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Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

bbc.com

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

#181

Post by testing22321 »

dismalaf wrote: post #170
testing22321 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’ve made it very clear you think it’s a joke of a country. I’m happy to hear you agree with my original comments, and the point of this entire thread. Canada is not “just like” the US.

I never thought it was "just like" the US. It's worse. It has all the downsides of both the US and EU with none of the upsides of either. We get taxed like EU for healthcare that is inaccessible and we still have to pay for drug/dental all while making far less than the US and not getting any of the benefits of the EU. The only reason anyone at all moves to Canada is that the US has per-country immigration quotas...

That certainly isn’t the reason I moved here.

This whole comment chain exists because way up someone said Canada IS the US, just with metric and people that talk funny.

I’m glad we agree that is not the case.

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

#182

Post by bombcar »

kaladin-jasnah wrote: post #135
treis wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yeah, something that bothers me is that there is such a tradeoff between affordability and walkabiliy. Most of the walkable cities/towns I would imagine being able to afford living in later in life I would imagine will no longer be affordable when I eventually make money (even on a dual income). Granted, I also don't want to live in dense areas but also want walkability.

I can find affordable walkability across the US - if we define affordability as "not that much more expensive than the new McMansions outside of the smallish town" - the usual downside is you have to accept whatever that small town offers in its two mile radius.

You're not getting affordable NYC or SF.

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

#183

Post by pezezin »

JCharante wrote: post #157
pezezin wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because these articles always talk about the good parts and never mention the bad parts which make up the vast majority of the country.

I wouldn't say it's the vast majority if Tokyo/Chiba/Saitama/Yokohama holds like a third of the population. Add in those other cities you mentioned and the majority of the population lives in cities.

Of course in any developed country the majority of the population lives in cities. What I mean is that Japanese cities, outside of a few core areas, are really ugly and depressing.

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

#184

Post by tupaarnaq »

hagbard_c wrote: post #81

Earlier on I posted the following comment which for some inexplicable reason got flagged: The BBC forgot - or, as is more likely, refused to mention - rule #0: ensure a homogeneous culture with rather stringent rules around public behaviour. To the person or persons who flagged this comment, please explain. What is it that got you to flag this comment? If there is one thing Japan is known for it is for having a homog…

Probably the snide reference to what the BBC "refused to mention" rule #0. Afghanistan has an even lower immigrant population than Japan, and rather stringent rules around public behavior, and few would call Kabul liveable. In terms of immigrant population, Japan sits around #155 of the ~230 countries in the world. You take a gander at the 75-80 countries [1] with less immigrants percentage wise than Japan (for a combined total by the way of 2 thirds of the world's population), map it against your own "livability" or "social trust" metrics and then see if your rule #0 (that the BBC apparently studiously avoids mentioning) still holds much water.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_im...

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

#185

Post by dismalaf »

testing22321 wrote: post #181
dismalaf wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never thought it was "just like" the US. It's worse. It has all the downsides of both the US and EU with none of the upsides of either. We get taxed like EU for healthcare that is inaccessible and we still have to pay for drug/dental all while making far less than the US and not getting any of the benefits of the EU. The only reason anyone at all moves to Canada is that the US has per-country immigration quotas...

That certainly isn’t the reason I moved here. This whole comment chain exists because way up someone said Canada IS the US, just with metric and people that talk funny. I’m glad we agree that is not the case.

Hopefully you moved here for the nature because that's legit the best part and the only thing we have over other countries IMO.

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

#186

Post by hagbard_c »

netsharc wrote: post #177
hagbard_c wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When I read comments like yours, I always read "homogeneous" as "ethnically pure", and judge the comment writer accordingly. followed by: > but I think your projecting your idea of "racism works!"... You're judging what you want to see which says a lot about you and nothing about the comment. Let me spell it out for you so that you may not make this mistake next time: Culture [1]: the way of life, especially the ge…

Fine, I'll consider anyone who uses "homogenous" a bigot from now on. Is that linguistically acceptable for you? Freaking bigots, arguing about words rather than their bigotry...

I think you need to (un)learn a lot before your ideas are 'acceptable' to me. Start with realising you're projecting your own ideas - which you insist on calling 'bigoted' - on others. Look in the mirror and make an honest assessment on what you see, start from there.

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

#187

Post by ryan_lane »

pezezin wrote: post #183
JCharante wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't say it's the vast majority if Tokyo/Chiba/Saitama/Yokohama holds like a third of the population. Add in those other cities you mentioned and the majority of the population lives in cities.

Of course in any developed country the majority of the population lives in cities. What I mean is that Japanese cities, outside of a few core areas, are really ugly and depressing.

[dead]

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

#188

Post by alephnan »

ryan_lane wrote: post #132
pezezin wrote: post #130

I have been living in the inaka for 8 years now and I always laugh at this kind of articles. They only focus on the core areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and a few big others cities, and forget to mention that outside of those areas the whole country is just endless urban sprawl of the ugliest, soulless cities you can imagine.

This article is specifically about its most livable cities. Why would you expect them to discuss the cities people don't want to live in? Every country has plenty of these. The point is to show the things that make a place livable, not to show all the ways a place isn't.

Livable according to who?

People in Japan, especially those in the countryside, disdain Tokyo. If it was absolutely livable, this wouldn’t be the case.

Sure, Tokyo is relatively more livable than other urban centers.

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

#189

Post by alephnan »

JCharante wrote: post #156
pezezin wrote: post #130

I have been living in the inaka for 8 years now and I always laugh at this kind of articles. They only focus on the core areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and a few big others cities, and forget to mention that outside of those areas the whole country is just endless urban sprawl of the ugliest, soulless cities you can imagine.

just don't live in the countryside then, there's a reason their population is decreasing

People are forced to go to the big cities for economic reasons and not lifestyle reasons. Unlike America, it’s not just white collar office workers who must relocate to urban centers. This concentration forms a feedback loop.
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