What are the biggest similarities between London and NYC?

I have spent a few weeks in both. And I absolutely hate both. Both seem like people are in a huge hurry and fuck everyone else. But it is 100 times worse in NYC. I have no desire to ever go to NYC again. Sorry, NYC, your pizza is shitty too. Fuck your thin greasy slices.

London is a expensive bore. NYC is a expensive bore.

There are better options in Europe… Prague was magical. In the US SF/Seattle is way more fun and interesting than NYC.

I really hate both cities. Right now SE 20th and Powell makes me happy.

I was asking for comparisons since London might be somewhere I visit in the future, and the only city I could think to compare it to is NYC – which I have vague knowledge of, simply because it’s in the same country and everyone always hears about it in general.

I’ve been to Seattle. Never been to San Francisco, even though a lot of people have told me I’d really like it there, so I’d definitely like to go there at some point.

I lived for years in NYC and have visited London several times. I find both cities interesting, exhilarating, and endlessly filled with things to do. As for one similarity, how about the packed above- and below-ground street traffic?

Both have great theatre, although I’d say London’s is far more sophisticated and NY’s tends more toward musicals and other light-hearted stuff.
Both have good public transportation, subways, commuter trains, buses – although London has those charming double-deckers (NY has some double-deckers only for commercial tours).
Both have a high concentration of parasitic financial institutions with global reach.
Both have big populations of immigrants from all over the globe.
Both are at increasing risk of flooding due to climate change.

London is cleaner than NYC.
London has more/better public housing, especially for the elderly.

@Pachy Someone told me it’s mostly the very center of London that’s so packed with people, and that the further you venture from the center, the less crowded and busy it gets. True in your experience, as well? I’m afraid that I might get easily overwhelmed if it’s actually that crowded everywhere in the city – because I’ve never been anywhere that has that large of a population.

What about the people, in terms of general demeanor? Also similar?

I think New Yorkers have the reputation of being callous but are actually often very helpful even though seeming gruff, while most Londoners are more polite. I would not be afraid to ask for help in either city. Both certainly have busy, crowded streets but I find London a bit less overwhelming and also a bit less stimulating. In New York, you have to look a bit further for the charming neighborhoods and buildings, in London, they are more available. However, there is no more exciting and alive place to be than New York.

I was in London in my teens so my perception might be off a but. I am in NY usually at least once a year.

Both have a lot of one system roads. NY is much simpler to figure out the street system being mostly numbers that run small to large south to north and east to west.

The subway system in London is much simpler, but a few days in NY and the subway will be easy for you there too. Even New Yorkers have to glance at a subway map if they are going to an area they usually don’t go to, but no problem reading it once you are familiar with the maps. You don’t even need the map if someone just tells you what train to take.

They both have a lot of diversity, people from everywhere.

The food is better in NY. This was blaring when I was there, now London likely has improved, but I’d still bet NY continues to be better.

Theatre is good in both. I sort of remember London being easier to get last minute cheap tickets. Honestly, I don’t care about seeing theatre in NY when I’m there except for some very specific things, like the ballet is incredible. The Broadway shows are do expensive and I feel the broadway tours are just as good and cheaper and in my city. I prefer to see museums in NY, which are really great.

London you will have access to other parts of Europe. Will you have time to travel? I think that’s a big plus.

Someone in their 60’s told me the other day that he and his wife are doing all the far away trips now, assuming later in life it might be harder for them physically or even impossible. That makes sense to me. My parents went to Australia last year and my mom wished she hadn’t the flight was so painful for her and she lives flying in general. It was just too far and the can’t afford first class.

There are lots of similarities, which many others will describe for you.

But the one that most immediately comes to mind is traffic. Utterly horrible in both cities, with bizarrely motivated drivers.

@elbanditoroso But London has banned most private traffic from its central area in recent years so that should have made a difference?

@janbb – private traffic, truck traffic, bus traffic—- my experience is that getting rid of private traffic just made the commercial traffic that much worse.

In addition, the traffic restrictions are for a comparatively small section of central London. There’s a huge amount of the city that still gets tons of private traffic.

Both expensive, crowded, mix of races and people just look the other way when it comes to weirdos. I live in New York and have visited London. Personally I’m not impressed with either.

People in both cities have funny accents.

Each city has its own iconic taxis/cabs. They each have a subway system.

@JLeslie I would be going to London, specifically, to visit someone – but they may want to show me other places, as well.

If you are visiting someone who you will enjoy spending time with I would go to London, but of course I don’t know all of the variables you are considering. If you are able to stay for free that is a huge plus assuming you aren’t wealthy.

Since it is a large city with great public transportation you won’t be dependent on your friend to take you around. They don’t have to feel burdened to entertain you constantly.

If you will be able to travel to other countries that is especially attractive to me. A weekend in Scotland, or the tunnel to Paris and then several days in Germany. You can use the trains or rent a car. Even a cruise is a possibility depending on the time if year. There are inexpensive cruises through the British isles. Or, longer cruises from England to Spain and Portugal. You could play seeing more of Europe by ear. If you fall in love with London you might be perfectly content being there a month. If you get restless you can just look into a Eurail pass or a car.

I regret not going to Singapore when we had a friend living there. We did visit her when she lived in Japan. I don’t know if I ever would have seen Japan if it weren’t for visiting her.

The only question in my mind is why is NYC the other option? Do you have a friend there too?

NYC is great too, I’m not trying to dissuade you. Side trips to the mountains are wonderful in NY. I think there are cruises up the river where you can see the historic mansions. Probably bus trips to popular destinations within 90 minutes of the city also. When I’m up state I rent a car.

I tend to be in city overload after two weeks, but that’s me. It doesn’t feel like a vacation after that point. It depends on whether your goal is to relax, see new things, experience the city like you live there, etc.

