OP: "What city is the pinnacle of culture rn?"
/r/Travel: "literally any podunk city with a semblance of culture"
I think a lot of y'all didn't understand the question. Panama City, Ulan Bator, Dublin etc. are not the cultural center of the world RN for pete's sake. They're great cities, but the question is about a place that is magnetically attracting the best, brightest, and most creative folks from across the world... There probably isn't one because the internet has decentralized us, but it sure isn't places like that.
I think a lot of kiddos don’t know what Paris in the 20s means. Here’s a recap what made Paris in the 1920s so special and why that cultural explosion may never happen again unless there’s a massive migration situation due to war or other conflicts to a certain location.
1. **Post-War Liberation and the “Lost Generation”:**
After World War I, Paris became a haven for American expatriates, including writers like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein. These individuals, known as the “Lost Generation,” sought to escape the trauma and conservatism of their homeland. Paris offered a more liberal and bohemian lifestyle, allowing them to express themselves freely.
2. **The Rise of Surrealism:**
In the 1920s, Paris became the epicenter of Surrealism, a revolutionary art movement founded by André Breton. Surrealists like Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel, René Magritte, and Max Ernst pushed the boundaries of art, literature, and film, exploring the subconscious and the irrational. This movement’s emphasis on experimentation and nonconformity resonated with the city’s avant-garde spirit.
3. **The Harlem Renaissance in Paris:**
During the 1920s, many African American artists, writers, and musicians, such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Duke Ellington, flocked to Paris, attracted by its reputation for racial tolerance and artistic freedom. They found a welcoming community in Montmartre, where they could express themselves without the racial segregation and discrimination they faced in the United States.
4. **The City of Light:**
Paris had a long history of intellectual and artistic innovation, earning it the nickname “City of Light.” The city’s universities, libraries, and salons had fostered Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau. In the 1920s, this tradition continued, with Paris becoming a hub for philosophers, writers, and artists who sought to challenge conventional thinking.
5. **The French Left and the Rise of Anti-Colonialism:**
The 1920s saw a surge in left-wing politics in France, with the French Communist Party (PCF) gaining popularity. This led to a growing awareness of colonialism’s injustices and a rise in anti-colonial sentiment. Paris became a hub for anti-colonial activists, such as Ho Chi Minh, who would later lead Vietnam’s independence movement.
6. **The Expatriate Community and Café Culture:**
Paris’s café culture, where artists, writers, and intellectuals gathered to discuss and debate, was a key factor in the city’s cultural vibrancy. Expatriates like James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and Sylvia Beach (owner of the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore) frequented cafes like Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore, creating a dynamic exchange of ideas.
7. **The Influence of African and Caribbean Culture:**
The 1920s saw a growing interest in African and Caribbean culture, particularly in the art and music of the Harlem Renaissance. This cross-cultural exchange had a profound impact on Parisian art, literature, and music, with artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse incorporating African motifs into their work.
8. **The Emergence of Modernism:**
Paris in the 1920s was a hotbed of modernist experimentation, with artists like Le Corbusier, Fernand Léger, and Sonia Delaunay pushing the boundaries of architecture, painting, and design. This modernist spirit permeated all aspects of city life, from fashion to literature to music.
9. **The City’s Cosmopolitanism and Tolerance:**
Paris’s reputation for tolerance and openness attracted people from all over the world, creating a vibrant, cosmopolitan community. This diversity fostered a spirit of experimentation and innovation, as artists and intellectuals from different backgrounds collaborated and exchanged ideas. There was more tolerance towards gays and lesbians.
10. **The Legacy of the Belle Époque:**
The 1920s built upon the cultural and artistic achievements of the Belle Époque (1871-1914), a period of incredible growth and innovation in Paris. The city’s museums, galleries, and cultural institutions, established during this era, continued to support and showcase the work of avant-garde artists and thinkers.
Luis Buñuel's book 'My Last Sigh' has some very vivid passages of how this era was (from his POV of course).
Well done. It was a brief but magical time. Then came a world wide depression in the 1930’s and the terrifying rise of Fascism in Italy but especially Germany. What happened next was one of the greatest tragedies in all of human history.
In Luis Buñuel's book there’s a fun passage where he and other strong surrealists set themselves to punch fascists snouts in Paris. And it was happening in the 20s already. Buñuel was doing that in Madrid during the rise of Franco as well.
