I Love That Dirty Water

I compared London with cities I know in the U.S. - Boston, D.C., etc - for its usability and general quality. Here's a few aspects:

Social
General politeness. Edge: U.S. Londoners don't even nod in return.
Kindness to strangers. Edge: U.S. Londoners are tuned in to WII-FM 24/7.
Availability of restrooms. Edge: U.K. Somehow, the U.S. hasn't caught on to public restrooms.
Availability of water fountains. Edge: U.S. Apparently it's not water that's driving demand for all those restrooms. Civic freedom. Edge: U.S. The Big Brother is a reality in much of London, which has more Closed Circuit TV's per square kilometre than Radio Shack. Class differentiation. Edge: Boston. London has a big divide between the "commoners" and the new nobility, and D.C. has a big divide between the natives and the powerful imports from other states.

On the Street
Driving ability. Edge: Boston. Neither DC nor London folk can match our mad skillz.
Driving courtesy. Edge: U.S. Londoners won't stop for you unless they absolutely have to.
Walking ease. Edge: U.S. The law (drive and walk on the left) conflicts with the natural tendancy of righties to go to their own right.

Public Transit
Extent of transit system. Edge: London. Huge system, very well integrated, including bus, train, subway, tram, light rail and water shuttle.
Frequency of service. Edge: London. Buses and rail especially run much more frequently than any stateside.
Redundancy and reliability. Edge: London. There's generally multiple routes to any destination, which distributes stresses on the system more widely.
Comfort and modernity. Edge: D.C. London has the oldest underground in the world, Boston the oldest in the U.S. Most of London's current system was in place by 1908 - when America's first lines were still new!
Air quality. Edge: U.S. The Tube is gasping for aircon.

Tourism
Number of museums. Edge: London. Has museums in bunches, and good ones too.
Cost of museums. Edge: London. The best museums are free.
Quality of parks. Edge: London. Beautifully groomed public parks throughout the city.
Weather. Edge: U.S. London's weather is not only often rainy, but it's also even more inconsistent than Boston's.
Historical sites. Edge: Boston. London's historic sites have been built over so many times they're invisible.


Oh, I love that dirty water......Boston, you're my home!