# Which are the noisiest cities in the world?



## sharpie20 (Nov 5, 2005)

Shanghai is the nosiest city that i've been to, since theres so much construction going on all over the city, you constanly hear jack hammers, drilling, the clanking of metal and giant diesel trucks. Not to mention the loud taxis that seem to insessantly honk their horns at everybody on the street.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

It's usually the crowded dense cities that are noisy


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

WANCH said:


> It's usually the crowded dense cities that are noisy


Well, I can think of a few exceptions right away. The dense residential areas of London and Paris can be very serene. Tokyo is not a noisy city at all either. You don't hear horns going off on the street and people don't yell and scream.


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## vtower (Jan 31, 2006)

One of the reasons why I recognize Tokyo is noisy is motorbikes. They make noise throughout the day and night on the streets everywhere. It reminds me of Italy.


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## vtower (Jan 31, 2006)

hkskyline said:


> Tokyo is not a noisy city at all either. You don't hear horns going off on the street and people don't yell and scream.


I presume you have never been to Tokyo.


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## desirous (Jun 10, 2006)

Most US cities are fairly quiet. In the suburbs one owns his own house; in downtown, it is so deserted during evenings and weekends, nobody is there to make noise.


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## kashyap3 (Jul 11, 2006)

Delhi, followed by the metro cities in India
Delhi is the noisiest
honking is more of a greeting than an insult
there are trucks with extremely loud horns honking incessantly for no reason
due to the massive urban sprawl and large roads to accomodate an ever growing traffic

in many western cities, honking is very very very limited
it is considered somewhat "offensive" if not "rude"


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

vtower said:


> I presume you have never been to Tokyo.


I have been to Tokyo several times. It's not that noisy. Drivers don't honk so freely like in New York or in many Chinese cities. Have you seen how obnoxious some people in the US can be, especially among the lower classes that enjoy yelling from one end of the street to another?


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## Buff_alo (Oct 16, 2005)

BUFFALO!


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## Overground (Apr 11, 2005)

The noisest place I've been to is Seoul, South Korea. They honk their horns all day long for absolutely anything in traffic. It was unbearable at times I felt.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

hkskyline said:


> I have been to Tokyo several times. It's not that noisy. Drivers don't honk so freely like in New York or in many Chinese cities. Have you seen how obnoxious some people in the US can be, especially among the lower classes that enjoy yelling from one end of the street to another?


The noise in Tokyo is usually the crowd


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

WANCH said:


> The noise in Tokyo is usually the crowd


Not really. For those who have been to Japan, you may notice that the crowds are quite orderly. In fact, when I was in a large park during the cherry blossom festival in Kyoto, people walked one-way on one side of the bridge and the other way on the other side ... neatly. There was no sign. People just did so by self-discipline. This is why Japanese cities are fairly orderly, and fairly quiet as well. The crowd doesn't make much of a noise at all.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

hkskyline said:


> Not really. For those who have been to Japan, you may notice that the crowds are quite orderly. In fact, when I was in a large park during the cherry blossom festival in Kyoto, people walked one-way on one side of the bridge and the other way on the other side ... neatly. There was no sign. People just did so by self-discipline. This is why Japanese cities are fairly orderly, and fairly quiet as well. The crowd doesn't make much of a noise at all.


Japanese do have self discipline unless they're drunk or they're partying  But it goes with anybody


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

WANCH said:


> Japanese do have self discipline unless they're drunk or they're partying  But it goes with anybody


Civil disobedience or uncontrollable partying are quite rare on the open streets of Japan. The notions of conformity and social behaviour are strongly rooted in many Asian cultures. It's not like the openness in Europe or North America. Have you been to Japan?


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## vtower (Jan 31, 2006)

Perhaps the Japanese do have self discipline and therefore they are orderly and polite and never behave like the westerners but the Chinese and some South East Asian nations are very open and the people often enjoy yelling on the streets. I find them friendly and not offensive at all.


