1. you are allowed to drink outside. in the park. on the street corner. this is one of the things that makes life worth living
2. the big bin is for recycling
3. the availability of actual real news. including a series of videos demonstrating the world’s most important events. this is literally unavailable on new york tv
4. clear, well organised signage, particularly on all forms of transport
5. a riverside that acts as the cultural and social heart of the city, not as a peripheral wasteland in which to distribute helipads and sports centres
better than a helipad
6. self-deprecation, and the instinct to apologise rather than to sue
7. children are encouraged to share, rather than to ruthlessly defend their own property
8. the taxi drivers know where they are going
9. the tiny park near your work where you sometimes eat your sandwich would probably constitute the second great park of manhattan
10. because living in london sometimes feels like living in ten different eras of history all at the same time
immemorial churches in the shadows of glass and chrome skyscrapers. mmm, london.
11. Because there isn’t a tipping minefield.
12. Because you don’t get served such huge portions that you can’t avoid putting on weight.
I would add
13. The lack of that very NY combination of heat, humidity and exhaust fumes.
14. We manage to make “have a nice day” sound like a sincere aspiration.