Yeah but he might want to actually own his home.
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Because of the inadequacies of the Conservative mayor, Londonâs air quality is verging on poisonous by all easures. If I had a small child, Iâd be moving away from London.
But we canât lose people like Cory omly to have them replaced by incomers using the city as an investment opportunity rather than contributing to the common weal.
Iâm sorry youâre going, Mr D.
Yep, Kenâs so popular that we let him anchor the news so that we can all say âhiâ to him at the same time. It makes his workday easier.
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I grew up in one. I certainly would never return to that particular one, nor any other Iâve ever visited in Australia. Give me the densest metropolis available, or a rural property away from everyone. Iâm not interested in the in between.
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As others have said, there are other British cities that are affordable and vibrant:
Manchester (a Doctorow city if ever there was one)
Glasgow
Edinburgh
Leeds
Birmingham
And they are likely to remain like that way.
As for the alternatives, itâs odd to hear someone say theyâre moving to LA because itâs less driven by capitalism, is more family friendly and has better culture.
To mis-quote Neil Kinnock:
- In LA, I warn you not to to be poor. I warn you not fall ill, and I warn you not to grow old.
I would have thought Portland Oregon would be Doctorow-friendly (not that Iâve been there).
San Diego - Iâve been there twice. Itâs nice, but Iâm not sure thereâs much to do culture-wise after a week.
Australia and Canada would be ruled out for the same political reasons as Cory is moving away from London, so I would suggestâŚ
- Berlin
- Copenhagen, or
- Amsterdam.
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It says something about current London, doesnât it, that Los Angeles is the less capitalistic alternative?
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To each their own. I would like to point out that thereâs a difference between small/medium-sized cities and the suburbia surrounding large cities. Iâm into the former, not the latter.
LA is waaaaaay less driven by capitalism than London. LA is culturally dominated by the entertainment industry which seems to only make money by accident (the vast majority of movies, television and music are subsidized entirely a small number of extreme successes). You simply donât see the monied class like you do in London. Half the city seems to be made up of starving artists.
Depending on the township youâre in, it can be super family friendly. I grew up in Pacific Palisades. I canât imagine any place more family friendly (though it was pricy back then, I imagine it is outrageous now).
As far as culture - a sixth of the population is in the creative industry. It really does have a vibrant culture (though it depends on what youâre into). If youâre an American who is used to generally happy people, you really canât beat LA. The one part of LA I really miss is so many people are friendly. Of course you have the plasticy people, but there are just a lot of genuinely happy people out there too. Plus it has more museums per capita than any other place in the world, a vibrant music scene, a fantastic performing arts scene, a great food scene and a great beach culture (if youâre into its particular quirkiness).
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And yet there are 81 other neighborhoods in LA that arenât Playa Vista or the Westside, and rather a lot of other communities around there. The SFV would probably meet his needs, especially if heâs working with a studio.
Seattle is lovely (so lovely Iâm moving there from London), rents are getting sky high though thanks to the technology boom.
Not sure if it can keep the balance, but at least its currently mostly due to people working there, not property speculators so much.
Oh, Cory (as if he is going to read this far down) You MUST live in Downtown. It is really happening and vibrant and full of young and old people who love city living and making it happen here and now. The Arts District is quiet but urban and a lot of stuff is going on here and coming on line. We are very near the heart of our growing transit system and you will be able to watch this city bloom. Los Angeles is in the future, still. The best times for Los Angeles are just beginning.
Looking forward to hearing your impressions.
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What about Berlin. Lots of USians and people from the UK flock to Berlin.
Affordable rent (mostly)
good healthcare for very little money
good public and private education
very good public transportation
privacy and anti-surveillance laws way stronger than in the anglo-sphere (Poitras and Applebaum fled here because they felt safer)
Most/all people speak englisch
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Yes, but then you have to deal with all those annoying people who canât bring themselves to use the preferred demonym for Americans.
Seriously though, there are 15,000 Americans living in Berlin out of a population of 3.5 million. About 1,000 Americans move there every year. Iâm not sure that can quite be considered âflocking.â Far more people migrate from Germany to the US than vice versa (which has been true for centuries).
Are those wondering why LA forgetting Coryâs love of Disney?
This description of London and some of what Iâve seen when I visit relatives in NYCâs outer boroughs just makes me ask - why canât the rich just finish the sci-fi scenario and go live in the sky so we can have our livable spaces?
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They wonât move to the sky until they finish leeching all of the resources off of the surfaceâŚ
Yeah. They donât want to be up there until it sucks for us to be here, eh? I can hope. Maybe, since so many of them in the US thing Ayn Rand is so awesome, they can go live in a Bioshock world underesa
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Donât worry - I donât live in Berlin.
Actually itâs closer to 20.000 USians and 10.000 UK citizens and lately more and more US students f/block german/Berlin Universities. Germany is the second âmost wantedâ immigration country right behind the US.
In Philadelphia there are high rise âluxuryâ apartments sprouting up all over the city. Just like the tower a few blocks along, the one being built opposite where I work will be kitted out with a swimming pool on top. Not sure about the one going up just around the corner, nor the one just a block along. So, itâs not just London thatâs seeing this explosion in property development; this is something thatâs happening in cities across the world. In Philadelphiaâs University City a lot of this growth is linked to an expansion in STEM research, so thatâs a little different from the idea of London as a theme park for the 1%. But for both cities thereâs still the question of what resources there are for ordinary families. When the millennials in Philadelphia are ready to have families will they stay in the city? What will they do for schools? School libraries closed last year due to funding cuts. School nurse and counselor positions were slashed. For one elementary school with a good reputation, parents started camping out on the street four days early to try and secure a spot for their kids. (Officials turned up mid camp-out and turned the first-come-first-served system into a lottery). I like Philadelphia, but I like London more. I know itâs changing â itâs been doing that since I left some fifteen years ago. I couldnât believe it when I went back for a visit and the Gherkin was in the skyline. Cities change. Thatâs part of what I like about them. Just before I left London I worked as a teacher. Some of the young people had drawn some pictures of London and I was struck by how many made the London Eye the focus of the picture. It had only just been built but must have made an immediate impact. âLook this is nothing but one massive playground.â Was this portentous? Well, Iâm not superstitious, but I agree thereâs a question about whoâs steering the change in our cities, what the consequences will be and whether this change is out of control.
At the end of 2013 (the table actually says December 31, 2013 which is oddly specific), there were 15,289 Americans and 12,512 UK citizens in Berlin. I suppose 5,000 Americans could have moved there in a year and a half, but it seems unlikely.
Mmm. Thatâs only true if you look at the raw legal immigration rate and ignore the emigration rate and the illegal rate. The net migration rate for 2010-2014 puts Germany at #11 at 549,998. By comparison, the USâ net migration rate that period was 5,000,002.
There is also net migration per capita rate, but then countries like Lebanon, Jordan and even the Caymans dominate. Germany comes out at #60 in that though. Even the US is only #40.
