What cities feel big for their size (population)? What cities feel small for their size? (ski resorts, best cities)

Cities that feel bigger than their population size, especially for the downtown:

Seattle
Vancouver
Geneva
Copenhagen
Stockholm
Amsterdam
Washington DC

Cities that feel smaller than their population size, especially for the downtown:

Delhi
Phoenix
San Antonio
San Jose

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Judging solely from the DOWNTOWN area, in terms of downtown area, vibrancy, amount of shops, restaurants, entertainment/nightlife, culture, crowds, population...

LA's downtown is of course very underwhelming consider it's home to a vast metro of 17 million, qualifying it as a mega-city. Most American cities fit the bill, like San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Detroit.

Australia seems medium to low, they're sprawling but they seem befitting of their size. Same with Canadian cities.

Asian cities seem on par or 'big' for their size, as do European ones, although Ho Chi Minh's downtown actually felt kind of 'small in scale' despite being so large and bustling.

I imagine a city like Copenhagen probably beats Houston for vibrancy. Amsterdam probably kills Phoenix.

The list I put up for this thread topic in the post above this one seems similar to a lot of the places you mentioned. What do you think of my list above this post?

However, there is still some American cities that don’t fit the bill with seeming smaller than their population size. Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco feel on par with their size. Seattle and Washington DC actually feel bigger than their population size.

I guess you were referring to Houston, San Antonio, San Jose, Phoenix, etc.

Most Asian cities do appear on par with their size. I would say Delhi is the exception, and feels smaller relative to population size.

Quite a few European cities feel bigger than their size such as Geneva, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam etc.

For Canada, Vancouver certainly feels bigger. Calgary and Edmonton might feel smaller than their size.

I don't know enough about Australian cities to make assumptions for this topic, but Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane seem like nice, exciting but also laid back/easy going/relaxed cities with a high quality of life. Kind of similar to Canadian cities for that, just with different annual weather and vegetation.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by

The list I put up for this thread topic in the post above this one seems similar to a lot of the places you mentioned. What do you think of my list above this post?

However, there is still some American cities that don’t fit the bill with seeming smaller than their population size. Chicago, New York City, and San Francisco feel on par with their size. Seattle and Washington DC actually feel bigger than their population size.

I guess you were referring to Houston, San Antonio, San Jose, Phoenix, etc.

Most Asian cities do appear on par with their size. I would say Delhi is the exception, and feels smaller relative to population size.

Quite a few European cities feel bigger than their size such as Geneva, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Amsterdam etc.

For Canada, Vancouver certainly feels bigger. Calgary and Edmonton might feel smaller than their size.

I don't know enough about Australian cities to make assumptions for this topic, but Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane seem like nice, exciting but also laid back/easy going/relaxed cities with a high quality of life. Kind of similar to Canadian cities for that, just with different annual weather and vegetation.

Keep in mind I'm talking metro pop. To me it's meaningless if Atlanta has half a million or something. It's downtown is obviously of a city of 5 million.

DC is vibrant by American standards, but for a metro of 5 million it's not exceptional. Feels a bit smaller than Sydney with 4.6 million.

Interesting you mention Delhi, I mean isn't basically next to New Delhi?

I'm wondering if Dhaka even has a recogniseable 'downtown.' I'd say the same of Vietnamese cities, they don't get denser to the core, they're dense throughout. Downtown often just feels like another nabe since they don't have high skylines.

Canadian cities seem on par with Australian cities. Stronger downtowns than US cities.

Sydney may have a nice landscape/open spaces, and on weekends sure you can chill, but the pace of life in Sydney isn't really laid back. Traffic is as bad as almost anywhere in the world, the people are sometimes rude and rushed (only place I've been angrily pushed on an escalator).

[Clodius et Claudius.]

Hong Kong/Macau--big for its size
Guangzhou--small for its size

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by Haowen Wong

Hong Kong/Macau--big for its size
Guangzhou--small for its size

Hong Kong has nearly 8 million people - the size of New York city proper (five boroughs), but it's skyline is now the biggest in the world, so maybe it does feel big for it's size.

Macau feels pretty bustling though.

Originally Posted by Trimac20

Keep in mind I'm talking metro pop. To me it's meaningless if Atlanta has half a million or something. It's downtown is obviously of a city of 5 million.

DC is vibrant by American standards, but for a metro of 5 million it's not exceptional. Feels a bit smaller than Sydney with 4.6 million.

Interesting you mention Delhi, I mean isn't basically next to New Delhi?

I'm wondering if Dhaka even has a recogniseable 'downtown.' I'd say the same of Vietnamese cities, they don't get denser to the core, they're dense throughout. Downtown often just feels like another nabe since they don't have high skylines.

Canadian cities seem on par with Australian cities. Stronger downtowns than US cities.

Sydney may have a nice landscape/open spaces, and on weekends sure you can chill, but the pace of life in Sydney isn't really laid back. Traffic is as bad as almost anywhere in the world, the people are sometimes rude and rushed (only place I've been angrily pushed on an escalator).

Sorry for the delayed response. With my first week of a new semester in college, moving to a new home, and a long commute etc. I got very busy and sometimes don’t have enough time to post on this website. It feels so good to finally have enough time to post a lot today. I have 4 hours to post right now and that is enough time to write all of this.

