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Author
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Topic: Best and Worst Cities
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TommyPaineatWork
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2956
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posted 04 March 2003 05:58 AM
It's reification, isn't it? Most if not all of those cities on the top half of the list would be a blast to live in-- if you were wealthy. And all of them would be hell if you were poor.The subjectivity enters into when the factors are chosen. I might value a sense of antiquity higher than you, just for example; while you may value clean air higher than I do. Lists are fun, but I wouldn't attach too much significance to any of them. Except the one you tailor to your own individual values.
From: London | Registered: Aug 2002
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Willowdale Wizard
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3674
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posted 04 March 2003 09:38 AM
i'd be interested in the criteria too. the australians must be having fun today: in order, sydney (5th), melbourne (15th), perth (20th), brisbane (31st), adelaide (31st). and after all of them, the first british city, london (39th). in terms of cost of living, zurich and geneva are among the most expensive places i've ever visited, and they are 1st and 4th. barcelona being 50th (?!)
From: england (hometown of toronto) | Registered: Jan 2003
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lagatta
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 2534
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posted 05 March 2003 05:54 PM
I've lived in Paris and Lyon as a non-tourist and certainly prefer either to anywhere in Canada except perhaps Montreal (when I can ride my bicycle). However, as is also true in Toronto, rents tend to be extremely high in Paris - fortunately I did not really have to rent a flat of my own. Without the rent factor, I actually found Paris to be a place where one could live fairly economically, the public transport is reasonable and a lot of things can be reached on foot, and there are a lot of things to do that are free or cheap. Fruits and vegetables tend to be cheaper than in Canada for most of the year (meat and processed foods are more expensive) not to mention wine and cheese  . And everything in central Paris and some of the older suburbs is simply so lovely! However a lot of Parisians do live in soulless blocks of flats in the newer suburbs - the urban area is huge. The new mayor Delanoé (in a Socialist-Green co-alition) has made a serious committment to reducing the congestion and air pollution that to my mind are the biggest drawback in Paris. There are many designated bus corridors and new tram lines, and more carfree zones.
From: Se non ora, quando? | Registered: Apr 2002
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skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478
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posted 05 March 2003 06:19 PM
Does anyone see Edinburgh on that list? I see Glasgow at 57, right down there with Birmingham (which would be about right, in my view), but no Edinburgh -- ? Certainly a much more interesting city than many on the list -- visually splendid! and yet surprisingly compact. It would certainly rank higher than Glasgow, although the general drawback of everywhere in Britain is the high cost of living, no good reason for which is apparent to me.I agree that many European cities are best if you're rich OR poor. Even in Britain, the poor are probably better taken care of than here -- although London is definitely a city I wouldn't want to be poor in. Zurich and Geneva, though:  Not only just for the rich, but for the boring rich. Life can never be bad in old Paris. *nostalgic smiley* Maybe real rents are high there; you can find great hotels for much less than in London or here, though -- and who cares where you're staying when you've got those streets to stroll. I've always been poor in Paris, and there especially, I have not given a damn. Oh, take me back, someone!
From: gone | Registered: May 2001
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'lance
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1064
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posted 05 March 2003 06:53 PM
I never had any, uh, dealings with the Vancouver police when I was there, skdadl, but if they have a reputation for ferocity -- beyond the norm for your average police force, that is -- I never heard about it.If they were fierce, there might not be so much heroin dealt within steps of the main downtown cop-shop. Though the relative blind eye they turn might have something to do with overcrowded courtrooms, the difficulty of getting people to show up for court dates, or whatever. It was also while I was living there that they announced they'd no longer be arresting prostitutes for solicitation, but rather arresting johns. I don't know if that policy still prevails, though. Edited to add: Say lagatta, could you maybe edit your link using www.makeashorterlink.com or something? Side-scroll reduces quality of life!  [ 05 March 2003: Message edited by: 'lance ]
From: that enchanted place on the top of the Forest | Registered: Jul 2001
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Timebandit
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1448
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posted 05 March 2003 07:04 PM
quote:
I've always been poor in Paris, and there especially, I have not given a damn. Oh, take me back, someone!
Ditto! quote:
Though it is a nice place - river, close to the mountains, not too big or polluted, pretty older neighborhoods, good public transit downtowns. It doesn't deserve the knocks that some might give it.
Calgary's okay, but I found it a bit of a faceless, corporate kind of town when I would go hang out there with a friend of mine in my single days. I do love the zoo, though. We definitely stop for the zoo.
From: Urban prairie. | Registered: Sep 2001
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Sine Ziegler
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 225
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posted 06 March 2003 10:19 PM
Copenhagen at 6th. That's great! It is also the warmest capital in Scandinavia. She deserves that spot! It's cosmopolitan, in a peninsula, you can take a high speed train to Sweden in seconds, it's progressive in industry, rich with history ( as any European city) has a fantastic train station with great European connections, Tivoli, the little mermaid, excellent red hot dogs on every street corner, little poverty ( although steadily growing ) and many post secondary institutions that are FREE> The cities I know best in the world ( ie, I can give a decent tour) are Calgary
Copenhagen
Edmonton
San Francisco
I really don't know other cities so well. I was in Ottawa for the first time since I was 6 last weekend I didn't know Quebec was within seeing distance from downtown. Duhhhhhh.
From: Calgary | Registered: Apr 2001
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Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis ahead of Rome? 
