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I have not been to Hong Kong or Tokyo (though I plan to at some point). However, it seems to me that Hong Kong is an overrated city when considered on a global scale.
When you look at factors like population, GDP and personal income, Hong Kong is alright but it's nothing head-turning. So, are Hong Kong's skyline and scenery its only claim to fame?
Hong Kong is beautiful. Very vertical city, and a gorgeous natural harbor.
Maybe 15 years ago, but they four major financial capitals in the world were consistently NEW YORK, LONDON, HONG KONG, and TOKYO. This was said to be where most the world's money flows in and out of.
However, since the 1997 take-over of Hong Kong by the Chinese. There has been a slow shift to siphon the global importance of HK, and shift it towards mainland China. It seems the Chinese are trying, and gradually succeeding at eventually putting SHANGHAI above Hong Kong as a world city and major financial world player.
That doesn't detract from Hong Kong whatsoever. It's still a major world city with a ton of wealth. But because of China's policies, it's slowly losing what was recently very powerful. Additionally, during that takeover, most of Hong Kong's wealth moved to Vancouver, Sydney, Los Angeles, London, etc. Some cities were completely transformed with the wealth of HK moving their money out of HK/China to other places.
I have not been to Hong Kong or Tokyo (though I plan to at some point). However, it seems to me that Hong Kong is an overrated city when considered on a global scale.
When you look at factors like population, GDP and personal income, Hong Kong is alright but it's nothing head-turning. So, are Hong Kong's skyline and scenery its only claim to fame?
I can't compare it to the other two (yet) but HK is the most wonderful place I have ever been.
It is truly magical. It's a blend of ancient and modern, fast and slow...an absolutely exciting and vibrant place.
It is very, very clean (apart from the air!) and has a low crime rate. The HK Chinese are delightful people and most speak or at least read English. It is also quite tropical and has beautiful gardens, mosques, and temples - a real melting pot.
I would love to live there. You would never, ever get bored. It's also an excellent base for everywhere else...you can fly direct from HK to just about anywhere in the world.
Also...Disneyland! A huge bonus for a big kid like me.
Luckily, I've been in all 3 cities and I live in NYC.
To tell you the truth, NYC is not all that great, not all that glamorous and is probably the worst off out of those three.
Tokyo is amazing, though. My experience there was phenomenal and fascinating. So many kind people, so much great culture and so much to see. I don't recommend clothes shopping but even window shopping is just interesting. It's very clean and safe, but very expensive.
Hong Kong is great as well. I love going there, especially in the summer. They have such a beautiful skyline, great food, and even though some parts aren't so great, they aren't bad to the core. i don't think I've truly had a BAD experience there. But I will say that it is overcrowded, same goes for Tokyo, but everywhere you turn, there's something interesting.
NYC is my home turf, so I obviously have a lot of cons about living here. It's only as fascinating if you spend like 3-4 days here, but that's about it. The living conditions can be horrible and tough. Some people pay so much money and get a small space in return. Everything is expensive and there are a lot of unsafe parts here.
In defense of New York City regarding cleanliness, I think that the horrific and foul orders of its Chinatown in Manhattan really skews the perception of any tourist that happen to roam those streets. Chinatown's streets are just flat-out unsanitary and a major turn-off. Did anyone hear about the female store owner that sold toxic clams a few days ago and got arrested because of violating environmental laws? However, Chinatown is really the the worst out of these areas in NYC regarding sub-par cleanliness. I can't list any other neighborhood in NYC proper that even comes close to Chinatown's dirty environment.
Luckily, I've been in all 3 cities and I live in NYC.
To tell you the truth, NYC is not all that great, not all that glamorous and is probably the worst off out of those three.
Tokyo is amazing, though. My experience there was phenomenal and fascinating. So many kind people, so much great culture and so much to see. I don't recommend clothes shopping but even window shopping is just interesting. It's very clean and safe, but very expensive.
Hong Kong is great as well. I love going there, especially in the summer. They have such a beautiful skyline, great food, and even though some parts aren't so great, they aren't bad to the core. i don't think I've truly had a BAD experience there. But I will say that it is overcrowded, same goes for Tokyo, but everywhere you turn, there's something interesting.
NYC is my home turf, so I obviously have a lot of cons about living here. It's only as fascinating if you spend like 3-4 days here, but that's about it. The living conditions can be horrible and tough. Some people pay so much money and get a small space in return. Everything is expensive and there are a lot of unsafe parts here.
True. NYC is overrated. It is the filthiest among the big global cities. Its subway is 19th century standard.
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It may be a subjective thing, but for me NYC has the most to interest me, although I've yet to visit Tokyo so I'll have to see. HK is a definitely a very interesting city, but in terms of the city ITSELF I actually felt it was sort of lacking compared to NYC. The skyline looks great, but there's a large of classicness to a lot of the buildings/neighbourhoods. I think the setting, harbour, the peak, some of the fishing villages and some of the markets, such as the Fish and Flower market were my favourite things about HK. I much prefer to food in say Singapore compared to Hong Kong too. I would say Tokyo and NY are ahead as food cities as well.
Hong Kong is beautiful. Very vertical city, and a gorgeous natural harbor.
Maybe 15 years ago, but they four major financial capitals in the world were consistently NEW YORK, LONDON, HONG KONG, and TOKYO. This was said to be where most the world's money flows in and out of.
However, since the 1997 take-over of Hong Kong by the Chinese. There has been a slow shift to siphon the global importance of HK, and shift it towards mainland China. It seems the Chinese are trying, and gradually succeeding at eventually putting SHANGHAI above Hong Kong as a world city and major financial world player.
That doesn't detract from Hong Kong whatsoever. It's still a major world city with a ton of wealth. But because of China's policies, it's slowly losing what was recently very powerful. Additionally, during that takeover, most of Hong Kong's wealth moved to Vancouver, Sydney, Los Angeles, London, etc. Some cities were completely transformed with the wealth of HK moving their money out of HK/China to other places.
I agree that Shanghai is becoming a major world financial player but Shanghai has always had an international flavor similar to NYC.
NYC is a 24/7 city which has much to offer visitors and residents besides being a world financial center. You can find anything in NYC if you look hard enough for it.
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