# Most cosmopolitan city in the Americas?



## PanaManiac (Mar 26, 2005)

Which is(are) the most cosmopolitan* city(ies) on the Western Hemisphere? Where do you rate the cities in the above poll? Is there a glaring omission (or plurality of same)?


*Cosmopolitan: Having broad international sophistication; Having worldwide rather than limited scope; world class; culturally and ethnically diverse.


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## brooklynprospect (Apr 27, 2005)

obviously NY. One of the largest concentrations of artists, writers, publishers, designers, business people and immigrants in the world. Not to mention home to the United Nations. No other city in the western hemisphere comes even close to offering such a complete package. If I had to choose 2nd most cosmopolitan, it would probably be between Toronto and LA. After that, Chicago, Miami, Washington. 

In Latin America, I'd choose Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, but both those cities are a long way behind the N American cities mentioned.


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## tkr (Apr 3, 2005)

Incredibly Sao Paulo is not on that list, and it is among the most cosmopolitan ones.


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## Latin l0cO (Nov 8, 2004)

How are you gonna have SantoDomingo and San Juan but not have Sao Paulo?


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## wickedestcity (Jul 23, 2004)

weres Chicago on the list? do you feel its lacking that much cosmopolitanisim?


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## brooklynprospect (Apr 27, 2005)

hmmm... Chicago vs Santo Domingo and San Juan...


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## PanaManiac (Mar 26, 2005)

*Glaring Omissions*

Sao Paulo and Chicago was omitted because I wanted to post a balanced list with maximum room for 15. The scope of the poll was the whole western hemisphere. Consequently, I had to include cities from the Pacific, Caribbean, North, Central and South America.

Sao Paulo was _edited_ out because Rio is perceived (by me) to be more cosmopolitan and needed to nominate only one city from each of the selected South American countries.

Chicago wound up 'on the cutting room floor' because I chose to select only three from the continental United States (Four overall), all of which are _more_ cosmopolitan than the Windy City.

Because I wanted to achieve _ relative_ balance, the U. S. and Canada (2) were the only countries I selected more than one city from.

To cover myself and to invite dialogue, I did ask if there were any glaring omissions, while being the first to know the answer. Other inevitable omissions were: Montreal, Havana, Medellin, Boston and any I forgot to mention now. 

This reminds me of the outrage generated by the omitted films and performances when the Academy of Motion Pictures announce their Oscar nominations. Or when an Oscar winner forgets to thank a spouse.


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## Wallbanger (Mar 8, 2005)

I think Montreal should be up there! I think Montreal would be the most cosmopolitan city in NA outside NY.


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## samsonyuen (Sep 23, 2003)

NY
LA Chicago TO BA
Montreal SF Boston Miami


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## JayT (Sep 11, 2002)

Its a bit sad when you don't have *SAO PAULO* Brazil.

jt


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## Englishman (May 3, 2003)

Did you not think to include London either?


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## Citrus-Fruit (Mar 26, 2005)

Englishman said:


> Did you not think to include London either?


I was gonna say, half these people really are as thick as a brick. I suppose he thought London, Barcelona etc were in the Middle Hemisphere :bash:


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## Azn_chi_boi (Mar 11, 2005)

London is barely in the western hemisphere but is in the western hemisphee. You could rename the thread as the most Cosmo... in Americas


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## Citrus-Fruit (Mar 26, 2005)

Azn_chi_boi said:


> London is barely in the western hemisphere but is in the western hemisphee. You could rename the thread as the most Cosmo... in Americas


Deary Me, this guy's just proved my last post ... Los Angeles is probably closer to the Eastern Hemisphere then Slovakia is


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## Monkey (Oct 1, 2002)

Come on, you cannot exclude London. I ought to close this thread...

*frowns*


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## eddyk (Mar 26, 2005)

Nah...Change it to the 'Americas' and its all good!



Im new to the scene....I have no idea what Cosmopolitan or Urbanity mean...or if desity is good or bad etc.


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## Monkey (Oct 1, 2002)

Okay, I renamed the thread.


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## Monkey (Oct 1, 2002)

Dictionary definition:

*cos·mo·pol·i·tan*
adj.

1. Pertinent or common to the whole world: an issue of cosmopolitan import.
2. Having constituent elements from all over the world or from many different parts of the world: the ancient and cosmopolitan societies of Syria and Egypt.
3. So sophisticated as to be at home in all parts of the world or conversant with many spheres of interest: a cosmopolitan traveler.
4. Ecology. Growing or occurring in many parts of the world; widely distributed.


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## Monkey (Oct 1, 2002)

New York and Toronto would easily win this.


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## Zwanderlust (Apr 7, 2005)

*My Top 10*

1-New York City
2-Los Angeles
3-Chicago
4-Toronto
5-San Francisco
6-Buenos Aires
7-Rio de Janeiro
8-Vancouver, BC
9-Sao Paulo
10-Panama City


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## softee (Mar 6, 2003)

NY
Toronto
SF
Rio
Sao Paulo
Montreal
Vancouver
Buenos Aires
LA
Chicago


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## daniel_18 (Oct 20, 2003)

Toronto
New York
Los Angeles 
Chicago
Sao Paulo
Río de Janeiro


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## AcesHigh (Feb 20, 2003)

Rio de Janeiro is less cosmopolitan than São Paulo, since São Paulo has MANY MANY more ethnies.


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## Nick in Atlanta (Nov 5, 2003)

Although NYC has many millions of foreign born, most of the native New Yorkers, even those who do sophisticated work with other parts of the world, are relatively provincial. They think America stops at the Hudson River, starts again in LA, and includes Florida south of Orlando.

