New York V London

[Herr Tubthumper]

right then, I'm in.

Now how do I get a job there aged 52 with my only skill being private data and voice networks ?

NSA?

 

[goldstone]

I spent two years living and working in Manhattan 5 years ago having previously worked there in the 80s when living in NJ.

I have often considered a similar question, namely would it be more exciting/interesting for an American to spend two years living and working in London , or a Brit to spend two years living and working in Manhattan?

I love New York, but on balance I believe that a New Yorker would enjoy living in London than vice versa.

Manhattan wins it on bars.
London wins it on variety of architecture.
London wins it history and historic buildings.
About equal on restaurants.
New York wins it on people - much friendlier, and far more New Yorkers in New York than Londoners in London.
About equal on quality of life.
And the thing that probably is the clincher for me: there are not too many places to get "out of town" to for a day or weekend from New York (that don't involve flying), whereas loads of interesting and accessible places from London. For example, from NYC there's Princeton, The Hamptons, Atlantic City (meh), Newport RI, Philadelphia, but not many others easily accessible for a short trip particularly a day-trip. London on the other hand has Canterbury, Brighton, Winchester, Salisbury, Isle of Wight, Bath, Bristol, Cotswolds, Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford-on-Avon and many other attractive small towns.

So a close run thing, but London just about edges it for me.

 

[Saturn]

NY although I haven't spent a great amount of time in either so it's difficult to say. I've been to London a few times in recent years with my fiancee and visited a few sites which has been great fun.

I've only been to NY once, when I was 14 with some friends for a few days. We didn't get to see a great deal but had a wonderful time, I'd love to go back there for a couple of weeks to properly soak it all up.

 

[Easy 10]

And the thing that probably is the clincher for me: there are not too many places to get "out of town" to for a day or weekend from New York (that don't involve flying), whereas loads of interesting and accessible places from London. For example, from NYC there's Princeton, The Hamptons, Atlantic City (meh), Newport RI, Philadelphia, but not many others easily accessible for a short trip particularly a day-trip. London on the other hand has Canterbury, Brighton, Winchester, Salisbury, Isle of Wight, Bath, Bristol, Cotswolds, Oxford, Cambridge, Stratford-on-Avon and many other attractive small towns.

So a close run thing, but London just about edges it for me.

So the clincher is London - because its better when you get out of London

 

[jimhigham]

Why choose? I love them both. Very different cities offering different things. Would happily live in either.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Both amazing cities but London does it for me, so much more history, culture and diversity whereas there's too much violence in New York (last year 112 murders in London (8.6 million population, 350 homicides in New York (8.5 million pop.))
oh yes, and of course the clincher, it's far, far easier to watch the Albion.

40 per million would put you off? The city I'm currently in has 300 per million and you don't even notice or hear about it. Basing your living location on murder rate is like basing your holiday destination on the chances the plane will crash.

There seem to be a few people on here that have lived and worked in NYC, anyone care to share how they got a visa for that?

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

There seem to be a few people on here that have lived and worked in NYC, anyone care to share how they got a visa for that?

Not sure about how other visas work but I have an E-2 Visa which is valid for 5 years and then renewable. I work for a UK company which has offices in New York. They use an immigration lawyer to arrange the visa. You have to basically show that you are doing a job which cannot be done by an American, I guess I’m reasonably fortunate as I’m a quantity surveyor and there is no direct equivalent in the States. You complete all the paperwork and then have an interview at the US Embassy in London. If the lawyers have done their work this should only be a formality. The one disadvantage is that the E-2 is company specific so when I changed companies in NYC I had to return to the Embassy to get the visa re-issued. Beware of any lawyers saying they can guarantee you a working visa – they cannot, only US Immigration can issue visas. I think there is still a Visa Lottery but the UK is one of the countries excluded from that.

 

[ofco8]

Why choose? I love them both. Very different cities offering different things. Would happily live in either.

My take also. Happy when I visit either.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Not sure about how other visas work but I have an E-2 Visa which is valid for 5 years and then renewable. I work for a UK company which has offices in New York. They use an immigration lawyer to arrange the visa. You have to basically show that you are doing a job which cannot be done by an American, I guess I’m reasonably fortunate as I’m a quantity surveyor and there is no direct equivalent in the States. You complete all the paperwork and then have an interview at the US Embassy in London. If the lawyers have done their work this should only be a formality. The one disadvantage is that the E-2 is company specific so when I changed companies in NYC I had to return to the Embassy to get the visa re-issued. Beware of any lawyers saying they can guarantee you a working visa – they cannot, only US Immigration can issue visas. I think there is still a Visa Lottery but the UK is one of the countries excluded from that.

Thanks for the info. I've been told it's notoriously hard to get a US visa due to the 'having to prove no US citizen can take the job' aspect of applying for a visa, yet there seems to be a number of people on NSC who have done it. I wish the US had a two year working visa for under 30s like Australia and New Zealand have. Two years would be plenty I think, there's only so many Interstates and grid-like flat cities one can visit in his lifetime.

