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NYC may have been my city of choice until circa 2005, but London has now earned that place in my heart.
Despite boasting some exciting new developments, NYC has sadly grown stagnant and is in regression in many respects. It still holds the edge over London in stock trading (though not finance in general), is the undisputed world leader in fashion, and I find the people to be more agreeable; in particular, the women are far more presentable and the service culture is in a different league. However, it simply does not have the magic that it used to, in my experience at least.
The raw urban edginess of the 1990s has gone, and even at the opposite end of the cultural spectrum (haute cuisine, high culture, high end clubs, cocktail parties etc.), it has become tired, jaded and increasingly tacky. It also seems to have a worsening problem with trash, dog waste, or even human faeces, on the sidewalks and in Central Park, as well as dilapidated infrastructure in general.
London, in contrast, is very much ascendant. Assuming a fair comparison (Central London, including the financial district, West End, Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Kensington, Canary Wharf, Chelsea and tributaries versus Manhattan), the feel of the place is unparalleled; a mix of regency elegance, excitement, technological vibrancy and cultural sophistication that is now unmatched by any other global city. I would never have predicted such a trend when I was working there around 2003-2005.
Central Paris is by far more beautiful than either city. I don't find the natives to be as rude as some claim, and the women and food are world class, but it simply lacks the excitement and sophistication of London and NYC. I grew tired of the place after a week or so.
Last edited by Citizen401; 12-08-2012 at 11:14 PM..
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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^ Rents as well as Giuliani have pushed a lot of the edgy, gritty venues out of Manhattan, but NYC maintains a vibrant scene in the boroughs and Chelsea, Soho, the Lower East Side are still pretty hip places to be. I'm hopefully going to London next year, so I'll be able to make a comparison. These are still the two most seminal cities in the world IMO and have been for the past 200 years at least.
There is no way New Yorkers beat Parisians and Tokyo-ites in fashion. If you read the Sartorialist, you may get that impression, but he is mainly photographing a small, well-to-do hip minority, and there is no way to know if they are New Yorkers or tourists. The vast majority dress like people from a mall in suburban America because that is the vast majority of clothing shops people have to choose from, aside from a few extremely expensive boutiques. The thrift stores and vintage shops also seem picked clean of anything good, unlike Paris and Tokyo where it seems easier to find good clothes in such shops still. The cool 20-30 somethings dress extremely similar, and right now it's more outdoorsy type clothes, most of which you can find at Urban Outfitters all across America.
^ Rents as well as Giuliani have pushed a lot of the edgy, gritty venues out of Manhattan, but NYC maintains a vibrant scene in the boroughs and Chelsea, Soho, the Lower East Side are still pretty hip places to be. I'm hopefully going to London next year, so I'll be able to make a comparison. These are still the two most seminal cities in the world IMO and have been for the past 200 years at least.
Pockets of the boroughs can be better than most areas in Manhattan now, but for the most part, they're much more residential and not easy to commute around via public transportation since the transportation is aimed at getting people to and from Manhattan. Chelsea, Soho, and LES, like nearly all of Manhattan, are too expensive for most people who aren't in high paying careers or just born wealthy to live anywhere near, so the bars, restaurants, and cafes tend to be filled with those wealthier people and tourists. Feel kind of out of place if you're not among either group.
Location: Near Tours, France about 47°10'N 0°25'E
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Quote:
Originally Posted by valentro
LOLOL so you're a French that doesn't like London. What else is new?
I didn't not say I didn't like it. it is just I'm not in love with it and its culture. Sorry for you I put London well behind Paris but that is my opinion. I wasn't judging the qualities of London as a powerfull city (which it is about at the level of Paris, and above it in terms of finance)
Quote:
Originally Posted by valentro
Nevermind the fact that London is in all actuality a rival of New York & Tokyo and Paris is just the black sheep of the group. The city that does not belong in this tier but is consistently lumped in with them. Frankly, Paris belongs in the next tier with Hong Kong. London, Tokyo, & New York have larger economies, they more influential on the global level, & they are the three largest financial centers in the world- each for their respective quadrants of the world. Tokyo for the Pacific Rim, London for Europe/Africa, & New York for the western hemisphere.
we don't speak about the same thing I'm afraid. I personaly doesn't care about finance to judge my degree of attractiveness to a city. I just don't care about that. It is just that I did not found that city extraordinarily beautifull exceptionally architecturally impressive comparatively with the three others. That is just my opinion.
If you want to speak about finance London would be obviously ahead of Paris:
1. New York
2. Tokyo
3. London
X. Paris
Quote:
Originally Posted by valentro
LOL @ "giganticism" & Starbucks. Please, Paris is a leisure destination, an important city but so are the other three & they're significantly ahead of Paris in modern times.
Yes, you're right, but I don't care if Paris is not in the first place in the economic competition in modern times. I just said I like this city better not because I wanted it to be powerfull (I don't care about that, as a french provincial I dislike that Paris might be too powerfull); but because I'm a bit patriotic/
Be happy that the two of the world leading cities are Anglo!
I had no idea so many people preferred London over Paris. I've never been to either, so I can hardly be called an expert on what they have, but London just seems to lack the sex appeal that Paris posesses. Since the former is an Anglophone city, it would obviously be a lot easier for me to get around, but that's the only advantage I can think of.
I had no idea so many people preferred London over Paris. I've never been to either, so I can hardly be called an expert on what they have, but London just seems to lack the sex appeal that Paris posesses. Since the former is an Anglophone city, it would obviously be a lot easier for me to get around, but that's the only advantage I can think of.
Most of the people that have preferred London have been to the cities, I am not going to get into this debate myself (Ive only been to London and Paris so am not in a position to 'judge' Tokyo and New York) but I do find it funny how the French seem to be a bit 'outraged' when people say they prefer London to Paris. I will say the 'energy' vibe that reverberates around the streets of London is something else, there seems to be so much going on all of the time. I have lived my life just outside of London and if ever I go into 'town' for any reason I always feel exhausted when I get back!
Location: Near Tours, France about 47°10'N 0°25'E
2,825 posts, read 5,265,333 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by easthome
but I do find it funny how the French seem to be a bit 'outraged' when people say they prefer London to Paris.
read well the posts my English friend, and you will see that the ones that feel outraged to the idea that I might prefer Paris, New-York and Tokyo more than London are Yourselves British and Americans... Once again you misunderstood me. I just don't care about others opinion, I just told my view personnal about London. Everyone is free to think London is their preffered city, that is a good thing for me.
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