Boston? Intellectual? Forgot to mention the Neanderthal Mayor Quimbys at neighborhood festivals shouting "get your portuguese sausage heah!" or "get your itallin sausage heah!" or "get your irish sausage heah!" all while grabbing their nuts. very classy. not to mention the racists in every neighborhood. did i forget to mention the Boston and Mass attitude that everyone hates: the stick up their ass looks on their faces? Or that everyone wants to cut the tongue out of every bostonite to keep them from butchering our native tongue.
Cities and Ambition
261–270 of 313 posts
Re: Cities and Ambition
#262why no mention of simsbury connecticut?
gerard pawling simsbury ct 06070
Re: Cities and Ambition
#263Your observations on needing a "great city", for a lifestyle based on art, writing, and technology were right on..That is exactly what I've been looking for, is Paris that city?? Or Moscow or toronto??After I read your latest book,Who's your city" I decided what I've been needing most is NETWORKING. Without a network its extremely hard to find one. I am planning a visit to Toronto would it be possible to meet? Or should I just head for Paris! Janice Armellini
Re: Cities and Ambition
#264I enjoy your essays very much, especially the ones about "life" matters.
I spent only a week in London and it was enough to get that message. That city was very inspiring but also its message's pressure was a bit threatening to me. It wasn't a comfortable ambition to me, I think that it wasn't focused on the pleasure of the work it takes to achieve your ambitions.
I would've enjoyed reding more about this subject affecting european cities, I was raised and live in Spain. People not always put Spain and Ambition together, excepting Madrid, the capital, the message is "carpe diem", but in relaxed and quality-living (concerining the weather) way.
I believe that Europe's economical and political system influences in people's ambitions, I find Americans and those moving there (from what I read, at least) more ambitious, less frightened about things not turning as expecteted. In Europe we depend too much on the State.
Re: Cities and Ambition
#265Paul Graham is one of my favorite writers. He's engaging, surprising, simple, and brief. And he writes on topics of interest to everyone. Does anyone else know good essayists that share these same qualities?
I rather like John T. Reed as well: http://johntreed.com/headline.html
Re: Cities and Ambition
#266Is this not what "culture" is all about ? In the case of Indian cities - Delhi it is power, Mumbai it is showbiz, Bangalore it is hip, Calcutta it is art that seems to be the great ambition. Whether we want it to or not, the culture of the city seems to seep in through the walls and affect your being.
Re: Cities and Ambition
#267This article is terrific in its sweeping generalizations. The only thing that kept me engaged to the end was the writing. Nicely done. However, I think you over simplified the issue. I lived in NYC, Jerusalem, Vancouver, Montreal, LA, San Fran. Yes, each city has its unique vibe but that does not mean other elements don't exist. You just have to find them. I live in Vancouver now. One may say that it is similar to Berkley in that the fundamental message is to live a better life. However, underneath that, there is art, greed, style, hipness etc. So yes, a city may have a theme but it is only that. Dig a little deeper and ye shall find what ye are seeking no matter the city.
Re: Cities and Ambition
#268I wrote this four months ago in an email to a friend of mine: "San Francisco is definitely a great area, and you should at least visit some day. There's a vibe there that's completely different from anywhere else I've ever been. It is hard to explain. You just go there and you feel it. Things seem possible out there that would be laughed at here. That's the best way I can put it. Every city that I've been to has a ce…
"New York is rude and busy." New York is just busy -- if you are as busy as everyone else, wasting time with "Please" and "Thank you" would strike you as rude.
I live in Tokyo right now. Everyone is very busy, yet it's obligatory to be polite at all times and with all people (at work). Don't know how it compares to NY though, never been there.
Re: Cities and Ambition
#269Very nice article, and I thank you. A couple of brief quibbles:
1) There is a more pedestrian reason why birds of a feather flock to a particular city, and that is fungible jobs. People in high tech, for example, change jobs very often, and knowing that one can do so with impunity because there are so many others like you and therefore so many companies is a major draw all in itself, and thus the community quickly becomes entrenched and self-perpetuating in some cases for that reason alone.
2) Aubergine in L'Auberge Carmel says "jacket preferred", by which they really mean "jacket required".
http://opentable.com/rest_profile.aspx?rid=3334
That said, and in defense of your article, the yahoo sitting next to us there a couple of weeks ago would probably have been lucky to be seated right next to the kitchen or bathroom door in New York. Collar undone, searingly bright yellow tie half-knotted, and he held an unlit cigar in his hand during the entire meal as he regaled his date (90% sure from an escort service) about his racing speed boats and such. It was some tragically failed attempt to revive the ring-a-ding-ding days of Hef hip, and it was painful to watch.
Lest you get the wrong impression, I'd rather have to see that sort of thing occasionally here in Silicon Valley and chew my own arm off than live in NYC or DC.
Lastly, a city with a great vibe, IMO, is Portland Oregon. The vibe seems to be: "This is a square hole for those of you who are not round like everyone else, and are tired of beating yourself bloody trying to fit into a round hole. Come here and be yourself and we'll hang together and appreciate each other's ingenuity. First round is on me."
Re: Cities and Ambition
#270Being able to choose a place to live strikes me as so American; reading the article I realized I've never considered the possibility of living anywhere else than where I was born (Paris). In fact my mother was born less than half a mile from where I was raised, and today I live less than two miles away from there, 35 years later.
I feel a little bit like a tree: if I move I'll probably die; besides, what's the point of traveling if you don't come back to your friends to tell them about what you've seen?
The "virtual city", however, changed everything; I check Reddit everyday (or more accurately, every minute! damn addiction), watch The Daily Show, read Slate; the problem is I have a hard time finding people to talk about it.