 

[ofco8]

Not sure about how other visas work but I have an E-2 Visa which is valid for 5 years and then renewable. I work for a UK company which has offices in New York. They use an immigration lawyer to arrange the visa. You have to basically show that you are doing a job which cannot be done by an American, I guess I’m reasonably fortunate as I’m a quantity surveyor and there is no direct equivalent in the States. You complete all the paperwork and then have an interview at the US Embassy in London. If the lawyers have done their work this should only be a formality. The one disadvantage is that the E-2 is company specific so when I changed companies in NYC I had to return to the Embassy to get the visa re-issued. Beware of any lawyers saying they can guarantee you a working visa – they cannot, only US Immigration can issue visas. I think there is still a Visa Lottery but the UK is one of the countries excluded from that.

Trust me to miss out. I am a QS also, would have loved a short term working in NY. Oh well, can't have everything.

 

[dazzer6666]

40 per million would put you off? The city I'm currently in has 300 per million and you don't even notice or hear about it. Basing your living location on murder rate is like basing your holiday destination on the chances the plane will crash.

There seem to be a few people on here that have lived and worked in NYC, anyone care to share how they got a visa for that?

Not done it myself but have worked with loads that have - company-sponsored (L1 visa from memory but could be wrong) not too difficult to obtain as they seem quite relaxed about these. Move to a firm with a decent US presence and then try to arrange a posting.........

 

[The Spanish]

Tricky one, based in London but spent many,many weeks in NYC over the last 15 years. I like both, but wouldn't trade London for NYC personally, although difficult to put my finger on why.

As for steaks, Goodman's in London has been absolutely fantastic on my last couple of visits. In NYC, Smith and Wollensky's or the Capital Grille (try the porcini-rubbed Delmonico) are similar.

theres a smith and wollenskys in london now.

 

[jgmcdee]

Steaks-wise Omnino and the Bull Steak Expert are both top-quality, although they don't have the overall polish of a Lugers or Uncle Jack's. The thing that I can't find in London is a Brazilian style like Plataforma or Fogo de Chao.

Overall I prefer London to New York; New York in the summer is not a very pleasant place to be.

 

[Half Time Pies]

Having spent long periods of time in both, no comparison. Everything bigger, better and cheap in New York. Go round Oxford St at 8pm and it's dead. Go down 5th avenue at 8pm and you will see the difference

I just got back from New York and I expected it to be cheap and the city that never sleeps. However I found neither were true, it certainly wasn't cheap in fact the prices were very similar to the UK for most things, this is probably affected by the poor exchange rate but also difficult to do comparisons due to the ridiculous sales tax (why not just include it in the price like we do VAT?) on top of that you end up tipping for almost everything which adds to the costs.

I was surprised also to find that after 10pm almost everything shuts. We stayed near times square and wandering around trying to find somewhere to eat after 10pm was surprisingly difficult.

Having said all of thats its a great place which actually reminds me a lot of London in many ways. Easy to walk around and do a lot of the sites in only a few days. I also liked the way that you see the locals out a lot in the diners and cafes and brunching on a Sunday and some of the food was top notch. Its hard to find good food in London without knowing where to go but it seemed much easier to find decent grub in New York.

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

although they don't have the overall polish of a Lugers

Personally found Peter Luger’s overrated – they have very limited cuts of steak, won’t take credit cards (this is the US!!) and very pricey. A few other steak places I like but haven’t seen mentioned – Palm Too and The Old Homestead (in the meatpacking area of NYC – where a steak restaurant should be!)

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

on a sporting note

London boasts Wembley,Twickenham & Lords

my 3 favourite sports

I don't really go for North American sports,with the exception being Ice Hockey

 

[portlock seagull]

All the global food eating out press have said London has overtaken NY in past 12 months as the eating out capital of the world...OFFICIAL.

Sorry, we've been catching up for a decade but now we're top dog apparently. Destination London for food trends, take that Yankees!! In your face!

 

[Elvis]

New York. Its further away from Croydon.

 

[jgmcdee]

Personally found Peter Luger’s overrated – they have very limited cuts of steak, won’t take credit cards (this is the US!!) and very pricey. A few other steak places I like but haven’t seen mentioned – Palm Too and The Old Homestead (in the meatpacking area of NYC – where a steak restaurant should be!)

Lugers isn't top on the steaks front but the overall experience is very good.

Ageing myself here, but if you're talking the meat packing district then Frank's was the place to be. Followed by a trip to Hogs, of course.

 

[Questions]

I live on the Upper East Side but have friends who live in Harlem and the Bronx and love it, parts of these areas are now being gentrified. A lot of Brits now live in Queens which has become one of the up and coming destinations. Williamsburg is still Hipster Central but Red Hook in Brooklyn is also catching on. In general most New Yorkers don't have cars so rely on public transport a lot of the time - so as the subway goes to new areas they then become more popular - like Hudson Yards on the west of Manhattan after they extended the 7 line

Looking at your avatar reminds me of the day we went to Coney. Spent a brilliant hour on the pier chatting about fishing with a couple of real local characters who were after Bonito or ' Damn Mother****ers' every time they missed one. One of my favourite days.