- Foo Concept
"Shanghai is way better than LA"
Updated: May 31, 2018
Not my opinion, not even a friend's opinion who has travelled to both city. Born and raised in Jakarta, definitely, Shanghai is way better than Jakarta. But, if "Shanghai is way better than LA", hmmm we have a tough situation here. That surprising statement was stated by my LA local American colleague who once had a very good job in Hollywood and chose to move to Shanghai. To my surprise, I even found more foreign friends from different countries felt the same like my American colleague. Despite all the negative views about China or the people, so what are exactly the charms of this city?
Natural Beauty
1 word: PRETTY! I took this pictures and enjoy!
Convenience is numero uno
Shanghai is HUGE (9 times bigger than Singapore) and its public transports cover the whole city (even to the most distant area). So, don't worry if you don't have cars, as a matter of fact, the public transports here are very punctual and you can use the bike-sharing to reach your destination from the bus/metro station.
"I let my girlfriend walk home alone at 1 AM"
Another friend of mine told me that and I was like, what?!? I strongly suggest to keep alert everywhere we are, but yeah, that's how safe Shanghai is. There are too many eyes (whoops, I mean CCTV who can recognize your face) in China, particularly Shanghai. Several Chinese friends even suggested me, always, yes always close your curtain when you change your clothe, even if you live in the high floor, as you don't know how many 'unseen drones' in the sky that keep an eye of you (everyone). That may sound creepy, I know! But the thing is, Shanghai is a megapolitan city, thus those 'creepy' CCTVs and drones are used in order to find criminals from countryside who tend to escape to big cities. Moreover, we heard a lot of news about public shooting and bombing in another countries, whereas in China, it is relatively under controlled.
Super dynamic city
This September will mark my 6th year living in Shanghai and there are a lot of 'magical' things happened in this city, just like its nickname 魔都 (mo du) that means 'Magical City'. Let me give you several examples. 6 years ago, Shanghai Metro (MRT) only had 11 lines, but now it has 16 lines and currently adding another 3 lines! If today you see bumpy roads around your apartment complex, then you won't see it the next day, as the workers will fix it overnight. Not to mention, Shanghai is the global financial hub, so many Chinese innovations will depart from Shanghai, e.g. the bike-sharing, umbrella-sharing, office-sharing, etc. The point is, those innovations spoil us a little bit too much and we love it!
So, is Shanghai actually better than LA? In terms of convenience and safety, yes. But, we still think that LA is prettier than Shanghai, don't you agree?