New York and Los Angeles, Essay Example

When people think of big cities, they tend to think they are all the same. Since I have lived in a lot of cities all over the country, I know from experience that every city has its own character. Of all my former homes, my two favorites—and the two with the most personality—are New York and Los Angeles. When people think of these cities, they often think of the things that make them alike: traffic, food, and the big city attitude. What’s funny is that while these are exactly the areas that make these two cities stand apart from every other city, they are also the areas that make them most different from each other.

Both Los Angeles and New York are famous for having terrible traffic. Images of Los Angeles often show packed freeways, and those of New York show gridlocked streets. The images are true. In both cities, driving a car can be frustrating and people have trouble getting where they’re going in a timely manner. In New York, however, the problem of how to get around is easily solved. The city’s extensive and quite reliable subway system makes travel around the city easy and quick, even when the subways are crowded during rush hour. Although there is some crime associated with the subways, they are much safer than most non-New Yorkers imagine, especially if one avoids traveling late at night or when the trains are mostly empty. The subway and train system also provides good shelter from bad weather. Traveling in winter or on rainy days is not much different from travelling in good weather.

In Los Angeles, on the other hand, getting around without a car is extremely difficult. A big part of the problem comes from how spread out Los Angeles is. In New York, the city is very compact. The entire metropolitan area covers only about 305 square miles. Los Angeles, however, is almost 500 square miles and the boundary between the city and its outlying areas is less distinct. The subway and light rail system has only seven lines, so people have to use buses, which are less reliable since they must compete with other road traffic.

Both New York and Los Angeles are famous for their food culture. Any big city will have lots of restaurants and more diversity of cuisine than smaller places, but these two cities are supposed to be the best in the U.S. In fact, New York stands above Los Angeles in this area. L.A. does have lots of good food, especially if one likes Hispanic and Asian foods. The fish tacos, for example, are unparalleled anywhere. Also, L.A. has the best food cart culture. There are all kinds of food carts, not just hotdogs like in New York, and people can keep track of where their favorite carts are through Tweets. In N.Y, on the other hand, there are far more choices of where to eat and of what kind of food. The city has almost 19,000 places to eat so with a little research one can find anything.

As for attitude, L.A. defies the stereotype of a big city. Probably because of the warm weather and beach-town feeling, L.A. is very laid back. People do not hurry as much as in other cities and they are friendlier. Not that everyone is nice; there is definitely a money-based caste system and people are judged on how thin and rich they seem, but the regular people are more easy-going than in other cities. New York, on the other hand, fits the stereotype of the big city perfectly. People are always in a hurry and can seem rude if you are not used to the attitude. The positive side of this atmosphere is that the city has a kind of energy that is infectious. Also, there really is no down time in New York. Even at 3 in the morning, something is going on. New York is a very exciting place to live.

The things that appear from the outside to make N.Y. and L.A. the same—traffic, food culture, and atmosphere– actually serve to distinguish them. Both cities have much to recommend them, but New York outshines L.A. in all three categories. Although the weather in L.A. is tempting, if I had to choose one city over the other, I would choose New York for its easy transportation, variety of foods, and stimulating atmosphere.