Comparision of New York City and Vancouver

In this essay I will take as my subject New York City and Vancouver because they are the most

fascinating cities I have ever been to.

New York City in the state of New York, USA, consists of 5 boroughs with Manhattan being

the most important one, 59 community districts and hundreds of neighborhoods. No other city is

arrogant enough to dub itself "Capital of the World" and no other city could carry it off. Cities

don′t come any bigger than the Big Apple - king of the hill, top of the heap, New York, New York.

New York is a densely packed mass of humanity - 7.5 million people in 309 sq miles - and

all this living on top of one another makes the New Yorker a special kind of person. There are a

few Indians but the main part of the population consists of English speaking people. These are

Englishmen, Scots, Welshmen and Irishmen. There are many other groups who live in one of these

different districts known as Little Italy, Chinatown and the Jewish. Other immigrants didn′t live so

close together e.g. the Germans, the Frenchmen, the Polish, the Moslems and the Hispanics. After

the 2nd World War many immigrants came from South-East-Asia. These were Koreans, Chinese

people and people from Vietnam and Cambodia. The biggest immigration wave has to be noticed

from South America today. New York is a big melting pot of the most different cultures and is

therefore one very various and interesting town.

A city as densely populated as NYC deserves special attention to its transport options: the

most typical way of getting around is by the so called yellow cabs. Here it must be apprechiated

that New York taxi drivers must be the most maligned group of workers in the world. Driving your

own car is tantamount to insanity in a city where traffic is horrendous, parking costs astronomical

and where petrol costs far more than elsewhere in the US. New York is infamous for its allegedly

incomprehensible, dangerous subway. Although it′s noisy, confusing and sometimes hot as hell, the

subway is really not that difficult and is statistically safer than walking the streets in daylight. It′s

the fastest, most reliable way around town and most of Manhattan′s sights are on its lines.

In a city that is so much a part of the global subconscious, it′s hard to pick a few highlights

- wherever you go you′ll feel like you′ve been there before. However, New York has many known

sights and the best known symbol of New York and also the symbol of liberty is called the "Statue

of Liberty". But also the Empire State Building, New York′s original skyline symbol which was

built during the depths of the Depression, is well known all over the world. Taking the lift to the

86th or 102nd floor observation desks is really worth it. When you′re standing up the top of the

Empire State you can see Central Park, a welcome contrast to the concrete and traffic in the rest of

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Manhattan. When Central Park was officially opened it was intended to be an oasis from the city ­

and still, this a the place where joggers, skaters, musicians and tourists go to escape from the

citie´s bustle. There′s a small zoo in the park, organized and casual sport to watch or play, a

swimming pool and various free performances. Another point of interest is Times Square, which

has long been celebrated as New York′s crossroads. It is a combination of color, zipping message

boards and massive TV screens. Other main sights are the Museum of Modern Art, one of the

world′s top museums, the Guggenheim Museum and the American Museum of Modern History.

Everywhere in town are bookshops, food, theaters, shops and people: it doesn′t really matter what

you do or where you go in New York because the city itself is an very exciting and enjoyable

experience.

SoHo is the city′s leading area for art galleries, clothing stores and boutiques. Its

beautifully restored cast-iron buildings are some of the best examples of this style in the world.

Tribeca, though not as touristy or architecturally significant as SoHo, Tribeca has an even cooler

etymology. The neighborhood of old warehouses and loft apartments has a fair share of sceney

restaurants and bars where it wouldn´t be unusual to spot a star hanging out there. Greenwich

Village, or "The Village" as New Yorkers call it, is one of the city′s most popular neighborhoods.

By the ′40s the neighborhood was known as a gathering place for gays and later, in the ′60s it was

a place for hippies. Greenwich Village is still a vibrant and varied area, packed with historic sites,

cafes, shops, and Washington Square Park - probably the most crowded recreational space in the

world.

Regarding the fame, Vancouver is not as well known as the Big Apple. Although it is not

near as big as New York, it is the largest city in the region of British Columbia in Canada. The

beauty of Vancouver and its surroundings is a main important reason for so many tourists coming

there. With reagrd to tourism, Vancouver is just as crowded with tourists as New York but in

proportion to its smaller size.

The population of Vancouver, compared to New York, is only about a million people but

the society is as multi-cultural and multi-ethic as in the Big Apple because the boom in immigration

has given Vancouver a worldly air so that a continental atmosphere creates a certain spirit.

Canadians are rightly noted for their friendly, open-minded and laid-back approach to life. People

living in Vancouver have an average age of 30 years in contrast to New York, where the

population is older on average. In comparision with New York, Vancouver is a center of outdoor

acitivties, whereas New York is a symbol for business life.

The city of Vancouver does not have as many public transportation options as New York

because it is just not needed. You can easily get on buses that run through out the city and there is

also a subway connecting the suburbs with the city. However, if you wish to go to West or North

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