Toronto has no identity of its own. Native born are very hard to find. 

Toronto gets my vote.


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## Rockefeller (Jan 1, 2005)

Nick in Atlanta said:


> Although NYC has many millions of foreign born, most of the native New Yorkers, even those who do sophisticated work with other parts of the world, are relatively provincial. They think America stops at the Hudson River, starts again in LA, and includes Florida south of Orlando.
> 
> Toronto has no identity of its own. Native born are very hard to find.
> 
> Toronto gets my vote.


Interesting observation about Toronto. I would say it has less of an identity than say NYC, but its a stretch to say it doesn't have one. The thing is, it is always changing. Toronto used to be referred to as Toronto the good, given its waspy, Victorian roots - so T.O has definately transformed a lot. 

I also think that Immigrants to T.O or Canada in general, are not expected to assimilate into the "Canadian" culture like American immigrants in the 'U.S culture". This also adds to T.O's cosmopolitan status.


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## KGB (Sep 12, 2002)

Yes...the "identity" thing is interesting.

I hear many people claim Toronto having a lack of one...and saying so in a manner which denotes that being a negative thing.

It could be...or it couldn't be...depends on your feelings about it.

To develope an identity, would generally require things remain the same over a period of time. But Toronto has been a very rapidly changing city over the last 50 years (in basically everything), which really doesn't allow much to remain the same long enough to become "identifiable" to people in general as a trait.

Toronto "used" to have an identity, as before the middle of the 20th century, the place was very much the same for a long time.

If you are a person who like the comfort of things remaining the same, then this is not going to seem very positive. But if, on the other hand, you enjoy this rapidly changing environment, then it will be a positive thing. 

Personally, i fit into the latter catagory....so when you tell me Toronto has no identity, then i don't take it as an insult.

But, "Identity" is a fairly loose term. It can just as easily be said, that Toronto's ever-changing environment and all this multi-cultural mumbo-jumbo IS it's identity. Perhaps it's not the most unique identity, as many other cities exibit some of the same behavior...but not quite as fully and rapidly as Toronto. Not that long ago, Toronto could have easily boasted being the LEAST multicultural large city in the world....now it boasts the opposite (whether it's actually true or not).






KGB


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## alex3000 (Oct 20, 2002)

My list:
- Los Angeles
- Toronto
- New York City
- San Fracisco
- Sao Paulo
- Vancouver
- Honolulu
- Buenos Aires
- Mexico City
- Panama City
- Lima
- Caracas
- Bogota
- San Juan
- Santo Domingo


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## alex3000 (Oct 20, 2002)

Some info...

- *Los Angeles*:
Hispanic (46.5%) 
White Non-Hispanic (29.7%) 
Black (11.2%) 
Asian (10.0%)
American Indian (1.4%)
Other (1.2%) 

- *New York City*:
White Non-Hispanic (35.0%) 
Hispanic (27.0%) 
Black (26.6%) 
Asian (10.5%)
Other (2%)

- *San Francisco*
White Non-Hispanic (43.6%) 
Asian (30.9%) 
Hispanic (14.1%) 
Black (7.8%) 
Other (2.4%) 
American Indian (1.2%) 

- *Honolulu*
Asian (57.5%) 
White Non-Hispanic (18.7%) 
Other race (10.5%) 
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (6.8%) 
Hispanic (4.4%) 
Black (1.6%) 
American Indian (1.4%)


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## softee (Mar 6, 2003)

"Cosmopolitan" to me means a trend-setting city full of energy, culture and creativity -- with great theatre, restaurants, literature, music etc. -- not just racial and ethnic diversity. There are many cities that are quite cosmopolitan and yet are not that racially diverse at all.


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## tocoto (Jan 18, 2003)

NYC is so far ahead of any other city listed it's a no brainer.
LA is next, so much more than the others
SP is third, go there and see for yourself, unbelievable
Toronto, what a well hyped town, far less than advertised
SF better than Chi better than TO

the rest are cosmopolitan to some degree but so are many other cities not on this list


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## tkr (Apr 3, 2005)

alex3000 said:


> Some info...
> 
> - *Los Angeles*:
> Hispanic (46.5%)
> ...



wow!! im surprised with whites %.. they're going to be a small minority in the next decades, huh


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## algonquin (Sep 24, 2004)

Nick in Atlanta said:


> Although NYC has many millions of foreign born, most of the native New Yorkers, even those who do sophisticated work with other parts of the world, are relatively provincial. They think America stops at the Hudson River, starts again in LA, and includes Florida south of Orlando.
> 
> Toronto has no identity of its own. Native born are very hard to find.
> 
> Toronto gets my vote.


a very clear and insightful point of view.


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## atmBrasil (Oct 18, 2008)

*Sao Paulo*

Well, a lot of people here share the same opinion of me about Sao paulo. It is definitely the most racially diverse city in Brazil, and for sure, one of the most cosmopolitan in the world. It is a way more cosmopolitan than Rio, and it is not just me saying so, it is historically and visually proved when you walk around the city. It is not fair not to include such a cultural pot in this forum. In my opinion this fact does not make the poll geographically, historically or culturally coherent.


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## atmBrasil (Oct 18, 2008)

Thus, I vote for 
1) Toronto
2) New York
3) Sao Paulo


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## Skyrazer (Sep 9, 2009)

1. NYC
2. Toronto
3. Los Angeles
4. Sao Paulo
5. San Fran
6. Chicago
7. Vancouver
8. Miami
9. Buenos Aires
10. Rio


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

this one is destined to City vs City


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