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What ? your rant means nothing to me. I lived in London (Willesden and Chiswick) and NYC (West End Avenue, East Village). Do you have something comparable to Jones Beach in Paris ? Nope . Instead ...bloody m.u.s.e.u.m.s! do you have something comparable to say, Bushy Park (with deer!) in Paris . Instead, bloody Vincennes and Boulogne parks, full of junk! once upon a time, there was a nice (and pretty, wooden, old style ) open air pool on the Seine river -"bains Deligny" , it was arsoned because "mind you"! the bourgeois people didn't want to witness the "homo scene" around the pool! everything is like that in Paris, an undercurrent of nastiness American tourists know nothing about.
I was born April 14th 1955 in Neuilly (a half mile west of Paris) and have spent most of my life there so I have no lesson to reveive from tourists with rose colored glasses!
Alright, so I was born in Paris I’m 27, I’m Parisian, French, and I grew up Avenue de Clichy in the 17th arrondissement. I’m no tourist with pink sun glasses. You were born in Neuilly, one the wealthiest suburb of the Paris area? Haha, I understand better now why you’re complaining when you earn 3 000€ a month, while, you’re right for this, most of the people earn less than that, so you complaining is just indecent.
You pay 250€ a month the Health Care, poor you, the cheapest ones in NYC are about $400 and the more expensive ones, the best ones, cover only 80% of your spendings. Which means you have a baby, if there’s no complications you’ll pay about $2 000 from your pocket, when in France you don’t pay, if you need an intervention to help the birth (which happens often) you might pay $10 000 from your pocket, when in Paris…nothing, and it goes on for all kind of surgery,. Then your baby goes to college for 300 € a year, while in the US it’s between $10 000 to $50 000 a year. And I’m talking about public hospitals and Universities.
Then if he doesn’t find a job right after college, he can receive a free help from the state of 450 €, just for being French and not working or not studying anymore + CMU free Heath Care (go to the dentist, to the doc, to the allergist, to the Pharmacist, you won’t pay for nothing) + total free public transportation for the whole Paris agglomeration… I agree, what a nightmare! And I know what I’m talking about, I had all of that for 10 months after my studies and it made my life way sweeter.
The rents? Well my parents live in a HLM (projects) a nice 4 bedrooms apartment with 2 bathrooms for 750 € a month, unbearable I agree, again I live in the inner Paris. All of my friends who are between 26 and 32 have nice 2 bedrooms apartments with a rent between 700 € and 1000 € a month, inner Paris. But apparently for a “bourgeois” (funny that you complain about them while you’re part of it) like you it’s not in your prices, you deserve better I guess.
So yes, I’m from a working class Parisian family, and with all the helps from the French government, I had a very good life, my parents have a nice and cheap apartment in Paris, their kids went to college, they bought a little country house, we always had great holydays, two months at the beach every year, country side during the weekends, I did an exchange program in the US, I did my internship in the US, I traveled, I’m educated and cultured even if I’m from a low class condition. That’s because I grew up in Paris, in this unbearable city with all those dirty useless museums, art places and theatres. I’m sure with the same family background no way I would have had the same quality of life in NYC, not so many opportunities, my parents would have had to work more for less vacation and less time with their kids and probably would have had never been able to afford any kind of country house in CT or NJ by the sea. What an unbearable life I had being Parisian! Now I’m starting my career and I start to make good money (not 3 000 € though) soon I’ll move out and my own place and not 1 200 € a month….
You lived in NYC? Really? For how long, and I guess you didn’t have to pay the Health Care there, right? In the East Village! Hahahah, and you think you know what is to live in NYC??? It’s like living in St Germain and saying you know what is average life in Paris, loooooool! I lived in Brooklyn and in Queens, where the biggest part of the New Yorkers who are not upper class, cool artists, lawyers, traders or hipsters live, so I probably saw a different reality of NYC. But I love this city event more for that, happily NYC is not only Manhattan.
