The best cities in the world to live

[Deleted]

Most of us have been around, (no not in that way)

So in your opinion, which are the best cities in the world to live? Please try and explain why you think this to be so.

[traveler63]

Gosh, hard to say. I have been to so few especially not in my own country. Obviously Paris, and the reason, well I just love it and I honestly felt like I was home the first time I visited. We will see if I feel the same way after our visit in September and October.

Portland, Oregon - The city is beautiful, you are located centrally, so you are about 1 1/2 hours from the ocean and 1 1/2 hours from winter sports on Mt. Hood. You can boat on the Willamette River, fish there too. There are vineyards about 30 minutes away. You have all kinds of farms, berries, cherries, fruit, veggies all within 45 minutes or less.

Chicago, IL - Too cold for me, but it is an amazing city, everything is right there, sports, night life, everything.

Rome, Italy - History, fashion, people are pretty friendly, and you can pretty much get anywhere in Italy easily.

Seattle, Washington - Just has so much going for it, even in the rain. It has an actual downtown which you can walk all over. There are beautiful high rise buildings with condos, not inexpensive but you could virtually live there with no car. !!!!!! Restaurants, cafes, you can take the ferry to Victoria, BC.

[Deleted]

Yes, Paris would be up here on my list. I love Vancouver as well, I like the way the mountains are in every direction that you look. My local city would be on my list too, simply because it's so peaceful.

Overseas, (different cities for different reasons)

Mumbai - it's different enough for me not to get bored.
London - For the night life, theaters and history.
Paris - Just because I love it, it's a magical place.

[lagatta]

I think it depends a lot on your age, family situation and desires. I like the subjective element of this thread, as so many surveys only deal with "objective" elements such as PNB, crime rates etc and often put very boring places at the top of their lists.

But I'm thinking of friends of mine in France who are very happy in Clermont-Ferrand (in the Auvergne) rather than Paris as they have two children now - with French public transport it is not very hard for one of them to easily get back to Paris for work purposes (they are both professors) and as a family they can easily drive to the houses of relatives of either spouse.

I have no children and am an adult in reasonably good health so I'd love to live in Paris if I could afford it, though I'd not be happy to have to do a Parisian commute every day. Rome is lovely but even the public transport is ludicrously bad for a compact European city - because of corruption and "incuria" - not giving a flying fig. Don't even want to think of public health there - but there are other places in Italy (such as Perugia where I studied) that are much better.

Traveler63, obviously Montréal can get even worse than Chicago in the wintertime (though they may have more snow, although we get colder) and I HATE winter, but we do have an excellent public transport system and bicycle-lane network for non-winter months, and it is perfectly possible to live here without a car, unless your work involves road travel. Few of my friends have cars, and I never have.

[happytraveller]

I prefer not to live in a city. But close to one.

[Kimby]

Santa Barbara, California (Pacific Ocean, beaches, mountains, views, lovely weather, palm trees, arts and culture, Mission-style architecture (result of rebuilding after 1925 earthquake)

Madison, Wisconsin (4 big lakes, bike paths, University of Wisconsin, Capitol Square, large parks)

to name two smaller, really nice US cities

[rikita]

berlin is pretty nice... depends a bit what area you live in (i'd recommend not the coolest area, though that changes all the time anyway), but the atmosphere tends to be pretty relaxed, at least for german standards.

also enjoyed living in bucharest, cusco (if that counts as a city), and whereever else i have been for an extended period of time...

in the end, i think what makes a place often has more to do with yourself, than with the place itself.

[lagatta]

Yes, though there are certain cultural, transport and urban amenities needs.

I guess Cusco is an ancient city. Certainly was a city, is it still in modern times?

Although there are many things I like very much about my city, the long, cold, dismal winters are not among them. They really isolate people from one another. This despite relatively good public transport, and not being very sprawly by North American standards.

[rikita]

well actually depends how you define ancient i suppose. not sure from when it is, but the inca main period was only in the 15th century... well it looks more colonial of course these days... i don't know, what is the definition of city? from how many inhabitants is something a city rather than a town?