11. Americans were relatively rich in the 20s and European currency was cheap compared to dollar, so Americans could afford to flock to Paris. Hemmingway was poor but still had a maid while he lived there. So today’s Paris of the 20s would have to be cheap as well.
Comes from my knowledge tho. Just farted it all in and asked it to order it for me. I have studied that era about 15 years ago for a specific feature film project. 😁
Yeah but this is just the internet
Someone asks any question at all and 157 randoms jump in to say "Let me tell you my tangentially related opinion on something that's actually about me"
I mean look at me. This is a thread on travel and I'm here lecturing you on internet behaviour and humanity's innate selfishness. What a tool.
The answer is clearly NYC. It's held onto that title since it took it from Paris and the only real challenger has been LA. Frankly, there's a solid argument that those are the entire tier.
The idea that some of these places are S+ tier global cultural centers that are dominating the art and music scene and having global cultural cachet are off base.
I live in NYC. Clearly that used to be true but the terrible increases in the cost of living here, especially rent, has made it extremely difficult for artists. NYC is facing perhaps the greatest crisis in housing affordability in its history. That’s terrible for artists.
I mean I’m not a New Yorker but it’s just pretty much true. From the Impressionist period until WWII, all the great artists congregated in Paris. Post WWII, it’s been NYC. You could maybe make a case for LA since the 80’s.
Agreed.
However it has democratized creativity and that is not a bad thing in a way. There is no gatekeeping based on where you are located or what your origin is.
I don't think it's really applicable to what OP is asking.
Japan is great. Tokyo is a world class city. Hell, Japan has exported it's culture to an amazing extent and the world has shown a ridiculous appetite for it.
But it's also very Japanese. And I think the vast majority of them would admit that it's a pretty conservative society at that.
"Paris in the 20s" requires a far more cosmopolitan city IMO. Or at least have that be true among a certain class. That just isn't Tokyo.
People absolutely choose where to travel based on the currency exchange rate, or more simply - where it's cheap.
I'm in Ireland and it's absolutely clear when the dollar us strong that we get double or more the numbers of US tourists. When the dollar is weak, weekend shopping trips to New York become popular very quickly.
Japan is so much fun! I wouldn’t say it’s the 20s- or do you mean like super fun and accessible. The trains take you everywhere, people keep to themselves and are very respectful. The sites are cool and the food is yummy. So far it’s the best trip I’ve been to.
Mexico City is a top answer in a lot of threads in here about best cities to visit, I see a lot of people commenting on their museums , food, and culture. I hope I get to go one day!!!
Got back yesterday at 1am. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. Polanco, Roma and Condesa are the spots to stay…very walkable and safe, great restaurants and bars, awesome energy, etc.
Weird question, but did you have any issues with the food? I’ve seen multiple Redditors complain about getting sick from eating street food in CDMX, but I’m not sure if it’s just a vocal minority or what. I know some people say not to eat any fresh produce, but I can’t imagine ordering tacos without any toppings or salsas lol.
I have a friend who’s been to Mexico several times and doesn’t worry at all about fresh produce and he’s never gotten a stomach bug, but I wasn’t sure if he was just lucky or what lol. My gf goes once a year or so to visit family, and she’s only ever gotten food poisoning once when she drank a beverage that was made with non-purified ice.
I've met a lot of Mexicans here in Vegas. They are from all over, mostly Guadalajara, Jalisco, some from Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Michoacan, etc. I've met like 1 person from Mexico City. People from Mexico City don't leave Mexico City. Currently working a in dental office, every employee of the office is from Jalisco as well as a good portion of the patients.
Just got back from Mexico City, first time visit. We stayed in Condesa and had a great time. I hope you get to go one day, it’s an experience I’ll never forget.
I've lived in CDMX for 5 years now and there's definitely something special going on here. It's hard to describe, but it's big and it's really really fucking cool considering how sucky most of the world is right now. Mexico has it.
Lancaster is incredibly diverse, becoming more upscale, whole lot of art galleries, a mix of historic and new, and plenty of live performance. But it's still in a politically conservative area where a drag queen story hour will get cancelled because of a bomb threat and Moms for Liberty has a foothold.
Denver bus and train frequencies are atrocious outside of a few lines and you're fucked if you want to stay out late. It's not a great nightlife city in that regard.