Jones Beach? I agree, but it’s the natural scenary of NY which is by the ocean unlike Paris or London, and I agree I love it. Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes are both twice as big as Central Park, you have wild red foxes and wild small deer in Bois de Vincennes. Bois de Boulogne is a place for prostitution but not really the Bois de Vincennes not more than in Central Park. Central Park is nicer now than before, they cleaned it, but go at night in the north of it and there’s still a dirty scene in there. I did many eating out parties at night in Bois de Vincennes with friends in summer everybody singing, laughing, playing guitar in the middle of the woods and it’s really nice. You can’t do that in Central Park it’s not allowed
For all of that, even though I love NYC I really think you have a nicer life in Paris. I don’t know about London, but anyway the health care and the expenses for studies are way more expensive than in Paris. And to raise a family (yes it might happen) never in NYC or in the US in general, when I see my cousins even though they have money and are happy, I don’t want that for my family, too stressful, too expensive, not enough time to enjoy your family, your life in general
Pigeonhole, I’m very sad for you, being more than 50 and still being so hateful, unhappy and angry might be hard in your everyday life, not talking about living in a city you hate!
So again, Paris, NY, London.
By the way, guys stop talking about capital city of the World. None of those 3 cities is, trust me 70% of the humans of this planet really don’t care about those 3 cities so don’t go to tell one of them it is his/her world capital because really it is not. There’s no capital of the World, not anymore. NYC was maybe for 50 years, London for 100 years (mostly the 19th century) and Paris from the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 19th century, during all this period it was the biggest and the most populous city of the Western World and probably of the World too. The French being cowards, haha, I guess it’s one of the many stereotypes our lovely oldest enemies the English spread all over the seas even to people that never met any French person. Merci beaucoup ! lol
I agree, like all the stereotypes it doesn’t mean nothing. And yes it’s not true at all, English forgot we invaded them and left them 60% of nowadays English vocabulary that comes from old French, thanks to us it’s the most Latin of the Germanic languages. And finally we had a war of 100 years ( Jane of Arc) against them, which we won, to not let them settle in our country which is of course way nicer and sunnier than theirs lol; I’m just kidding, I love the English, they’re cool people, and England is very nice. And yes our armies conquered half of Europe and even reached Moscow, English never did that. Then we finally lost which was good it wasn’t our place anyway hahah.
Alright, so I was born in Paris I’m 27, I’m Parisian, French, and I grew up Avenue de Clichy in the 17th arrondissement. I’m no tourist with pink sun glasses. You were born in Neuilly, one the wealthiest suburb of the Paris area? Haha, I understand better now why you’re complaining when you earn 3 000€ a month, while, you’re right for this, most of the people earn less than that, so you complaining is just indecent.
You pay 250€ a month the Health Care, poor you, the cheapest ones in NYC are about $400 and the more expensive ones, the best ones, cover only 80% of your spendings. Which means you have a baby, if there’s no complications you’ll pay about $2 000 from your pocket, when in France you don’t pay, if you need an intervention to help the birth (which happens often) you might pay $10 000 from your pocket, when in Paris…nothing, and it goes on for all kind of surgery,. Then your baby goes to college for 300 € a year, while in the US it’s between $10 000 to $50 000 a year. And I’m talking about public hospitals and Universities.
Then if he doesn’t find a job right after college, he can receive a free help from the state of 450 €, just for being French and not working or not studying anymore + CMU free Heath Care (go to the dentist, to the doc, to the allergist, to the Pharmacist, you won’t pay for nothing) + total free public transportation for the whole Paris agglomeration… I agree, what a nightmare! And I know what I’m talking about, I had all of that for 10 months after my studies and it made my life way sweeter.
The rents? Well my parents live in a HLM (projects) a nice 4 bedrooms apartment with 2 bathrooms for 750 € a month, unbearable I agree, again I live in the inner Paris. All of my friends who are between 26 and 32 have nice 2 bedrooms apartments with a rent between 700 € and 1000 € a month, inner Paris. But apparently for a “bourgeois†(funny that you complain about them while you’re part of it) like you it’s not in your prices, you deserve better I guess.
