do you like your city?

[buho]

was watching this Easy Spanish video titled Oaxaca vs Mexico City. Many people when asked if they'd like living in another city said they like where they are now.

So, what about my language lovers here? Do you like living in whichever city you're in at the moment? Or would you like to live in another city?

[MoniqueMaRie]

I came to the Frankfurt region for my studies and stayed for work.

I like the small town I live in now, but I will always consider the place where I grew up to be my home.

No city, no matter how beautiful, can beat that.

What about you?

[buho]

i moved from a small himalayan village to Mumbai for work. it's really big, uncaring, and expensive. so same as you, haha.
in fact, just reached here after I went back home for a month. that makes the feeling even more intense.

[Basler Biker]

Oh well, that's delicate. because I hate (rule break here) my city (not revealed here)
But all sorts of practical restictions stand in the way for a move to a better place.
I would know where to go, without any hesitation, but that's not to revealed here either

So I'd rather talk about a city where a.o. I worked - it's also mentioned in my signature- Switzerland / Basel.
To explain BS is Basel Stadt, and BL is Basel Land (both are "Halbkantone" - say City and rest of the province)

So for work I moved for some longer period to Basel and that turned out to be very ... cosy.

Nice dialect, not too big (300.000 inhabitants), lies on the three-countries border FR-DE-CH, but is not a "village" either, it has "international allure", a lot of work opportunities in the region too (large pharmas), a nice river Rhine with Collective Summer Swimming once in the week, the water can be 23 °C even.

Just a 5 minute bike ride/bicycle (= velo = fahrrad !! not motorbike !!) from center/office to the outer areas of the town, lots of green and nature around, the "Schwarzwald" and France nearby for excursions by bike.

The wages are almost double compared to the rest of the EU, so whatever you are able to "save" it's worth the double if you want to invest in FR or DE or elsewhere. The rates vary between 1.05/1.22 to 1 euro.

Also, whatever you buy in the EU is VATfree "for export", you just pay the Swiss import taxes (say 6% instead of 21% VAT), or just smuggle ...

but ... daily life is proportionally expensive. A decent meal with some wine is 80/90 CHF/pp
A small glass of Pinot Gris is 7 or 8 CHF for 10 cc (in Europe a normal glass is 20 cc)
Renting an apartment would be easily 3000 CHF/mth "cold" (= excl the extra variable costs for water/heating)

Here some examples of today's prices in CHF, including wine where relevant:
1 CHF ≈ 0.92 EUR and 1 CHF ≈ 1.10 USD. (1. Feb. 2025)

• Inexpensive restaurant meal: ₃₀-40 CHF
  Wine not typically included; a glass of house wine can add ₈-12 CHF

• Mid-range restaurant (three-course meal with wine): ₇₅-120 CHF per person
  This includes a moderate bottle of wine (around 40-50 CHF)

• Fine dining restaurant (three-course with premium wine): ₁₅₀-250 CHF per person
  Wine pairing or premium bottles can easily add 70-120 CHF

• Fast-food combo (no wine, obviously): ₁₅ CHF

[gmads]

For most of my life I used to like and enjoy Mexico City. For some time now, I do not.

Don't be mistaken however, regardles of my personal point of view, this megalopolis has a really large number of beautiful, interesting and exciting places, making it a city definitely worth visiting.

[MrtAltg]

I live in Istanbul, but I don't like it very much. The big city has big problems. That's why I prefer small cities.

[PtolemysXX]

So, what about my language lovers here?

I like the place where I live now. But as you mentioned "language lovers"... I wouldn't mind moving somewhere else - my dream places are multilingual cities or villages cornered in between countries or sitting astride language borders like what @Basler Biker is writing about - places where you just need to cross the street and get immersed in a different culture, different language.

[PtolemysXX]

Since my post last night I recalled an article I have read lately in a German online magazine:

https://www.focus.de/panorama/welt/ausw ... 4dbc0.html

The story is about a Dutch couple buying an abandoned village in Spain, renovating it and having plans to bring it back to life.

Having my own current language interests in mind (topped by Spanish/Dutch) that would be the best place to "jubilate my jubilación" when it comes to it: have a pint of Heineken with the neighbours to the left and then go for a dinner in a nearby bodega with the Spanish neighbours to the right

[Basler Biker]

Having my own current language interests in mind (topped by Spanish/Dutch) that would be the best place to "jubilate my jubilación" when it comes to it: have a pint of Heineken with the neighbours to the left and then go for a dinner in a nearby bodega with the Spanish neighbours to the right

It's always fun with Dutch people around. I used to take the seat near Dutch people in het Amsterdammertje (the treins going between Brussels and Anmsterdam) In the other coupés it was always dull Belgian moaning.
Dutch can have that too, but at least they do it with the biggest smile possible.

