Sydney is totally above that sort of low quantifying arrogance stuff that Stadium Australia/Telstra Stadium/ANZ Stadium has decreased from 110 000 capacity to 83 000 capacity. We have no need for that sort of numerical fighting.
Do you like living in your city?
- Thread starter downtown
- Start date
I just like how every time someone says something positive about Sydney, some Melbournite starts jumping up and down about how they're so much better. Insecure much?
c
I'm not even from this city, and I'll probably be living in Canberra next year.
c
I'm not even from this city, and I'll probably be living in Canberra next year.
PiMan
Deity
I totally agree. I doesn't matter that the MCG used to hold up to 130,000 people.
I live in Rio de Janeiro. I think life is excellent here, but definately not for everyone.
Pros:
-It's a beautiful city.
-Great weather (Contrary to popular belief, Rio's climate is among the mildest among brazilian capitals). It rains much less than in São Paulo or Belo Horizonte, the early moring and late afternoon are usually quite cool (unlike in the ultra-hot cities in the Northeast or Midwest), and you can go to the beach all year, even during the winter. In fact, God did not create anything more glorious than a sunny winter day in Rio.
-Plenty of stuff to do, both during the day and during the night. During the day we can do all the stuff that people from São Paulo can't: go to the beach, ride our bikes in beautiful places, have a picnic in the largest urban forest in the world, swim in natural pools with waterfalls and all, climb mountains with over 1,000 meters of height and fantastic views of the city. During the night we have excellent nightclubs, a great music scene and coutless good bars and pubs that stay open until 7 am. In fact even some restaurants stay open that late. There's nothing a lack of things to do.
-Great food and restaurants.
-Football sundays.
-It's close to many cool places. The state of Rio de Janeiro is really fantastic in the sense that it is among the smallest in the Federation, but has many of the best destinations. Within a 1 or 2 hours drive from the city of Rio one can reach an awesome small beach town like Búzios, or Angra dos Reis with it's yachts and private islands; historical mountain cities like Petrópolis, known as Imperial City because it was the summer residence of the imperial family and is full of palaces and museums; mountain cities with a distinctive european feeling like Nova Friburgo (swiss) or Penedo (finnish), all with mild summers and cold winters. Not to mention beutiful national parks like Serra do Órgãos, near Teresópolis, or Itatiaia, where one can climb one the highest mountains in the country and exeperience below freezing temperatures and even occasional snowfall.
Cons:
-It's violent and dangerous, though that is not evenly distributed. Some places are quite safe, others are warzones. In any case precaution is always advised for visitors.
-It's extremely expensive for brazilian standards. Good luck finding a 4 bedroom apartment in the best places of town for less than 1 million dollars. Food and transportation are also more expensive than virtually anywhere in the nation.
-Traffic can get pretty bad in certain places, though it's nothing like São Paulo.
-Taxes are higher than anywhere else in Brazil (though I suppose this should go in the "it's extremely expensive" section). So even commodities like gas and electricity cost more here.
-Populist politics were born and thrived here, though it seems to be fading away.
Pros:
-It's a beautiful city.
-Great weather (Contrary to popular belief, Rio's climate is among the mildest among brazilian capitals). It rains much less than in São Paulo or Belo Horizonte, the early moring and late afternoon are usually quite cool (unlike in the ultra-hot cities in the Northeast or Midwest), and you can go to the beach all year, even during the winter. In fact, God did not create anything more glorious than a sunny winter day in Rio.
-Plenty of stuff to do, both during the day and during the night. During the day we can do all the stuff that people from São Paulo can't: go to the beach, ride our bikes in beautiful places, have a picnic in the largest urban forest in the world, swim in natural pools with waterfalls and all, climb mountains with over 1,000 meters of height and fantastic views of the city. During the night we have excellent nightclubs, a great music scene and coutless good bars and pubs that stay open until 7 am. In fact even some restaurants stay open that late. There's nothing a lack of things to do.
-Great food and restaurants.
-Football sundays.