So yes, I’m from a working class Parisian family, and with all the helps from the French government, I had a very good life, my parents have a nice and cheap apartment in Paris, their kids went to college, they bought a little country house, we always had great holydays, two months at the beach every year, country side during the weekends, I did an exchange program in the US, I did my internship in the US, I traveled, I’m educated and cultured even if I’m from a low class condition. That’s because I grew up in Paris, in this unbearable city with all those dirty useless museums, art places and theatres. I’m sure with the same family background no way I would have had the same quality of life in NYC, not so many opportunities, my parents would have had to work more for less vacation and less time with their kids and probably would have had never been able to afford any kind of country house in CT or NJ by the sea. What an unbearable life I had being Parisian! Now I’m starting my career and I start to make good money (not 3 000 € though) soon I’ll move out and my own place and not 1 200 € a month….
You lived in NYC? Really? For how long, and I guess you didn’t have to pay the Health Care there, right? In the East Village! Hahahah, and you think you know what is to live in NYC??? It’s like living in St Germain and saying you know what is average life in Paris, loooooool! I lived in Brooklyn and in Queens, where the biggest part of the New Yorkers who are not upper class, cool artists, lawyers, traders or hipsters live, so I probably saw a different reality of NYC. But I love this city event more for that, happily NYC is not only Manhattan.
Jones Beach? I agree, but it’s the natural scenary of NY which is by the ocean unlike Paris or London, and I agree I love it. Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes are both twice as big as Central Park, you have wild red foxes and wild small deer in Bois de Vincennes. Bois de Boulogne is a place for prostitution but not really the Bois de Vincennes not more than in Central Park. Central Park is nicer now than before, they cleaned it, but go at night in the north of it and there’s still a dirty scene in there. I did many eating out parties at night in Bois de Vincennes with friends in summer everybody singing, laughing, playing guitar in the middle of the woods and it’s really nice. You can’t do that in Central Park it’s not allowed
For all of that, even though I love NYC I really think you have a nicer life in Paris. I don’t know about London, but anyway the health care and the expenses for studies are way more expensive than in Paris. And to raise a family (yes it might happen) never in NYC or in the US in general, when I see my cousins even though they have money and are happy, I don’t want that for my family, too stressful, too expensive, not enough time to enjoy your family, your life in general
Pigeonhole, I’m very sad for you, being more than 50 and still being so hateful, unhappy and angry might be hard in your everyday life, not talking about living in a city you hate!
So again, Paris, NY, London.
By the way, guys stop talking about capital city of the World. None of those 3 cities is, trust me 70% of the humans of this planet really don’t care about those 3 cities so don’t go to tell one of them it is his/her world capital because really it is not. There’s no capital of the World, not anymore. NYC was maybe for 50 years, London for 100 years (mostly the 19th century) and Paris from the Middle Ages until the beginning of the 19th century, during all this period it was the biggest and the most populous city of the Western World and probably of the World too. The French being cowards, haha, I guess it’s one of the many stereotypes our lovely oldest enemies the English spread all over the seas even to people that never met any French person. Merci beaucoup ! lol
I agree, like all the stereotypes it doesn’t mean nothing. And yes it’s not true at all, English forgot we invaded them and left them 60% of nowadays English vocabulary that comes from old French, thanks to us it’s the most Latin of the Germanic languages. And finally we had a war of 100 years ( Jane of Arc) against them, which we won, to not let them settle in our country which is of course way nicer and sunnier than theirs lol; I’m just kidding, I love the English, they’re cool people, and England is very nice. And yes our armies conquered half of Europe and even reached Moscow, English never did that. Then we finally lost which was good it wasn’t our place anyway hahah.
I agree with a lot of what you have written, although we are more than familiar with the Norman Conquest in Britain.
Paris is a very beautiful city and London and Paris are both great cities which compliment each other, and both are within easy reach of each other, something that we both have to our advantage.
