Perhaps I've been slowly brain-washed by Hollywood, but my general impression is that, despite being cities of similar bearing on the world stage, New York and London lack similarities on the all-important level of 'vibe'.
You always hear about people in New York as being spirited, perhaps with a bit of fowl language tossed in for good measure. People seem to be deeply attached to the city, which in a way has thus sort of gained character and become a sort of person in it's own right. It's a major destination for people determined to make a name themselves in basically any field, a city of people all aspiring to great heights. Sort of like LA, only in fields in addition to acting. You've got people like Donald Trump walking around, self-assured and confident despite always looking silly.
Then there is London. Now, London is an amazing city, where everything is available at your door step and you can do basically anything you want. In addition to everything New York has, London has the added importance of being the capital city and the center of the film industry. A New York-DC-LA combo if you wish. Yet I can't help but feel that London does not have the same soul that New York has. It lacks a cohesive personality embodied by the island of Manhattan. Why? Why? Why?
So this is all complete theory on my part, but I would say a) geography, b) demographic, c) English people. Manhattan is an island, so it has set boundaries saying what is and isn't the city. London is not an island, it just sort of sprawls into more and more suburbs, meaning the city centre has no visible boundaries and letting less intriguing outer areas lay claim to the title of 'London'. Thanks to our somewhat harsh immigration laws, New York has transitioned from a city of fresh-off-the-boat immigrants to one of a predominantly American flow. People might speak different languages and claim different heritage, but they're in America for some sort of reason as it's quite difficult to just stop over for brief periods of time. Now as far as I can tell, English people are practically in the minority in England. With the EU lack of boundary situation and the easy flow of people from the Commonwealth, London is chalk full of people from everywhere but England, here for a year or two before heading back home or perhaps just here for better pay than they have in Poland.
And then there are the English themselves. Being the reserved polite types, they are not ones to yell and curse or show garish affection for their capital. I think they get a little embarrassed almost at the idea of showing pride in these sorts of things. I liken this behavior to a great number of Catholics in America who have been deeply embedded with the idea that they need to feel guilty about just about everything. I'm pretty sure that if you went up to someone around here and said 'well isn't London just an amazing city?', you would get a bit of a mumbling answer where you're given a minor list of faults, and maybe a reference to the weather.
So does that mean I think less of London? By all means no. I think much of the charm of London comes from it's sense of humility. It has everything, but you are not constantly bombarded with the message that it has everything and therefore must 'heart' it and walk around decked out with merchandise claiming as much. But I must say, the cupcakes are better in NYC.
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London: You go to the British Museum and are heading to the Elgin Marbles room and you come across a small crowd surrounding some small exhibit case just sitting in the middle of the hall. You look closer and it's the Rosetta Stone. No big deal, no fuss.
NYC: If they had the Rosetta Stone, there would be a huge sign (possibly flashing neon) on the front of the building, people selling RS t-shirts and other memorabilia inside and outside, and significant signage, etc., inside the building. Maybe even RS cheerleaders. You would have no doubt that you were in the vicinity of the Rosetta Stone.
I think one reason the two cities have different "vibes" may have to do with the age of the cities. London is over 2,000 years old, NYC less than 500. People may be able to identify more with the history of the younger city, and therefore feel more connected, and heart it to pieces. Also, there just plain isn't much at all in the entire U.S. to get excited about regarding art and architecture as compared to the rest of the world, and especially Europe. Well, a person's got to cheer on something, so some go nuts over the physical beauty in the U.S. and become environmental types, and others, who don't see that as beautiful, choose to see how much stuff they can acquire and want everyone to notice, which is why I think there is so much commercialism in the U.S., because what else is there?
I also think that the multitude of cultures in London is one of the reasons why it is such a good city.
Regarding English people being negative about it...unfortunately and this is a sweeping generalisation but people here seem to be negative about most things…it is one of my biggest dislikes about culture in the UK. The Olympics is the biggest example…you here daily about budgets getting bigger and stadiums getting smaller but nothing about the amazing transformation it will have in the east of London (and the fact that it is ahead of schedule!)….I blame the Daily Mail!
I'm going to drop the British Museum a comment suggesting they invest in some Rosetta Stone cheerleaders.
Regarding the Olympic project. Did you know they had to remove over 160 cats from the area before they started blasting stuff? Only British people would have that much regard for a bunch of feral cats.
that often happens like work will stop for months so people can remove some roman ruins that were found or relocate a rare species of toad...sometimes it gets to be a bit silly!
If only New York were still New Amsterdam...
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