[bjd]

It's hard to choose a city to live in on the basis of having to spent a bit of time there on holiday. But I must admit that one place that I really felt "I could live here for a while" is Berlin. I really liked the atmosphere. But I guess the long gray winters would get to me. And I don't speak much German!

[Deleted]

I knew I wanted to live in Paris from the first visit that I can remember. I moved here the moment I finished university and never regretted it.

It's the best place for me, but not necessarily the best place for plenty of other people. I know all of its faults as well as its advantages.

There is also a certain thing about living in the "center of the world," although the term has become relatively meaningless and obviously there are a half dozen other places that can also fully claim to be the "center of the world."

[Deleted]

Aug 19, 2009 5:12:05 GMT happytraveller said:

I prefer not to live in a city. But close to one.

In that case, HT, what would be your most favorite city to live close to?

[Deleted]

Kerouac, you are lucky in that you have found the place that you feel most comfortable in.

I think I have too, but it's still nice to travel to other countries/places.

[lagatta]

I'd love to live in Paris (and yes, I'm very aware of its problems and drawbacks) but don't see how I could ever afford to. I adore Rome but the public services are crappy. Sure there are objective problems building an adequate métro system for a city of that size (every time they dig, they unearth priceless Roman ruins, as Rome was a huge city even in antiquity). But there is also a lot of graft, kickbacks ("tangenti", "bustini") and corruption, so there is not even an adequate tram system. The buses and cars are always snarled in traffic, and the situation makes it not very safe to cycle (the motorini everywhere that drive like mad) although obviously one could cycle year-round in Rome.

I wouldn't mind living in Perugia, the smaller central Italian city where I studied, with remarkably good public services by Italian standards, from the public transport to the hospitals - a local friend who is a professor there was hospitalised when I was living there, and got timely, excellent care. But I'd have to find some kind of job there, with a modicum of stability, not just freelancing, to get resident status. And sadly, my age is starting to work against me for that.

I like Montréal a lot - I just hate the winters.

[traveler63]

I would love to live in Paris and Kirk would like that too. We could do it in a heartbeat but we have some issues to deal with. Since we just discovered in the last year that we have two granddaughters. Long story which I won't bore you with. We would like to be close to them, and living in Paris, wouldn't be hard, since one of them, Kay, the younger is taking French in school(she is 16), loves to cook and part of her French class is to prepare French cuisine and share. How different is that? The biggest issue, I think is our age because we are in our 60's and I think that does pose some food for thought on what it would take to make a move like that.

So, the next best city for us would be somewhere outside San Francisco. We would like to be near, but somewhere north of the city and possibly close to the ocean. We have been looking at property, and this just may be what will happen in a couple of years. We are always astounded when we hear people of our age bracket saying they want to live out in the country. Why? We would prefer to live somewhere that we don't have to travel 3 hours for medical, or a good airport. No thanks.

[rikita]

hm, for some reason paris never was a place that appealed to me much. the times i was there, i always found it okay, but never really that great... i guess it might be coincidence, or just a matter of taste, or something...

[lagatta]

It is a question of taste and interests: Paris is highly urbanised, concentrated and cramped. Rikita, I get the impression that you like to be somewhat closer to the countryside, even if in a city.

I have friends (with two small children) who are happily living in Clermont-Ferrand rather than Paris - they do get to Paris and other cities larger than Clermont frequently for university conferences and events, but they like being in a smaller place with the kids.

I couldn't abide living in the countryside, though I know many people happily living in small towns or even outside them.

[rikita]

lagatta - actually that isn't that much the issue. berlin isn't as cramped of course, but i do live in a part with lots of people and i like it - though i don't mind being able to get outside too... i think it is more that paris is so over rated. everyone says how great it is, so when i went their my main reaction was "that's it?"

[Deleted]

I have not traveled to many cities abroad so can't really comment on how I would like or dislike. Within the States and Mexico I have been to most of the major cities more then a few times.
I love living in New Orleans and although, life here in the summer can be brutal,I would take it any day over the cold of the Northeast. Plain and simple: COLD HURTS.
I love San Francisco but do not find the people there as friendly as here or for that matter New York. San Francisco is also way too expensive ,even to live modestly.
I think ideally ,I would like to spend half the year in Manhattan and the other half here in NOLA. Both cities are friendly,cultured,easy to get around, even on bicycle .You do not need a car in either city as you do in most American cities.
My husband and I have also fantasized about living in Merida,Yucatan,Mexico as we both really loved it there for a variety of reasons.