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## vtower (Jan 31, 2006)

hkskyline said:


> Not really. For those who have been to Japan, you may notice that the crowds are quite orderly. In fact, when I was in a large park during the cherry blossom festival in Kyoto, people walked one-way on one side of the bridge and the other way on the other side ... neatly. There was no sign. People just did so by self-discipline. This is why Japanese cities are fairly orderly, and fairly quiet as well. The crowd doesn't make much of a noise at all.


Kyoto is a lovely city, the most beautiful city in Asia.


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## vtower (Jan 31, 2006)

Overground said:


> The noisest place I've been to is Seoul, South Korea. They honk their horns all day long for absolutely anything in traffic. It was unbearable at times I felt.


Really? I felt the Koreans are very polite. Seoul is just like Tokyo, orderly and polite.


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## centreoftheuniverse (Nov 16, 2005)

kashyap3 said:


> Delhi, followed by the metro cities in India
> Delhi is the noisiest
> honking is more of a greeting than an insult
> there are trucks with extremely loud horns honking incessantly for no reason
> ...


Very true. I've always wondered why cities in the Middle East and in South Asia have so much vehicular honking. I thought it was a way of informing other drivers or pedestrians of their presence but now that you say it is for no reason, I really am confused. Btw, some cities in Southeast Asia, like Ho Chi Minh City are also very honking happy, too.


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## centreoftheuniverse (Nov 16, 2005)

WANCH said:


> Japanese do have self discipline unless they're drunk or they're partying  But it goes with anybody


Except when they are away from Japan. I once had a Japanese for a roommate and she was the noisiest person in the building. I think it's because they don't feel inhibited by the their culture when they are in another country.


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## centreoftheuniverse (Nov 16, 2005)

vtower said:


> Perhaps the Japanese do have self discipline and therefore they are orderly and polite and never behave like the westerners but the Chinese and some South East Asian nations are very open and the people often enjoy yelling on the streets. I find them friendly and not offensive at all.


Yes, very true. The Chinese are generally not as polite as the Japanese but that doesn't mean they are any less friendly. It's just a cultural thing. The Japanese will bow as a greeting but the Chinese just doesn't do that.


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## krull (Oct 8, 2005)

I said NYC is a very noisy city. But I like it. To me it feels like the city is vey much alive.


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## salvius (Aug 4, 2004)

NYC (Manhattan, more specifically) is pretty high up there, probably the noisiest city I've been to. But I'd imagine some 3rd world cities are indeed noisier.


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## ggonza (Jul 16, 2008)

From a local newspaper: ''La Nacion"

1- Tokyo
2- Nagasaki
3- New York
4- Buenos Aires


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## WeimieLvr (May 26, 2008)

Crispy said:


> Canadian cities are much quieter than US cities because Canadian cities are more dense with more people living in highrises. American cities, by contrast, consist of a handful of tall office buildings immediately surrounded by slums and then the endless suburbs whose prevailing noise is the constant barking of dogs.


Your ignorance is simply amazing! Bravo! :applause:

1. Dogs tend to bark equally in all countries, whether in urban, suburban, or rural areas.

2. Higher population density = noisier environment. Duh.

3. Canadian cities are not without their endless suburbs.

4. I suggest you visit a few more American cities before you post such nonsense. It's embarassing.


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## Ribarca (Jan 28, 2005)

Spanish cities are very noisy.

In Hong Kong it's the buses that are noisy and the Cantonese people who are always yelling. Cantonese is a pretty harsh language to listen to. I very much prefer Mandarin.


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

Spain is the world's second noisiest nation, Japan the first.


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## Scion (Apr 26, 2008)

A lot of Chinese cities have this perpetual roar to it....


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## [email protected] (Jan 17, 2004)

I've seen my fair share of the world and nothing comes even close to the noise level of Cairo, that includes all major Asian cities.

I love big cities, but after 4.5 days in Cairo I really had enough.



the spliff fairy said:


> Spain is the world's second noisiest nation, Japan the first.


