New York City, NY

I've lived in New York City - Brooklyn - for over 20 years. For visiting tourists, the best neighborhood to stay in is NOT Bushwick. Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Ft. Green or Brooklyn Heights is preferable. Plenty of good transportation in those areas - subway, buses or Uber. Easy access to beaches in Long Island and New Jersey. There's plenty to do in NYC. Great restaurants, Broadway plays (!), and in the summer you frequently can catch a free concert.

Having spent a total of two weeks in London on two separate occasions and having lived in NYC for two years, both are among my favorite cities in the world.

Londoners are quite internationally and ethnically diverse, and seemingly better educated and more intellectual than New Yorkers in aggregate. The city very clean with a stunning mix of modern and historic architecture, and arguably has Europe's best public transit in terms of signage, availability, cleanliness and general efficiency. Meanwhile, New York is almost universally filthy and has embarrassingly decrepit public transit everywhere and drab brown brick buildings anywhere outside the hip parts of Manhattan/Brooklyn. London also has far more green space than NYC, with clean and beautiful parks throughout the city. The level of destitution that one can witness in NYC simply doesn't exist in London (or the rest of western Europe).

People are a bit nicer in London. It's easier to make friends in NYC and its nightlife is the world's best, but close friendships can be elusive in both cities due to their sheer size and the fact that most people who have lived there for any significant period of time are already saturated with social contacts. For what it's worth, I will admit that Manhattanites and Brooklynites tend to be far better looking than their central London counterparts, and I prefer the additional sunshine in NYC year-round despite the more extreme temperatures. London also lacks beaches, whereas NYC's Coney Island is an incomparably massive and eclectic beach party all summer while Brighton Beach and Far Rockaway are cleaner and family-friendlier alternatives.

New York feels like home - a really expensive home that is, but home!

Best city in the world! You can certainly live the Nomad life in NYC for a lot less than 5k a month! I've been doing it since December 2018 for around $2500/mo. AirBnB is the way to go!

One of the most well known cities, few will be surprised by what they see and experience. Very high cost of living can make it tough for many nomads. A lot of things to see and do but most of that costs money. Can feel overwhelming and oppressively business oriented (ie, full of very serious yuppies and places catering to them), especially in Manhattan south of Harlem. Ton of single people, which is good on paper but means everyone you date will get distracted by another person, or multiple, unless you are extremely exceptional, before you have a chance to meet again, never ends. Weather sucks hard from July to August and January to March/April. It's an okay city if you're a biker and varies a lot. Some areas are quite protected, others have no bike lanes. In general, it can be dangerous if you want to commute by bike, it's not Amsterdam. Friendliness of the people varies a lot. I think income/wealth, where they grew up, where they live within NYC, their job, etc. can often give you an idea of what to expect. Service at stores is usually pretty unhelpful and unfriendly but, again, it varies, even within the same store. Internet is fast for the most part. Great selection of food, just a bit pricey besides some of the cheaper pizza slices. Transportation system is good, no need for a car. However, the subway lines are notorious for having issues during rush hour and are usually jam packed. Also, the stations look decrepit and are way out of date. It's pretty safe. Street scams are more prevalent in tourist areas, pick-pocketing and random phone snatching isn't really anything most people worry about. Can be very noisy depending on where you live. You may wake up to extremely loud construction every morning.