In terms of sterotypes, they are often very out dated and based on very pre-concieved ideas. The French are not cowards, the British do not generally have the teeth of someone from the middle ages, and a lot of globalised countries embrace a whole array of international foods.
The only other thing I would disagree with is otherwise, is probably heathcare being more expensive in London, as both Britain and France have universal healthcare, and people within the EU are covered, whilst those from without the EU have to have travel insurance.
"I can never understand why Londoners fail to see that they live in the most wonderful city in the world. It is far more beautiful and interesting than Paris, if you ask me, and more lively than anywhere but New York - and even New York can't touch it in lots of important ways".
From my own experiences, I have to disagree with Mr. Bryson here. I think Paris is far and away the most beautiful city of the three. In addition, I have never felt the same kind of electricity and energy in London that I have in NYC. That's not to say that there is no lively energy in London (obviously there is), mind you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulhall
Quite amusing given that New York Magazine declared London as the Capital City of the World, only a few years ago.
London is also one of the food capitals of the world, and despite American Sterotypes (our teeth and our food seem to be two favourites) the British have a wide and varied international taste in food. We have always embraced new foods and spices, often brought to our shores through Empire. Today London is a multicultural mix of foods, and even a visit to the local Supermarket will involve selection of foods from every continent and country imaginable from Mexican through to far east asian. Whilst London has some of the top rated restaurants in the world, and there are restaurants of every nationality immaginable in London.
In terms of nightlife I couldn't imagine a more diverse and amazing scene than London. The London of today being very much a 24 hour city, with bars, restaurants and clubs open all hours.
All of these "rankings" are so silly lol. However, if we're going down that route, it is worth noting that NYC normally comes out on top of the "most important city in the world" listings. Being the headquarters for the UN helps immensely. As does being the most important city of the most powerful country on earth (at least for now anyways). Anyways, the "capital of the 21st Century" may very well be Shanghai.
I definitely agree with you that the London restaurant scene often gets an undeserved bad rap. As you stated, some of the best restaurants in the world are in London. In the rest of the UK, however, I oftentimes find that a lot of the food can leave a lot to be desired though. Overall, in my personal opinion at least, I still prefer the scenes in Paris and NYC (and Tokyo) than the London one.
As for nightlife, I prefer NYC, then London, and then Paris. All three are 24/7, but I think NYC is the most 24/7 of the three however. The one thing I absolutely despise about Britain's nightlife in general is the sense of an ingrained drunken culture. It's not a little known secret that the Brits love their booze (often a little too much). Now, I'm not naively suggesting that such things don't go on anywhere and everywhere else, but the UK definitely has a drinking problem that needs to be addressed. Isn't the government currently debating putting a minimum price on alcohol or something? With all that being said, I, personally, have never had a problem, but I've heard many a horror story from my wife's family (my wife is English). In getting back to the point, I think most/many Asian cities beat all three in terms of nightlife. Bangkok will knock your socks off
Anyways, I don't want to get into a stupid, bitter debate over such things as this, as it's all a matter of personal opinion anyways. Like I said in my initial post in this thread, I love all three!
From my own experiences, I have to disagree with Mr. Bryson here. I think Paris is far and away the most beautiful city of the three. In addition, I have never felt the same kind of electricity and energy in London that I have in NYC. That's not to say that there is no lively energy in London (obviously there is), mind you.
All of these "rankings" are so silly lol. However, if we're going down that route, it is worth noting that NYC normally comes out on top of the "most important city in the world" listings. Being the headquarters for the UN helps immensely. As does being the most important city of the most powerful country on earth (at least for now anyways). Anyways, the "capital of the 21st Century" may very well be Shanghai.
I definitely agree with you that the London restaurant scene often gets an undeserved bad rap. As you stated, some of the best restaurants in the world are in London. In the rest of the UK, however, I oftentimes find that a lot of the food can leave a lot to be desired though. Overall, in my personal opinion at least, I still prefer the scenes in Paris and NYC (and Tokyo) than the London one.