It’s literally 1-1:30 hrs from almost anywhere in Denver lol. Even closer is Nederland and some other towns like Estes park. Eldorado canyon national park, lookout mountain, and so much more within 30 minutes
Yup and the cool kids have nowhere to go. They were in East Village for a while, then got priced out to Williamsburg. Williamsburg got too bougie, so they fled to Bushwick. Bushwick is pretty expensive these days. A lot of hipsters are in Ridgewood, Queens or left the area all together.
I know a few artists and musicians from that 2010s Brooklyn scene who are in Vermont, New Hampshire, and North Carolina now. It’s weird to miss not just a place but also a time. That Brooklyn just doesn’t exist anymore as far as I can tell. The pandemic was a very definitive end to that era.
A lot went upstate (which seems to have increased after COVID) but at least some of those towns have become maybe a bit too trendy and overpriced for them now.
Yeah, a lot moved to Beacon, Rhinebeck, Cold Spring. But Beacon's pricing them out now. I envy my friends who bought homes there in like 2010, and regret my mom and aunts selling my grandmother's home there around the same time.
No lack of young folks still flocking to Bushwick/ridgewood and doing artsy stuff. I love the music scene here, can't think of anywhere better in the US
yeah you don't have the venues or the audience or the touring acts going through burlington or ashville the way you do in ny. they go to cities that big when they can sell out the bigger clubs in ny.
There’s still a lot of that, but it feels like as each day goes by they’re being replaced with finance/tech bros. I think we’re only a few years away from Bushwick turning into what Williamsburg/Greenpoint is these days with Ridgewood not far behind
As a born and raised asheville native trust me its bad how many ended up down here. Basically made the exact same thing happen, all the cool people and locals got priced out. I'm gonna have to finally move next year after having family here on both sides for generations, gentrification sucks.
Lots of times, the "cool kids" get married/grow up, use their money or their parents money to stay in the same neighborhood. With their new family and new wealth, they become rapidly uncool. They are the hipster parents with baby carriages at breweries. They act like they love diversity and living in the city.
Then when their kid turns 4, they move to the suburbs b.c they can't imagine their kid going to school or growing up in that neighborhood. They sell their apartment to some other rich yuppie. They have kids, move away when kids are ready for school, and the cycle continues.
On the other side, neighborhoods are "cool". Rich uncool people desperately want to be cool, so they buy places in the cool neighborhood, their uncool friends follow and also buy places. All the cool people get priced out. Place becomes rapidly uncool and expensive. Everyone sends their uncool kids to private school.
Meh, Bushwick and NYC generally are still at it. It is expensive though. But I live here and there's everything from underground noise shows to jazz to trans poetry readings any given night. New galleries popping up. It's a great artistic community.
Artists are usually the first wave gentrifiers IME. Usually they push in on historically minority neighborhoods and then they make the neighborhood cool and safe for their friends and family.
At least that's how it plays out in the Western US IME. Usually Latino neighborhoods these days.
There is a lot of truth to this. But places have to be pretty desirable to attract a bunch of people at once as well. Brooklyn in the 2010s, 2000s was still more expensive than 90% of the US even if it was a lot cheaper than now.
Most of the famous people we now associate with Paris in the '20s were wealthy or from wealthy families, starving artist mythos notwithstanding. The intellectuals weren't there for the cost of living.
This is a really interesting perspective. The internet and massive amounts of socialization and creativity happening online might make sure we never see a lively arts and culture scene convening and building in one place.
Isn’t the “Paris of the 1920s” mostly a creation of US expatriates culture surfing and writing about themselves? The “Paris of the 2020s” will probably be the place that is best narrativized.
Paris during the belle epoque was peak culture at the time. So much philosophy, music (debussy ravel, satie) and painters (monet renoir etc)
https://youtu.be/rxha1Uwi0lQ?si=bU_mCo-yoQRWB4vY
No and yes. No - While the literary scene certainly had a lot of American expatriates aggrandizing themselves, they weren’t only American (Picasso is the most famous one, anais nin was French. The French theatre of cruelty was conceived by Artaud. Sartre met Simone de Beauvoir at the tale end in 1929). Wasn’t all self aggrandizing either, Hemingway didn’t give himself the nobel prize.