Is that supposed to be a joke. I just travelled through Japan for a month and visited basically all major cities and what absolutely stunned me was how quiet they were. Almost no honking, screaming or other loud noises.


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## brisavoine (Mar 19, 2006)

Of all the cities that I have visited (on almost all continents), the noisest so far was Mexico City. In Mexico City, for the first time in my life, I had to buy some ear plugs to be able to sleep at night.


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## diz (Nov 1, 2005)

same roar in Makati City


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## dmoor82 (Jul 7, 2009)

I have been to Chicago,New York and Boston and they are all real loud!I guess anywhere there is higher density of population, there is a higher volume of noise pollution!I'm sure there are cities in Asia alot louder!


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Ribarca said:


> Spanish cities are very noisy.
> 
> In Hong Kong it's the buses that are noisy and the Cantonese people who are always yelling. Cantonese is a pretty harsh language to listen to. I very much prefer Mandarin.


True about The Cantonese dialect. Its more street compared to Mandarin. 

Anyway, HK is noisy only in the city centre. But if you go up The Peak, the outskirts of New Territories or into The Outlying Islands its quiet.


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## Skybean (Jun 16, 2004)

About Cantonese... it depends on who is speaking. There are actually quite a few Cantonese speakers who have village accents mixed in there (from southern Chinese towns), so it's even harsher. Some Canto speakers speak loudly for dramatic effect. The sentence ending emphasis words - gah... ah.. lah... lor... would sound strange to people. But these are discretionary... so it really depends on who is speaking.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Skybean said:


> About Cantonese... it depends on who is speaking. There are actually quite a few Cantonese speakers who have village accents mixed in there (from southern Chinese towns), so it's even harsher. Some Canto speakers speak loudly for dramatic effect. The sentence ending emphasis words - gah... ah.. lah... lor... would sound strange to people. But these are discretionary... so it really depends on who is speaking.


Come to think of it, alot of young HK women speak it softly.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

WANCH said:


> True about The Cantonese dialect. Its more street compared to Mandarin.
> 
> Anyway, HK is noisy only in the city centre. But if you go up The Peak, the outskirts of New Territories or into The Outlying Islands its quiet.


Not really. There is a lot of white (city) noise even if you go up into the hillsides that overlook the city. It's not loud talking but still an annoying buzz.


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## dmarney (Jul 26, 2008)

leanvlc said:


> absolutely VALENCIA in spain is the most noisiest city in all the world, it`s imposible to live there


hehe i have to agree with you there


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## ukiyo (Aug 5, 2008)

Why are people saying Japan is noisy? Have you guys visited Japan? For a country that dense, japan is probably the *quietest* urban country! Yeah Tokyo is noiser than some US suburb with forest everywhere, but that's because it's the biggest city in the world.

The noisiest thing in Japan is probably Cicadas in the summer :lol:


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## Skybean (Jun 16, 2004)

NihonKitty said:


> The noisiest thing in Japan is probably Cicadas in the summer :lol:


LOL! I notice in Japanese dramas that they have this cicada sound effect that is played whenever the scene takes place outdoors. I always wondered why they always did this.


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## ukiyo (Aug 5, 2008)

Cicada represent japanese summer. If we don't hear cicada then we won't think of summer. Cricket is fall


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

hkskyline said:


> Not really. There is a lot of white (city) noise even if you go up into the hillsides that overlook the city. It's not loud talking but still an annoying buzz.


As long we can sleep @ night we're fine.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

WANCH said:


> As long we can sleep @ night we're fine.


I wouldn't keep my window open at night (I already have to shut my windows that face the harbour)! If I faced the southern side then it should feel more like going back to nature.


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## Balaputradewa (Jul 11, 2008)

in South East Asia: Jakarta, Bangkok, Hanoi, Pnompenh n Manila are so crowded n traffic jam anywhere.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Balaputradewa said:


> in South East Asia: Jakarta, Bangkok, Hanoi, Pnompenh n Manila are so crowded n traffic jam anywhere.


