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HarryMoto
19 May 2005, 01:00 PM
Knowing I'm such a fan of Sydney and Montreal, someone sent this list to me of the Top 10 Best Cities to Live In. From something called Askmen.com. Yeah, I never heard of it either.

Top 10 Best Cities To Live In

By Dennis O'Connell

Entertainment Correspondent - Every 2nd Wednesday

Tired of where you live? Well, we're not. That's why we've asked our readers, consulted with the experts, tracked down travel agents, and even researched the Web, to compile AskMen's top places to live. To be fair, we have selected one city from 10 different countries because we know that all countries were created equally, but some are better than others.
Oh, and for the record, the list examined the city's nightlife, standard of living, job sector, arts and culture, weather, state of affairs, and all of the other things that encompass daily life.


10. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
So what if the crime gets you [shot] down at times, and the telecommunication companies have yet to provide phones for everyone -- that is why you have mobiles, no? You can bet your last Brazilian Real that with the best beaches in the world, you will not be looking for your phone anyway. Also, this is the country that brought you Gisele Bundchen, so need we say more?

9. Frankfurt, Germany
Germany is one of the richest and most modern countries in the world. It offers great employment careers, an elevated standard of life, and is rich with history. Few countries manage to blend state of the art technology with arts and culture like the Germans do. Football is the passion and beer is the beverage of choice (or anything with alcohol content). Germany's "aversion" to military spending after World War II partially explains why it has risen so much, by pouring all of its finances into health, sciences, the economy, and all the other good things in life.


8. Paris, France
How could we leave out the City of Lights? Whether you wish to go sightseeing or spend your honeymoon in Paris, the French Capital has something for everyone. It is for this reason that many young foreigners live in Paris for a few years to learn the culture, history and the bad manners (oh c'mon, don't even think of blasting me...). Although the food will take some time to get used to, you can drink enough wine to lose your taste buds, so don't worry, be happy.

7. London, United Kingdom
While Ireland's Dublin has rapidly risen in status, London still has a unique charm amongst international cities. Yes, the weather is gloomy and many would never live there, but the raw energy of London and its deep historical roots are hard to beat. The city has also managed to do well economically, despite shunning the EU. As for Fish 'N Chips, hey, it can't be that bad with all that beer. In all fairness, there has been a culinary improvement in London in recent years, as Europeans have settled in the Foggy City and brought along their influences.


6. Hong Kong, China
Yes, Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok have much to offer, but as the gateway into China, Hong Kong is a pearl in the Far East as capitalism has collided with communism. The place is always alive, even after the British handed the island back to the Chinese. Hong Kong is full of history and provides a glimpse of what happens when Asian beliefs meet European culture.

5. Madrid, Spain
Valencia, Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla... Spain is just beautiful. The weather is great, the ladies are stunning and the food is pretty good too. While Barcelona's thriving economy would help it outrank Madrid, some of us prefer to live in peaceful times all year long; sorry Barcelona.

4. New York City, United States
San Francisco, New Orleans, Santa Fe, Seattle, Charleston, Phoenix, and Chicago are all wonderful cities. In fact, many in the panel even preferred Chicago, but New York is the capital of the world for a reason. Cosmopolitan, diverse, amazing food, great nightlife, lots to do, big parks, and the center of the business world. With Bill Clinton's wife running the State, it can only get better.


3. Rome, Italy
While Florence, Venice and Milan all got votes, Rome's popularity in international circles and its rich history, combined with its fashion, modernity, cleanliness, arts, and culture, made it stand out. If you have never been to Italy, make sure to go. If you happen to visit Europe, then consider your trip incomplete until you give Rome a visit. If the country focused more on the economy, it could place even higher, but isn't that what gives it its Italian charm?

2. Sydney, Australia
Sydney (along with Melbourne) are part of the reason why so many people love Australia. The cosmopolitan city offers great beaches, beautiful weather (albeit too hot sometimes), a strong economy, and very beautiful women who like to drink with the best of them. Too bad the ozone layer is missing above the city. The only knock against Sydney is what also gives Australia its charm -- it is too bloody far away from everything.

1. Montreal, Canada
Yes, it is very cold in the winter, but some actually like winter sports. Many do not like the weather, so why don't they ever leave Montreal? Let's see: it's the most cosmopolitan and multicultural city, which explains why it has the most beautiful women, diverse restaurants and an amazing nightlife (ask any Formula One driver).

The economy is growing rapidly, the arts and culture are extremely diverse and rich, and it offers you all four seasons to the fullest. Although the language questions become mundane, we hear that they provide for good entertainment. To top it all off, Canada is systematically voted the Top Country by the United Nations.

Columbus Civil
19 May 2005, 01:05 PM
I didn't know the United Nations voted for the Best Country.

rantanamo
19 May 2005, 02:09 PM
but where is Plano and Coppell? Southlake?

psukhu
19 May 2005, 05:31 PM
but where is Plano and Coppell? Southlake?

I think askmen.com caters to younger single men and they probably only considered large cities like >500,000 or >1,000,000.