As for nightlife, I prefer NYC, then London, and then Paris. All three are 24/7, but I think NYC is the most 24/7 of the three however. The one thing I absolutely despise about Britain's nightlife in general is the sense of an ingrained drunken culture. It's not a little known secret that the Brits love their booze (often a little too much). Now, I'm not naively suggesting that such things don't go on anywhere and everywhere else, but the UK definitely has a drinking problem that needs to be addressed. Isn't the government currently debating putting a minimum price on alcohol or something? With all that being said, I, personally, have never had a problem, but I've heard many a horror story from my wife's family (my wife is English). In getting back to the point, I think most/many Asian cities beat all three in terms of nightlife. Bangkok will knock your socks off
Anyways, I don't want to get into a stupid, bitter debate over such things as this, as it's all a matter of personal opinion anyways. Like I said in my initial post in this thread, I love all three!
Yes I agree it's very much personal opinion and Personal Preference. I personally prefer London, as for a drinking problem, the vast majority of people in the UK drink perfectly sensible. Obviously a few youngsters in theit teens and twenties are going to drink too much (you can drink in a bar in London at 18 unlike NYC where the age limit is 21), but this is an issue in a lot of countries beyond the UK. It's like saying the Irish are renowned for their drinking therefore Dublin is not a great city due to it's ingrained drinking culture. The worst countries for binge drinking are I believe the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland, not the UK. There are also numerous casinos in London, and I can't recall ever going to a casino in NYC, are there any, I seem to recall someone telling me that the city or state laws prohibit casinos in NYC????
Personally I find NYC too claustophoblic, too much of a city along the lines of Hong Kong, a place which lacks many of the things I love about London such as the beautiful regency and georgian streets, historic atmosphere or beautiful greenery. I certainly wouldn't wish to live in Hong Kong, or indeed Shanghai - which is a rather souless city, like a giant high rise new town and one which lacks both the diversity and in a lot of the newer areas any real history or culture. I could however quite happily live in Paris, which I also find far more liveable than New York. As much as New York is a great city to visit, the idea of living there would not appeal in the same way as living in Paris, which is built on a more human scale.
In terms of the UN, I don't really feel it makes NYC anymore of a city than London. London is after all the capital of a country and full of embassies and diplomats, as well as being the seat of national Government, thereby performing many of the functions of Government which are performed in Washington DC in the US.
In terms of cities nearby both Brussels (headquarters of the EU) and Geneva are home to an array of international institutions (incldudng much of the UN) but I don't feel that makes them any more international or important than London. Then again I don't find NYC electrifying in the same way you do, and I certainly don't think most New Yorkers give the UN a second thought. Indeed if I recall correctly the UN was going to be in Geneva but the Russians and others were more than happy for it to be in NYC not because it was the global capital but because it made it easier to spy on the US. The original favoured location for the UN being Navy Island near Niagara Falls in Ontario in Canada.
As for Paris, it's a nice enough city, but it's difficult to escape the confines of the tourist cente, and it doersn't enjoy the vast array of areas and indeed wonderful suburbs london does.
In terms of NYC a lot of people have pointed out that it has lost it's edge in recent years, and that a lot of the things that made NYC unique are no longer so unique whether it be diversity, 24 hour culture or indeed skyscrapers.
As for nightlife, London has a fantastic nightlife, fantastic restaurants and fantastic culture. It's also only a few hours on a train from cities such as Paris and even closer still to Brussels, but then again London has international cities on it's doorstep and doesn't needf to rely on some institution within the city like the UN.
I agree that rankings are often silly, as indeed are steroypes, and I agree that all three cities are amongst the best in the entire world. However I am inclined to agree with the authors Bill Bryson and James Jackson on this subject.
To say the UK doesn't have a drinking problem is wrong, of course we do. I have never in my life been to a country where people drink as much as we do.
"The U.K.'s problem is especially striking because of the contrast to what's been happening in many other industrialized nations. Per-capita consumption of alcohol in the U.K. rose 19% between 1980 and 2007, compared with a 13% decline for all 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the most recent data. Average consumption over that period fell by about 17% in the U.S., 24% in Canada, 30% in Germany and 33% in France, according to the OECD"
To say the UK doesn't have a drinking problem is wrong, of course we do. I have never in my life been to a country where people drink as much as we do.
