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On a subjective level, what do you feel are the 10 most 'international feeling' cities in the world? Some criteria to consider:
No. of international passenger arrivals AND diversity of the visitor's country of origin
How many visitors you see in the CBD as a percentage of residents/workers
How many ethnic type restaurants you see in the CBD
How many ethnic enclaves are found OUTSIDE the CBD and inner suburbs
How well connected the city is to the wider region and the world
The percentage of total residents born in another country
The ethnic and linguistic diversity of the city's inhabitants
How many major international corporations/organisations are headquartered in the city
How many international conventions/colleges.etc are found in the city
Include MAJOR world cities with a population of at least 1 million in the metropolitan area.
My ranking:
1. London
2. Singapore
3. New York
4. Dubai
5. Toronto
6. Sydney
7. Melbourne
8. Auckland
9. Hong Kong
10. Paris
This list needs a lot more US cities. In a lot of respects, US cities aren't too hot, but if you're talking about diversity, international colleges, and corporate headquarters, then the US cities are generally near the top given its diversity and huge population. Los Angeles is definitely one city that's not on your list, but should be. There's also the Bay Area if it's counted as a metro--there are probably another half dozen or so cities from the US that can be argued (DC area, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth). Sao Paolo is also a city that is curiously absent from your list despite its massive size, diversity and hosting of several large Brazilian corporations. Brussels is a smaller city that might make it on the list as the capital city of a bilingual country, the capital of the EU with large government and affiliated services based there, and as a host to a large number of international organizations such as NATO, and a diverse immigrant and descendant of immigrant population.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 06-06-2012 at 09:40 AM..
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OyCrumbler
This list needs a lot more US cities. In a lot of respects, US cities aren't too hot, but if you're talking about diversity, international colleges, and corporate headquarters, then the US cities are generally near the top given its diversity and huge population. Los Angeles is definitely one city that's not on your list, but should be. There's also the Bay Area if it's counted as a metro--there are probably another half dozen or so cities from the US that can be argued (DC area, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth). Sao Paolo is also a city that is curiously absent from your list.
Actually I'm going to revise this and take HK off the list. It scores well in most scores except demographically it is firmly Cantonese/Chinese.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Sydney and Auckland are 37% and 39% born overseas respectively. Downtown Sydney is probably less than half Australian. Many parts of Sydney are more than 50% born overseas, same with Auckland.
The figures for Singapore shocked me. 20 years ago the vast majority of Singaporeans were native born. Now, it's something like 60%!
I highly doubt Sao Paulo is anything like that. I'm guessing it's less than 10% born overseas, and for it's size it's probably the LEAST international of the megacities, even less so than Tokyo, although within Brazil the people are mixed the culture is of course Brazilian not international.
Amsterdam might be well visited but residentially it's very Dutch.
Over 75% of college students from São Paolo assert that they are descendents of foreign immigrants.
I agreed with you that Sydney is diverse. It's on my list.
Also, I'm not only counting the amount of foreigners in the cities. I'm also counting how international the city is in general. It's visage in the world, its gastronomy, etc. For these reasons I stand by my leaving Auckland out of my list. It simply is NOT on anyone's radar. Certainly not on the level of Amsterdam, what with its numerous intl. conventions, colleges, restaurants, and tourists.
Also, the more I think about it, the more I stand corrected on Singapore. It is quite an international city-state!
Sydney and Auckland are 37% and 39% born overseas respectively. Downtown Sydney is probably less than half Australian. Many parts of Sydney are more than 50% born overseas, same with Auckland.
The figures for Singapore shocked me. 20 years ago the vast majority of Singaporeans were native born. Now, it's something like 60%!
I highly doubt Sao Paulo is anything like that. I'm guessing it's less than 10% born overseas, and for it's size it's probably the LEAST international of the megacities, even less so than Tokyo, although within Brazil the people are mixed the culture is of course Brazilian not international.
Amsterdam might be well visited but residentially it's very Dutch.
Are we talking about the most foreign born cities or the most international cities? It's not necessarily the same thing?
How do the cities compare in ethnicities as a percentage of total population?
You're probably right, though.
I just think of Paris as still being very French and not as English-friendly.
Paris' population is extremely diverse. Not quite as much as London or NYC but certainly up there. It basically feels like the French incarnation of the other two.
Also, another question: is this a thread about being international or English-friendly? The two are not at all the same thing.
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