But plan the visits to your neighbours well. => Bier na wijn is venijn, wijn na bier is plezier
Except that ... is Heineken really a beer ? (Belgian joke)

[PtolemysXX]

But plan the visits to your neighbours well. => Bier na wijn is venijn, wijn na bier is plezier

It seems that accidentally I picked the right sequence...

Except that ... is Heineken really a beer ? (Belgian joke)

It is a codeword. Everybody in the world knows what Heineken is. Like the US brand "Budweiser". But hello, hello, where is Budweis (České Budějovice)?

[John Little]

Since my post last night I recalled an article I have read lately in a German online magazine:

https://www.focus.de/panorama/welt/ausw ... 4dbc0.html

The story is about a Dutch couple buying an abandoned village in Spain, renovating it and having plans to bring it back to life.

A whole village!!!

[SansEspoir]

I'm from a small norwegian town, and I moved to a small swedish town.
While I like the location, nature and local food of the place I grew up a lot more, I like the people here a lot better. Maybe because I didn't go to school with them, so I don't know who their second cousin screwed over in poker, but still... People here seem a lot more openminded and friendly, despite being swedes. They seem to be happy when someone else does well, unlike where I grew up where pettyness and jealousy is stronger than peoples sexdrives.

[HeyMarlana]

I'm in Canada, and being in an immigrant-country, most people other than the Indigenous quotient here are obsessed with "coming from somewhere else". It's part of just about every Canadian's identity. You'll often hear, "I'm Irish", "I'm German", "I'm Italian", and yet, all of these people who make these claims were born in Canada.

With that said, I don't think a lot of Canadians truly appreciate where they currently are. They long to visit far away places where there has been established cultures for many hundreds if not thousands of years. In particular, maybe even the one country where they have ancestry.

I'm originally from Vancouver and have always loved it. It's quite multicultural, and I've been able to learn a lot about my friends' and neighbours' cultures because we all live here together. Gorgeous scenery, good weather (despite what people think). I've often left, just to come back again.

[Basler Biker]

I'm in Canada, and being in an immigrant-country, most people other than the Indigenous quotient here are obsessed with "coming from somewhere else". It's part of just about every Canadian's identity. You'll often hear, "I'm Irish", "I'm German", "I'm Italian", and yet, all of these people who make these claims were born in Canada.

With that said, I don't think a lot of Canadians truly appreciate where they currently are. They long to visit far away places where there has been established cultures for many hundreds if not thousands of years. In particular, maybe even the one country where they have ancestry.

I'm originally from Vancouver and have always loved it. It's quite multicultural, and I've been able to learn a lot about my friends' and neighbours' cultures because we all live here together. Gorgeous scenery, good weather (despite what people think). I've often left, just to come back again.

once I was searching for work in my area of expertise, and I looked around the world for positions.
In places that seemed so fine to move to. One was Vancouver of course too.
But the "work" offer seemed to be the same wherever I looked, South-Africa, Australia or N-Z.
So I didn't move to anywhere.

I was also there during the Olympic Wintergames (+)
With my plane, Cessna 172 Skyhawk (Floatplane Variant), and I flew a lot over Vancouver,
the bay, the Island, the mountains, the ski resorts (++)

---

(+) Streetview
(++) in MSFS (Flight Simukator, with real Earth landscapes)
I wished then I had a hot-key to switch to reality mode and land in the bay, and maybe never go away again.

[Explorer]

Mas como é que não vou gostar de Lisboa? O ambiente, as ruas, a comida, a sua gente...

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[Basler Biker]

Mas como é que não vou gostar de Lisboa? O ambiente, as ruas, a comida, a sua gente...

Nice pictures. As a tourist we took the tram going high up the streets of the old historic town.
Goal was a tour, so it would bring us back to the place were it started - the main square (i think)
Praça do Comércio

But strangely enough, underway they stopped 2 times saying "terminus", and to continue the ride we had to take each time another ticket. So the tour costed us 3 tickets...what can you do as a tourist, complain? no, it would spoil a nice tour.

My wife says it was tram 8. That's what I recall too.

More pictures here
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cate ... bon_tram_8

more pictures

These old trams had a strange feature on the front - to prevent people from getting under it ??

[Meli578588]

For most of my life I used to like and enjoy Mexico City. For some time now, I do not.

Don't be mistaken however, regardles of my personal point of view, this megalopolis has a really large number of beautiful, interesting and exciting places, making it a city definitely worth visiting.

I saw a beautiful wedding that took place in Mexico City. Gorgeous hotel with a patio downstairs , outside filled with’s, . Big tortilla chips with all different types of salas and guacamole! How delicious .( Guests that stayed there were taking videos. .)