-It's close to many cool places. The state of Rio de Janeiro is really fantastic in the sense that it is among the smallest in the Federation, but has many of the best destinations. Within a 1 or 2 hours drive from the city of Rio one can reach an awesome small beach town like Búzios, or Angra dos Reis with it's yachts and private islands; historical mountain cities like Petrópolis, known as Imperial City because it was the summer residence of the imperial family and is full of palaces and museums; mountain cities with a distinctive european feeling like Nova Friburgo (swiss) or Penedo (finnish), all with mild summers and cold winters. Not to mention beutiful national parks like Serra do Órgãos, near Teresópolis, or Itatiaia, where one can climb one the highest mountains in the country and exeperience below freezing temperatures and even occasional snowfall.
Cons:
-It's violent and dangerous, though that is not evenly distributed. Some places are quite safe, others are warzones. In any case precaution is always advised for visitors.
-It's extremely expensive for brazilian standards. Good luck finding a 4 bedroom apartment in the best places of town for less than 1 million dollars. Food and transportation are also more expensive than virtually anywhere in the nation.
-Traffic can get pretty bad in certain places, though it's nothing like São Paulo.
-Taxes are higher than anywhere else in Brazil (though I suppose this should go in the "it's extremely expensive" section). So even commodities like gas and electricity cost more here.
-Populist politics were born and thrived here, though it seems to be fading away.
Squarg
Awesomesauce
JonathanStrange
PrinceWithA1000Enemies
This morning, I walked over to nearby diner and had huevos rancheros and an awesome hot cup of coffee (where did they get their coffee beans!?). I went for a walk in the hills nearby; there was a cool breeze (very light), and I left the path to do some hiking. I reached a place where I could look out upon Santa Fe sleeping stirring, light traffic in the streets, and with only the occasional dog barking in the distance, all framed by a wide, light-blue sky, with a few drifting clouds. It was like a painting. Later, I'll drive to Albuq. to pick up my cousin just back from San Francisco. I like the atmosphere here...
Mirc
Not mIRC!!!
Pros:
- many cool buildings. Very nice historic center, however... (see point #1 of cons)
- good public transport. Buses, trolleybuses, express buses, trams, metro, surface metro, covering every part of the city.
- many parks
- a couple of really great restaurants, bars, pubs. However... (see point #2 of cons)
- very well positioned (60 km away from the Danube river and thus the southern border, ~100 km from the Carpathian mountains, ~140 km to Transylvania, 200 km from the Black Sea, 450 km from Istanbul, 500 km from northern Greece - especially Thessaloniki is very reacheable, 640 to Budapest)
- good train and low cost air connections with most of Europe, and large rail connection to almost any point in Romania (although the rail system is far from perfect and a very big part of it is not "fast" by any standards)
- very diversified in fields of work, opportunities of work, gives you the chance to be work on whatever you want to be, although that often may imply leaving it later (as many professions require that).
- nice weather in the summer
- goes through all 4 seasons (although it can get extreme in summer and winter)
- is the most economically developed of my country
Cons:
- NOT WELL TAKEN CARE OF! People, you've got a mass of precious metal, make in the name of God something out of it since it is RIDICULOUS the way you are in the middle of doing everything. All of the center would look absolutely awesome if it was only PAINTED once! Restore it, repaint it, rebuild the streets, change the street lighting, seriously, it looks like a beautiful woman left alone on a deserted island for 10 years! For example, the whole pedestrian area of the historic center has been an improvised street for years - you walk on long sticks of wood kept in place with nails, as they are "still working" on the foundation of the street/buildings. But that area is amazing, on par with all western European capitals, it is what's left of "The Little Paris"! DO something about it.
- public places too crowded. Because so many things are half-done, it is virtually impossible to have a "culture of free time" evolve around them. Therefore, everyone gathers in the places that seem to be worth it, which makes them unbearably crowded. Restaurants, bars, clubs, pubs, there are some great ones but they are so, so crowded... If you'd double the amount of those you have in this city, I'm CERTAIN you'd still get more than enough customers.
- the whole place awfully crowded at rush hours, our dead megalomaniac dictator did not project it for a population of over 2 million people, therefore in the afternoon, from the center towards the outskirts, it can take you 45 minutes to make the distance of 1 bus station, and in the metros you will be squeezed to death (there are a few old people who actually died because of the crowds in underground trains).
