I’ve never been able to pinpoint why Europe is not appealing to me until reading this: “There’s a cluster of traits I have started to associate with European cities in general, which also applies to London, something like: cultivated, coherent, well-ordered, self-assured, clean, calm, easeful, reliable, downcast, old.”
I live in the US but have lived in Latin America and Asia before. When people find out I lived abroad and like to travel, many Americans assume I’m talking about Europe. But I haven’t been and would actually like to go back to Latin America or Asia—or visit Africa—before visiting Europe. I think maybe I sensed what you wrote here.
I think you could actually take the inverse of most of this list and turn it into a great checklist for cool cities to visit.
Cultivated - Coarse
Coherent - Inscrutable
Well-ordered - Chaotic
Self-assured - Unpretentious
Clean - Grimey
Calm - Frenetic
Easeful - Antagonistic
Reliable - Surprising
Downcast - Thrilling
Get the list short enough and call it Chapin’s Razor. Like, “man I love Mexico City, New Orleans, and Beijing. The best cities are inscrutable, chaotic, grimey, frenetic, surprising, and thrilling.” I think part of the secret sauce will be figuring out when one end of the spectrum is good and when a blend is good. Like I always prefer thrilling to downcast, but really great cities blend new and old, or cultivated and coarse. It’s not a finished idea haha but your list was very insightful
This really resonates with my memories of London from the early 1970s...except that I wouldn't have described it as "clean." I remember the smallness well--the tiny rooms, and buying 7 cc's of shampoo (not even considered a travel size). It made me realize that North Americans have space as their birthright. And "class salience" is a wonderful description of what I found there--not surprised that it's alive and well even now. Some vivid memories: in my first week there, stepping onto a "down" escalator at an old, central London Tube station, totally unprepared for the depth it would descend to (my subway experience at that point had been limited to Toronto). As my moving step went over the edge and I saw how far down I was going, my stomach felt as if I was going over Niagara Falls. I had arrived in early October; I won't forget the yellow leaves from the ever-present plane trees lying on emerald-green grass. I don't think I've ever seen grass as green as in Hyde Park in November. I'm glad you like the grey lady, too.
I’ve never been able to pinpoint why Europe is not appealing to me until reading this: “There’s a cluster of traits I have started to associate with European cities in general, which also applies to London, something like: cultivated, coherent, well-ordered, self-assured, clean, calm, easeful, reliable, downcast, old.”
I live in the US but have lived in Latin America and Asia before. When people find out I lived abroad and like to travel, many Americans assume I’m talking about Europe. But I haven’t been and would actually like to go back to Latin America or Asia—or visit Africa—before visiting Europe. I think maybe I sensed what you wrote here.
I think you could actually take the inverse of most of this list and turn it into a great checklist for cool cities to visit.
Cultivated - Coarse
Coherent - Inscrutable
Well-ordered - Chaotic
Self-assured - Unpretentious
Clean - Grimey
Calm - Frenetic
Easeful - Antagonistic
Reliable - Surprising
Downcast - Thrilling
Get the list short enough and call it Chapin’s Razor. Like, “man I love Mexico City, New Orleans, and Beijing. The best cities are inscrutable, chaotic, grimey, frenetic, surprising, and thrilling.” I think part of the secret sauce will be figuring out when one end of the spectrum is good and when a blend is good. Like I always prefer thrilling to downcast, but really great cities blend new and old, or cultivated and coarse. It’s not a finished idea haha but your list was very insightful
"This is not reasonable but it’s my preference." Best sentence of this post!
"This is not reasonable but it’s my preference." Best sentence of this post!
Heh this is fun to read as someone that lives in London. You're a good writer.
This really resonates with my memories of London from the early 1970s...except that I wouldn't have described it as "clean." I remember the smallness well--the tiny rooms, and buying 7 cc's of shampoo (not even considered a travel size). It made me realize that North Americans have space as their birthright. And "class salience" is a wonderful description of what I found there--not surprised that it's alive and well even now. Some vivid memories: in my first week there, stepping onto a "down" escalator at an old, central London Tube station, totally unprepared for the depth it would descend to (my subway experience at that point had been limited to Toronto). As my moving step went over the edge and I saw how far down I was going, my stomach felt as if I was going over Niagara Falls. I had arrived in early October; I won't forget the yellow leaves from the ever-present plane trees lying on emerald-green grass. I don't think I've ever seen grass as green as in Hyde Park in November. I'm glad you like the grey lady, too.
I like these city reviews. It's a good form of escapism while I'm tied mostly to one place for the next ~6-ish years or so.
Bonus video you might enjoy checking out; another review of London in video format: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pOTGR0ivU4
It's short and seemed to focus on different elements than yours did.