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New York is indeed a great city, but lets face it, hubris rubs everyone the wrong way.
... and my favorite, and in my opinion, best city in the world, is London. Sorry New York. But you want to talk expensive, they list their rents over in London by the week, I imagine it is to avoid the inevitable rash of heart attacks that would occur upon opening the classified pages if they did not.
NY is a model city, who else would we want to count on in times of crisis, what great steps have they taken also in the last decade, safest big city. Say what you want.......
If you consider strip malls, overpriced franchise food, and cheap box mini-mansions great, then NYC is not great. But I consider it the greatest city in the US (art, culture, finance, variety of things to do). I think Paris is equally great, but in an entirely different way. and no I would not want to live there. Sometimes "greatness" is a bit too much for day to day living.
NYC is an "alright" city to me. I didn't like the insane hassle, the constant fight for things that I had always taken for granted (being able to reliably buy food, etc) and the exhaustion from having to try and get from one place to another was really worth it. I definitely wouldn't call it the Greatest City in the World.
What I truly don't understand is this attitude London has. I mean, come on. London's a dump that barely has a city center; it's nothing but miles and miles of sprawl. Oh, and, what, three skyscrapers? Including one that's shaped like a pickle?
I'm not going to argue that Chicago offers the same things that NYC does, or Hong Kong or Tokyo or Singapore. Because we simply are not that varied and, god knows, we have a terrible stigma attached to us because of our location.
However, I have been to these supposedly "greatest cities", and I have to say that I'm always delighted to return home to Chicago. Somewhere in the back of my mind, over the years, I've just always used Chicago as the standard for that which is acceptable: cleanliness, order, accessibility, sensible planning... etc. The complete and utter lack of public hygiene in NYC or Hong Kong was horrifying to me; the garbage that piles in the streets, the roaches that could probably take over either city, and the general sense of "dirtiness" that almost all cities have. Chicago just doesn't have that. Chicago is clean, it is gorgeous, and after spending my days downtown I don't feel as though my clothing smells bad and must be washed immediately.
Expensive, among the most expensive cities in America. Housing is out of control.
The schools are horrible, among the very worst.
The housing is old and ugly. No natural beauty.
The city is dirty. Pollution, Jesus when I leave NYC I forget how clean the rest of the country is. Population density and a culture that accepts dirty behavior.
Lack of greenspace, it is a concrete jungle especially in certain areas.
Lots of poverty. In the low income areas you can find it hard to belive you are still in America.
Very nasty high crime areas. Safest city? Yeah right. NYC has the most crime in America. The bulk of the crime in NYC goes down in select areas and that is why the rate is so low. However these select areas are horrible.
Overpopulation. The city is overpopulated. The infrastructure never keeps up with growth.
At risk, the city is not prepaired for a disaster. The last two events gave New Yorkers a false sense of security. 9/11 was very isolated. The blackout of 03 only lasted a few hours for much of the city. We are at a very real risk of a devastating hurricane, epidmeic outbreak, or even social unrest.
It's more hype and blind fanboyism then anything. NYC has it's good and it's bad. No different from any other city. However in this city, you better be making $$$ to have it good.
NY is a model city, who else would we want to count on in times of crisis, what great steps have they taken also in the last decade, safest big city. Say what you want.......
Really, what can the rest of us possibly do without it? I'm sure when Los Angeles has their 'big' one, all weary eyes will point to the residents of New York, and they'll ask New York, "Which way, New York?" And we shall all be relieved when New York advises us on our best decisions in life and love. Because I wish I were a part of it, New York, New York. I heart New York! I can't stop typing New York! Brad Pitt said it best when he said, " New York is bigger than America, it belongs to the world!!" .....and he is a smart man.
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You don't wanna hear that, stop watching Letterman!
