Whereabouts in NY did you live cowcar?
I wouldn't want to live there personally, had a few cool things to visit but overall it was crowded and the streets and air was filthy. It was very safe though, had no qualms wandering around at night.
Unlike San Francisco which was filled with bums and hookers, apart from that it generally seemed like a more pleasant place to live though. Yes they do have a gay district where the power poles are painted in rainbow colours.
Funnily enough Columbus, Ohio was the US city that reminded me the most of an Australian city, mainly due to the river going through the centre of it. Unlike Brisbane it had a very sensible road network, streets were mainly arranged in a grid pattern and there was a ring road freeway going around the city making it very easy to navigate, Brisbane on the other hand has had very little thought or planning going into its road networks, its just a mish-mash of paved horse and sulky tracks, if you don't know where you're going its very easy to get lost.
Gold coast, while technically not a city, is OK during the day, very touristy, but turns to shit at night when all the scumbags come out to prey on the vapid skanks. Best avoided to be honest. The people there seem to have an attitude too.
Personally I can't stand cities and much prefer to have a bit of space so I live out in a semi-rural area
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