[P1international]

What do you, as New Yorkers, think the worlds greatest city is? For me its the big apple with good ol' London town coming second.

[Worseacar]

I think that NY and London are tied with Paris being a very close second and Tokyo just behnd Paris.

[Adimondin]

I'd say Tokyo is nowhere near the top.

What exactly are we basing this on?

[Buincchotourb]

Casual sex? :P

[Saduyre9de]

I'd say Tokyo is nowhere near the top.

What exactly are we basing this on?

NY and London are the absolute top to me. However, because Paris is, to me, the most beautiful city in the world, and the only city with a cultural life on par with NY and London, I put it just below the top two.

Tokyo is not as diverse as NY and London. It does not have the great old buildings that one finds in NY, London and Paris. It does not have the breadth of museums that NY, London and Paris do. Nonetheless, it is so huge and energetic. Major cities like Chicago, Berlin, SF, etc. seem like little, sleepy villages compared to Tokyo.

[replicaypu]

New York, Miami, Hong Kong Prague and Tokyo are equal first.

New York because its dirty, big and interesting.

Miami you say? Yes Miami, its cheesy, its sunny and its fun. You have the beach and the city. Its a spectacular looking city and interesting too.

Hong Kong, its dirty too. But its huge and spectacular, and you are actually living in China - how cool. Modern city in an ancient communist country - now that's unique.

Tokyo is cool too, has the wow factor of Hong Kong but a different flavour.

Prague - you are living in a medieval city with real history but a modern subway and infrastructure in the centre of europe - way cool.

London comes down the list quite a bit, sure its cleaner than NYC but its too expensive, people are somewhat glum and for no reason, everyone thinks its the centre of the world. Most english cant or dont want to speak another language, even though they are right there near Europe. Never could work that out. Most europeans who live there for a few months or a year cant wait to get back home. Its no wonder they call this city the "Toilet of Europe".

[nerrttrw]

Casual sex? :P

If we are basing this on CS then I would say

1. Rio
2. Moscow
3. Australias Moms are Hoes.

Just my experience.

[GlarlraTpople]

New York, Miami, Hong Kong Prague and Tokyo are equal first.

London isn't actually much more expensive than New York, while 'the centre of the world' is something not coined by Londoners, but has been noted by academics (aviation, tourism, finance, etc...).

The reason we don't speak many languages is because we don't need to: english is practically the global language and the language of money. That might sound unfortunate, but it is claimed sometimes that more languages are spoken in London than in any other city in the world (300+), I myself though have moderate understanding of french and german and have some understanding of other languages.

And where on earth does the term "toilet of europe" come from! I assume that's why its one of the fastest growing cities in the developed world and is absorbing more immigrants than either New York or Los Angeles?

[VioletttaJosetta]

London isn't actually much more expensive than New York....

And where on earth does the term "toilet of europe" come from! I assume that's why its one of the fastest growing cities in the developed world and is absorbing more immigrants than either New York or Los Angeles?

For property, London is cheaper.

Pls post statistics and sources re: immigration. I find it hard to belive that London, a metro area of 12m, is drawing more immigrants that NY, a metro area with 23m (and 35m by SSC forumers' methodology).

[Tam04xa]

All those ratings are so subjective, of course. I loved Madrid and Vienna more than London. I think Paris is the most strikingly historic and beautiful city in the world. I love New York as well. But how can one say that a particular city is "the greatest"? it is meaningless. It's like here in the US people love to say that US it the "greatest nation on the face of the earth", but by what measure?

I wish New York had Vienna's cafes, its cleanliness and its public transportation. Then it would indeed be the greatest city in the world.

[Charryith]

For property, London is cheaper.

Pls post statistics and sources re: immigration. I find it hard to belive that London, a metro area of 12m, is drawing more immigrants that NY, a metro area with 23m (and 35m by SSC forumers' methodology).

Point One:
London has amongst some of the most expensive high-end properties in the world. That said, I'm unsure about average property prices in New York, but the average house/flat is now around £0.3mn or US$0.5mn. The following are figures for London, but excluding its metro:

Average Cost: £289,500 (US$507,783)

Detached: £569,440 (US$998,798)
Semi-Detached: £325,732 (US$ 571,334)
Terraced: £299,584 (US$525,470)
Flats: £246,964 (US$433,175)

Personally I'd be a lot happier if property prices were lower, but then again a major economic driver in the UK is the property market (much moreso than on the European continent where renting is more common) and is a core asset that many individuals in life aim towards.


Point Two:



Point Three:
London's metro as set by the GLA is at 18mn. Work conducted by academics using the INSEE (French Statistical Agency) method of using a 40% commuter rate put the metro population at 17mn. 12mn is the upper range for the urban area (but that depends on what urban area the definition is, ie gap of 200m or certain number of people per square mile, etc...).

I believe the 35mn figure was 'provided' by yourself (using one of your aliases that you used after the several bans yo u received) because you found it hard to believe that little old London is somehow a bit larger than you had previously thought. This confusion is most likely down to the different urban make up of each respecitve cities metros with London being more fragmented and divided by green belts which don't allow for sprawl or a massive connected urban sprawl. Currently, London isn't bigger....well not yet.

