Take Your Pick - New York City or Los Angeles?

New York City. Los Angeles. You want to go to either city. You've never been to either city. Which one would you want to visit most? Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a new concept for my blog that I've long wanted to introduce- "Take Your Pick!" This blog post in the Take Your Pick category is one about which city you'd want to go to if given this choice. I'll share my own ideas here in this post.

About the Label: Take Your Pick.

"Take Your Pick" is a blog label where I invite my readers to choose between one or more items featured. There are certain parameters put into play to keep things interesting. I hope to have this as a method of generating a little debate and getting some more involvement from my readers.


Now, let's begin!

--- Take Your Pick: New York City or Los Angeles? ---

Why care about either location? Both are major cities. Truly international cities. They've somewhat been must-visit cities for almost anyone in the United States including internationally. These are two major cities on two different coasts. But which is better- New York City or Los Angeles?

Important Details:

When making a choice on this topic, here are some parameters to keep things interesting:

• You must have not been to either location. If you have been to both cities, you are free to choose which is better.
• You must not be specifically from either location, including suburbs of the respective cities.


So let's do it!

--- Why New York City? ---

There's just something about a place like New York City that really draws people to it. For me, it's tough to argue against New York City- bright lights, tall buildings, unique character... quintessential American city.

Here is New York City in a video:



Here are some random talking points...

• You have a number of locales such as the Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Brooklyn Bridge, Rucker Park (for my basketball folks), and Madison Square Garden among many other locations. Don't forget about Times Square as well! If you're into fancy shopping, 5th Avenue is for you. Also- don't forget about that beautiful woman on Ellis Island: the Statue of Liberty.

• If you're a sports fan, you have plenty to be proud of- the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers and N.Y. Islanders, the New York Jets and Giants (even though they both play in New Jersey), New York Mets, and of course, the New York Yankees. Football (as in soccer) fans can enjoy the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer who play at the beautiful Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The New Jersey Nets will be moving to Brooklyn and will become the Brooklyn Nets starting with the 2012-2013 season of NBA basketball. There is also the New York Liberty of the WNBA. You may even be a fan of St. John's basketball as well for you college basketball fans.

• Your education options are vast in and around New York City- Columbia University, Fordham University, St. John's University, Manhattan College, New York University, City College of New York... all among MANY other institutions.

• Lot of media outlets are in New York City including many different shows that are aired in NYC. Some shows and businesses are mostly located within NYC. Shows like the Bill Cunningham Show and the Jeremy Kyle Show are filmed in New York City. Daytime talk shows like Maury and Jerry Springer have taped in recent years in a studio in Stamford, Connecticut, USA. Stamford is also the world headquarters of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Popular nighttime shows like "The Late Show With David Letterman" and "Saturday Night Live" are shown in New York City. Let's not forget the COUNTLESS movies, TV shoes, video games, and things like that are either based in New York City or inspired by New York City. You gamers are probably playing two recent games that have NYC as its backdrop- "Crysis 2" and "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3."

• New York City is its own proper fashion hotbed. Therefore, you become accustomed to NYC fashion style including the allure of New York Fashion Week. I need only say Fifth Avenue for you fashionable types. Don't forget about New York Fashion Week as well if you are a fashion lover. Also, New York City is the home grounds for two of the most popular fashion blogs- Fashion by He and The Sartorialist.

• New York is great for eating out. The only one I know of, unfortunately, is Katz's Delicatessen. There was once a show called "24 Hour Restaurant Battle" (which I blogged about here on John's Blog Space) where people wanting to make their own restaurant had to prepare everything from food to furnishings to make their own restaurant. All of the action from this reality show was in New York City.


New York City just has so much to offer. And if you're from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, you won't feel too far away from Europe or Africa.

--- Why Los Angeles? ---

It seems like everybody is from California or living in California, especially Southern California; and almost especially the Los Angeles area. Come on now- Torrance, Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Long Beach, Beverly Hills, Riverside, Azusa, Studio City... you name it. Don't forget about the big "Hollywood" sign in case you forget where the heck you are. I would need an entire blog (not just a single post) to discuss the many movies, TV shows, and all that take place in Los Angeles. I mean- there are SO many movies and such based in Los Angeles, you almost wonder if everybody and everything is in Los Angeles.

This is a video showcasing Los Angeles:



• Why Los Angeles? Obvious reasons- lots of star power. Rodeo Drive. The USCal Trojans and UCLA Bruins rivalry. If you're into sports, you love you some Lakers basketball (and the Clippers) and some Dodgers baseball. You may even be fond of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Also, who doesn't love being among the stars and celebrities that call L.A. home? Who doesn't love being in the movie-making industry?

• Care to learn in Los Angeles? Many institutions are within reach- the University of Southern California, the University of California-Los Angeles (better known as UCLA, of course), Loyola Marymount University, California State University-Los Angeles... all among many others.

• One instantly feels star power in Los Angeles, especially knowing you are within distance of various studios and media outlets. Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers... I can go on.

• Los Angeles has a number of famous eateries and chains. Among others, Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles and In-N-Out Burger come to mind immediately to me.


I talked about NYC and not being far from Europe and Africa. With Los Angeles, you feel closer to home, if home to you is Asia or Australia.

--- Which Would I Choose? ---

I've never been outside of Texas as of this post, but would I choose New York City or Los Angeles?

Through my childhood, I've always seemed to want to visit New York City more than I do Los Angeles. Both cities are surely worth visiting. I just seemed always more enamored with New York City than I do Los Angeles. The city is truly classic to me. I would absolutely enjoy seeing the New York City skyline from across the Hudson River at night.

This is going to sound funny- I would feel more lost in Los Angeles than I would in New York City. I honestly do wish I knew more about Los Angeles and surrounding areas than what I do know. I would probably most want to visit Rodeo Drive and all the various shops and such. I may even be interested in seeing Watts and the Watts Towers.

Most of all- I have one big fear about being on the West Coast (or even Japan)- fear of being in an earthquake. That kind of is a deterrent for me being around the Ring of Fire. It's also why I'm a bit fearful of going in another California city I love- San Francisco.


So I would most want to visit New York City if I had to choose between New York City and Los Angeles.





I would like to specially thank the YouTube channel, "vidatown" for allowing their videos to be embedded. So that's the concept of "Take Your Pick." Which would you choose- New York City or Los Angeles? Thank you for reading! Get social with me! Here's how:

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