Top 10 best places to live... What can US Cities do to compete

[earthJoker]

Originally Posted by Fitzrovian

Fair enough. If I was wrong, I'll be the first to admit it. I have been to Zurich however (admittedly for a very brief stay) and while I did not go to any warehouse raves, the action in the city center on a saturday night was very underwhelming. It's possible, of course, that it's all spread out so it escaped me without notice. Though now that I think about it, I do seem to recall asking around where there is action and not getting any good responses. But maybe I was aking the wrong people.

Next time you should go for one of the three places where you can easy find your place:
-Old town, especially the infamous Niederdorf: It mostly consists of bars, restaurant/bar/club hybrids. There are some bars and clubs on the other side of the Limmat nowaydays and of course the good old Kaufleuten is there, but as a trourist I would suggest the Niederdorf first.
- Langstrasse: The melting pot, with many immigrants, red light district, more alternative bars.
- Zürich West (everything around the Hardbrücke): Clubbing hot spot, former industrial area (here you find those warehouse raves).

Originally Posted by Dimethyltryptamine

I'm just saying that plane is the most commonly used mode of long distance transport here. We don't have HSR and no one wants to sit in a train for 10 hours, and some people drive but still.. most fly. Because of that, the Sydney-Melbourne route is the 3rd or 4th busiest aircraft route in the world.

The point is, I don't need to go even into "long distance traveling" mode to visit other cities, and as I like city trips, this is a very personal advantage for me. It is true that for other people it might not matter that much.

[LANative]

Originally Posted by royal rose1

According to my sources which cite the 2010 census it's currently at 3,792,000. Anyway, the population is irrelevant. Burlington, VT has a better downtown in my opinion, and it has 42,000 people. I'm from San Diego, so believe me, I'd love to see LA prosper downtown-wise. But it's a city that is too spread out, it's gonna need to consolidate a little if it wants a nice downtown.

Yeah, Downtown LA will never dominate the metro simply because its too spread out.

[Metro007]

Originally Posted by LANative

(...) simply because its too spread out.

I agree...

[Mr Bricks]

Originally Posted by royal rose1

I don't think it's crime, the murder rate in San Diego is 2 per 100,000 whereas Vienna is 1.8 per 100,000 Amsterdam is 7.7 and Helsinki is 12.4.

Helsinki is still a very safe city. You see all the murdering takes place at people's homes.

[SydneyCity]

If Auckland is #3 public transport mustn't be too much of a deciding factor. From what i've heard, Auckland has terrible public transport.

Maybe lower crime rates? More equality? I've always been baffled by these lists.

[the spliff fairy]

Originally Posted by Mr Bricks

Helsinki is still a very safe city. You see all the murdering takes place at people's homes.

Yep, Helsinki's homicide rate is very different from its murder rate. Homicide includes suicide, accidents etc.

[SkyBridge]

Originally Posted by LANative

restaurants; also LA is getting a new supertall which will be located in

Sorry for digging up a post from the previous page but this one made me fall off my chair. What does a supertall have to do with a quality city center? OMG.

[Somnifor]

These lists are always full of pleasant but uncompelling cities, the sorts of places safe, boring people would love to live in. Places like New York, London and Paris never make these lists, they may be messy, but they are also great cities.

[pesto]

Originally Posted by Somnifor

These lists are always full of pleasant but uncompelling cities, the sorts of places safe, boring people would love to live in. Places like New York, London and Paris never make these lists, they may be messy, but they are also great cities.

I can agree with that. Not only are they cities free of uneducated dark people, but they are mid-sized countries with minimal presence among the superpowers (US, UK, China, Russia, India). Cities where tuberculosis isn't a problem and everyone has a profession.

It's the residue of what Jimmy Breslin famously said about Chicago 30 years ago: those aren't joggers, it's liberals running from the city to look out for number 1.

[SkyBridge]

Yes, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are obviously uncompelling and smalltown-esque...

It just comes to show that for LIVING, bigger isn't always better. Cities such as Amsterdam have anything (and sometimes more) that you can find in a big metropolis, but have
many advantages over them due to their size. If anything, that's what this list shows.


US responses in this topic are at times so ignorant that it makes me wanna cry. Travel a little, will you!

[earthJoker]

Originally Posted by falchoon

I read a fact once that Australia's alpine area is bigger than Switzerland, not Switzerland's, Switzerland.

Do you know that only over 2000m is considered alpine? Probably we just have a different view on what a major ski resort is, but you may want to look at the pictures of one of my ski holidays: http://s950.photobucket.com/albums/a...Zermatt%202011

[royal rose1]

I also think in reference to crime rates to the US, that we have pretty low crime rates considering how widely available guns are in the US! Just think, we have 88.8 guns per 100 people, yet somehow we still have major cities that are as safe as Luxembourg!

