City vs City 1: Dublin vs London

Rabble Rabble

HavingCrack wrote: »

Eh Dublin is smaller than Manchester, Lyon, Copenhagen or Oslo . Sure Greater Manchester has a bigger population than the whole of Ireland put together ..



Which are also only a tiny part of Dublin. Only a very small percentage of Dubliners live right beside a beach. Getting from West Dublin to the coast isn't the easiest of trips unless you have a car. All the Dublin seaside areas like Sandycove and Dun Laoghaire are just as mobbed as Brighton is on a summers day by the way..

The obsession with BIG cities is very 19th century. Mexico city also sucks. The Biggest City In China Whatever That Is probably sucks too.

Dubliners have the coast and a big bay, and mountains and hills within a bus ride for most. The equivalent of the West Dublin commute is Swindon, or Reading, or watford. 2 hours. They are even further from the sea.


Basically the South East of England is a dogpile. The South West is lovely.

DazMarz

As much as I love Dublin to bits, London is by far the better city, by a good distance.

I find the people in London are actually very friendly.

London's public transport is absolutely stellar, pissing all over the rubbish we have to endure in Dublin.

Chelsea Football Club is in London:D.

Vanilla Coke can be got there.

Plus the accent is deadly.

OPENROAD

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

Absolutely nobody I have met in London wants to stay. I meet people who commute, sometimes during the week, from Derby. If from Edinburgh, or Glasgow they want to go back there. It may be fun for a 22 year old, ( although why it would be better fun than Cork, or Galway for that age group is hard to say) but I am in my 30's now and I dont see the advantage of getting up 2 hours before work to get on the train from watford, to go to work, to head home afterwards for another two hours. That is not my life, but it is the life of many people I work with ( when I am there I stay local to where I work).

I go out there, pubs are pubs, restaurants are restaurants; except the centre of London is packed always.

Bristol is fun. Oxford. York. Glasgow. NewCastle.

Mega-cities suck, except for the very rich.

Fair enough, most people that I meet there love it Different story if you are commuting everyday, if I had to commute from Dublin to Galway everyday for work, I would want to move, or if had to commute to other counties in Ireland I would feel the same, surely that is an argument that can be applied to any city, the people I meet are people who live in London, not those who are commuting hours in everyday.

All about opinions though , personally think Galway is overrated.

Your points about packed pubs could just as easily apply to Dublin

Alessandra

I don't like Dublin at all. It is grubby and there is little infrastructure in comparison to other capital cities. Dublin is also somewhat soulless. Sure you can have a good night out but there is a distinct lack of variety of places to socialise. It is also one of the most expensive places I have been to in the world. 7 euro for a glass of house white :O

London has so much more variety. There is nightlife for everybody. It's culturally diverse and has excellent transport. There is a certain buzz in London that you don't get in Dublin.

London wins hands down.

bronte

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

Absolutely nobody I have met in London wants to stay.

I've lived here 2 years and won't be leaving anytime soon.

OPENROAD

DazMarz wrote: »

As much as I love Dublin to bits, London is by far the better city, by a good distance.

I find the people in London are actually very friendly.

London's public transport is absolutely stellar, pissing all over the rubbish we have to endure in Dublin.

Chelsea Football Club is in London:D.

Vanilla Coke can be got there.

Plus the accent is deadly.

boo!!!!:p though is a beautiful part of London

ascanbe

Has to be Dublin; especially in the rare ould times.
The city of Jimmy Joyce, Brendan Behan, Bang Bang, coddle, William Martin Murphy, James Larkin, Brush Shiels, Guinness, Twink, Christy Dignam, tripe and onions, Keith Duffy etc..
London has neither the cultural icons nor foodstuffs to compete.

Rabble Rabble

bronte wrote: »

I've lived here 2 years and won't be leaving anytime soon.

You intending to stay forever?

HavingCrack

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

The obsession with BIG cities is very 19th century. Mexico city also sucks. The Biggest City In China Whatever That Is probably sucks too.

Dubliners have the coast and a big bay, and mountains and hills within a bus ride for most. The equivalent of the West Dublin commute is Swindon, or Reading, or watford. 2 hours. They are even further from the sea.


Basically the South East of England is a dogpile. The South West is lovely.

I don't see where I said I was obsessed with big cities . New York, Tokyo and Los Angeles are all big cities and all function reasonably well.


The Reading commute is only around 30 minutes by the Great Western which is comparable to a lot of Dublin commutes. I'll admit Watford is a horrific journey though by all accounts. London is an inland city though so its not really fair to compare travel times to the sea to a costal city like Dublin


The South West is a lovely part of England I agee.

bronte

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

You intending to stay forever?

I would happily stay here forever, yes.

