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Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

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91–100 of 192 posts

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While you are correct about Vancouver downtown, once you get o suburbs like Langley, Coquitlam, they are no different that what you are calling out American cities for. If we limit this to downtowns, there are several cities in America that are similar (Boston, Seattle, SF, SanDiego, Austin, NYC to name a few).

> there are several cities in America that are similar (Boston, Seattle, SF, SanDiego, Austin, NYC to name a few). Worth noting the US does not have a single city in the top 20 worlds most livable. Honolulu is #25, Atlanta gets #35 That tells you something.

Yes, it tells me the methodology is biased.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#92
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or come to downtown Vancouver. I live in a small apartment, but within four blocks I have a community centre with gym, a pharmacy, a post office, a grocery store, a small bakery, the best liquor store in the city, three banks, a hot pot restaurant, a physiotherapist/massage therapist office, a vet, a dispensary, multiple hairdressers, an optometrist, several restaurants, two places to get gelato, a public plaza with…

While you are correct about Vancouver downtown, once you get o suburbs like Langley, Coquitlam, they are no different that what you are calling out American cities for. If we limit this to downtowns, there are several cities in America that are similar (Boston, Seattle, SF, SanDiego, Austin, NYC to name a few).

Coquitlam is slightly better than American suburbia, I had plenty of parks and restaurants in walking distance, there’s skytrain and BRT now too

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canada wins either way. You can notice this on reddit discussions too - they are absolutely upset about the orange king. And that motivates Canadians to do better than Americans now - after all you don't want the orange king to be able to ruin Canada here.

[flagged]

This feels like a what about comment with no meaningful what about.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#94
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> smell of fried croquettes drifting onto the streets, small shops run by the building owners, easy public transit access The genius of the BBC is to gloss over that in a culture that isn't Japanese these things all easily become negatives. Who wants the smell of other people's food, maybe from a cuisine you hate? Or new local businesses cannot start because they can't buy property limiting options for consumers? And…

All of your complaints sound like someone who is projecting American values and behavior onto another culture. > Or new local businesses cannot start because they can't buy property limiting options for consumers? Are a lot of new local businesses starting up in America's suburbs? Is it a problem to have the same shops operating in the community for decades if they serve the community's needs? Even in Manhattan I saw…

Initially I didn't mind those smells and sounds in Asia (it's anywhere not just Japan). But unless you're born there they become annoying quickly, especially if you can smell things and hear public transit in your flat. And because it's a BBC report it's for sure for western audience who was not born there.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#95
post #82
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One key difference that jumps out at me between various cities in Japan and Vancouver is that the COL seems significantly better in Japan. When I visited Vancouver I couldn't afford to stay in or even near the city, I had to find a place about 20 minutes away and even then it was pricey. Whereas in Japan I had no problem finding affordable stays in city centers in all of the major cities I visited, including Tokyo. I…

Affordable to you or affordable to the locals? The yen has devalued a lot in the past decade or so, giving foreigners a lot more spending power in Japan and causing the current tourism boom and backlash.

The weak yen has certainly made Japan feel much cheaper for foreign visitors in recent years. But even before that, the general price level was lower than in many Western cities.

Also, if you're trying to save money as a local, moving just 3–4 train stops away often makes a noticeable difference in rent or hotel prices.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Canada basically IS the US with metric and the people talk funny. I’ve spent considerable time in both - seen something around 46 states and all but two provinces and territories. I’m actually an immigrant from a different OECD county. On the surface, the US and Canada are fairly similar. Once you live and go to work everyday, the differences are stark. Every single person in Canada has healthcare. Medical bankrupt…

> Every single person in Canada has healthcare If you're ok waiting 6-18 months for basically everything that's not life threatening. The reality is that people either suffer in our system or go abroad for medical treatment. > I’d been living and working in the US for 6 months, and came to Canada for the first time. After 30 minutes I felt more at home and happier than I did at any time during six months in the US. O…

I’ve now lived in Canada for 16 years.

I’ve had surgeries, my wife gave birth, plenty of friends have been through the ER and doctors (we mountain bike, ski, snowboard, etc)

Please, please stop making stuff up.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there are several cities in America that are similar (Boston, Seattle, SF, SanDiego, Austin, NYC to name a few). Worth noting the US does not have a single city in the top 20 worlds most livable. Honolulu is #25, Atlanta gets #35 That tells you something.

Yes, it tells me the methodology is biased.

Hahaha. Absolutely on point. Don’t like the outcome? Methodology is bad.

Never mind this has been around for decades.

It actually makes perfect sense. In every metric that impacts a persons everyday life the us is almost always dead last among OECD countries. So of course the cites are too.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#98
post #37
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or come to downtown Vancouver. I live in a small apartment, but within four blocks I have a community centre with gym, a pharmacy, a post office, a grocery store, a small bakery, the best liquor store in the city, three banks, a hot pot restaurant, a physiotherapist/massage therapist office, a vet, a dispensary, multiple hairdressers, an optometrist, several restaurants, two places to get gelato, a public plaza with…

It's because living in downtown Vancouver is expensive. Your rent probably comes close to covering the mortgage on one of those huge empty houses in the suburbs. That fresh baked good is probably ~$4 while the equivalent at Walmart is $1. No doubt it's a great lifestyle for well off DINKs. A lot harder to make it work for a family of 5 on 50k a year.

I don't think there really _is_ an equivalent at Walmart?

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it tells me the methodology is biased.

Hahaha. Absolutely on point. Don’t like the outcome? Methodology is bad. Never mind this has been around for decades. It actually makes perfect sense. In every metric that impacts a persons everyday life the us is almost always dead last among OECD countries. So of course the cites are too.

As someone who lives in Atlanta I can't imagine any way it's the second most livable city in the country.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#100
> get to work without a car, do your shopping on foot

Some cities in Europe have town-centers in every neighborhood within walkable distance. This is extremely valuable for a livable city.

Getting to work without car requires good public transport. Again, some European cities very good at this.

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