[R. Mutt]

Lived in NY from 2003-2009. Downtown Brooklyn which is close enough to the city that you can get to work in 15-25 minutes via F and A/C lines but dodge the ridiculous rent attached to Manhattan. Overall, I think New York is over-rated. Obviously living somewhere is a completely different experience to visiting but NY has this way of molding you into a harder person. It's always left a bitter after taste with me due to the attitude of people on a day to day basis.

When you visit of course you are interested in sightseeing the popular cliches: 30 Rock, Museum of Natural History, MOMA, Times Square, Broadway, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty etc. You dine out whether it's fast food you don't get in Canada or a high end one to three star Michelin restaurant. If you want some good deals you can go shopping in the village, canal and china town; if you want high end you've got 5th and Madison with Barneys and all the rest of them.

Same thing with nightlife: if you know someone or can afford $700-800+ bottle service then you may actually get into one the high end meatpacking district clubs like 1OAK or Marquee where it's not uncommon to see A-list celebrities/athletes. These clubs are so ridiculous when it comes to exclusivity that not only must you dress very well, you need to be on gl and be accompanied by a very attractive woman to get in. If your woman/date is not attractive by "modern day standards" then the door man will tell you straight up that you're not getting in unless you do bottle service.

One time in my mid 20s I was celebrating and went out with friends to Marquee. I did bottle service that night for the fuck of it. You get your own personal bouncer for the night who clears a path for you any time you want to walk around. Moreover, and I couldn't believe this, he will bring any girls you want to your table. Likewise he'll also get ride of 'em. That's how shallow things are.

In contrast, when I first came to Vancouver I looked overdressed when checking out the clubs on Granville and Gas Town because everything is so much more chill. Vancouver doesn't offer a 10th of the nightlife of NY in terms of quality or quantity but I like the fact that you don't have to dress up to the tits, bring a bad bitch and prepare to have your cc raped in order to go for a night out. Takes me back to how thing were growing up: good times were made based on the company you kept and not so much the location or venue.

On the contrary NY is full of so many great (and affordable) lounges and dive bars that you have a shit ton of options when it comes to meeting up a bud or a first date. You've got West 4th for the College drunken escapades with a ridiculous number of bars per street...basically a grid version of Granville St. But then you have lots of old school, chill pubs. This one bar in Brooklyn I used to frequent for example had bocce ball of all things.

So.... consensus? New York is literally anything you want it to be. But NY is a cold fucking city to live in man: and I mean that in both the connotative and denotative sense.

I used to tell people good morning, good afternoon and good evening because I was raised that way...but no one responded to that in New York....just dead eyed like a zombie. People are just in their own world trying to get by. It's a big fucking rat race over there man: too many people living in too condensed a space. Millions of people trying to live the dream, all the while struggling to get by. That's why, when you venture out of those tourist zones in Manhatten, you see so many people hustling on the streets or subway selling DVDs, mixtapes, fake bags or whatever pirated merchandise they can get their hands on. If you go there as a tourist you're likely travelling via cabs/bus in the city or take the A, C or F lines no higher than 42 or 50th St and no lower than the lower east side.. I'd love to see people visiting venture to up town Harlem or down into deep Brooklyn or Queens. And not DT Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights ($$$)....we are talking Bed-Sty, Greenpoint, Jamaica, Atlantic Ave et al. Most reading have likely never seen so many low income black people.

The lack of black and hispanics in Vancouver still amazes me by comparison. Every time I see someone black in Vancouver, I'm like "Holy shit a black person!" in my head. Complete paradox from New York that I still can't get over. I landed here and to my surprise everyone was either white or asian...with some East Indians sprinkled around driving cabs or mustangs.

And if it's not the people that kill you it's the weather man. It's hard to find just a "nice day" in New York. It's either "I'm going to kill a motherfucker today" hot in the summer, really fucking cold in the winter or raining. It's the wind chill that gets you. Walking stiff legged, ears hurting, can't feel your toes and fingers kind of cold. The weather report always has the actual temp and the "feels like" temp...which is the important one of course. I'll take rain in Vancouver any day of the week over slushy ass piles of dirty snow or beastly hot days with a sticky nut sack.

Little thing's like having no view to appreciate vs the mountains & skyline coming into downtown on Cambie. Shit and litter everywhere in NYC versus the clean streets I see almost everywhere in Van. Someone is done with their couch in NY? Fuck it, I'm just going to chuck it on the sidewalk along with the piles of garbage for DSNY to deal with. Fucking rats and mice everywhere on the train and sidewalks...it's fucking disgusting. I have seen 3 mice and 1 skunk in 5 years in Metro Vancouver versus Rats on a daily basis crawling under my legs, every day, waiting for the subway.

People in Vancouver are 100000000x better when it comes to just being polite and helping each other than New Yorkers. 100000000x better when it comes to cleanliness and community. While granville and hastings does become a shit show in it's own right it still doesn't compare to the average level of filth all over New York.

My first day in DT Vancouver, I jumped on the bus and the bus driver was like,

"Hey! How are you?"

You should have seen the shock on my face man.

Another anecdote: A few months ago I'm on my way to work and waiting at the traffic light on Burrard to turn onto Nelson. I stalled the car and it wouldn't restart because I upgraded the ignition system and forgot to replace one of the fuses as part of the install - only time the car has ever failed me btw. Anyway, I'm stuck in the middle of Burrard in 9am traffic and the car won't start and if I keep trying I'm going to flood the motor. A random woman in her 30s on the sidewalk sees what's going on as cars are starting to go batshit behind me. She runs into the street and calls people to join her in pushing the fucking Evo into a side street! Well man oh man...that is Vancouver for ya. All of this happens in under a minute. That's the kind of people this city has and it blows me away.

Simple civil services like ICBC, government documentation centers are efficient and polite. Your average stranger is pleasant to deal with. Shit, even the homeless and cops are polite! Good luck talking to NYPD with their wise guy attitude and draconian sense of enforcement.

The average young adult will not get up to give his seat to a woman, or elderly man/woman versus good manners and respect I saw here for the 2 years I used public transit.

The general superiority complex American's have despite having never left the US versus the humility of Canadians who have, more often than not, traveled to numerous countries and generally have a more worldly and educated understanding of things.

Vancouver may lack the variety when it comes to dining but restaurants make up for it in terms of quality food and service. Even if they aren't all happy go lucky, they are real and don't put on a bullshit facade smile for tips. They operate in a respectful manner that is subtle though appreciated. NY they don't give a fuck....the service may be prompt but often comes with a piss poor attitude. They drop your food and run off before you can say anything as they are likely overworked managing too many tables and miserable because they are underpaid and stuck in debt. You can have a conversation here with a bar tender...New York --> on to the next one $$$. I could go on and on...but this is turning into a rant. Point is Vancouver > New York. Go to New York for a week and have fun....don't live there. [/rant]