- COMMIE BLOCKS. Commie blocks. Commie blocks. Destroy them, or cover them all with paintings, cover them with sculpture or vegetation (although the latter doesn't work quite so well in the winter), make each and every one of them have a personality - please, just don't let them be this way. Any commieblock outside the central area is an eyesore. My area is nice in the summmer because all blocs are completely covered with trees, but in the winter, it looks like any other commie-bloc-quarter.
- The people who live in it. Probably a majority of the population is an arrogant, and uncultured. People do not take care of their homes, of their yards, of their streets, etc. Groups live so... separate. I know people who are literally amazing and people who are literally at the limit of the lack of culture, and what a difference there is between them. Don't get me wrong. There's a great cultural scene going on... but it's hidden! If you walk on the streets, as a foreigner, you're much more likely to see the homeless guy who spits in a river rather than the businessman in a black shiny suit driving through the commercial areas. If everyone took care of their belongings, it would be amazingly better. It is not a civilization based on respect. I just hope that in years and years it will become once again one. Because it was one, at some point in history.
That's 10 pros to 5 cons, but I can't weigh each and every single one of them to decide whether I "like" my city on average or not.
Since it's bigger, more economically developed and more internationally connected than most cities in Romania, it's okay for me since my work is based entirely on opportunity, diversity, crowds, connections, etc. That being said, from a carreer point of view it's definitely the best for me to live in in this country. From a personal preference point of view... I don't know. As a tourist, I'd probably like it a lot. It does have a specific way of being, air, etc.
- many cool buildings. Very nice historic center, however... (see point #1 of cons)
- good public transport. Buses, trolleybuses, express buses, trams, metro, surface metro, covering every part of the city.
- many parks
- a couple of really great restaurants, bars, pubs. However... (see point #2 of cons)
- very well positioned (60 km away from the Danube river and thus the southern border, ~100 km from the Carpathian mountains, ~140 km to Transylvania, 200 km from the Black Sea, 450 km from Istanbul, 500 km from northern Greece - especially Thessaloniki is very reacheable, 640 to Budapest)
- good train and low cost air connections with most of Europe, and large rail connection to almost any point in Romania (although the rail system is far from perfect and a very big part of it is not "fast" by any standards)
- very diversified in fields of work, opportunities of work, gives you the chance to be work on whatever you want to be, although that often may imply leaving it later (as many professions require that).
- nice weather in the summer
- goes through all 4 seasons (although it can get extreme in summer and winter)
- is the most economically developed of my country
Cons:
- NOT WELL TAKEN CARE OF! People, you've got a mass of precious metal, make in the name of God something out of it since it is RIDICULOUS the way you are in the middle of doing everything. All of the center would look absolutely awesome if it was only PAINTED once! Restore it, repaint it, rebuild the streets, change the street lighting, seriously, it looks like a beautiful woman left alone on a deserted island for 10 years! For example, the whole pedestrian area of the historic center has been an improvised street for years - you walk on long sticks of wood kept in place with nails, as they are "still working" on the foundation of the street/buildings. But that area is amazing, on par with all western European capitals, it is what's left of "The Little Paris"! DO something about it.
- public places too crowded. Because so many things are half-done, it is virtually impossible to have a "culture of free time" evolve around them. Therefore, everyone gathers in the places that seem to be worth it, which makes them unbearably crowded. Restaurants, bars, clubs, pubs, there are some great ones but they are so, so crowded... If you'd double the amount of those you have in this city, I'm CERTAIN you'd still get more than enough customers.
- the whole place awfully crowded at rush hours, our dead megalomaniac dictator did not project it for a population of over 2 million people, therefore in the afternoon, from the center towards the outskirts, it can take you 45 minutes to make the distance of 1 bus station, and in the metros you will be squeezed to death (there are a few old people who actually died because of the crowds in underground trains).
- COMMIE BLOCKS. Commie blocks. Commie blocks. Destroy them, or cover them all with paintings, cover them with sculpture or vegetation (although the latter doesn't work quite so well in the winter), make each and every one of them have a personality - please, just don't let them be this way. Any commieblock outside the central area is an eyesore. My area is nice in the summmer because all blocs are completely covered with trees, but in the winter, it looks like any other commie-bloc-quarter.