[BlackBird]

That immigration chart is slightly skewed as London freely takes immigrants from the entire EU while NYC takes far less immigrants because of US Immigration policy.


If I had to choose I'd probably say NYC would be "greatest" although I don't even know where to begin to describe the criteria.

London I'd give credit to as the metropolis of the great British Empire of which us Americans are essentially a spawn of. Historically speaking NYC can't even compete with the influence of London save for the last few decades.

I think you are all forgetting one city....ROME.

The heart of everything western no other city had such impact on the world. Roman (well often techincally Greek) architecture is prominent in every gov't building in both London and New York. That's not even scratching the surface as Rome had sanitation and water systems 2000 years ago that were better than NYC's in the 1900s.

To me "greatness" means "might" and Rome, London, and New York are the great cities of the world's (former and current) empires. Think about if NYC had remained the capital of the US, no city could ever rival that kind of power.

[heltduell]

In light of my recent vacation: Barcelona.

[romalama]

Wow, it must mean that London is better.

Honestly, I cannot go a week without meeting a Britisher who wants to move to the USA, or somewhere warm like Thailand or Australia.

Was that chart supposed to mean something to us?

In respect of property prices, big deal. Literally, Big Deal.

Especially in London, its a Big Deal for the agents who are getting rich.

The increase is an aberration based on the fact that people can borrow more money more cheaply; sellers therefore will ask a higher price. It doesn't mean anything.

From another perspective, would you prefer to live in London, or say, a tropical paradise like Bora Bora?

Property is much cheaper in Bora Bora, and you have a lot more beach too.

High prices on paper don't mean anything except for people who own property and think that they can justify borrowing more to finance cars, holidays and other consumables just because there is a bubble.

[Amoniustauns]

That immigration chart is slightly skewed as London freely takes immigrants from the entire EU while NYC takes far less immigrants because of US Immigration policy.

If I had to choose I'd probably say NYC would be "greatest" although I don't even know where to begin to describe the criteria.

London I'd give credit to as the metropolis of the great British Empire of which us Americans are essentially a spawn of. Historically speaking NYC can't even compete with the influence of London save for the last few decades.

I think you are all forgetting one city....ROME.

The heart of everything western no other city had such impact on the world. Roman (well often techincally Greek) architecture is prominent in every gov't building in both London and New York. That's not even scratching the surface as Rome had sanitation and water systems 2000 years ago that were better than NYC's in the 1900s.

To me "greatness" means "might" and Rome, London, and New York are the great cities of the world's (former and current) empires. Think about if NYC had remained the capital of the US, no city could ever rival that kind of power.

Indeed, London has absorbed many people from the EU as its essentially becoming (or could be argued as already being) the primate city. Since the EU enlargement to include 10 new states back in early 2004, around 200,000 have made their way to the UK (Between the 1 May 2004 - 1 May 2005 this was around 130,000) from the 10 new EU member states alone. Two-thirds of which are locating in London. The thing is though, I wouldn't personally consider the likes of Poland to be a state similar to California due to all the numerous differences the UK and Poland have compared to New York + California states.

London though has developed a niche in immigration by harbouring multiple small communities, rather than several larger groups as seen in New York. It also helps that London is at the centre of the global aviation crossroads meaning connections to home nations is more viable than in other world cities. London is also growing at a faster rate than New York due to greater absorbtion of people than at any time in its history.

London
2001: 7,172,091
2004: 7,421,228
3 Years: 249.137
= 83,045

Revised New York City
2000: 8,008,278
2004: 8,168,338
4 Years: 160,060
= 40,015

Population changes aside, I don't believe there is a greatest city, but rather a collection of great cities through humanitys' existence. This isn't to be confused with world cities which are present-day cities and are a completely different issue.

Wow, it must mean that London is better.

Honestly, I cannot go a week without meeting a Britisher who wants to move to the USA, or somewhere warm like Thailand or Australia.

Was that chart supposed to mean something to us?

In respect of property prices, big deal. Literally, Big Deal.

Especially in London, its a Big Deal for the agents who are getting rich.

The increase is an aberration based on the fact that people can borrow more money more cheaply; sellers therefore will ask a higher price. It doesn't mean anything.

From another perspective, would you prefer to live in London, or say, a tropical paradise like Bora Bora?

Property is much cheaper in Bora Bora, and you have a lot more beach too.

High prices on paper don't mean anything except for people who own property and think that they can justify borrowing more to finance cars, holidays and other consumables just because there is a bubble.

Where did I state that because of higher immigration, that it made London better?

Also what exactly is a Britisher?

Bora Bora is a lovely place, but its a holiday destination rather than a permanent lifestyle like that which could be found in New York or London!

Meanwhile, the number of Australians migrating to Britain is actually now larger than Brits moving to Australia. Infact I believe an investigation was undertaken to try and understand why there had been this reversal. You'll be happy to know also that New Yorkers form a large group of migrants to London, specifically those in the finance sector.

[66paptroump]

Not Number One, for sure, but probably in the top ten: who can tell us about Moscow?

[Depolit]

Mr Spice?

[MilenaJaf]

Fanning the flame ^^ ?

[Carfanate]

What do you mean?

Mr Spice stated that he immigrated from Russia.

[illignocearia]

aha -- misconstrued -- apologies