Anyways, I thought you were referring to city limits and not entire metropolitan area population. That shows a noticeable difference.

Washington DC is a good example for that difference. When just referring to city limits Washington DC has 600,000 people and feels bigger than that size for population. However, when looking at the entire metropolitan area Washington DC has 5.8 million and does not appear that exceptional/impressive related to that.

When looking at entire metropolitan area population, it makes Atlanta look even worse, and it is one of my least favorite American cities.

My favorite American cities are Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, New York City, and Chicago. They are much better in most categories compared to other American cities.

Canadian cities do seem on par with Australian cities especially with Vancouver/Montreal/Toronto/Calgary vs. Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane/Adelaide.

I do enjoy plenty of Canadian and Australian cities from what I know about them such as Vancouver, Montreal, Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, etc.

In some ways, American cities are better while in other ways Canadian and Australian cities are better.

Delhi and New Delhi are technically different but that is the same metropolitan area with literally 16.3 million people. The Delhi area certainly seems smaller than that, so it is one of the exceptions in Asia.

I did not know that about Sydney but it is probably still very laid back/easy going/relaxed compared to New York City. Melbourne and Brisbane even more than Sydney.

I know you are not particularly enthusiastic and fond of Perth, but Perth still has some nice good qualities about it, despite some weaknesses. You probably just need a change of scenery in this time of your life. Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney seem like excellent moving options for you.

[irish_bob]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

BA has a metropolitan area of 12.8 million people! Why are South American cities so huge? That's bigger than London, Paris.etc., so it would have to feel damn huge to feel big for it's size.

buenos aires is hugely spread out , much more so than london , ive been there

[irish_bob]

Originally Posted by owenc

London imo is very small for the population size. The actual city bit.

I think that Belfast is biggish for its size. Its not a typical city as it is just a sprawl of houses.

dublin is incredibly sprawled ( by european standards ) for a metro area of 1.2 million or thereabouts

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by

Sorry for the delayed response. With my first week of a new semester in college, moving to a new home, and a long commute etc. I got very busy and sometimes don’t have enough time to post on this website. It feels so good to finally have enough time to post a lot today. I have 4 hours to post right now and that is enough time to write all of this.

Anyways, I thought you were referring to city limits and not entire metropolitan area population. That shows a noticeable difference.

Washington DC is a good example for that difference. When just referring to city limits Washington DC has 600,000 people and feels bigger than that size for population. However, when looking at the entire metropolitan area Washington DC has 5.8 million and does not appear that exceptional/impressive related to that.

When looking at entire metropolitan area population, it makes Atlanta look even worse, and it is one of my least favorite American cities.

My favorite American cities are Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, New York City, and Chicago. They are much better in most categories compared to other American cities.

Canadian cities do seem on par with Australian cities especially with Vancouver/Montreal/Toronto/Calgary vs. Melbourne/Sydney/Brisbane/Adelaide.

I do enjoy plenty of Canadian and Australian cities from what I know about them such as Vancouver, Montreal, Sydney, Melbourne, Toronto, etc.

In some ways, American cities are better while in other ways Canadian and Australian cities are better.

Delhi and New Delhi are technically different but that is the same metropolitan area with literally 16.3 million people. The Delhi area certainly seems smaller than that, so it is one of the exceptions in Asia.

I did not know that about Sydney but it is probably still very laid back/easy going/relaxed compared to New York City. Melbourne and Brisbane even more than Sydney.

I know you are not particularly enthusiastic and fond of Perth, but Perth still has some nice good qualities about it, despite some weaknesses. You probably just need a change of scenery in this time of your life. Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney seem like excellent moving options for you.

Washington DC also isn't an 'ordinary' city, being the seat of government of the United States. I felt the downtown was pretty spread out, as there are no really tall buildings, although no less urban than cities with a lot of skyscrapers. DC no doubt probably feels more urban overall than Atlanta or Houston with their glittering towers. I thought it had a pretty cool vibe, it was more bustling than I thought, I'd rate it similar to Boston in downtown activity/vibrancy. For history buffs etc there's a ton to see in terms of museums and other places that you don't find in other cities.

NYC is amazing, I've yet to visit the rest but would like to. I liked Boston, DC, LA and New Orleans. Nashville and Austin were ok. Chicago has a pretty cool looking skyline though.

I think each Australian and presumably Canadian city has it's own character. I mean I think all of our cities are quality and don't feel too generic, they're changing really fast too. You don't see the decay like you see in the States because we're a growing economy. I don't know about laid back. Like I said it's the only city I've been pushed on the elevator and drivers are pretty impatient. The traffic is as bad as I've seen anywhere in the world, and it's not uncommon for people to drive over 2 hours to work. I think few American cities beat Sydney, actually. Aside from the likes of NYC and Chicago it's more cities with cool architecture like Boston, Philly, SF, NOLA.

Yeah Perth ain't too bad, it's changing a lot though, some massive developments all around the city. I hope to move to Melbourne soon, it's still one of my favourite cities.

[Trimac20]

Originally Posted by irish_bob

buenos aires is hugely spread out , much more so than london , ive been there

Is the housing more like European townhouses, high rise apartments or are are there American/Aussie style single house suburbs?