- The people who live in it. Probably a majority of the population is an arrogant, and uncultured. People do not take care of their homes, of their yards, of their streets, etc. Groups live so... separate. I know people who are literally amazing and people who are literally at the limit of the lack of culture, and what a difference there is between them. Don't get me wrong. There's a great cultural scene going on... but it's hidden! If you walk on the streets, as a foreigner, you're much more likely to see the homeless guy who spits in a river rather than the businessman in a black shiny suit driving through the commercial areas. If everyone took care of their belongings, it would be amazingly better. It is not a civilization based on respect. I just hope that in years and years it will become once again one. Because it was one, at some point in history.
That's 10 pros to 5 cons, but I can't weigh each and every single one of them to decide whether I "like" my city on average or not.
Since it's bigger, more economically developed and more internationally connected than most cities in Romania, it's okay for me since my work is based entirely on opportunity, diversity, crowds, connections, etc. That being said, from a carreer point of view it's definitely the best for me to live in in this country. From a personal preference point of view... I don't know. As a tourist, I'd probably like it a lot. It does have a specific way of being, air, etc.
- No parking.
- If I wanted a monthly parking spot, it costs $500 per month.
- Shoulder to shoulder people.
- Dog crap on the sidewalks. The sidewalks are a dog toilet essentially.
- Way too much noise.
- Way too much pollution.
- Very little vegetation.
- My allergies are horrible here. They're worse here than in any other place I've lived.
- Drivers are a-holes.
- Taxi drivers are a-holes.
- People here believe that car horns have the magical ability to get other cars out of their way. So if a person is stuck behind 20 cars in a line on a one way street, what do the people do? Honk. It's one of the dumbest, just in your face stupid things that people do here. It's basically telling the entire world "Look at me! I'm a moron!"
- Rent costs an arm and two legs. I live in a tiny apartment and it costs $2k per month.
- The energy bill is around 5 times higher than any other place I've lived.
- Some places in Manhattan are extremely ugly.
- I pay some extra taxes simply because I live in New York City.
- Taxes for the state of New York are by far the most complicated of the four states I've lived in.
- The stereotypical New York accent is nearly the dumbest English accent on Earth. Some people actually do speak with those accents, which I've heard.
If I spent more time to think about it, I could probably come up with more.
Singapore (as a place to live in)
Pros:
-Relatively cheap transport and food
-Small country, can get to any place on the island in about an hour at maximum.
-Transport is also relatively efficient, depending on which part of the country you stay in
-Extremely save, thanks to strict laws and even stricter punishment. You can take a stroll along the streets at any time of day (or night).
-Its cleaner compared to most cities. Not Japan clean, but clean enough.
-Predictable weather. Its either sunny or rainy, and its humid all year round.
-Quite alot of greenery (man-"made") for a small island. Nice
-Also, good food. Did I mention it was cheap?
Cons;
-It gets crowded. 4.5 million people (and rising) squished onto a preeeety small island.
-Beaches are quite horrible.
-Not a good place for politics
-Government-built housing is not exactly cheap (depending on how you're going to approach it)
-80+% of population live in said housing. Makes for alot of tall apartments, not alot of variety.
-Tough laws are scary.
-Only niche as a country is stability and monetary management. Tries to be a "hub" at everything. (eg. sports hub, aerospace hub, education hub)
-Many things are state-owned. This includes major companies that has the population as customers.
-This includes media as well, which is highly censored and regulated.
-General cost of living at the moment is quite high, though most basic necessities are affordable enough.
-Driving in Singapore is very expensive. Very.
-The people are... well... meh.
Conclusion
A good place to stay if you're either a highly-skilled foreigner, rich, well connected in Singapore, love or excel civil/public service, love food, are a technophile, want a safe place to stay, a first-timer in Asia.
Pros:
-Relatively cheap transport and food
-Small country, can get to any place on the island in about an hour at maximum.
-Transport is also relatively efficient, depending on which part of the country you stay in
-Extremely save, thanks to strict laws and even stricter punishment. You can take a stroll along the streets at any time of day (or night).
-Its cleaner compared to most cities. Not Japan clean, but clean enough.
