newbruns]

None and can't be. Perhaps you are expecting a lot of things.

Can you compare the womb of your mother with another?

No matter what you will always long for your mothers womb.

So if you are new yorker, and love ny , you will not like any other place.
Rarely it happens otherwise. But people with lot of expectations , it seldom.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by ontheGtrain

None of them hold a candle to ny. Especially SF. That town is a joke.

I agree. If only they could kick out all the selfish, not-in-my-backyard, hysterical historical preservationists in this city, and add a couple more million people, would it, even then, come close to the vibrancy of NYC. But that will never happen, particularly when the hill people oppose any development which will block their views of the Bay, and the people on the flats, opposing any development which will block their view of the hills. Only a masochistic developer would even contemplate trying to erect a high-rise anything in that city, which might take a decade or two to finally complete.

I've been to SF four times now and the prettiness of the city wears thin after a couple days. I prefer a more interesting city to a pretty city, like Philadelphia which won my heart over more so than NYC this last trip. NYC went too overboard in cleaning up their city. Yes, I now feel safe to walk any street in Manhattan, but something got lost using too much Pine-sol.
Philadelphia still has a greater diversity to their central district, still a nice blue-collar flavor intermingled with the rest.

[Randoman5]

Originally Posted by tijlover

I agree. If only they could kick out all the selfish, not-in-my-backyard, hysterical historical preservationists in this city, and add a couple more million people, would it, even then, come close to the vibrancy of NYC. But that will never happen, particularly when the hill people oppose any development which will block their views of the Bay, and the people on the flats, opposing any development which will block their view of the hills. Only a masochistic developer would even contemplate trying to erect a high-rise anything in that city, which might take a decade or two to finally complete.

I've been to SF four times now and the prettiness of the city wears thin after a couple days. I prefer a more interesting city to a pretty city, like Philadelphia which won my heart over more so than NYC this last trip. NYC went too overboard in cleaning up their city. Yes, I now feel safe to walk any street in Manhattan, but something got lost using too much Pine-sol.
Philadelphia still has a greater diversity to their central district, still a nice blue-collar flavor intermingled with the rest.

That's sort of Interesting. I agree completely that SF and NYC are very dissimilar. For instance while San Francisco is my favorite city to visit in the US. NYC is a place that I didn't really care for. While San Francisco is a beautiful city with great natural features, NYC is a giant steel, glass and concrete cage filled with rude, self important or completely insane people. I don't mean to say that NYC is a terrible place. Almost everyone I know thinks it's great. New Yorkers cannot be convinced that it is not the greatest place in the entire world, and I urge them all to stay there.

[tijlover]

From my last two recent trips to NYC, the biggest surprise of all was the friendliness and talkativeness of the strangers on the street I encountered. Map in hand, lost at times, there were times I didn't even have to ask for help, they just saw me with the map and offered to help. That just blew me away, given NYC the number 1 tourist destination in the U.S.

I live in Las Vegas, and after 13 years here now, I've become increasingly irritated with all these tourists coming here, and if I saw someone on the street studying a map, I'd probably give them advice which would send them headed in the wrong direction, perhaps their ending up back at the Airport.

I had figured New Yorkers would be so burnt out on tourists, I expected rudeness and them be extremely curt, and, again, I was so surprised at how helpful everybody was, riding the trains, or wherever, and with no irritation.

[Aniyasmommy]

Newark New Jersey

[Jackson Pollock]

San Francisco's urbanity − its natural beauty

+ Philadelphia's working-class people and neighborhoods

+ Chicago's skyline × 10

+ Boston's culture × 10

+ LA's vitality, diversity and media whorishness

= New York Freaking City

[adambos]

why are people who dont live in nyc commenting on this? You guys review movies you haven't seen too?

[Chester51]

As a tourist I can see similarities in the city areas of both places. Manhattan anyway to San Francisco. I quite like both cities. The excellent public transport, built up areas and lots of interesting aspects. The locals Friendly and helpful locals.