"The U.K.'s problem is especially striking because of the contrast to what's been happening in many other industrialized nations. Per-capita consumption of alcohol in the U.K. rose 19% between 1980 and 2007, compared with a 13% decline for all 30 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the most recent data. Average consumption over that period fell by about 17% in the U.S., 24% in Canada, 30% in Germany and 33% in France, according to the OECD"
What I said was that binge drinking was an issue in a lot of countries and not just the UK.
Ireland being the worst country in International studies, with other countries such as Finland, Russia, Demark, Netherlands etc also having problems.
To pretend the UK is the only country to have a problem would be wrong.
Furthermore as I have already pointed out you can drink in a bar in NYC until, you are 21 as oipposed to 18 in the UK.
The vast majority of people in the UK are merely social drinkers and not alcoholics. As for the South of England, the area has amongst the lowest level of drinking, and with in the UK as a whole there are big differences in drinking patterns between the north and south of England as well as in terms of the Scots, Irish and Welsh.
That is your Personal Preference. I personally prefer London, as for a drinking problem, the vast majority of people in the UK drink perfectly sensible. Obviously a few youngsters in theit teens and twenties are going to drink too much (you can drink in a bar in London at 18 unlike NYC where the age limit is 21), but this is an issue in a lot of countries beyond the UK. It's like saying the Irish are renowned for their drinking therefore Dublin is not a great city due to it's ingrained dtinking culture. The worst countries for binge drinking are I believe the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland, not the UK. There are also numerous casinos in London, and I can't recall ever going to a casino in NYC, are there any, I seem to recall someone telling me that the city or state laws prohibit casinos in NYC????
Personally I find NYC too claustophoblic, too much of a city along the lines of Hong Kong, a place which lacks many of the things I love about London such as the beautiful regency and georgian streets, historic atmosphere or beautiful greenery. I certainly woulds wish to live in Hong Kong, or indeed Shanghai - which is a rather souless city, like a giant high rise new town and one which lacks both the diversity and in a lot of the history and historic buildings of London. I could however quite happily live in Paris, which I also find far more liveable than New York.
In terms of the UN, I don't really feel it makes NYC anymore of a city than London. London is after all the capital of a country and full of embassies and diplomats. In terms of cities nearby both Brussels (headquarters of the EU) and Geneva are home to an array of international institutions but I don't feel that makes them any more international or important than London. Then again I don't find NYC electrifying in the same way you do.
As for Paris, it's a nice enough city, but it's difficult to escape the confines of the tourist cente, and it doersn't enjoy the vast array of areas and indeed wonderful suburbs london does.
In terms of NYC a lot of people have pointed out that it has lost it's edge in recent years, and that a lot of the things that made NYC unique are no longer so unique whether it be diversity, 24 hour culture or indeed skyscrapers.
As for nightlife, London has a fantastic nightlife, fantastic restaurants and fantastic culture. It's also only a few hours on a train from cities such as Paris and even closer still to Brussels, but then again London has international cities on it's doorstep and doesn't needf to rely on some institution within the city like the UN.
I agree that rankings are often silly, as indeed are steroypes, and I agree that all three cities are amongst the best in the entire world.
I think that the British drinking issues stem far beyond just a few youngsters in their twenties, but to each their own. Like I (and you yourself) pointed out, the UK is not the only country that has issues in this department (including the US). However, of the three, I think the "drunkenness" of the general populace is the worst in London. As for the casinos, to be honest, I am unsure what the laws are. I do not live in NYC or even New York State. Perhaps someone else could shed some light on the subject? In any case, I have never even considered going to a casino in all of the times I've been to NYC (or London or Paris) and I wouldn't want to. No matter which of the three you are in, you're in one of the greatest cities on earth, why would you want to waste your time (and money) in a casino?!? Whenever my wife and I want to go on a trip to gamble at a casino, we always head to either Las Vegas, Macau, or Monte Carlo.