-Predictable weather. Its either sunny or rainy, and its humid all year round.
-Quite alot of greenery (man-"made") for a small island. Nice
-Also, good food. Did I mention it was cheap?
Cons;
-It gets crowded. 4.5 million people (and rising) squished onto a preeeety small island.
-Beaches are quite horrible.
-Not a good place for politics
-Government-built housing is not exactly cheap (depending on how you're going to approach it)
-80+% of population live in said housing. Makes for alot of tall apartments, not alot of variety.
-Tough laws are scary.
-Only niche as a country is stability and monetary management. Tries to be a "hub" at everything. (eg. sports hub, aerospace hub, education hub)
-Many things are state-owned. This includes major companies that has the population as customers.
-This includes media as well, which is highly censored and regulated.
-General cost of living at the moment is quite high, though most basic necessities are affordable enough.
-Driving in Singapore is very expensive. Very.
-The people are... well... meh.
Conclusion
A good place to stay if you're either a highly-skilled foreigner, rich, well connected in Singapore, love or excel civil/public service, love food, are a technophile, want a safe place to stay, a first-timer in Asia.
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Quantico, VA
It basically sucks. Not much here, Target, Best Buy, Five Guys, a Borders, some crappy hotels to escape the barracks in. I prefer sleeping in the field to being in the freaking barracks here. DC is not far away, but the traffic is unbearable. I can't wait to get out of here.
It basically sucks. Not much here, Target, Best Buy, Five Guys, a Borders, some crappy hotels to escape the barracks in. I prefer sleeping in the field to being in the freaking barracks here. DC is not far away, but the traffic is unbearable. I can't wait to get out of here.
Arlington, VA
The smallest county in the country, Arlington is more of a city carved out of the Virginia side of the original Washington, D.C. Its proximity to D.C. has created an upper-middle class suburban community, especially in North Arlington. It has over 500,000 people, rivaling the population of the city across the Potomac River.
Things You Like:
Proximity to DC - I can get into DC in ~5 minutes if I want.
As stated before, good public transportation. Metro buses have a good range and the subway is very close to anywhere in Arlington.
Extremely safe, little crime besides a few broken-into cars and the occasional sexual assault.
Very good ethnic cuisines and restaurants without going into the city.
It's very quiet. Despite being near a major road, I rarely hear any trucks, etc.
A great parks and recreation system. The youth leagues are amazing (and have been recognized by SI and such for their work) and well organized. The recreational sports games are competitive with lots of pride.
The schools, especially the public schools, are some of the best in the country.
Proximity to some of the best universities in the world (Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and Virginia)
Things You Don't Like:
The traffic, especially going into D.C. can be awful and make you want to tear your hair out. I've had hour long drives going home for what should be a 10 minute cruise.
The weather here can suck, especially during the summer. It gets really humid and really hot in July and August.
The homogeneity of people, especially among teenagers, is annoying.
For having relatively nothing to do, the cops are dicks no matter what.
It's extremely expensive here. Living here without a high-paying, stable job is not an option. Restaurants, despite some being basically fast food, are expensive.
It closes at about 9 or 10 PM. If I want to have any fun past that hour, I have to go west or into the city.
Our airport is named after Ronald Reagen.
Growing up, my friends came and went. I've had 4 different best friends move before I went to high school.
In summary:
Arlington was an awesome place for me to grow up, especially as a teenager where I had more independence. This is a place I could live when I have a family if I had a very high paying job in Washington, D.C. The price I would pay right now is too ridiculous to even fathom.
The smallest county in the country, Arlington is more of a city carved out of the Virginia side of the original Washington, D.C. Its proximity to D.C. has created an upper-middle class suburban community, especially in North Arlington. It has over 500,000 people, rivaling the population of the city across the Potomac River.
Things You Like:
Proximity to DC - I can get into DC in ~5 minutes if I want.
As stated before, good public transportation. Metro buses have a good range and the subway is very close to anywhere in Arlington.
Extremely safe, little crime besides a few broken-into cars and the occasional sexual assault.
Very good ethnic cuisines and restaurants without going into the city.
It's very quiet. Despite being near a major road, I rarely hear any trucks, etc.