Gummy Panda

I prefer Frankfurt

Celly Smunt

there's something about london i just don't like,if i was to move to england i'd probably go up north,the people are just nicer or something

siltirocker

HavingCrack wrote: »

Eh Dublin is smaller than Manchester, Lyon, Copenhagen or Oslo . Sure Greater Manchester has a bigger population than the whole of Ireland put together ..

No it isn't. Dublin city has over 500,000 in the city. Manchester has 450,000, Lyon has 475,000. Although a simple google has informed me that Oslo has about 80,000 more than Dublin.

Im assuming Greater Manchester wouldn't come into it as that's a county not a city.

HavingCrack

Gummy Panda wrote: »

I prefer Frankfurt

Washington DC wins hands down for me over both to be honest....but haven't lived there yet so haven't experienced it properly :pac:

HavingCrack

siltirocker wrote: »

No it isn't. Dublin city has over 500,000 in the city. Manchester has 450,000, Lyon has 475,000. Although a simple google has informed me that Oslo has about 80,000 more than Dublin.

Im assuming Greater Manchester wouldn't come into it as that's a county not a city.

Sorry I thought you were talking about the metropolitan areas rather than the city centres proper

Rabble Rabble

Fiar enough on Reading, although you only get to Paddington in 15 minutes. I was just pointing out that a lot of people on middle income salaries cant live in the actual centre. In fact one of the guys I was talking about commuting from Watford, was the damned CEO.

Lets not take this the wrong way, I dont mean it in terms of immigration ( since I am one myself) but in terms of economic stratification London is a third world city. About 20% of people work for the Banks and the average salary is about £300K there, including bonuses. These guys obviously hoover up all the big housing - well in fact that takes millions - and the nice apartments along the canal, along with the Super Rich.

Middle income groups move to Watford. In fact higher middle income people move to Watford. The city is fior the Rich and the Poor ( who can get subsidised housing).

I dont see that as desirable, but beyond that I dont see London as very interesting to live.

I stay over some weekends and like it, I go out to pubs and restaurants with other contractors and enjoy them as much as I would similar restaurants anywhere else. But living there full time. Never. Anyway, each to their own.

Am off to bed.

Mint Sauce

cant really compare the two, considering the difference in area and population

ascanbe wrote: »

Has to be Dublin; especially in the rare ould times.
The city of Jimmy Joyce, Brendan Behan, Bang Bang, coddle, William Martin Murphy, James Larkin, Brush Shiels, Guinness, Twink, Christy Dignam, tripe and onions, Keith Duffy etc..
London has neither the cultural icons nor foodstuffs to compete.

london born footballers for arsenal and spurs, plus bound to find at least one or icons in this list, Jellied eels

Rabble Rabble

bronte wrote: »

I would happily stay here forever, yes.

You hoping to own a house?

Celly Smunt

HavingCrack wrote: »

Washington DC wins hands down for me over both to be honest....but haven't lived there yet so haven't experienced it properly :pac:

Seattle all the way

ascanbe

irish-stew wrote: »

cant really compare the two, considering the difference in area and population



london born footballers for arsenal and spurs, plus bound to find at least one or icons in this list, Jellied eels

Stew, aswell; you can't beat a good Irish-stew.

bronte

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

You hoping to own a house?

I will in a few years!

OPENROAD

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

You hoping to own a house?

Maybe he can afford to own one?

I know the argument you are making and it is valid to an extent, but like most of the points you can apply to most big Cities and look at Dublin house prices during the Celtic tiger.

Son Of A Vidic

Spent a good few years living in london, some great years indeed. Moved back to Dublin and it was like moving back to a village, sh1t nightlife, no transportation system. Couldn't find a Taxi, at least not without another 300 like minded individuals following me. The wife always felt safer in London, than she ever did in Dublin. Comparing the two is a bit like comparing a Super HeavyWeight boxer to a Flyweight, you just can't really.

ascanbe

medicman2009 wrote: »

Spent a good few years living in london, some great years indeed. Moved back to Dublin and it was like moving back to a village, sh1t nightlife, no transportation system. Couldn't find a Taxi, at least not without another 300 like minded individuals following me. The wife always felt safer in London, than she ever did in Dublin. Comparing the two is a bit like comparing a Super HeavyWeight boxer to a Flyweight, you just can't really.

But..you just..kind of..did.

ORLY?

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

Yeah, it would be tenth largest in the US, and in the top 5 ( I believe) in Germany.

The maximum size city I would live in would be 1 million. Per capita that is all you need to have good pubs etc.

As for shopping. We have the internet. The worst four hours of my life was following my missus around a crowded Oxford street in mid August Sun, into sweaty shops with no air-conditioning. The city is breezeless.

What? Dublin wouldn't be in the top 20 US cities. As was previously said it's also smaller than Lyon, Manchester (not even close) and Copenhagen. I think it is around the same size as Oslo.