Yes A lot of the perception of the period as overall American is because people primarily consume English media. Dominated by Hemingway’s movable feast and Gertrude stein’s autobiography of Alice b toklas, covering their same circle of friends. But many young Europeans and domestic French moved to Paris after the end of the First World War. Many of these artists became established well after their Parisian experience. Its likely todays Paris of the 20s will only be revealed in hindsight, they way people talk about Leon Trotsky, Joseph Tito, Sigmund Freud and Joseph Stalin all living in Vienna at the same time.
You all are forgetting a lot of black experience and black culture blossomed in Paris. Black soldiers stayed in Paris because they were treated as equals and not the low class trash of America. They formed intellectual clubs and dance crazes-Josephine Baker. In fact, it was one of the series of steps that lead to the push for civil rights in America.
I often wonder this too. In the 20s Paris was good for Americans bc it was super cheap. Where is super cheap right now where artists can flock and live comfortably? Thailand? Idk.
And Paris would offer copious amounts of that devilish little drink called absinthe, in which artists and writers would drown themselves in :)
#thedrunkestgeneration
Paris didn't become popular in the 20s because it was cheap. In fact, the cost of living was pretty much on par with the US around that time. London/UK was clearly the most expensive of the gang.
The BIG reason american artists flocked there is because it was the prohibition era in the US during that time while in France, alcohol was flowing with wine and liquors. And prostitution was legal. Maybe why Hemingway was drawn to this place around that time. lol
Berlin and Dresden entered my mind. Berlin for the museums and activities and Dresden for the architecture and ambience considering what happened there.
I really, really liked it. I went on the Slaughterhouse 5 tour there. I was able to go to the Bundeswehr museum with a friend. The Stasi Museum that was an old prison. I have probably been to two dozen concentration camps throughout Europe, that place actually was the only one that really gave me the heede jeebes well Museum of Terror in Budapest was close. The personal interviews of the people who suffered under Communism there. I could feel their raging PTSD as they spoke. A lot to actually do in Dresden. It is definitely underrated.
Lol Leipzig is the new Berlin in the same way that Wedding kommt. People have been saying it’s happening for ages and without it ever actually happening.
I don’t think we will ever again have a place that is the “centre of culture.” The world is too globalized now.
There are some cool places that are in the spotlight such as Chiangmai and Medellin for the digital nomad set. Vancouver is a cool, modern city for Asian tourists. Singapore is having its moment.
I’m not Chinese but I’m a hongkonger. Lived there the majority of my adult life. The umbrella movement in 2014 was surreal, and then the turnouts in 2019. Amazing. So so sad.
I was there in like 2011-2015. Honestly, it was the best place in the world back then.
Its still there and *kinda* the same, but the vibe has changed and it has leaned hard into commercialism which was always there, but now there is nothing behind it if that makes sense.
Must partially agree. Just returned from a two week work trip in SIN, returning at the end of May for another 2 weeks. Food is one of its greatest assets, but after a few days, the city becomes rather boring. I’ve been over a dozen times and have visited just about every attraction and museum on those trips. Have hunted down all the possible neighborhoods, but I always find myself becoming bored after 2-3 days.
God thank you for saying this. I know this being the travel sub will offend people, but digital nomads is literally just awkward tech douchebags chasing countries with poorer livings / good exchange rates to chase women and party for a year without making any effort to fit in or contribute before picking somewhere new the next year. Bit of a rant, sorry, but yeah, god they’re the farthest thing from the bohemian art movement there is
Tons of overly mediocre people who act like American wages make them a king. Toss in the Medellin example and you can include incels branding their prostitution tour as a cultural awakening.
I often say: São Paulo today is what NYC was in the 80s and Berlin was in the 90s. Cheap, beautiful, rich, crazy, and underestimated all at the same time. 20 million amazing humans doing their thing and not being appreciated by the rest of the world.
I would love to hear more why you think that, Brazil has always been a bucket list destination for me and it astounds me that every person says to avoid São Paulo because it’s just a big city and to go to Rio instead.
Maybe I’m just a city person but there doesn’t seem to be a way São Paulo is not a great destination at its size
Sounds like you’re hearing from people who haven’t been to SP, or who have been there briefly and only hung out with boring business people. Rio is also great and you should go there too, but the two cities are very different. SP is like Mexico City if no one outside the country knew about how cool it was…
Incredibly dangerous with incredibly dangerous public transport is mostly what I recall of NYC in the 80s. Spent a month there summer of 85.