What month will you be traveling?

@JLeslie Thank you for taking the time to answer this so in depth, you’ve been really helpful. :)

My visit there isn’t solidly planned at the moment, and they’ll actually be visiting me first – which is going to happen in February or March. My visit there would be sometime after that.

I asked about NYC in comparison since it’s the only city that large I’m even vaguely familiar with, but I haven’t been to either place. I was just trying to get a good idea in my mind of London, like if it’s as busy as NYC is known to be, if the people are similar, etc. I’ve never been to any city that large or busy, so I’m probably going to be in for a bit of culture shock. The idea of NYC has always intimidated me a little, so I wanted to know if London would be as equally intimidating. Lol

If youare in England for any length of time, I would definitely get out of London and do some day tours of the countryside. London is a great city but for me, what is most appealing about England are the small towns, small cities like Bath, and the countryside. You can get some very good day bus tours from London.

@janbb I’d definitely like to do that. I’m like you, I think, because when I see England in my mind, I picture the smaller villages and towns, rather than a massive city. Not that I think London wouldn’t have anything to offer, necessarily, but maybe fantasy books have just skewed my perception. Lol! :)

@DrasticDreamer I’ve lived there and it is still the small places that are the best. Hogwarts, anyone?

@janbb Exactly! And castle ruins, cobblestone roads, little pubs, etc…. :D

Yup – and they are still all there!

^ And the South! Cornwall is wonderful, like a British Spain.

Bath is lovely. So is the Lake District up into Scotland. Scotland has some if the nicest people I have ever encountered. I would recommend going when everything is turning green, because the green is incredible and many of the gardens.

If you have never been to NYC, or any very large city, then I would say you can’t really know what it is like. NY is much more friendly and helpful than people make it out to be. There are typical things in all large cities. Like when eating lunch in a busy restaurant your expected to be ready to order quickly. Or, be aware of people around you. Stand to the right on escalators so people can pass. In England it will be stand left. Wear a purse that zips up or has a flap.

NY you will have the familiarity of being in the US. London will not feel as massive maybe? I’m not sure. I was 14 and my sister 11 when we were in London and we travelled the tube (subway) by ourselves and met up with my parents later in the day when we wanted to shop and get our hair done and they wanted to walk around and see a museum. It really is very user friendly.

Don’t worry about feeling in shock. I don’t think you will feel as out of sorts as you think. Especially since you will have a friend to orient you.

Once you have been in a large city you can handle almost any city. They all have similarities.

London and New York are just ‘different’ big cities. They are unique and there are cultural differences between the two but they are both huge and filled with busy people, including lots of tourists. A good tip would be to ask the concierge at your hotel where you should avoid in terms of personal safety, then put your walking shoes on and go and explore. Both cities have so much to see and do and as long as you don’t mind walking, on foot is the best way to get around the centre of the city. Then you can take the tube (or subway) to areas you want to see that are a bit too far to walk to.

Plan ahead by using sites like Virtual Tourist, Tripadviser and the like to scope out what places are tourist traps and what you really want to see. In both cities, there’s too much to see to cover everything in a few days. So have a list of ‘must-do’ and ‘like to do’ ideas.

I’ve found planning an organised tour is a great ‘first day’ activity because it helps you to orient yourself to your surroundings. Having someone take you to the various districts in New York for instance so you can plan to go back to areas of interest yourself over the following days. Going on an organised tour of the World Trade Centre complex isn’t a bad plan. It can expediate the process. The security is tight there and tour operators are moved through quickly.

In both cities, you need to be aware of your personal safety. Keep your belongings close. I’d say especially in London, watch out for pickpockets. Plan ahead in terms of keeping your passport, money etc. safe. Don’t take valuables with you that you don’t need. I wouldn’t take your nice jewellery. Leave it at home. Where there are lots of unsuspecting tourists, there are thieves. In both places, be careful of people offering you wonderful deals on electronic equipment and the like. You’re probably going to get burned. If it seems to good to be true, it probably is! If you plan to buy something while over there (duty free), know your prices before you go looking. In New York we had people trying to sell us camera lenses that were junk in reality.

As has been suggested, get out of the city. London is not representative of the whole of the UK. There are so many amazing and beautiful places to see beyond London. I can’t speak for NY, we didn’t have time to venture further afield but I’m quite sure the same is true. Hire a car and drive in the UK. If you’re used to driving longer distances, the drive from place to place won’t seem like a hardship to you. In Australia, it’s nothing for us to drive two or three hours to get somewhere – and to do much longer distances. I’d say Canadians and Americans who travel would be similarly used to such driving. So the drive from one place to the next usually won’t exceed a couple of hours or so, with beautiful scenery and towns along the way.

Speak to New Yorkers/Londeners here about things to do, restaurants to check out and the like. Maybe you could meet one of them for a ‘local’s’ view of NY or London?

I’m just thinking either city you might want to do the hop on hop off bus for a day or two. You can get on and off all day long. In-between stops the driver tells you about the area. If the next stop has something that interests you you can jump off and catch another bus later when you’re done visiting that area.

^ That’s what I normally do to orient myself. However in New York, we did a day-trip that seemed fairly expensive initially but was worth every cent. If you want more info about it, send me a message and I’ll try to find the name of it again. It took pretty much the whole day and then we had a few days with no formal activities to go back and visit places we wanted to see in more detail.

A girlfriend of mine did hop on hop off in NYC and she goes all the time. Her boyfriend wanted to do it his first time there and she said it was great even though she has been going to NYC since she was a girl.

When you’re in either city, be sure to do the Sandemann’s New Europe Free Tour. Fun way to get to know your surroundings, you learn a ton and pay what you consider fair.