The list has a number of clear biases: It values quieter, smaller and slower. For those that have a preference for that style of life it might be a fine list. But for many of us world class cities are a preference -- NY and London are prime examples in the West -- and they tend to be larger or if not larger at least more sophisticated such as Paris.
For my entire lifetime -- I was born in NYC in 1947 -- New York has been universally acknowledged as the world's leading city although not, by many standards, the most livable. Most livable is so subjective as to be virtually beyond measurement. Clearly the city on the rise is Shanghai and some might consider it the worlds leading city already. I have not been there but my guess is that designation is still premature ... but not by much.
I have little doubt that sometime within the next 10 to 20 years Shanghai will be considered the world's leading city yet ranked one of the least livable large cities. I also have no doubt that ranking cities as "most livable" is inane. Most livable for Einstein, Steinbeck, Pollock, John Lennon, JP Morgan and those that want to be in a city where people like that live or a city like Vienna where few talk above a whisper?
The NYC winters are starting to drive me nuts and I may opt for a milder climate at some point. If I do head for the sun someday I am more likely to end up in Recife
-- http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sergiok/brasil/recife.html --
than Panama City, FL. That said, there are many in the Northeast that would consider the "Redneck Riviera" (their phrase, not mine) as their place in the sun. The English have an expression "horses for courses" and that is why livable is an almost useless judgment. Livable for who ... Lloyd Blankfein or the guy who runs the one man Edward Jones office in East Bumfuck Georgia? You know that guy ... he sells munis to farmers and, while not a NASCAR fan, he can and does speak about it in some detail with his clients. Lloyd thinks NASCAR is an obscure exchange in a small third world country and he keeps meaning to put someone on the case to see if they can arb something -- ANYTHING -- against something, somewhere ... ANYWHERE!
And we all know the guy in East Bumfuck may well be happier and more content than Lloyd ... hey, no one ever curses at him on the street or demonstrates in front of his storefront office. Horses for courses ladies and gentleman. It has always been thus and shall forever remain so.
For my entire lifetime -- I was born in NYC in 1947 -- New York has been universally acknowledged as the world's leading city although not, by many standards, the most livable. Most livable is so subjective as to be virtually beyond measurement. Clearly the city on the rise is Shanghai and some might consider it the worlds leading city already. I have not been there but my guess is that designation is still premature ... but not by much.
I have little doubt that sometime within the next 10 to 20 years Shanghai will be considered the world's leading city yet ranked one of the least livable large cities. I also have no doubt that ranking cities as "most livable" is inane. Most livable for Einstein, Steinbeck, Pollock, John Lennon, JP Morgan and those that want to be in a city where people like that live or a city like Vienna where few talk above a whisper?
The NYC winters are starting to drive me nuts and I may opt for a milder climate at some point. If I do head for the sun someday I am more likely to end up in Recife
-- http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~sergiok/brasil/recife.html --
than Panama City, FL. That said, there are many in the Northeast that would consider the "Redneck Riviera" (their phrase, not mine) as their place in the sun. The English have an expression "horses for courses" and that is why livable is an almost useless judgment. Livable for who ... Lloyd Blankfein or the guy who runs the one man Edward Jones office in East Bumfuck Georgia? You know that guy ... he sells munis to farmers and, while not a NASCAR fan, he can and does speak about it in some detail with his clients. Lloyd thinks NASCAR is an obscure exchange in a small third world country and he keeps meaning to put someone on the case to see if they can arb something -- ANYTHING -- against something, somewhere ... ANYWHERE!
And we all know the guy in East Bumfuck may well be happier and more content than Lloyd ... hey, no one ever curses at him on the street or demonstrates in front of his storefront office. Horses for courses ladies and gentleman. It has always been thus and shall forever remain so.