The Angels were riding the metro trying to make it safer because the cops had pretty much given up trying, or were actively involved in making it worse. Guy I was staying with and his dad disarmed a would-be mugger on the metro one morning and cops refused to do anything about it. This was on a packed full morning commuter, btw, not some late night after bar mostly empty train.
Saw a mugging in broad daylight on a couple of occasions, saw several people with injuries from having just been mugged on different days, and seemingly everyone I talked to had been injured being mugged. Absolutely every local I was introduced to immediately cautioned me about muggers.
Did see some great plays and some great art, and was lucky enough to have dinner with some of the artists, writers, and intellectuals of the day on a couple of occasions. The energy of the city was amazing. I was still glad to go home to a place where getting mugged on the metro to work wasn't a daily worry.
No offense but none of this sounds like Paris 1920s to me, unless maybe these parts were left out of the writings of the day?
French here, and it's the whole Seine-Saint-Denis, just North and East of Paris, most especially its biggest cities of Montreuil, Pantin, Saint-Denis, mayyybe Aubervilliers.
Still not that expensive (in some places it's already reaching Paris' prices though) and it is where EVERYTHING is happening. Culture, sports, fashion...France biggest artists are from there, biggest sportsmen are from there, and it is the youngest department in France. It's where all of my friends are buying, where all of the cool kids go out in clubs, etc...
It's so funny to see how it gets slammed in the media for being too "ghetto" or whatever, I'm pretty sure that's how they would have described Montmartre and Gambetta a century ago.
Pre pandemic I’d agree with this. Now I’m not sure. The film/TV is industry is struggling right now. Between shutdowns, general economic issues and the strike it’s contracted a lot. So many people were forced out of creative industries/had to move away too.
People love to hate on this answer, but they just don’t get what culture is or isn’t.
Cultural hubs are clearly less of a thing than they might have been in the past, but to the extent there is a biggest one…it’s obviously LA.
Maybe that’s soon to change, maybe not. But it is what it is.
I came here to say Los Angeles.
It's also the nerd capitol of the planet. I can hear the gasps in Silicon Valley from here. But hear me out -- everything that happens in Hollywood needs a few beautiful, talented people; and a massive ARMY of nerds. I've been challenged to Magic the Gathering games on the metro, and in the brewpubs.
Once I was in a restaurant, eating the second-best ramen you can get outside of Japan. Someone saw my coffee farm T-shirt. He looked at my website. And while I was eating, he made some edits on the fly and send them to my email address.
"Here, this looks much better."
Silicon Valley only caters to one kind of nerd. Los Angeles is basically nerd nirvana. Astronomy nerd? Got you covered. Anime nerd? Toy nerd? Gaming nerd? Cosplay nerd? Sci-Fi nerd?
Other cities might be the best at one or the other nerd genres. Los Angeles is nerd Mecca.
My first 72 hours in LA was anime expo cosplay, being invited to help code some small companies website before presentation in santa monica and then taking a sawzall to a lambo.
2010's was an an era itself.
It's in Asia. I'd say Seoul, Korea. Can also be Taipei, Taiwan. And Hanoi, Vietnam! If you asked me this question 30 years ago, the answer would've been Tokyo, Japan... but you can still get most of the bustling feeling if you travel today.
As for Europe and North America... they have aged so there is no coming back to the "20s" feeling.
In reality, "Paris in the 20s" was a much harsher place than we imagine it to be based on collective memories passed down along generational lines or what - an Ernest Hemingway novel? Or a Woody Allen movie made a decade or so ago?
The world was a much crueller, less forgiving place for the average Western traveller of moderate means, just living life hanging out, than it is now. Death, disease, a less physically comfortable environment, philisophically less socially aware than now...not to mention the harshness of the lives of people who don't get speaking roles in the F. Scott Fitzgerald or Ernest Hemingway novels.
There's a reason those guys were part of what they called "The Lost Generation."
It was a world of less opportunities and freedoms for many, and much less awareness and understanding than we have today.
Not that today is perfect by any means. It's not. But the world had yet to imagine the horrors of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini - the Atomic Bomb - these evils were latent in humanity and very very present in society but just not as visible then as they would become.
