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View Poll Results: Paris, London, or NYC
Paris 202 34.89%
London 177 30.57%
New York City 200 34.54%
Voters: 579. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 03-13-2012, 03:11 AM
 
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dragonborn : I guess Paris is wonderful for tourists from Boston who make their lifetime trip to visit the Louvre, Ile de la Cité, etc. But for a commuter who's got to (literally) eat the crap this city offers its lower middle class, yes, it's unbearable. Anyway I don't like megacities, did you know that Paris urban area is 11 million, 2 million more than London ?
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Old 03-13-2012, 06:00 AM
 
Location: Purgatory
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pigeonhole View Post
dragonborn : I guess Paris is wonderful for tourists from Boston who make their lifetime trip to visit the Louvre, Ile de la Cité, etc. But for a commuter who's got to (literally) eat the crap this city offers its lower middle class, yes, it's unbearable. Anyway I don't like megacities, did you know that Paris urban area is 11 million, 2 million more than London ?
Population wise, both cities are tough to measure. Paris has the most populous urban zone in the EU, while London has the most populous LUZ (Larger Urban Zone) in the EU:

Larger Urban Zones - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for Paris, no I don't think it's just the touristy stuff. I like the city a lot, but unless I was fairly well off, I don't think I'd live there (or in any other major city).

What crap food are you referring to? The American diet is bloody awful, as is the selection of packaged and processed crap, much of which is full of high fructose corn syrup, or beef containing growth hormones that were banned in the EU.
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Old 03-13-2012, 11:18 AM
 
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What crap food are you referring to? The American diet is bloody awful, as is the selection of packaged and processed crap, much of which is full of high fructose corn syrup, or beef containing growth hormones that were banned in the EU.

I wasn't specifically referring to crap food (athough Paris is the n1 city in Europe in numbers of fast/junk food outlets, the young generation here is not really into gourmet food to say the least) but to the crap life here for people (like me) with limited financial means. And also the crap weather. And the bloody noise (Paris is a very noisy place ).And the crap agressive attitude of most people. I don't dream this. I've been living this everyday for years! and I'm astounded that some people here don't believe me , or pretend that I don't live in Paris actually, or dismiss me (I'm a French basher, etc), people who only visited Paris for the most part buy do not live there actually!
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Old 03-13-2012, 11:23 AM
 
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Correction : by "limited financial means" I meant "average", because with an average salary like mine (3000 €), life is not easy here because Paris is a very expensive city!
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Old 03-13-2012, 12:11 PM
 
Location: Purgatory
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pigeonhole View Post
What crap food are you referring to? The American diet is bloody awful, as is the selection of packaged and processed crap, much of which is full of high fructose corn syrup, or beef containing growth hormones that were banned in the EU.

I wasn't specifically referring to crap food (athough Paris is the n1 city in Europe in numbers of fast/junk food outlets, the young generation here is not really into gourmet food to say the least) but to the crap life here for people (like me) with limited financial means. And also the crap weather. And the bloody noise (Paris is a very noisy place ).And the crap agressive attitude of most people. I don't dream this. I've been living this everyday for years! and I'm astounded that some people here don't believe me , or pretend that I don't live in Paris actually, or dismiss me (I'm a French basher, etc), people who only visited Paris for the most part buy do not live there actually!
I think you'd find the same complaints in other cities such as London or New York though, especially noise. I just don't think living in a huge city is for you (I recall you mentioned this in an earlier post). I'm not doubting or trivialising what you've been through, but your experience would have most likely been the same in London or New York.

Personally, I like the anonymity of big cities and the diversity. The tourist stuff is just the tourist stuff. Most locals are too busy working much of the time to care.
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Old 03-13-2012, 12:13 PM
 
Location: Purgatory
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Originally Posted by pigeonhole View Post
Correction : by "limited financial means" I meant "average", because with an average salary like mine (3000 €), life is not easy here because Paris is a very expensive city!
Would you not be happier in say a smaller more provincial French city? You'd get more value for money and more of a French experience rather than a Parisian experience.
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Old 03-13-2012, 12:50 PM
 
Location: Leeds, UK
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I prefer London as it's like a mix of the historic classiness of Paris, but the urban grit and buzz of New York.. I just love the city to bits, and I would love to live there.
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:46 AM
 
692 posts, read 1,351,238 times
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I actually like the fact that London and Paris are only 212 miles (341 km) apart and just over two hours apart by train. Two very different cities, but two of the worlds most interesting cities in terms of culture and history.

I certainly don't feel that London and Paris are in some great competive competition. I love the fact you can just go to St Pancras International in London and alight in the centre of Paris, find a reasonable hotel and enjoy a weekend in a different world class city. Return tickets on the Eurostar trains are also very reasonable £63 return, which is $98 at the current exchange rate.

As for New York, it's London's sister city and the two cities have always had a very close relationship and both are global centres of finance.

Three great cities as far as I am concerned
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Old 03-15-2012, 11:50 AM
 
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Originally Posted by dragonborn View Post
Paris unbearable? What the F are you smoking?
I assume that poster is snarking. Paris is nicer than NYC in practically any conceivable way.
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Old 03-15-2012, 12:31 PM
 
14,727 posts, read 33,262,721 times
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New York would be my choice. I hardly find it dirty. I don't find the people rude. We lived in its NJ suburbs when I was young, and I liked it there. I personally would cringe at living in Manhattan, but wouldn't mind living in the other boroughs.

Paris. They are generally not rude, if you speak decent French. The city is very interesting and very clean, at least in its 17 arrondisements. I still wouldn't want to be an "American in Paris."

London. The people are very polite. For being a big city, they can actually be helpful. I think they generally "like" Americans. Between the weather and driving on the other side of the street, it's not for me. Not only that, I can't understand why it's so expensive. Not worth it.
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