adma
Superstar
Or New York as well. (3X the size of what? Manhattan? That'd be like saying Toronto is bigger than New York...)
|
|
|
- Thread starter Cooool
- Start date
Or New York as well. (3X the size of what? Manhattan? That'd be like saying Toronto is bigger than New York...)
Roy G Biv
Senior Member
I was out a couple of times in Berlin last week. We thought we were ok showing up at midnight, but we were the only ones there! At 12:30, people started streaming in....
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
I'm always told to give LA a second chance. I was there once for a four day conference then had two days to play after that. I didn't like it at all and couldn't wait to get out.
unimaginative2
Senior Member
Los Angeles is not so bad, but it definitely closes very, very early. It's a nightmare trying to get a meal at 10 pm. It's got some pretty cool neighbourhoods, though. It's a bit like Toronto. It takes a while to get to the good stuff.
OttoSchloss
Active Member
Don't go to L.A. for the nightlife. It's uniformly bad. Most bars pack up at 1 a.m. even though they can stay open until 2. House parties are huge in L.A.
L.A. has some really lovely Toronto like neighborhoods and a similar level of diversity. If it weren't for the palm trees, you'd think you were in T.O. The problem with Los Angeles is you have several really cool fun neighborhoods but they are separated by miles of not so cool vibrant neighborhoods. The traffic on the freeways is all day but in the city streets it's not too horrible and parking is typically cheap and easy to find. Valet is more common than you'd be comfortable with but it usually depends on where you go.
The nicer areas of L.A. look a lot like Yonge/Eglinton.
L.A. as a tourist attraction is a bit disappointing. As a place to live, it's much better. And it helps if you work in the industry.
I used to live in New York and I'll tell you -it ruins you for other cities. I was completely bored in Hong Kong (the only other city I'd live in voluntarily besides T.O. or New York is Berlin). But living there takes a little time to get used to -like 6 months or so -if you can make it that long all the daily crap of the city that made you miserable initially, goes away (there are certain things about the city that you just have to get over -subways that stop running, shitty service people at the drugstore, snippy bartenders and bitchy transplants. You'll make friends easily but finding time for them and vice versa is an issue. Toronto shares a lot in common with NYC but it's on a much smaller less frenetic scale and really comparing them is silly-like comparing Montreal to Paris. But the biggest similarity is, you can have a group of friends in T.O. and not feel like you're missing out on something. In a lot of cities it's who you know or hang out with (especially in Canada). There's like one cool neighborhood where everyone knows each other. Toronto and New York aren't like this. There's a real diversity of options people wise so it's relatively easy to find your group. Like Toronto, it takes a certain amount of eccentricity to truly enjoy the city and fit in.
Someone mentioned the parks. I agree. Among the best things in the city. And yeah you do feel like you're in a movie when you live there and that there's no place better to be your best self.
Last edited:
Hipster Duck
Senior Member
^I agree with a lot of what you say, Otto. Some other things I observed about New York:
1. New York is basically shangri-la for straight single guys. There is a surplus of attractive, approachable single girls and you don't have to make any moves - they will come up to you to talk. I think there is actually some statistical evidence somewhere that points out the imbalance of females to males. Of course, while you're living it up most single girls in New York have it the other way around: they have to compete with other, better-dressed women for men, many of who let their position in the gender imbalance go to their head and act like real D-bags. Funny enough, Sex and the City was a real hit with single girls in NY and something they all chatted about (back then, at least). The irony is that a story of 4 middle aged NY women living a life of material comfort and getting any guy they wanted was about as improbable as the plot of Slumdog Millionnaire.
