Los Angeles vs Barcelona (houses, unemployment, neighborhood)
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I visited LA for a few days and Barcelona for a few days. Great food in both places and fabulous museums. Barcelona is not my choice for a place to live. LA is my pick, mainly because of several friends who live in the area.
I'm a native Angeleno and I've only travelled to Barcelona for two weekends and a full week as a tourist on holiday, so keep in mind many of my choices could change if I actually LIVED/Worked in Barcelona. That said, these are just snap assessments:
Culture: Each place has its own unique culture, but given that L.A. was once part of the Spanish Empire, I felt the comparisons instantly when I arrived in Barcelona being an Angeleno. L.A. only edges out for me because it's my native culture and I grew up in it.
Food: L.A.
Diversity: L.A.
Urbanity: Barcelona felt more like a centralized city than L.A. does. Both have massive sprawl, though.
Transit: The sprawl in Barcelona was easier to tackle through the metro and bus system, but my legs hurt like crazy trying to do things by foot. I liked their train system. Barcelona isn't as car dependent as L.A. but, if I lived in Barcelona I'd be okay without a car or could get by with a scooter, but you still need some kind of motorized transport if you're living there, it does sprawl a lot.
Beaches: L.A. beaches have much more beautiful scenery, esp. along the Santa Monica Bay. The city beaches of Barcelona were good, but the coastline in L.A. is much more dynamic to me.
Natural beauty: L.A. but Barcelona reminds me a LOT of Southern California in general. Especially the aridity and topography.
History: Barcelona. L.A. was once a part of New Spain in the Spanish Empire.
Architecture: Barcelona by FAR! We tear down things too quickly in L.A. and we don't preserve what we have. We act too much like a future city to respect our past.
Which city would you rather visit? Live? I'd rather live in L.A. and visit Barcelona.
Culture = Tie
Food = LA
Diversity = LA lol
Urbanity= LA
Transit = Barcelona
Beaches = LA lol
Natural beauty = LA lol
History = Barcelona
Architecture = Tie
Which city would you rather visit? LA Live? LA
Culture = Tie
Food = LA
Diversity = LA lol
Urbanity= LA
Transit = Barcelona
Beaches = LA lol
Natural beauty = LA lol
History = Barcelona
Architecture = Tie
Which city would you rather visit? LA Live? LA
Culture = Barcelona
Food = LA
Diversity = LA
Urbanity= Barcelona
Transit = Barcelona
Beaches = Barcelona ( they have nude beaches )
Natural beauty = Barcelona
History = Barcelona
Architecture = Barcelona by far
Which city would you rather visit? Barcelona Live? Barcelona ( so easy to get to some of my fave parts of France )
Los Angeles: 3,124/km2 (8,092/sq mi)
Barcelona: 15,991/km2 (41,420/sq mi)
I haven't visited LA, so I won't rate them, but Barcelona is 5 times more dense than LA. Barcelona would be the 4th densest city in the US. Guttenberg, Union City and West New York (all in NJ) are denser. The largest city of those is Union city, pop 67k.
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