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I have lived near NYC all my life, have visited London and Paris in the early 2000s.
Criteria:
Weather~ Went to Paris and London in the summer. The weather in London wasn't great. I would rank it as such 1. Paris 2. NYC 3. London
Quality of life~ Growing up near NYC, you do see a share of poverty and I did see quite a big homeless population in parts of Paris. Not so much London. But in terms of expenses, I know all three cities are comparable. To me, I will compare how it looked to me.
1. London 2. Paris 3. NYC. At least in NYC, you can see a discrepancy in terms of two different neighborhoods. One being blue collar or one being white collar. Didn't see that as much in Paris or London.
Traffic~ The traffic in NYC especially in Manhattan is horrendous. Paris seemed to have a little less traffic than London.
1. Paris 2. London 3. NYC
Restaurants/Food and Shopping~ NYC food is by far the best I have had in any city. I do remember liking the ethnic food I had in London. I barely remember my food experience with Paris so I am assuming it wasn't that great.
1. NYC 2. London 3. Paris
Career Opportunities~ I think London and NYC are better than Paris in certain aspects. If you are into healthcare, being a doctor, or something along those sorts NYC may be better for you. In terms of banking and financing, London and NYC are neck and neck. Paris is great if you are into fashion from what I've seen.
1./2.- NYC/London 3. Paris
Scenery~ I really enjoyed the beauty of Paris and London. Although, I grew up around NYC and saw the huge skylines of Manhattan growing up, I enjoyed my time better in Paris and London. London to me felt like a huge small town. I honestly loved it.
1. London 2. Paris 3. NYC
Cleanliness~All three cities are quite dirty. From what I saw, I would say Paris is slightly more cleaner than London and NYC. NYC is the dirtiest of the bunch even after all the years. The stench of certain streets in NYC in the late 90s/early 2000s were sometimes unbearable to walk through.
1. Paris 2. London 3. NYC
Entertainment/Recreation~ NYC has a lot of clubs/bars. London did too so did Paris. For me, I felt Paris was the "classiest" of all the cities. London and NYC seem to have a vibrant nightlife while Paris seemed like it had a great nightlife just not as boisterous if that makes sense.
1. NYC 2. London 3. Paris
Singles Scene~ Haven't spend enough time in London and Paris to compare. NYC dating scene is pretty legendary amongst most major cities in America. Really isn't hard to meet women.
Cost of living~ All three cities are very expensive. I think London is slightly more expensive than NYC and NYC Is more expensive than Paris.
1. Paris 2. NYC 3. London
Crime~ NYC's murder rate is the highest of the bunch. But honestly, I have worked in places that are known to have high crime rates and I never felt unsafe. You just got to be careful. You tend to see more "crazies" and "drunks" walking the streets at night though. Shootings do happen in NYC probably more than the other two cities. But this isn't 90s NYC, there aren't 2000+ murders annually anymore (thank god). Paris had some shady characters, we were warned by the hotel to make sure not to go down dark allies. Easy to get pickpocketed. In London, mugging is extremely common there. You have a better chance of getting mugged in London as a whole than Harlem. I remember reading that somewhere.
(1 being the lowest crime)
Historically: 1. Paris 2. London 3. NYC
Presently: 1. Paris 2. NYC 3. London
Location in the world~ The one downside of NYC is the closest main US cities you have are Philadelphia and Washington DC. There really isn't much to do and you have to drive at least 2-3 hours to get to another city or for a fun getaway weekend in upstate New York (some very peaceful hidden gems especially during summer months up there). London and Paris are a train ride away to great cities. Paris is not separated from the rest of Western Europe as much as London.
1. Paris 2. London 3. NYC
Residents~
New Yorkers are very rude. Paris people are very rude. London people were very rude. These are from experience so generally, all of them were equally ranked.
1 = 2 = 3 = London, Paris, NYC
Any other comments?
I have always wanted to go back and visit London. I felt Paris was by far the most overrated city I have visited.
I generally enjoy Western Europe and its' culture. My favorite city in Europe though is probably Istanbul, Turkey although I didn't feel as safe as I did in the Western European cities/countries I have visited.
London to me felt like a huge small town. I honestly loved it.
Does it? I'm not so sure of this.
Well when I visited London, I spent most of my time in West London. Having grown up near NYC, being in the center of Manhattan is a lot different than a neighborhood out in Queens.
Well when I visited London, I spent most of my time in West London. Having grown up near NYC, being in the center of Manhattan is a lot different than a neighborhood out in Queens.
I guess it depends how far west. RBKC (below) has townhouses and mid-rise clusters with mixed use commercial and residential zoning (these aren't features of small towns as far as I'm aware), but if you head further west you might find more of a quasi-suburban feel.
Weren't you the one who hated London because it was full of women wearing expensive ballgowns sipping cocktails? (Or something vaguely along those lines)
Last edited by CTDominion; 05-14-2015 at 04:23 PM..
Paris and London have an almost identical climate, with the same sunshine and rainfall, so it's ridiculous to rate Paris #1 and London #3 on that alone!
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