D-Generate

Its a tough one. As a city London is better. It has lots more to do, better infrastructure and prices are pretty much the same if not cheaper for food and drink (rent is a bit higher). However having lived in London for the past year I would prefer to live in Dublin because of the people.
Londoners are not the friendliest bunch and when out in pubs and clubs don't partake in the same banter as you get in Ireland and they lack the friendliness that you get in America. Basically, London is the loneliest city I have lived in and most of my friends living in London (both English and Irish) struggle to make new friends with Londoners.

skyhighflyer

I've lived in both cities but no matter how I try to compare them I can't honestly say one is better or worse than the other. All I can do is draw up a list of pros and cons.

The public transport system in London is good, but only in comparison to how appalling it is in Ireland. For any other similar sized city it's not great. The Paris, DC and Moscow metros are all better. I've never been to Japan, but I'd hazard a guess it's better as well. The tube is smelly, sweaty and dirty and is all but shut down at the weekend. Being on the tube at 8am on a Monday morning with your face rammed into a sweaty businessman's armpit isn't a nice experience.

London is dirty. Much more so than Dublin. I don't think it's down to a lack of street cleaning: population density and pollution are the root causes.

You have to pay council tax, water charges and deal with overzealous borough councils who like to fine people for putting their rubbish out on the wrong day or not having numbers displayed on their house. You're constantly under surveillance by CCTV.

London does however have fewer junkies, is generally safer (I lived in what would be considered a dodgy enough area and never had one jot of trouble) and a broader social scene than Ireland. I also never had any difficulty socialising or working with Londoners, who I always found to be a fair bunch.

I never understand people who say 'Oh, but London has 33,457 museums' as if that somehow automatically makes it better then Dublin. These people must never have lived in London. When you work there you get so worn down by the daily grind of life there that you end up doing exactly the same in your spare time as you do in Ireland; heading out to the pub, sleeping and whatever else it is you'd otherwise do at home. I think a lot of Irish people daydream about the sophisticated lifestyle they imagine they'd lead if they moved to London - spending their weekends flitting between art galleries and poetry readings, riding a fixed wheel bicycle, and being able to wear a fedora and oversized glasses without risking a well-deserved hiding from a passing skanger - but it doesn't happen.

fonecrusher1

Its a silly comparison really. Like comparing a fiat punto to a range rover.

Comparing dublin to london im sure is flattering for dubs but london is colossal, a proper big big city several times the size of Dublin. I lived there for a wee while & heck it makes dublin seem tiny.;)

ascanbe

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Its a silly comparison really. Like comparing a fiat punto to a range rover.

Comparing dublin to london im sure is flattering for dubs but london is colossal, a proper big big city several times the size of Dublin. I lived there for a wee while & heck it makes dublin seem tiny.;)

That's not true: Dublin is larger than London.

fonecrusher1

ascanbe wrote: »

That's not true: Dublin is larger than London.

Incredibly thats what most dubs probably believe.:D

siltirocker

ascanbe wrote: »

That's not true: Dublin is larger than London.

London is about 7 or 8 times larger than Dublin.

OPENROAD

skyhighflyer wrote: »

Being on the tube at 8am on a Monday morning with your face rammed into a sweaty businessman's armpit isn't a nice experience.

But its the same on a Dublin commuter at 8 am on a Monday morning, at least with the tube, a train pulls out, another one pulls in which is not the case in Dublin

bigbadbear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctb-SrwL884

Naikon

London. The Underground is very, very impressive. The whole operation runs like clockwork. Logistically speaking, I doubt Irish Rail could ever measure up.

rossie1977

medicman2009 wrote: »

Spent a good few years living in london, some great years indeed. Moved back to Dublin and it was like moving back to a village, sh1t nightlife, no transportation system. Couldn't find a Taxi, at least not without another 300 like minded individuals following me.

a taxi is one thing you should have no problem finding these days in dublin, there are more taxis in dublin than in new york despite new york having 10 times the population

dame street after 9pm is just a taxi queue

rossie1977

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

Yeah, it would be tenth largest in the US, and in the top 5 ( I believe) in Germany.

what?? no way would dublin be tenth largest in the us

siltirocker wrote: »

No it isn't. Dublin city has over 500,000 in the city. Manchester has 450,000, Lyon has 475,000. Although a simple google has informed me that Oslo has about 80,000 more than Dublin.

manchester is bigger than dublin and quite a bit bigger too, no doubt in my mind about that, its also a much more built up town (lots of highrises), you can be out in the middle of green fields surrounded by cows within a few minutes drive of o'connell street, you can't do that in manchester

both copenhagen and oslo would be around dublins size yes

John_Rambo

medicman2009 wrote: »

SpCouldn't find a Taxi, at least not without another 300 like minded individuals following me.