True with your choices


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## Ribarca (Jan 28, 2005)

WANCH said:


> True about The Cantonese dialect. Its more street compared to Mandarin.
> 
> Anyway, HK is noisy only in the city centre. But if you go up The Peak, the outskirts of New Territories or into The Outlying Islands its quiet.


I agree. Hong Kong is rather quiet in many places.

It's mainly some older people that aer very noisy. Especially if you go to a local restaurant where they yell from one corner to the other:lol:.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Ribarca said:


> I agree. Hong Kong is rather quiet in many places.
> 
> It's mainly some older people that aer very noisy. Especially if you go to a local restaurant where they yell from one corner to the other:lol:.


Most HK restaurants are pretty noisy. But thats not the worst. I took a Cathay Pacific flight from Tokyo to HK and the whole flight was noisy.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Some HK scenes

On the MTR





In Mid-Levels


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## Jaborandi (Nov 19, 2006)

Havana is wonderfully noisy. I think because of the lack of home entertainment centres and computers, everybody is on the streets talking to each other, there is the constant sound of children laughing and playing and the chaos of automobiles constantly honking their 1959 horns. It sounds very much alive!


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## Occit (Jul 24, 2005)

Due to pathetic traffic in Caracas i guess is one of most noisy cities...


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## OnTheRise (Sep 11, 2009)

With all those yellow cabs and firefighter trucks, it's NYC the nosiest.


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## Dimethyltryptamine (Aug 22, 2009)

Hong Kong is quite noisy. The hustle and bustle of the city, consisting mainly of Taxi's horns makes it rather unpleasant.


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## June (Sep 26, 2009)

to be honest, shanghai, especially in the rush hour...


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## itom 987 (Sep 12, 2002)

Taipei is noisy too.


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## superchan7 (Jan 21, 2004)

Hong Kong is pretty noisy for such a mature city in the developed world. On my grandmother's 30th floor flat, I can hear the engines and brakes of buses below, jackhammers working on HK's annoyingly constant repair works, etc.

Down on the streets, double-decker buses and commercial vehicles (vans, trucks) are everywhere. Their diesel engines are loud and spew nasty fumes despite advancing emissions standards--when there's that many of them, it doesn't matter if they're Euro III or Euro IV or Euro MXVVIII.

On the buses and trains, every other person is on the phone. Taxis are quieter but the drivers use the intercoms frequently. Private cars are the only way to guarantee a quiet journey.

My family lives in a rural village though, which is very quiet.


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## philvia (Jun 22, 2006)

a lot of people are saying NYC is one of the noisiest... outside of manhattan, and away from the elevated trains, the outer boroughs are very quiet IMO. except for the garbage truck and occasional fire truck.


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## OtAkAw (Aug 5, 2004)

Skybean said:


> LOL! I notice in Japanese dramas that they have this cicada sound effect that is played whenever the scene takes place outdoors. I always wondered why they always did this.


Also in anime! In fact I feel quite nostalgic nowadays to animes and their scenes with cicada sound.


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## Ahmad Rashid Ahmad (Oct 4, 2008)

In Pakistan, Karachi & Lahore are also not lacking behind........they are up with the competition of becoming the noisiest city of the world


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Dimethyltryptamine said:


> Hong Kong is quite noisy. The hustle and bustle of the city, consisting mainly of Taxi's horns makes it rather unpleasant.


HK taxi drivers don't blow their horns that much.


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## HK999 (Jul 17, 2009)

definitely hong kong, and i know what i'm talking about. the higher you live the better it is for your health .



WANCH said:


> HK taxi drivers don't blow their horns that much.


oh yes believe me, they do. but it depends of in which area you are.


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## ukiyo (Aug 5, 2008)

This is the loudest thing in all of japan :lol:


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## xXFallenXx (Jun 15, 2007)

That's a Cicada right?


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