A great parks and recreation system. The youth leagues are amazing (and have been recognized by SI and such for their work) and well organized. The recreational sports games are competitive with lots of pride.
The schools, especially the public schools, are some of the best in the country.
Proximity to some of the best universities in the world (Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, and Virginia)
Things You Don't Like:
The traffic, especially going into D.C. can be awful and make you want to tear your hair out. I've had hour long drives going home for what should be a 10 minute cruise.
The weather here can suck, especially during the summer. It gets really humid and really hot in July and August.
The homogeneity of people, especially among teenagers, is annoying.
For having relatively nothing to do, the cops are dicks no matter what.
It's extremely expensive here. Living here without a high-paying, stable job is not an option. Restaurants, despite some being basically fast food, are expensive.
It closes at about 9 or 10 PM. If I want to have any fun past that hour, I have to go west or into the city.
Our airport is named after Ronald Reagen.
Growing up, my friends came and went. I've had 4 different best friends move before I went to high school.
In summary:
Arlington was an awesome place for me to grow up, especially as a teenager where I had more independence. This is a place I could live when I have a family if I had a very high paying job in Washington, D.C. The price I would pay right now is too ridiculous to even fathom.
Looks like no-one has mentioned London yet.
Pros:
I suppose it has unsurpassed amenities. Every kind of restaurant and bar you could imagine, assuming you can afford to go to them, which you can't.
You can also get hold of goods that you wouldn't be able to buy elsewhere, such as specialist foodstuffs.
It has the British Library, which is the best library I have ever worked in.
Masses of museums and art galleries - if you like that kind of thing.
One of the most thriving comedy scenes in the world. As long as you (a) can afford it, and (b) don't have to get up in the morning.
Vast numbers of theatres etc too - again, as long as you can afford it.
The City is quite pretty in a ye olde kind of way, if you go there on a Sunday.
Interesting history. It is nice to walk along a street and think of all the extraordinary things that have happened there. Most of them were probably pretty unsavoury, but there you go.
If you stand on Waterloo Bridge after dark, London looks pretty. As a rule, the less you can actually see of the place, the better it looks.
Erm...
I can't think of any more.
Cons
Without a doubt the ugliest place I have ever lived. There are virtually no skyscrapers and virtually no beautiful historic buildings either. Instead it's an endless mass of ugly Victoriana and even uglier post-war concrete.
Also, the filthiest place I have ever lived. I walk through a dogs' toilet every day to get to the shops
Appallingly inefficient. Remember, this is a city where there are special notice boards in Tube stations telling you which lines are currently broken. That's not a special measure but a permanent feature.
Appalling traffic too. The buses are cheaper than the Tube, but they take far longer to get anywhere because they spend most of their time just sitting in traffic jams.
Quite dangerous. I was held up at knifepoint by a teenager in a balaclava just a fortnight ago.
Unimaginably expensive. The cost of housing in London is insane, and the cost of simply living is also ludicrous. This might make sense if London were a nice place to live, but it is not. This largely negates most of the "pros", because you have to be super-wealthy to be able to afford them. Even travel is extremely expensive. A Tube ticket costs an order of magnitude more than (say) an MRT ticket in Singapore, and yet the service is indescribably worse.
Very right-wing atmosphere to the place. The only paid-for local newspaper is the Evening Standard, which is run by the Daily Mail. The free papers you can read on the Tube are all published by the same group or by Rupert Murdoch. There is no left-of-centre London paper of any kind, which is one of the reasons we are currently ruled by Boris Johnson. It is genuinely scary how many people you see reading the Mail on the train. Also scary how many people seem to vote for the BNP. At the Croydon by-election they got more votes than the Lib Dems.
Relatedly or not, London is not a very law-abiding place. Note the previous comments about dog mess smeared over the pavements and hoodies threatening to stab you. More pervasively, people in London (and, I think in Britain in general) casually break the law constantly and see nothing wrong with it. The perfect example is driving offences: people break the speed limit (well, not actually in London), drive in bus lanes, honk at pedestrians when the latter have the right of way, fail to stop at zebra crossings - you name it.