[lagatta]

You are right that cold hurts, casimira.

rikita, although I do speak some German and have no problem reading it and understanding it (even very intellectual stuff) my German is not good enough to live and work in Berlin. If I ever do wind up in Germany, it will be in a smaller city on the Rhine not far from France, because of an, er, emotional connection.

Though said emotional connection hates even the very moderate cold of where he lives and would like to wind up in the south of France somewhere. Obviously that would be a lot easier for me.

I know lots of people who love Berlin. I have only been there for a very short visit, so I don't really have a sense of the city.

[lagatta]

You are right that cold hurts, casimira.

rikita, although I do speak some German and have no problem reading it and understanding it (even very intellectual stuff) my German is not good enough to live and work in Berlin. If I ever do wind up in Germany, it will be in a smaller city on the Rhine not far from France, because of an, er, emotional connection.

Though said emotional connection hates even the very moderate cold of where he lives and would like to wind up in the south of France somewhere. Obviously that would be a lot easier for me.

I know lots of people who love Berlin. I have only been there for a very short visit, so I don't really have a sense of the city.

[rikita]

oh, i bet your german is good enough to live and work here - i know lots of people who do who don't speak any german (let alone intellectual stuff)... of course it is difficult to find jobs, but that depends more on the job than the language (well or the language knowledge required depends on the job)... but well, if your emotional connection is elsewhere i suppose then berlin is too far... though berlin is sunny pretty often, but also cold pretty often.

then again, i am still planning to live elswhere at some point too, can't really spend all my lifei n germany.

[lola]

Is Santa Fe NM USA a city? Pop. 72,000. State Capital.
No puplic transportation to speak of: 20 yrs ago when I lived there I called for a cab and the woman said, "Nah, he's out at the fairgrounds right now." I loved living there.
Perfect weather: sunny, dry.
Western friendliness: hardly anyone is from there.
Culture: art everywhere, opera, line dancing.
Restaurants: cheap tasty native food, fancy stuff, too. Coffeehouses. Flamenco guitar on the patio with the price of a drink.
Spirituality: Land of Enchantment is not just a motto. Remains a geniune town despite excessive touristiness.
Disadvantages: rich folks have driven the land values up, and waterwise it can't sustain growth indefinitely.

[nic]

Aug 23, 2009 22:50:05 GMT rikita said:

oh, i bet your german is good enough to live and work here - i know lots of people who do who don't speak any german (let alone intellectual stuff)...

Ah, German. The only language where the words are so long they have perspective.

Regarding the OP, that's a difficult question. The usual suspects --- NYC, LA, London, Paris -- are almost interchangeable these days; once you skim past the "culture differences," I would say they are interchangeable. You can visit Niketown in Paris, Zadig & Voltaire in NYC, and Burberry everywhere. Starbucks is ubiquitous, a pub-like institution is on every third corner, and everybody loves French fare. If not exactly, then by approximation.

With this in mind, I tend to go for slightly smaller cities away from the major metropolitan area. For example, while I adore Paris, I prefer Marseilles. Vienna is more appealing to me than anything in Germany. I'd rather live in Venice over Rome or Florence, too.

I especially like old port cities. Typically, they retain their blue collar roots, and include that interchange of ideas and cultures. I like to watch the cargo being offloaded and loaded out, wondering where it might be off to. Istanbul reminds me a lot of what a port city is supposed to be like -- bring any money you have, we'll change it; don't worry about. We've got all our prices in triplicate. You can't go wrong!

With that in mind, here's a brief list of cities I would like to live in at some point or another; no city yet has wanted me to stay forever except, maybe, Paris.

--Istanbul;
--Havana;
--Venice;
--Lagos;
--Cartagena, Spain;
--Alexandria-Cairo;
--Valencia, Spain;
--Shanghai.