See, I'm the opposite, I would love to live in Hong Kong. I find it (and most Asian cities to be quite honest) so intriguing and electrifying. Shanghai, I think, needs a bit more time to develop itself (along with the rest of China). In the future, I think it has the possibility to be a very major world city. The one thing I will undoubtedly agree with you on in terms of things that Asian cities lack when contrasted to their Western counterparts, is diversity.
I disagree with you that New York has lost the things that make it unique. That's not to say other cities don't have said things as well, but I think that New York offers more of them than the others. Again, personal opinion. I still find NYC the most diverse of the three (in more ways than one). For example, there are an estimated 800 languages spoken in NYC, making it the most linguistically diverse city on earth (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/ny...lost.html?_r=1). I also think that NYC is by far the most 24/7 city of the three. Many things in London and Paris still close at 5. The NYC Subway (as vile as it sometimes can be) is still open 24/7 unlike the Tube and Metro, etc. The US, in general, is the land of convenience (for better or for worse). As for the skyscrapers, I personally don't think that skyscrapers make a city, not even close. Look at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, even Shanghai, etc. They all have a vast myriad of amazing skyscrapers, but I don't think that any of them can touch NYC, London, or Paris. The thing about NYC's skyscrapers that make them so special is that they are absolutely iconic (far more so than the skyscrapers found in London and Paris). From the Empire State Building to the the Chrysler Building to even the WTC (old and new), NYC skyscrapers are classic and historic as far as skyscrapers go. But again, I don't think that skyscrapers make a city in the slightest.
London's geographic location in the world is indeed enviable, no doubt. But NYC is also surrounded by some great, international cities as well: Washington DC, Boston, Philly, Toronto, Montreal, etc. Also, I don't think NYC "relies" on having the UN within the city, but I think that it certainly contributes to the sentiment that NYC is, at least in my opinion anyways, the most important city on earth. Like I said, it's the most important city in the most important and powerful country on earth.
Oh well, personal opinions, personal opinions....
Edit: Unfortunately, I have to agree with Paul. It's so unfortunate as well, given all of the amazing things the UK has to offer.On the other hand though, I also agree with Mulhall, in that the UK is not the only country with this problem. However, I don't think many other countries have it to such a bad extent.
Last edited by ijustdontcare; 03-31-2012 at 01:19 PM..
The Times - United Kingdom | Monday, March 19, 2012
British drink less than generally believed
The international press tends to present the British as a nation of drinkers. But the most recent statistics show that alcohol consumption is steadily falling, the conservative daily The Times points out: "The trends appear steady and consistent across the main surveys. The latest - the General Lifestyle Survey - was published by the Office for National Statistics this month. It said that between 2005 and 2010 average weekly consumption fell steadily from 14.3 units to 11.5 per adult. The proportion exceeding the recommended weekly limit fell from 31 per cent to 26 per cent (men) and 21 to 17 (women). Those admitting to heavy drinking fell by about a third. ... The overwhelming direction? Down. More tea?"
As for the rest of your post 'ijustdontcare' it's down to personal preference.
There is a 24/7 culture here in the UK, with everything from Bars, Clubs, Restaurants, Cinemas, Casinos and even Supermarkets open 24/7 in London. I can even shop in my local Tesco at virtually any time should I so wish. In terms of the tube it shuts 4 hours a night for maintenance, leading to a better service and cleaner system in my opinion. Whiulst it closes nightbuises operate throughout the night right across London, as do London's famous black cabs. Personally I find London very much as 24/7 as NYC.
Both London and Paris are equally as diverse as New York, and the days when skyscrapers were unique to NYC are long gone, whilst the skyline is nice, we all have skyscrapers now, something that wasn't the case only a few decades ago.
Paris is very easy on the eye but is lacking considerably in many 'big city' ways when compared with London and NY. I'd say that London and NY are far more forward thinking and dynamic, which ultimately make them more exciting places to live and be in.
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