Be kind. And no, I don't review movies I haven't seen.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by Jackson Pollock

San Francisco's urbanity − its natural beauty

+ Philadelphia's working-class people and neighborhoods

+ Chicago's skyline × 10

+ Boston's culture × 10

+ LA's vitality, diversity and media whorishness

= New York Freaking City

I'll run the risk of repeating myself again (I am.)

And of either being ignored (I will be.)

Or admonished for my suggestions here (I will be.)

But I have to completely disagree with you about New York because what you (and others) suggest doesn't ring true about any city in the world.

It is isn't about New York which, even in my opinion, remains America's greatest city. And even more importantly than greatest, New York remains a great city. By any measure.

What I find insane is how much of Wall Street's totally failed Masters-of-the-Universe still finds its counterpart on how people like you see New York. Yes, New York has more than any other city in the nation. But the age of its real dominance as being poles apart from other major US cities ended sometime after WWII. And the economic activities, the culture, the diversity, the vibrant city scape, the desire to live in the heart of town, the soaring skylines, the great restaurants, etc., have transformed other US cities.

Your notion that New York's skyline is 10x greater than the skyline of my city, Chicago, is about as absurd as if I were to suggest that Chicago's skyline is 10x greater than Houston's, San Francisco's, or Philadelphia's. And the notion that the greatest intellectual complex in America, the ultimate collegiate world that is Boston is 1/10 of NYC's cultural importance is an example of hubris-on-steroids that has become emblematic of the United States in the last 30 years. We are filled with ourselves. Seeing Boston in that light shows how provencial you are about places across the Hudson, Hudson, or Harlem rivers

Again, Jackson, I'm not sure what planet you are living on. I do know that we here in Planet Chicago are putting together an Olympic bid going up against such global cities as Tokyo and the pieces aren't falling in place for us (they are, BTW) because we see our skyline or anything else about ourselves as being 1/10 of what NYC offers. We don't. And if we did, that very attitude would kill us.

The beauty of a city like Chicago is that we no more think of ourselves as 1/10 of New York than we do that we are 10 times greater than other great cities. And the ranking is of no interest to us. Chicago is a great city by any measure and we don't need any comparisons or approval from outsiders to let us know that is true. We're really more about being ourselves, the best Chicago we can be. We have no more desire to be the great city of New York (it is) than we do of being the great city of Los Angeles (it is).

And, as noted before, that very Los Angeles looms big and strong on the West Coast and very much sees itself in its own terms, not New York's, with a different sphere of influence towards the Pacific and Middle America that is removed from New York's Atlantic orientation.

And as LA moves towards NYC size and power in the US that used to be located mainly in New York is now found in abundance in Washington, and as Chicago competes as the global city it is in its Olympic bid, nobody sees themselves in your city's shadow. And none of us wish for other cities to themselves in ours. That's the beauty of "great" that you miss, Jackson. "Great" doesn't need the comparitive of "greater" or superlative of "greatest" to have impact. "Great" stands on its own. And you so miss the point that it is the "great"....and not the "greater" or "greatest"....that so makes New York such a wonderful city. And that great would remain even if Vegas had 10x the number of hotel rooms than NY, Hong Kong a skyline 10x larger, and Orlando 10x the number of families wishing to visit it.

This isn't the mid-20th century. The US does not sit atop the world any more, our influence and sense of entitlement is ending with a real dose of reality. And New York, like every city in the world, is destined to struggle and to be less hierachial and more like the other players.

New York's greatness is not in question. Even much of its relative greatness is not either. But the notion that New York is light years removed from other US cities or that it is, by decree, the utlimate or World's Greatest City is pure narrow provencial thought. And insane.

And I hope that thought stops. Because it does not hurt the other cities in question here who are going about their lives without any sense that they need to use a New York yardstick to measure themselves. And who are competing and striving with all their efforts because they have no desire to rest on their laurels in a very competitve and changing world.

No, the hurt is mainly for New York when it takes a self-agrandizing attitude that can be fatal to the notion that all cities, like all people, can't take anything for granted and need to work to kee up their positions in face of massive competition.

No, New York is fine. Again, by any measure. But the New York attitude exhibited by some here is anything but fine. And stinks.