The greatest city in the world????

Yeah, so now we should have to write about the ugliness of the "greatest city", too. Surely no one would want to mislead us, right?

Baron Max
 
Every city has a unique character and personality, just like people. They may be equally "great" in terms of cultural resources and even tolerable weather, but they're still different. For example, most New Yorkers and Los Angeleños are doomed to feel like outsiders in each other's city, even though they appreciate it and have difficulty expressing dissatisfaction except in purely emotional terms.

In addition to many American, Canadian, and Mexican cities, I've also been to Prague, Sofia, Budapest, Bucharest, Thessaloniki, Barcelona, Munich, Vienna, Venice, and many more. They all have their charms and I could spend a long time in any one.

But as for living there... I'm a Californian. The only cities I feel at home in are Los Angeles and San Francisco. (I don't care how big San Diego and Sacramento are, they're not cities.) No matter how nice anywhere else is and no matter how long I stay there "getting used to it," I feel like a visitor from another planet.

If you've been to L.A. and S.F., you're probably thinking that they're as different from each other as Rome and Stockholm. That's my point. They both have that "something" that makes me feel like I belong there, just two extremely different neighborhoods in the same community. I don't feel that anywhere else.
 
vslayer said:
definitely dunedin, new zealand. its the tech powerhouse of the country, its got the best university in the country(and possibly oceania), its culturally diverse, it has one of the most exciting historical timelines in the country - which is still evident today. theres always something happening, and the solitude of the mountains is only an hour or so drive.and the greatest part: its loaded with idealist students and liberal to fuck. :D
Ironically we've had three profs from our school that have transferred to New Zealand permanently after doing short and longterm research there because of its animal diversity and wilderness. But as far as the girls go, the ratio of men far outnumber women. So what do you mean by "liberal to fuck." It's also a relatively small country compared to its neighbors (Australia), so what's there to do there?
 
taylan007 said:
London by far!!!!!!
You name it we got it.


are you joking?, every part of london apart from central is a shithole, you live in tottenham all you see when you look out the window are high rise tower blocks and crack heads, same goes for me in my area, london is great if your rich i guess, i personally wanna move out of london, 20 odd years here is enough for me, i think chinese and japanese cities are the nicest looking i love there buildings,

same goes for NY, you try living in brooklyn, bedstuy for 10 years then come back and tell me you had a "blast",

peace,
 
If you've been to L.A. and S.F., you're probably thinking that they're as different from each other as Rome and Stockholm. That's my point. They both have that "something" that makes me feel like I belong there, just two extremely different neighborhoods in the same community. I don't feel that anywhere else.

Right now I'm taking a course in urban studies (one of two in Canada). And the prof gave a nice example of this 'something' today: Purchasing and eating ice cream in Europe Vs Calgary.

When you buy ice cream European cities, it's an experience. The area is designed for walking and making one feel 'welcome'. People live and work in high density, mixed use communities (though *not* high rise.)

Here, the area is paved. You have to cross a busy thoroughfare. That sense of welcomeness one finds in European cities is nonexistent. The whole thing is reduced to a commercial transaction.

Of course, the point is we live in an automobile-centric society which stresses private life and closed privately owned businesses. The density is too low and there simply aren't enough pedestrians. Our cities are exclusive rather than inclusive.


I used to think Calgary, my city of birth, was perfect. We have a hot economy, a great hockey team, beautiful skyline and nature. It's one of the the cleanest and safest cities in North America, yet Calgary is sterile. In case you people didn't know, Calgary also happens to be one of the lowest densities at a million people spread across 700km^2 (New York is 800km^2). We have a larger urban footprint than Los Angeles.

Now tell me, how is a clean impersonal city better than one where you can walk to the ice cream parlour, have that sense of community and spend your entire life without needing a car?

Freiburg, Germany has been described as the perfect city. I haven't been, but from its description it gets my vote.
 
stretched said:
Are you a ex-muso Fraggle?
Well I guess not. I don't understand what the word even means! It took a while with Google even to get an idea of the meaning and it's still vague. Anyway, NO to both meanings that I've managed to piece together:

1. I am not a former player of a Japanese anime-based virtual-universe group computer game.

2. I am not a former devoted fan of popular music who used to own a lot of musical equipment. I am a CURRENT devoted fan of popular music who still owns a lot of musical equipment and I play electric bass.
 
Some of the best cities I've ever had the pleasure of visiting;

Calgary, Alberta Canada
Prague, Czech Republic
Chicago, Illinois
Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Nice, France
Barcelona, Spain
Sydney, Australia
Cape Town, South Africa
Cuzco, Peru
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Oaxaca, Mexico
Istanbul, Turkey
Florence, Italy
Sante Fe, New Mexico
Victoria, British Columbia
Salzburg, Austria
Marrakesh, Morroco
Cairo, Egypt
Charleston, South Carolina
Rio De Janerio, Brazil
 
Kotoko,

Can I ask what you liked about Calgary? The others are obvious, except for maybe Chicago.
 
Fraggle I play electric bass.[/QUOTE said:
Muso's are semi or fully professional musicians, usually of the rock genre and are usually reffered to as musos by other musicians.

