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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 8:17 pm
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 2:58 am
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:10 am
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 6:02 pm
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:10 am
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 3:12 am
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..you guys don't live here, you don't.. understand. It's.. London. You can be anything you want to be. It's the most ethnically diverse place in the world. There are people from everywhere. You can rush around the city and shop do a million things one day, and then stroll to Covent Garden at midnight for no reason apart from your own enjoyment that same evening, and then spend the next day sitting on that huge bench in front of the version of Monet's bridge painting in the National Gallery. I can't really explain it - there's just so much here that I haven't felt anywhere else, ever, even in other European capitals or American cities~ and there's so much - innovation, but tradition, and sweet people who fold up their newspapers and leave them on the bit behind the seats on the tube for the next person to pick up. There's just no way to convey this if you don't come to London and immerse yourself in it..
..and I'm damn well willing to bet that it's not going to change, credit crunch or no. There's nothing about the current financial situation that can shake the essence and spirit of London - it's gone through far worse than this before, and survived. Don't make such crass statements without thinking about it at least a little first, 'kay?
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:57 pm
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Well, I'm sure that's just your personal opinion about London Niph. I could say the same about Melbourne, which for countless years has been called the most liveable city in the world. Really, all of us would be naturally inclined to say that our city is the best. There could be some justification for those who live in the global cities like London, New York or Tokyo, but even between these cities there's going to be a lot of self-referential bragging. I could list about six points made in your post which could apply equally well to Melbourne; my city's probably as ethnically diverse as London is or even more. There's an endless variety of things to do in the city. Innovation, tradition and generosity abounds in probably the same amounts. Plus I can't name any other city that hosts as many important sporting, cultural and economic events as Melbourne every year. What's more, unlike London, Melbourne has barely felt the impacts of the credit crunch, so it's situation is nowhere near as dire as London is.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:08 pm
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..there are over 250 languages spoken within the city boundaries. For comparative purposes, there are fewer countries than that in the world. London absolutely is the most diverse place in the world, hands down.
I can't really explain it - I mean, obviously I don't live in Melbourne, so I don't know, and you don't live here, so you can't really know either, but - I've travelled a fair amount, both within the UK and other parts of the world, and it's just not quite the same anywhere else. Don't forget, I've only lived here like 4 weeks, I don't really feel any natural allegiance to this place. It's just - where else in the world will you see blast damage from a bomb dropped in WWII on a 300-year-old statue opposite the most iconic & modern ferris wheel in the world, half a mile from the residence of the latest in a chain of monarchs going back to god knows when?
The point about the credit crunch is really rather empty, darling, as I've told you. It doesn't make London any worse a place to live in - in fact, I'd say that it brings people together. The overarching financial status hasn't - and won't - affect how this city rolls or feels or is.
I'm not trying to say that other places are crap or anything - but I've lived in a ******** of different places before, and nowhere has ever felt like this. And of course I must defend it if you guys are just going to dismiss London without due consideration.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 3:54 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 6:43 am
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:10 pm
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I'm not really arsed. But quite frankly, what pisses me off about Britain, and not just London (but especially London), is the ridiculously dangerous atmosphere that's ever present, and the really irritating culture of, well... student life and young people. What do British kids do on a night out? Go and get smashed. That's 'fun'. You go to Berlin, what do you see? Students and young people sitting in the middle of the city, having bottles of wine in moderation and talking. Just having fun and relaxing with each other. And it's safe! Good God, England is just not civilised or cultured, not in comparison to those cities. We are too far behind, credit crunch or diversity or whatnot.
Sorry. Slightly pissed off at the moment and this was a way to let out my exasperation directed at Britain. Normally I'm totally pro-British. *rolls eyes*
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 3:37 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:02 pm
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Lol so true. It reminds of the 'my city is better than urs' debates in my other guild.
@Niph: I'm in no way dismissing London as a great city. It definitely is one of the greatest capital cities in the world, but I have a feeling you've overexagerrated its greatness. The 250 languages figure sounds awesome at first, but I expect more than half of those languages are actually native dialects which are spoken by minority ethnic groups. If so, we have just as many languages spoken here in Melbourne. We too have impressive historical attractions, perhaps not as old but still world renowned. Speaking of ferris wheels, Melbourne has one that's almost as big as the London eye, so that's a moot point. Perhaps the only aspect that Melbourne lacks is any wartime damage, which I have to say is a good thing.
Also, four weeks is nowhere near enough to feel the inner vibe of a city, which really determines how great it is. Sure on the surface you're probably still overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of historical monuments, cultural events and social places that exist but once you've been through all of them the only aspects that matter is whether or not it's good enough to live there permanently. Regardless of how much culture or excitment a city has to offer, what's most important is whether or not it's a great place to live. That assessment is extremely subjective, so really none of us are in a position to claim that the city we live in the best in the world.
I've lived in Melbourne for 17 years straight, long enough to become permanently attached to my city I guess. Any assessment I make of my city comes from years of experiencing every aspect of the city. In no way do I consider Melbourne to be the greatest city in the world, but in terms of liveability, there's nowhere else I'd want to live.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:24 pm
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 2:10 am
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