Will one of you two get me the single "Ironic" by Alanis Morrisset from 1996 please?

Alessandra wrote: »

Dublin is also somewhat soulless. Sure you can have a good night out but there is a distinct lack of variety of places to socialise. It is also one of the most expensive places I have been to in the world. 7 euro for a glass of house white

Are you a gullible tourist that got ripped off in Dublin or is this just an internet anecdote?

darkman2

rossie1977 wrote: »

you can be out in the middle of green fields surrounded by cows within a few minutes drive of o'connell street,

I don't think so.:pac: In Cork, yes. Dublin, no.

pickarooney

By any rational comparison it should be London. Dublin has very little going for it, and anything it does have, London has in spades. But, for reasons I can't quite put into words, I loathe London. I've had a good time there on a few occasions but there's something about the place that gets on my tits.

ORLY?

rossie1977 wrote: »

what?? no way would dublin be tenth largest in the us



manchester is bigger than dublin and quite a bit bigger too, no doubt in my mind about that, its also a much more built up town (lots of highrises), you can be out in the middle of green fields surrounded by cows within a few minutes drive of o'connell street, you can't do that in manchester

both copenhagen and oslo would be around dublins size yes

When a city gets very big it's the greater urban area that is the true measure of it's size because the really big cities tend to have areas of heavy industry and large financial districts where there would be no residences. So a larger proportion of people live away from these areas. The population of the Manchester urban area i.e. the area of unbroken urban development spreading out from Manchester city centre is 2.4 million. Dublin just manages to break the million mark.

Lyons urban area population is 1.2 million. Copenhagens is also 1.2.

All of these cities are even bigger in comparison to Dublin when the metropolitan areas are looked at.

So while in Dublin more people's residences may be within the city limits than the other cities, each of the other cities is more built up, there are more people in them working or carrrying out their daily lives during the day than in Dublin, and probably during the night as well, they have larger infrastructure and more people claim to be from each of these cities than would claim to be from Dublin and more people work in and depend on these cities.

I like Dublin. But let's be realistic and not try to misrepresent it (not directed at you rossie1977.)

--Kaiser--

For people who voted for Dublin......have ye ever been to London?

Rabble Rabble

bronte wrote: »

I will in a few years!

Enjoy Milton Keynes.

Rabble Rabble

siltirocker wrote: »

London is about 7 or 8 times larger than Dublin.

Mexico City is bigger again. Bigger is not better. Bigger is generally worse. The thing about bigger is that even if there are more restaurants, there are more people. Get it? Not that the best restaurants are necessarily in London anyway, and when they are you either queue for hours - as I did two weeks ago - or book weeks in advance. Bog all golf in London proper either. If you like golf, and I dont, stay in Dublin.

Rabble Rabble

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

For people who voted for Dublin......have ye ever been to London?

I think the people who voted for London never lived in London.

Rabble Rabble

medicman2009 wrote: »

Spent a good few years living in london, some great years indeed. Moved back to Dublin and it was like moving back to a village, sh1t nightlife, no transportation system. Couldn't find a Taxi, at least not without another 300 like minded individuals following me. The wife always felt safer in London, than she ever did in Dublin. Comparing the two is a bit like comparing a Super HeavyWeight boxer to a Flyweight, you just can't really.

And yet, you moved back. Seriously, all London dwellers want to move out of London. , Edinburghers, Glaswegians, Mealbournites. Dubliners move back and whine. So why not stay?

List of US cities here. Dublin would come tenth.

fonecrusher1

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

Mexico City is bigger again. Bigger is not better. Bigger is generally worse.

Size is relevant in comparisons. (Im expecting a pun for that)

A domestic cat or a lion? Which is better? Its a similarly pointless question.

Son Of A Vidic

ascanbe wrote: »

But..you just..kind of..did.

To clarify - I could have gone on and on with my post, but it would have been pointless, hence the boxing analogy I gave. Is that a bit clearer now?

bronte

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

Enjoy Milton Keynes.

Um, ok.
You seem to have some kind of problem grasping the concept of someone planning to purchase property in London.
What part of it are you having trouble with exactly?

Son Of A Vidic

Rabble Rabble wrote: »

And yet, you moved back. Seriously, all London dwellers want to move out of London. , Edinburghers, Glaswegians, Mealbournites. Dubliners move back and whine. So why not stay.

Ya I stayed in Dublin for just 6 months, couldn't hack it after London, I'm not a Dub btw. But you are right about Londoners wanting to move out of London, all my english mates had left London by the time I left.

Son Of A Vidic

John_Rambo wrote: »

Will one of you two get me the single "Ironic" by Alanis Morrisset from 1996 please?QUOTE]

Wha?