2. Things that would seemingly count in the city's favour, like beautiful turn-of-the-century architecture and an extensive subway system, seem so much more inadequate when you're actually there: the old apartment houses that look so grand from the outside have shoddy heating (often from a heating pipe, rather than a radiator), lousy water pressure and a poor layout where you can't seem to fit a bed in the smallest room no matter how hard you try. At the same time, the plethora of subway lines sometimes seem barely faster than walking and they are almost as bad as the TTC's streetcar dispatchers when it comes to meeting schedules (F train to Park Slope, anyone?). In Toronto, we sometimes forget how fast our subway really is. The same way that I generally take the BD subway and walk south to wherever I need to go instead of waiting an eternity for streetcars, I generally took IRT subways (the numbered ones) and then walked from there, rather than transfering onto less reliable BMT and IND (lettered) lines.
3. The expense of living in NY is a great equalizing effect, bringing relatively diverse people together to share experiences in social settings. Invariably conversations at parties seemed to drift toward apartment or landlord horror stories or fantasizing about which neighbourhood you'd want to live in if money were no object. From my experience, New Yorkers were more attuned to their city; what was going on, where things are, exploring other parts of the city than Torontonians. Since that's my kind of thing, I found it very easy to make conversation, rather than trying to talk about old TV shows or movies, or whatever I settle for when I'm in a party trying to strike up convo with strangers in TO.
4. re: NY service attitude. It's a mixed bag: sometimes service can be surly, and sometimes it can be extremely friendly. In all cases, though, they're fast. I think you can go through a checkout line in half the time that it takes here in Toronto. People at the cash register also know how to multi-task, helping you with a transaction while speaking to another customer on the phone. This has informed a lot of my own belief in customer service, where I prefer speed and efficiency over friendly incompetence in most situations. Toronto's better than average in this regard, but certainly has a lot to learn from New York.
1. New York is basically shangri-la for straight single guys. There is a surplus of attractive, approachable single girls and you don't have to make any moves - they will come up to you to talk. I think there is actually some statistical evidence somewhere that points out the imbalance of females to males. Of course, while you're living it up most single girls in New York have it the other way around: they have to compete with other, better-dressed women for men, many of who let their position in the gender imbalance go to their head and act like real D-bags. Funny enough, Sex and the City was a real hit with single girls in NY and something they all chatted about (back then, at least). The irony is that a story of 4 middle aged NY women living a life of material comfort and getting any guy they wanted was about as improbable as the plot of Slumdog Millionnaire.
2. Things that would seemingly count in the city's favour, like beautiful turn-of-the-century architecture and an extensive subway system, seem so much more inadequate when you're actually there: the old apartment houses that look so grand from the outside have shoddy heating (often from a heating pipe, rather than a radiator), lousy water pressure and a poor layout where you can't seem to fit a bed in the smallest room no matter how hard you try. At the same time, the plethora of subway lines sometimes seem barely faster than walking and they are almost as bad as the TTC's streetcar dispatchers when it comes to meeting schedules (F train to Park Slope, anyone?). In Toronto, we sometimes forget how fast our subway really is. The same way that I generally take the BD subway and walk south to wherever I need to go instead of waiting an eternity for streetcars, I generally took IRT subways (the numbered ones) and then walked from there, rather than transfering onto less reliable BMT and IND (lettered) lines.
3. The expense of living in NY is a great equalizing effect, bringing relatively diverse people together to share experiences in social settings. Invariably conversations at parties seemed to drift toward apartment or landlord horror stories or fantasizing about which neighbourhood you'd want to live in if money were no object. From my experience, New Yorkers were more attuned to their city; what was going on, where things are, exploring other parts of the city than Torontonians. Since that's my kind of thing, I found it very easy to make conversation, rather than trying to talk about old TV shows or movies, or whatever I settle for when I'm in a party trying to strike up convo with strangers in TO.
4. re: NY service attitude. It's a mixed bag: sometimes service can be surly, and sometimes it can be extremely friendly. In all cases, though, they're fast. I think you can go through a checkout line in half the time that it takes here in Toronto. People at the cash register also know how to multi-task, helping you with a transaction while speaking to another customer on the phone. This has informed a lot of my own belief in customer service, where I prefer speed and efficiency over friendly incompetence in most situations. Toronto's better than average in this regard, but certainly has a lot to learn from New York.