Fraggle, I assume you play as a hobby, so what style?
 
Kotoko said:
Some of the best cities I've ever had the pleasure of visiting;

Calgary, Alberta Canada
Prague, Czech Republic
Chicago, Illinois
Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Nice, France
Barcelona, Spain
Sydney, Australia
Cape Town, South Africa
Cuzco, Peru
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Oaxaca, Mexico
Istanbul, Turkey
Florence, Italy
Sante Fe, New Mexico
Victoria, British Columbia
Salzburg, Austria
Marrakesh, Morroco
Cairo, Egypt
Charleston, South Carolina
Rio De Janerio, Brazil

Wow, you've certainly been around and such a long way from home too. I'm impressed.
 
I am originally from Edmonton, and while Edmonton has great people, there is something about Calgary that sets it above most other Canadian cities. The views and landscapes are awesome, the highways are good, the employment rate and cleanliness is good. Pair that all with a low crime rate, a good tech market and lots of things to see and do there and you really have a nice city.

As for Chicago, there are awesome museums, great food and culture. There are such great theaters and a wonderful opera house that has amazing acoustics. The new Millenium Park in Chicago is worth a visit along with the Shedd Aquarium and Adler Planetarium. They also have great festivals for food and for Jazz. It's really a friendly place, with a lot of friendly people who aren't trying too hard to get your business. It's a very hospitable town.

I love to travel. I'd like to spend more time in Asia, preferably Japan, China, India, Burma, Tibet and Korea. I was a contractor for a long time and did a lot of training, and was in the military. There was one time that I had to get a new passport because the one I had didn't have any space left for visa stamps.
 
Some of the best cities I've ever had the pleasure of visiting;

Calgary, Alberta Canada
Prague, Czech Republic
Chicago, Illinois
Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Nice, France
Barcelona, Spain
Sydney, Australia
Cape Town, South Africa
Cuzco, Peru
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Oaxaca, Mexico
Istanbul, Turkey
Florence, Italy
Sante Fe, New Mexico
Victoria, British Columbia
Salzburg, Austria
Marrakesh, Morroco
Cairo, Egypt
Charleston, South Carolina
Rio De Janerio, Brazil

Travelling this much you surely must have met Jesus somewhere.
 
Vienna gets my vote.
Or Louisville.
Both are centers of art and culture.
 
devils_reject said:
Travelling this much you surely must have met Jesus somewhere.

I saw Jesus in my tomato soup once...

Okay, well it was just his hair...

One piece of his hair.

Apparently, Mr. Jesus Reyes forgot his hair net before work at Denny's =(

I did, however see the frost pattern of the Virgin Mary in a Houston, Texas grocery store ice cream section.
 
tablariddim said:
Muso's are semi or fully professional musicians, usually of the rock genre and are usually reffered to as musos by other musicians. Fraggle, I assume you play as a hobby, so what style?
Interesting. I've never heard the term before, neither at home in California nor here in the D.C. area. Is it pronounced moo-so or myoo-zo?

Actually I'm just between gigs right now, although it's been about twenty years since the last one. All the songs I learned to play when they were on the Top Forty are now "classic rock" and everybody wants to dance to them. All us old hippies are dusting off our amps. I can't get over the sight of a room full of college kids getting crazy with "Sweet Home Alabama." The lyrics about Watergate and Governor Wallace and Neil Young can't mean anything to them.

I enjoy playing most of the styles that are popular in America, I tend to like individual songs more than a particular genre. I have a good feel for reggae, old fashioned heavy metal, soft rock, and the Arab Groove stuff that the young Mideasterners are laying down. And of course if you're going to play here, where half the people live in Virginia, you have to be able to play country. Fortunately that's not hard, I know all three chords. :)

I seem to be missing the enzyme to make funk, though. I can't get my strings to pop no matter what I do.
 
I remeber reading an article about the best city int he world a couple of days ago... here it is:
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/10/04/eui.survey/

Apparently, Vancouver is the best city in the world to live in. I have been to Vancouver several times as well as every major city in Canada. Vancouver is a great place as long as you stay out of the East Side. The cost of living in Vancouver is extremely high. Living in a great place has a price tag.

Many people say that NYC is the greatest city in the world. I have been there and there is no doubt that it is an amazing place but I would prefer to live in Vancouver.
 
valich said:
Too much fog and rain. I wouldn't even visit it because of that. What does London have that New York, Paris, or L.A. doesn't?

Thats all part of the challenge of living in london. Londoners can take it in their stride if you cant handle the elements then its your problem.
 
Baron Max said:
Just curious ...when y'all say "great city", does that include all parts of the city ...the bad as well as the good? The ghettos and the slums? The crime rates? The pollution? The traffic? The people ...including the homeless, the bums, the criminals, the whores, the drug addicts, the ....?

Or are y'all only talkin' about the parts of the city that's good, that appeals to you? If so, doesn't "the city" include all of it's parts?

Baron Max

Those are side effects of any city, one of the things that makes a city great is how it handles these things.
 
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