[royal rose1]

Originally Posted by SkyBridge

Yes, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are obviously uncompelling and smalltown-esque...

It just comes to show that for LIVING, bigger isn't always better. Cities such as Amsterdam have anything (and sometimes more) that you can find in a big metropolis, but have
many advantages over them due to their size. If anything, that's what this list shows.


US responses in this topic are at times so ignorant that it makes me wanna cry. Travel a little, will you!

Please don't generalize like this, you Europeans generalize far too much! I'm an American, I made this thread, and I lived in Germany for 6 years, and while I was there I travelled to over 30 countries! I've also lived in Japan and on both coasts of the US!

And I think I could say the same thing about Europeans! A lot of you judge America having never been here, or having visited one city! We're a large diverse land that cannot be generalized as you have done.

[SkyBridge]

^ I placed that 'at times' on purpose, my friend.
The only one making a generalization right now is you, with the "you Europeans"

[jbkayaker12]

Originally Posted by SkyBridge

^ I placed that 'at times' on purpose, my friend.
The only one making a generalization right now is you, with the "you Europeans"

After having been a member of this site for many years, Europeans and many other nationalities are actually judgemental of the United States and its people having read many of the posts here. Whether it is because of envy, jealousy or for whatever reason, others have no difficulty airing their generalized opinions regarding the United States and its people.

[Fitzrovian]

Originally Posted by SkyBridge

Yes, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are obviously uncompelling and smalltown-esque...

It just comes to show that for LIVING, bigger isn't always better. Cities such as Amsterdam have anything (and sometimes more) that you can find in a big metropolis, but have
many advantages over them due to their size. If anything, that's what this list shows.


US responses in this topic are at times so ignorant that it makes me wanna cry. Travel a little, will you!

That's what I love about this board... the international melting pot!

To your point SkyBridge: I have been to each of those cities you listed (though Frankfurt for only a few hours in the city center). And I think there are very legitimate reasons to prefer London/NY/Paris/Madrid etc. to Brussels/Copenhagen/Frankfurt. (Amsterdam may be a different story) Can they all be described as "uncompelling"? That may be a bit harsh. Are they 100 times better than most comparable sized US cities? Abso-frickin-lutely. But on the point of the original remark, is it reasonable to suggest that these cities are not very compelling in comparison to the "major league" cities? In my opinion, yes.

[bayviews]

Originally Posted by royal rose1

According to my sources which cite the 2010 census it's currently at 3,792,000. Anyway, the population is irrelevant. Burlington, VT has a better downtown in my opinion, and it has 42,000 people. I'm from San Diego, so believe me, I'd love to see LA prosper downtown-wise. But it's a city that is too spread out, it's gonna need to consolidate a little if it wants a nice downtown.

LA has never been a centralized city. Downtown has always been weak. If anything downtown LA has never been as strong as it is now.

Truth is, you'll find many VERY VIBRANT commercial neighborhoods with packed sidewalks across LA & in the adjoining suburbs.

You'll find many more people walking in LA than in any older Midwestern city save Chicago & or maybe Minneapolis.

[jbkayaker12]

Originally Posted by bayviews

LA has never been a centralized city. Downtown has always been weak. If anything downtown LA has never been as strong as it is now.

Truth is, you'll find many VERY VIBRANT commercial neighborhoods with packed sidewalks across LA & in the adjoining suburbs.

You'll find many more people walking in LA than in any older Midwestern city save Chicago & or maybe Minneapolis.

I love Los Angeles County and Orange County. So many areas to explore!!!

[miami305]

Originally Posted by bayviews

Excellent points, very true. Indeed, the US immigrant population dwarfs Canada’s TOTAL population by many millions.

What other population in the US also dwarfs the total population of Canada? Consider the 37 million Afro-Americans, roughly 90% of whom are slave descendants. One can’t overlook the enduring legacy of plantation slavery, racism, & its negative connection with contemporary low socio-economic levels, and high crime rates. Particularly across the Southern states and in the northern rustbelt cities just south of Canada.

These are challenges that the US shares with Brazil & other many other developing countries in the Americas. These are burdens a slightly populated, northern country with a huge, largely vacant land mass like Canada doesn’t have to carry.

Exactly..!!! well said....those freaking Canadians.....gotta love them though (sometimes...ugh)...lots of them in South FL....lol.

[miami305]

Originally Posted by royal rose1

The US has 11 million illegal immigrants! That's a third the population of Canada! And that's just illegals. Canada integrates immigrants so well because they get to pick and choose the doctors and professors. The US doesn't get that luxury with illegal immigrants. What we get is lower-class uneducated people crossing the border who couldn't make it in Mexico. Our naturalized citizens integrate very well too! Look, the highest paid most successful demographic in the US is Indian-Americans.
And there are 38 million immigrants in the US! More people then there are in Canada. So don't try to equate Canada to the US in terms of immigration.

Agreed 200%.