Last edited:
lordmandeep
Banned
Don't most of those young people in NYC, rent instead of owning small condo or homes...
OttoSchloss
Active Member
Well in Williamsburg all the transplant hipsters get their parents to buy them condos.
Cooool
Active Member
New York City definitely had a larger black population than Toronto, especially in the outer boroughs.
And I recall people saying Manhattan was primarily a wealthy boroough, but I did not find that to be the case. It seemed the Lower East Side was very run down to say the least. I didn't enjoy Canal Street very much. Not to mention, Harlem wasn't the best looking place in the world either.
I've always wondered whether New York was as glamorous and rich as they portray it in Sex and the City and Gossip Girl. And I don't think it was. I still loved it though.
But one thing about Los Angeles I've heard is that the crime is a little more rampant in certain areas. I've heard Compton and South Central is so bad the police can't be bothered to deal with it. I've heard nothing but terrible things about Los Angeles and how with the economy being so bad it now looks like a third world country. Even the downtown area looks to be gritty and rough.
And I recall people saying Manhattan was primarily a wealthy boroough, but I did not find that to be the case. It seemed the Lower East Side was very run down to say the least. I didn't enjoy Canal Street very much. Not to mention, Harlem wasn't the best looking place in the world either.
I've always wondered whether New York was as glamorous and rich as they portray it in Sex and the City and Gossip Girl. And I don't think it was. I still loved it though.
But one thing about Los Angeles I've heard is that the crime is a little more rampant in certain areas. I've heard Compton and South Central is so bad the police can't be bothered to deal with it. I've heard nothing but terrible things about Los Angeles and how with the economy being so bad it now looks like a third world country. Even the downtown area looks to be gritty and rough.
picard102
Senior Member
Always love NYC. Go every year in April for the last 4 years.
It's understandable why Toronto has such a complex regarding NYC. I don't think Toronto could ever be a NYC though.
Worst city I've ever visited. I'd rather be in Winnipeg in the winter. Such an awful place all around.
It's understandable why Toronto has such a complex regarding NYC. I don't think Toronto could ever be a NYC though.
Worst city I've ever visited. I'd rather be in Winnipeg in the winter. Such an awful place all around.
Cooool
Active Member
How come LA was so bad?
kettal
Banned
Downtown Los Angeles has been a tent city for many years.
OttoSchloss
Active Member
Drug culture is also huge in L.A. Worse than most big cities.
Brandon716
Senior Member
New York is so much larger than any other city in North America that if you're in love with pure size, its hard to match. And its urban character is unmistakable.
BUT, its also true that outside of Manhattan and some parts of Brooklyn that New York can leave a lot to be desired.
That being said, Manhattan is what it is, and its hard to pack so much into a small space yet New York does it. Its a dynamic place.
BUT, its also true that outside of Manhattan and some parts of Brooklyn that New York can leave a lot to be desired.
That being said, Manhattan is what it is, and its hard to pack so much into a small space yet New York does it. Its a dynamic place.
cacruden
Senior Member
Unfortunately my only memories of NY are spending hours looking for a place to go to the washroom (and not between cars like some locals did)
I would rank Tokyo way up there for the shock value when you arrive - making all other places seem small in comparison - especially if the first place you are is one of the train stations.... It took me a while to find where I had stored my luggage at Tokyo station, but it is not the only one like that .... there are many big stations with lots of people transiting. Actually, in Japan, I would say my favourite city would be Fukuoka - which is about the size of Toronto.
I would rank Tokyo way up there for the shock value when you arrive - making all other places seem small in comparison - especially if the first place you are is one of the train stations.... It took me a while to find where I had stored my luggage at Tokyo station, but it is not the only one like that .... there are many big stations with lots of people transiting. Actually, in Japan, I would say my favourite city would be Fukuoka - which is about the size of Toronto.