Plus, the places you mentioned would have got a zero in the nightlife category anyway. :D

rantanamo
19 May 2005, 05:58 PM
Wasn't the U.N. list very similar, but Canadian and Australian top heavy?

drycreek
19 May 2005, 07:27 PM
Okay I just visited Montreal for the first time in April. Here's my take. Overall I was dissapointed. I have always heard great things about this city and how romantic it was and beautiful it was and all around great. I noticed though that the city had this overwhelming feel that it had seen it's best day and had now passed it by.

It seemed as though this day was in the 70s with the Olympics because a lot of the architecture was from this time period. The city seemed very run down. Broken curbs, lots of graffiti and just trash EVERYWHERE. A lot of homeless as well. While none of this is enough to turn me off to a city it did dissapoint me.

The people were much nicer than I had heard though. We stuck out like a sore thumb we were told. We thought we should dress in typical Dallas fashion, nice shirt and slacks, but the common look there is what I would largely refer to as "Seattle grunge" Not really what I expected.

Food. Maybe we were just bad at finding stuff but it was difficult for us to find French food. Maybe because we didn't know what it was. We did find some (we think) and I had real live French Onion soup if that counts. It was very good.

Once again the people were extremely nice. Most everyone was bilingual and very understanding to anglophones.

Also, sex is a BIG part of this town. Sex shops everywhere, strip clubs everywhere, and no zoning. Almost Houstonesque with the odd placement of sex related businesses. St. Catherine was the mother street. Pretty cool.

Monteal is VERY multicultural. A lot of Russians live in Montreal as we got to know some at the bars and such.

The lookout from the park over DT was incredible. Overall we had a great time but I was just a little dissappointed with it's run down appearance and so I personnelly would never accuse it of being romantic.

Also, the cost of living was extremely cheap. We spoke with several people who told us about great intown living for extremely cheap prices. Even made Dallas sound expensive.

I've got tons of pictures form here and DC, Baltimore, Philly, and Boston that I'm sure to post it's just I've been busy since getting back to Austin.

Sorry for the long post.

Lakewooder
19 May 2005, 07:34 PM
Frankfurt, they have to be kidding...

HarryMoto
19 May 2005, 07:56 PM
Okay I just visited Montreal for the first time in April. Here's my take. Overall I was dissapointed. I have always heard great things about this city and how romantic it was and beautiful it was and all around great. I noticed though that the city had this overwhelming feel that it had seen it's best day and had now passed it by.

It seemed as though this day was in the 70s with the Olympics because a lot of the architecture was from this time period. The city seemed very run down. Broken curbs, lots of graffiti and just trash EVERYWHERE. A lot of homeless as well. While none of this is enough to turn me off to a city it did dissapoint me.

The people were much nicer than I had heard though. We stuck out like a sore thumb we were told. We thought we should dress in typical Dallas fashion, nice shirt and slacks, but the common look there is what I would largely refer to as "Seattle grunge" Not really what I expected.

Food. Maybe we were just bad at finding stuff but it was difficult for us to find French food. Maybe because we didn't know what it was. We did find some (we think) and I had real live French Onion soup if that counts. It was very good.

Once again the people were extremely nice. Most everyone was bilingual and very understanding to anglophones.

Also, sex is a BIG part of this town. Sex shops everywhere, strip clubs everywhere, and no zoning. Almost Houstonesque with the odd placement of sex related businesses. St. Catherine was the mother street. Pretty cool.

Monteal is VERY multicultural. A lot of Russians live in Montreal as we got to know some at the bars and such.

The lookout from the park over DT was incredible. Overall we had a great time but I was just a little dissappointed with it's run down appearance and so I personnelly would never accuse it of being romantic.

Also, the cost of living was extremely cheap. We spoke with several people who told us about great intown living for extremely cheap prices. Even made Dallas sound expensive.

I've got tons of pictures form here and DC, Baltimore, Philly, and Boston that I'm sure to post it's just I've been busy since getting back to Austin.

Sorry for the long post.

It's always interesting how people's experiences differ. I admit it's been awhile since i've been there but I like the city's sense of old-world neighborhoods such as Quartier Latin, Vieux Montreal, Mile-End, etc., or anywhere along Blvd. St. Laurent. And I thought the food was fantastic, be it French, Italian, or otherwise. During the fall at least, when the weather is turning chilly, it seems the locals do dress up somewhat and the place, to me at least, seemed quite romantic.

But there are lots of young people in the city, drawn partly by the cheap rents (the economy went to seed during the secession battle and it's only now starting to recover.) So I'm not surprised you felt more of that Seattle/Portland/SF tattoed street kid vibe than you do in Dallas. But Montreal, like Reykjavik a few years back, does seem to be the trendy city du jour.

I'm not quite sure who decides these things but every few years a far-flung city that most people hadn't given much attention to -- Sydney in the '80s, Cape Town, Istanbul and Reykjavik in the '90s, Montreal, Shanghai, Santiago, and Riga and other former Soviet capitals in the '00s -- become the see-and-be-seen, must-visit places for the jetset crowd. Maybe one of these days Dallas will get the nod.

rantanamo
19 May 2005, 07:58 PM
how is Frankfurt in person? There was a post at SSC titled "Frankfurt vs Dallas". We had it handed to us. Having no experience there and just looking at the incredible pics from there, I would have to agree just based on pics. The midrise density, clean streets, beautiful river and modern scrapers just looked so much more mature than Dallas. Because of this, the thread was very friendly. What can you say when your butt is kicked so soundly?