Also probably relatedly, constant low-level anti-social behaviour. At the risk of sounding like a Mail reader myself, this has got noticeably worse in the past few years. I used to go to the cinema in London, but I refuse to any more because of the anti-social behaviour. People talking through the film, chatting on their phones, laughing, texting, etc. Ask these people to be quiet and they become self-righteously belligerent - they've paid their money, so they can behave as they like. People behave similarly on public transport - playing loud music. Ask them to turn it down and they stare at you in amazement as if you're speaking a foreign language.
In sum, London drains the soul. There is nothing inspiring or beautiful about the place (although if you're in the middle of Canary Wharf or just outside Liverpool Street Station you can try to imagine you're in New York). It takes for ever to get anywhere, and when you do you need to take more time to recover from the vile journey and the troll-like creatures that have made it so horrible. I have reached the stage where I get depressed simply leaving the flat. In fact I recently had to give up working on the desk by the window because the view (of a football stadium and an incineration plant) makes me too miserable. My girlfriend's career is based in London and can't really be transferred, so I am having to come to terms with the fact that I am here for the long term whether I like it or not, but I am finding this very difficult. As you may have noticed.
For comparion, I have lived in Folkestone, Oxford, Wanaka (in New Zealand) and Singapore. All of these places are far, far better to live in than London. Even Folkestone.
Pros:
I suppose it has unsurpassed amenities. Every kind of restaurant and bar you could imagine, assuming you can afford to go to them, which you can't.
You can also get hold of goods that you wouldn't be able to buy elsewhere, such as specialist foodstuffs.
It has the British Library, which is the best library I have ever worked in.
Masses of museums and art galleries - if you like that kind of thing.
One of the most thriving comedy scenes in the world. As long as you (a) can afford it, and (b) don't have to get up in the morning.
Vast numbers of theatres etc too - again, as long as you can afford it.
The City is quite pretty in a ye olde kind of way, if you go there on a Sunday.
Interesting history. It is nice to walk along a street and think of all the extraordinary things that have happened there. Most of them were probably pretty unsavoury, but there you go.
If you stand on Waterloo Bridge after dark, London looks pretty. As a rule, the less you can actually see of the place, the better it looks.
Erm...
I can't think of any more.
Cons
Without a doubt the ugliest place I have ever lived. There are virtually no skyscrapers and virtually no beautiful historic buildings either. Instead it's an endless mass of ugly Victoriana and even uglier post-war concrete.
Also, the filthiest place I have ever lived. I walk through a dogs' toilet every day to get to the shops
Appallingly inefficient. Remember, this is a city where there are special notice boards in Tube stations telling you which lines are currently broken. That's not a special measure but a permanent feature.
Appalling traffic too. The buses are cheaper than the Tube, but they take far longer to get anywhere because they spend most of their time just sitting in traffic jams.
Quite dangerous. I was held up at knifepoint by a teenager in a balaclava just a fortnight ago.
Unimaginably expensive. The cost of housing in London is insane, and the cost of simply living is also ludicrous. This might make sense if London were a nice place to live, but it is not. This largely negates most of the "pros", because you have to be super-wealthy to be able to afford them. Even travel is extremely expensive. A Tube ticket costs an order of magnitude more than (say) an MRT ticket in Singapore, and yet the service is indescribably worse.
Very right-wing atmosphere to the place. The only paid-for local newspaper is the Evening Standard, which is run by the Daily Mail. The free papers you can read on the Tube are all published by the same group or by Rupert Murdoch. There is no left-of-centre London paper of any kind, which is one of the reasons we are currently ruled by Boris Johnson. It is genuinely scary how many people you see reading the Mail on the train. Also scary how many people seem to vote for the BNP. At the Croydon by-election they got more votes than the Lib Dems.
Relatedly or not, London is not a very law-abiding place. Note the previous comments about dog mess smeared over the pavements and hoodies threatening to stab you. More pervasively, people in London (and, I think in Britain in general) casually break the law constantly and see nothing wrong with it. The perfect example is driving offences: people break the speed limit (well, not actually in London), drive in bus lanes, honk at pedestrians when the latter have the right of way, fail to stop at zebra crossings - you name it.