Doubt I'll actually get to live in them all, but one never knows. I could actually follow through with my stated plan of being a foreign correspondent.

Oh, and jet-setting Yuppie trash rag, Monocle Magazine publishes an annual list of their "25 Most Liveable Cities".

Top 25 Most Liveable Cities 2009

[lagatta]

nic, for me definitely not Venice, precisely because it has lost all its working-class roots (which ran deep; Venice was a communist/socialist stronghold in largely christian democratic Veneto); ordinary people now live on the "terra ferma" in Mestre and other towns surrounding Venice, and most of the city has been bought up by wealthy foreigners who don't even live there year round.

If you like Marseilles, I think you'd like nearby Genoa (Genova). It is still rough around the edges. I'm fond of Genoa.

Unfortunately I haven't made it to Vienna there, which must be repaired soon as I have friends there and one of my dearest friends in the world was a son of Viennese refugees who fled the Austro-fascists even before that nasty Austrian guy annexed their country to greater Germany (not that many Austrians minded that at all)... Later he fled a South American dictatorship. His first language was Viennese German and he speaks at least 12 languages now. He wrote to me from Vienna where he had taken his elderly mum (and his wife) so she could see her native city a last time.

Vienna is where I want to do an intensive German course (don't faint, German friends, at my level it doesn't really matter what accent I learn as the accent I wind up with will depend on the German-speakers I associate with in any event, so it will be sort of a neutral mishmash). I like strong coffee and wine; in many cultural ways, Austria has ties to northeastern Italy and vice-versa.

Good public transport is a must for any city that is not so small as to be easily walkable in daily life (I've walked across Paris; it is very compact for its size, but one does not do that every day while working, cooking etc). That would exclude LA for sure.

Lola, I've been to Santa Fe and thought it was beautiful and loved the accent on and respect for Southwestern Native cultures. No public transport would rule it out though. The climate would be great for joints and bronchii.

[tillystar]

I love living in London. Its a great city - yes there are lots of fault but genrally these are outweighed by the benefits.

I like living on the edge so in 30 mins one way I am in the centre, but 20 mins in the other direction and I am in countryside.

Out of the cities I have visited I would love to spend some time living in Barcelona and also Edinburgh.

[spindrift]

I would be very happy to return to London. Before I got married and left for the country I lived there for 14 years. I would prefer to live in Chelsea, Fulham, Knightsbridge, St. John's Wood or Hampstead and I would like a balcony or roof terrace.

I would also be happy in

Nairobi
Stonetown, Zanzibar
Sydney
Kathmandu

[bjd]

Re Nic's posting of the Monocle audio of the best cities to live in. The editor, a pretentious prat, had a column in the Int'l Herald Tribune for a while, but fortunately he has been zapped.

Please, Zurich??? Who on earth would want to live in Zurich?Or anywhere in Switzerland for that matter? Their criteria -- business friendly and public transport make no allowance for climate. Several of their top cities are in Scandinavia -- where it's cold and expensive. Munich, Geneva, Fukuoka... the list of exciting places goes on.

[Kimby]

There is a big difference between living IN a city, and living on its outskirts or suburbs or neighboring towns. Many cities have wonderful historical hearts which are still vital business and cultural districts. Someone fortunate enough to live IN one of these cities can walk to many of these attractions/features.

Those on the outskirts may be able to take public transportation to the inner core, but won't be there to enjoy it at all times of day and night.

Those in the suburbs and neighboring towns will likely have to drive and experience the "joys" of city driving and parking, which for many would tend to limit the frequency of trips into the big city.

Those, like Kerouac, who have the wherewithall to live IN the city, get to experience it to the fullest. Others, less so. Tourists, who often stay in hotels in the centre, will experience more of the city in a short time than folks who have to gear up for a drive into the city they live near, IMO.

For those who can't tolerate the traffic, noise, crowds, expensive (and often tiny) apartments of the big city, there are smaller cities and larger towns that offer a more compatible lifestyle. (I believe the intent of the OP was to identify the large cities, though.)

[spindrift]

I wouldn't mind living just outside St. Gallen, Eastern Switzerland.