Cities with an undeserved bad rap - Page 9

Tom In Chicago · #**161** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 7:31 PM**

^There's lots of in-between parts of Dubai that is not the SZR strip or the old city and have lots of street life. . .

. . . August would be unbearably hot. . . in late October it's still extremely hot and humid. . . December is a good weather month. . .

. . .

Crawford · #**162** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 7:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

Yes it does. . .

. . .

Where is this alleged streetlife? Be specific, please.

Yes, I know about Old Dubai, but we're talking vistor impressions of homeless on transit.

Tom In Chicago · #**163** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 7:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

Where is this alleged streetlife?

Just about everywhere in Dubai that is NOT residential sfh neighborhoods with walled villas or on golf courses/resorts is multi-tenant residential buildings - almost everyone of them has retail on the first floor. . .

All of the SZR hotels and office buildings have retail on the first floor and are relatively busy with pedestrian street life. . . of course the old city is a meandering maze of streets that are always busy with people day or night. . .

Neighborhoods outside of the "old city" in Deira or Bur Dubai are all relatively "new" (post 1970) have street life day and night. . . in fact you can find prostitutes on many of these streets outside of the hotel bars in those neighborhoods. . .

Many residential areas that cater to expat workers are being built this way, filling in the area between the Marina and "Downtown" Dubai as well as the populated areas of adjacent Sharjah which - although is it's own Emirate - has a skyline larger than that of Houston and Miami with lots of street life. . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

Be specific, please.

the urban politician · #**164** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 8:35 PM**

^ Thanks for posting those.

Interesting place. I bet you there isn't a single bar/pub in the entire city!

Tom In Chicago · #**165** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 8:44 PM**

^There are lots of bars/pubs in Dubai. . . all of them are within hotels. . . the larger hotels have multiple bars/pubs. . . there are at least 4 of them in the Fairmont on SZR where I stayed last year. . .

. . . there are even liquor stores in Dubai. . . albeit with restrictions. . .

https://www.google.com/maps/search/l.../data=!3m1!4b1

. . .

Tom In Chicago · #**166** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 8:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engineerding

Dubai boosting is very strange to be doing at this time. Their real estate crater will make the one in the us look like a pot whole.

I was merely responding in the spirit of the OPs topic of Cities with an undeserved bad rap. . . real estate woes aside, there is in fact lots of "street life" in Dubai. . .

. . .

The Chemist · #**167** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 10:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

Singapore isn't a democracy and has crap public realm (probably partially weather-related).

What's wrong with Singapore's public realm? I personally think it's great.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engineerding

I mean you don’t have to look for the homeless for public defection in China, they have their children do it all the time.

Not nearly as much as before. China has improved significantly in this regard in the 12 years I've lived here. The improvement and proliferation of public toilets has definitely helped a lot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozone

Globally of the cities I've been to Bangkok is undeserving its bad rap. Shanghai and Dubai were the most overrated as are all Indian cities.

Why do you think Shanghai is overrated?

JManc · #**168** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 10:53 PM**

Do people in China order take out American?

The Chemist · #**169** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 10:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JManc

Do people in China order take out American?

If you consider things like McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut 'American', then yes, they do.

jtown,man · #**170** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 11:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

Where is this alleged streetlife? Be specific, please.

Yes, I know about Old Dubai, but we're talking vistor impressions of homeless on transit.

I am still confused at why "streetlife" matters when we were specifically talking about trains.

What does streetlife mean to you?

jtown,man · #**171** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 11:44 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engineerding

Dubai boosting is very strange to be doing at this time. Their real estate crater will make the one in the us look like a pot whole.

What does "boosting" about their streetlife have to do anything with a possible real estate crash?

dc_denizen · #**172** Posted **Sep 3, 2019, 11:48 PM**

Dubai is the Singapore of the Middle East. Tourism and safe haven demand for real estate. Plus it’s a safe and relatively liberal place in a sea of intolerance. Built form relatively compact outside of the skyscraper areas. No surprise they will have an active urban landscape with lots of street life.

MonkeyRonin · #**173** Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 12:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

^There are lots of bars/pubs in Dubai. . . all of them are within hotels

One of these statements would seem to contradict the other...

jtown,man · #**174** Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 12:11 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

One of these statements would seem to contradict the other...

A bar in a hotel isn't a bar?

dc_denizen · #**175** Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 12:18 AM**

Woman detained with 4 month old daughter for 4 days for drinking complimentary wine on flight to Dubai

Yeah, No thanks Dubai. You deserve the bad rap

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.the...wine-on-flight

jtown,man · #**176** Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 12:22 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Woman detained with 4 month old daughter for 4 days for drinking complimentary wine on flight to Dubai

Yeah, No thanks Dubai. You deserve the bad rap

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.the...wine-on-flight

Not for their trains though LOL Jesus we are off-track here.

The Chemist · #**177** Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 12:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Engineerding

On public toilets in china, that's a whole other ball of fun.

Public toilets in the big cities are clean and perfectly fine. It's only when you get to small cities and rural areas that they become scary.

MonkeyRonin · #**178** Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 12:39 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtown,man

A bar in a hotel isn't a bar?

I wouldn't say a city that only has bars in hotels has a lot of bars.

Crawford · #**179** Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 12:45 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtown,man

I am still confused at why "streetlife" matters when we were specifically talking about trains.

Because we're talking about streetlife on transit. Dubai has no streetlife (at least for the purposes of this discussion), and isn't a democracy, so it isn't particularly surprising that you don't see the negative externalities of streetlife and democratic norms when riding a train in Dubai, as you would in, say, Paris.

I mean, if your point is you don't like bums on trains and like that Dubai because it has no bums on trains, that's fair. But it has nothing to do with the discussion. It's like saying you like that there are no bums on trains in Yosemite Park, or Mars, for that matter.

jtown,man · #**180** Posted **Sep 4, 2019, 1:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

I wouldn't say a city that only has bars in hotels has a lot of bars.

There are a lot of hotels there though, but I get your point. I think the main point is that they have way more bars than people think...that would probably be the more accurate statement to make.