Also probably relatedly, constant low-level anti-social behaviour. At the risk of sounding like a Mail reader myself, this has got noticeably worse in the past few years. I used to go to the cinema in London, but I refuse to any more because of the anti-social behaviour. People talking through the film, chatting on their phones, laughing, texting, etc. Ask these people to be quiet and they become self-righteously belligerent - they've paid their money, so they can behave as they like. People behave similarly on public transport - playing loud music. Ask them to turn it down and they stare at you in amazement as if you're speaking a foreign language.
In sum, London drains the soul. There is nothing inspiring or beautiful about the place (although if you're in the middle of Canary Wharf or just outside Liverpool Street Station you can try to imagine you're in New York). It takes for ever to get anywhere, and when you do you need to take more time to recover from the vile journey and the troll-like creatures that have made it so horrible. I have reached the stage where I get depressed simply leaving the flat. In fact I recently had to give up working on the desk by the window because the view (of a football stadium and an incineration plant) makes me too miserable. My girlfriend's career is based in London and can't really be transferred, so I am having to come to terms with the fact that I am here for the long term whether I like it or not, but I am finding this very difficult. As you may have noticed.
For comparion, I have lived in Folkestone, Oxford, Wanaka (in New Zealand) and Singapore. All of these places are far, far better to live in than London. Even Folkestone.
PiMan
Deity
I quite like some of London's landmarks. I've never been there in person, but the promotional pictures of the skyline look good.
Mirc
Not mIRC!!!
I've been there for 7 hours, seen as much as I could. I can't say I know it by any standards, of course what I saw in the course of this time was awesome, but... that's not a measure of how good a city is to live in.
Exactly. I had to spend quite a lot of time in Bucharest in 2007 & 2008 (I had an office next to Opera House at bank of Dâmboviţa) and it was literally painful to see all those stunningly beautiful old houses in a state of utter decay...
Not to mention covered in terrible air-conditioning devices and wrapped into Gordion Knots of cables...Also, your traffic was horrible.
Mirc
Not mIRC!!!
Exactly. I had to spend quite a lot of time in Bucharest in 2007 & 2008 (I had an office next to Opera House at bank of Dâmboviţa) and it was literally painful to see all those stunningly beautiful old houses in a state of utter decay...
Also, your traffic was horrible.
That's exactly the kind of feeling I was referring to! It's painful. So you were in the "new" office building there, right? The one opposite to the Opera house and on the same side as the church, right?
They restored 2 buildings there, but it's still a long, long way to go...Oh and I mentioned the traffic in the "cons" section, I know what you mean, being in it every day.
Promotional pictures can make anything look good. But I have to say that the lumpy, cowering skyline is one of the features of London I find most depressing: it contains nothing to draw the eye up or indeed make you feel that you're in a city. London isn't really a city at all, it's a lot of grey and dismal towns stuck onto each other with no space in between, and this is reflected in its unimaginative and utilitarian skyline.
PiMan
Deity
Birmingham manages to look ugly in promotional pictures.
I generally like living here.
Pros:
-Very historic city. Lots of ancient greek, roman and byzantine sites.
-It has a reasonable number of people living in it, close to 1,5 million.
-It isnt as ugly as Athens
-Some parts of the city are beautiful, especially the older buildings.
-A university town. The largest university of Greece, Aristotle's University, is here.
Cons:
-No underground railroad
-Apart from the central municipality, the rest of the city does not have many historic sites.
-Parts of it are really ugly, especially peripheral municipalities, which are all concrete
-No scyscrapers. This is due to the fact that Greece is one of the most prone to earthquake countries around, so every building has to be entirely safe.
Pros:
-Very historic city. Lots of ancient greek, roman and byzantine sites.
-It has a reasonable number of people living in it, close to 1,5 million.
-It isnt as ugly as Athens
-Some parts of the city are beautiful, especially the older buildings.
-A university town. The largest university of Greece, Aristotle's University, is here.
Cons:
-No underground railroad
-Apart from the central municipality, the rest of the city does not have many historic sites.
-Parts of it are really ugly, especially peripheral municipalities, which are all concrete
-No scyscrapers. This is due to the fact that Greece is one of the most prone to earthquake countries around, so every building has to be entirely safe.
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