Four Cities: A Comparison

Cities are complex things. By that I mean they are imposing, harlequin, and teeming with life. They are more than the sum of their parts; more than populations, more than skylines, more than tourist attractions or traffic jams. Each one is a distinct organism. Each has its own life, its own energy. We commonly refer to this as the city's "vibe." 

You start to get a feel for the vibe as soon as you step foot in a city. But you need to spend some solid time there to really figure it out. Some urban dwellers will tell you that you have be a native to truly get it. Maybe that's true... the only way to fully understand it is to be in it. However there are advantages to being a visitor. Seeing from the outsider's perspective, you can judge without bias and evaluate without partiality. I've been to many cities, including 25 of the 100 largest in the U.S. and 12 of the 100 largest in the world. But there are just four I can say I know. And by "know" I don't mean I have every street name memorized or have visited every site worth seeing. I mean I know the vibe. Those four cities are Paris, New York, Chicago, and London. Each is unique, loved and despised by many and for many different reasons. I admit to an affection for them all, but I've rarely if ever stopped to think why. So allow me to share some thoughts on this.

Paris is my first love, as far as cities go. She is called the city of love and of light, and I've never seen anything quite like her. I first visited in March of my freshman year of high school. I was 13 years old and in French 2 at the time. I spent two full weeks exploring, the first few days with my dad, much of the rest on my own. These were days of discovery. The metro. Crêpes with Nutella. Impressionism. Street vendors and artists and beggars. Champagne. The Seine. Fashion. Cathedrals and bridges and museums. I came back to the hotel every night dumb-struck, exhausted, and extraordinarily well-fed. I had much the same experience when I went back for a week last summer, only that time, there was less discovery and more recollection. Paris is magnificent. Parisians eat well, dress well, and, yes, are still of the mindset that they are better than anyone else, particularly Americans, even though Napoleon was defeated almost 200 years ago and France has never been anywhere near the top since. But if the city is lacking in political power, she makes up for it with style. If I had to sum up the vibe in one word, it would be "classy." From the language to the clothes to the architecture to the food, Paris simply oozes elegance.

New York, on the other hand, is home. Having grown up in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, I'm in no way a city kid... in fact my Long Island friends would have you believe I'm a step above Amish. But I've lived within an hour an a half of the Big Apple my whole life. I never really spent much time there until I went to boarding school on Long Island, but my home town is full of ex-New Yorkers, so when I did start to frequent Manhattan, it didn't strike me as unfamiliar. It felt kind of like seeing the movie after reading the book. I've never "done" New York like I did Paris. I've never been inside the Statue of Liberty or visited Ground Zero or taken a river cruise on the Hudson or a carriage ride through Central Park. So granted, my experience in this particular city is a bit different. I go to New York to be with friends, not to be a tourist. But we're not talking about tourism, we're talking about vibes. And I've definitely felt it. They call New York the city that never sleeps. It's true. You have to work to be bored. There is a hustle and bustle in Manhattan that's quite simply unparalleled anywhere else I've ever been. And it's not that the tourists make up the crowd. The tourists get in the way of the crowd. The tourists come and go. The crowd is a permanent fixture. There is no "NYC culture." It's all a massive clash of cultures. Whether they're hipsters from Soho or restaurant owners in Chinatown/K-Town/Little Italy or businessmen on Wall Street or gangsters from Harlem, New Yorkers know who they are and where they're going. Simply put, the vibe in New York is confidence. It's a gritty, in-your-face kind of city; what you see is what you get. 

I think of Chicago as the Second City. Now, I love Chitown. I loved it the first time I visited, for a couple of weeks at the end of 10th grade. As of last August, I go to school 40 minutes away, and I'm only growing fonder of it. The steaks and the deep-dish are phenomenal. There is great art, great architecture, great music, and great shopping. Plenty to see and do. And it definitely has the best waterline of any big city I've ever seen -- real live beaches! So please don't think I'm bashing Chicago when I say that it just isn't New York. If New York is an international city, Chicago is an American city. Carl Sandburg called it "Stormy, husky, brawling / City of the big shoulders." It's seen a lot over the years, from the fire to race riots to political corruption to consistently brutal winters, and it's pulled through so far. Chicagoans are friendly, hard-working people who want more from the future than they've gotten from the past. It may not boast the rich history of Europe or size and the excitement of New York, but there is a sense of community and progress that sets the Windy City apart. I would peg the vibe as determined. Not proud or haughty or self-imporant. Just tenacious and resolute. 

London is my newest acquisition -- most definitely the city of the moment. This probably has something to do with the fact that I'm sitting in a hotel in Russell Square as I write this. I spent four days here last summer on my way home from France; it was a foretaste of the feast I'm enjoying this trip. Let me tell you, London is a full city. Cool sights, eclectic shopping, FREE museums, easy public transportation, incomparable show scene. Samuel Johnson said, "By seeing London, I have seen as much of life as the world can show." While that's probably a bit of an exaggeration, I now know exactly what he means. It's got the same rich history as France, but it's also "happening" in present day, more like New York. And the vibe, you ask? The London vibe is jovial. It may be called the Big Smoke, but I assure you that refers to the condition of the literal atmosphere only. Brits are straight up cheery people. Not every single person obviously, but as a whole they are incredibly good-humored (especially to an East-Coaster like myself). Even when they're upset with you, they're nice about it. I can't get over how easy it is to "make friends" with random people I come into contact with, from waiters to tour guides to people I'm squished up next to on the tube. London is a happy place. 

So there you have it, my quad-city evaluation. Feel free to agree or disagree, but this is my take on them. As a final note, as I mentioned in my intro, spend some time in a city before you form your opinion of it. In my experience, on the whole they're really lots of fun once you get to know them.