# What is the first city that comes to mind when I say "Greatest City in the World"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-city-that-comes-to-mind-when-i-say-greatest-city-in-the-world/526302 "2010-01-25T01:49:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-city-that-comes-to-mind-when-i-say-greatest-city-in-the-world/526302/81 "2010-01-27T23:17:45Z")
New York. I’ve never been there, so I’ve no idea if it actually is wonderful or not, but it’s the honest answer to ‘what is the first city that comes to mind when I say “greatest city in the world.”’ There’s a difference between the answer to that and the answer you’d give if asked what your personal favourite city was. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-city-that-comes-to-mind-when-i-say-greatest-city-in-the-world/526302/82 "2010-01-27T23:24:50Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The thing about New York is how \*inclusive \*it is. With London, Paris or Tokyo you have to spend decades there until you’re considered a “local”, but with New York, assimilation takes weeks, if that. It doesn’t matter where you came from, you don’t even have to speak the language, so long as you’ve put down your first months rent, your last months rent and your deposit, you’re a New Yorker. > > New Yorkers look down on tourists and loathe people from New Jersey, but are remarkably tolerant of new residents - in fact, they tend to assume that most New Yorkers come from somewhere else, and don’t have a problem with that. **Can you say the same about London?** Most definitely yes. ---
**Author:** ![RainGrowsBrite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@RainGrowsBrite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RainGrowsBrite)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-city-that-comes-to-mind-when-i-say-greatest-city-in-the-world/526302/83 "2010-01-27T23:43:16Z")
San Diego, California. You can do anything! Everything is either there, or at your fingertips. You can surf, ski, hike, ride thru the desert dunes, eat/shop downtown, sail, get to Vegas in a few hours, eat the best fish tacos in the world, check out the Zoo, Sea World, The Wild Animal Park, Lego Land and even get to Disneyland in an hour. There are Fighter Jets flying over your head on the daily, yet you can escape to quiet moments on the water or on a mountain. Plus, its sunny and rarely below 72degrees in the winter so you rarely are stuck in side and unable to enjoy all of the above! But i’m a born and raised San Diegan… so i may be biased… ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-city-that-comes-to-mind-when-i-say-greatest-city-in-the-world/526302/84 "2010-01-28T01:56:35Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Not that history and population size are the be all and end all - but it’s another mark in London’s favor. Why? I like history too, but if we’re going by history Cairo’s history surely trumps any other advantage London has. There’s only so much history a person can enjoy. There’s something to be said for newness, too. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-city-that-comes-to-mind-when-i-say-greatest-city-in-the-world/526302/85 "2010-01-28T04:14:29Z")
Pittsburgh, naturally. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-city-that-comes-to-mind-when-i-say-greatest-city-in-the-world/526302/86 "2010-01-28T04:48:01Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The thing about New York is how \*inclusive \*it is. With London, Paris or Tokyo you have to spend decades there until you’re considered a “local”, but with New York, assimilation takes weeks, if that. It doesn’t matter where you came from, you don’t even have to speak the language, so long as you’ve put down your first months rent, your last months rent and your deposit, you’re a New Yorker. > > New Yorkers look down on tourists and loathe people from New Jersey, but are remarkably tolerant of new residents - in fact, they tend to assume that most New Yorkers come from somewhere else, and don’t have a problem with that. Can you say the same about London? Tolerant of new residents - yes, absolutely. Becoming a “local” in a matter of weeks? No - but I’ve never seen that in New York, either. New Yorkers IME are neurotic about how long they’ve lived in the city - they wear the number of years as a badge of pride, and condescend to people who haven’t been there as long. There’s a kind of smugness that’s the flip side to all the civic boosterism. Londoners may not see newbies as “locals” either, but they’re less hung up on the idea of having lived in London as the be all and end all, and more interested in where people are from and where they’re going - which leads, IMHO, to a more genuine openness and inclusivity. > [@RickJay](#): > > Why? > > I like history too, but if we’re going by history Cairo’s history surely trumps any other advantage London has. > > There’s only so much history a person can enjoy. There’s something to be said for newness, too. An interesting and well-preserved history is just one more of the potential boxes to check off in thinking of what makes a city great. I don’t know about Cairo, but Rome, for example, exceeds in the history but flags in the modern. London has the history of a Rome (well, not as long as that, but you see my point) _and_ the newness and relevance of a New York. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-city-that-comes-to-mind-when-i-say-greatest-city-in-the-world/526302.md?page=4)