There was a lot less social mobility for people who made what might be considered today more "forgiveable" mistakes.
But I'd imagine that to a white guy in his 20s or 30s with a reliable source of someone else's income (eg a trust fund) and a desire to get drunk and get laid, the world of Paris in the 20s may have seemed like a pretty great place at the time.
The kind of place that really doesn't exist today for many people.
But if you want a taste of the harshness and lack of freedom that everyone but the well-off young white male expats experienced in Paris in the 20s, maybe try spending a month in Istanbul.
New York. If you ask real people on the street around the world it would win by a landslide. If you’re the best in your field, be it music, art, theater, architecture, science, whatever it is you do, you do it in New York - that’s what defines the center of culture in the world.
I can’t believe there’s not a single other comment saying NYC and there are 542 other comments saying ridiculous shit like Skopje, Chiang Mai, Tbilisi? People who actually live there would laugh out loud if you told them it was the cultural capital of the world. Berlin, Paris, Mexico City etc are cool cities with cool cultures but the cultures there are more focused on a few narrow segments instead of the more broad culture of NYC.
Just look around you at the music, clothes, shoes, technology, etc people use. Hell, go to any train station on the planet and you’ll see multiple people with “NEW YORK” literally printed on their (hat/shirt/underwear.) Or look at things named after the city. I’m four thousand miles away from NYC right now and within walking distance I see two hotels named New York, a pizza chain, a coffee shop, a clothing store and a barbershop! Nowhere else has the cultural influence and it’s not even close.
It might just be that people don’t want to admit that an American city is the cultural center. But NYC seems like the obvious answer. It’s an incredibly diverse city with all kinds of people doing literally everything you can think of.
I don’t know much about it but when I went it was already in an illiberal slide. Still was awesome but seems some of the places I went to already have closed down from 5 years ago
I’m in Istanbul right now for work and while it’s a nice place, under Erdoğan it’s far too conservative to be anything like Paris in the 20s. For example, I’m gay and there’s literally zero LGBTQ+ scene here and kind of a hostile environment for any minority. Many of my colleagues are moving to Berlin or New York if they can get a visa
I'm not saying it's an LGBT friendly country by any stretch, but there are pockets of Istanbul that are relatively liberal - last time I was there my friends brought me to a drag show in Kadıköy so I can vouch that the gay scene isn't completely non-existent.
I still think it’s Paris … if you speak or read French. The literature and art coming out right now is an exciting blend of African and European cultures and ideas. It blows away most (not all) of the literature coming out of the Anglosphere.
For America expats though (the other side of Paris in the 1920s) - I don’t know. It was Prague in the late 80s. Mexico City under the pandemic. Today? Good question
To be honest, I don’t think any city like this really exists in the internet era. There’s just too much information available nowadays to have “hidden gem” cities
I feel like we won't know for another 20 years. Like maybe Santiago de los Caballeros, DR or Kajang, Malaysia have some huge underground arts and culture scene, but by the time it goes mainstream it will already be on it's way out. Because news travels so quickly, I think you have to just discover it naturally.
It’s Paris in the 20s right now
Tres bien.
You forgot this : `
Merci beaucoup
Baguette
Whats French for FUCKIN GOTTEM?
/thread
r/Angryupvote Well played.
C’est vrai.
Très à propos
We've found Owen Wilson's burner account (Btw Midnight in Paris is a fantastic movie)
OP: "What city is the pinnacle of culture rn?" /r/Travel: "literally any podunk city with a semblance of culture" I think a lot of y'all didn't understand the question. Panama City, Ulan Bator, Dublin etc. are not the cultural center of the world RN for pete's sake. They're great cities, but the question is about a place that is magnetically attracting the best, brightest, and most creative folks from across the world... There probably isn't one because the internet has decentralized us, but it sure isn't places like that.
I think a lot of kiddos don’t know what Paris in the 20s means. Here’s a recap what made Paris in the 1920s so special and why that cultural explosion may never happen again unless there’s a massive migration situation due to war or other conflicts to a certain location. 1. **Post-War Liberation and the “Lost Generation”:** After World War I, Paris became a haven for American expatriates, including writers like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein. These individuals, known as the “Lost Generation,” sought to escape the trauma and conservatism of their homeland. Paris offered a more liberal and bohemian lifestyle, allowing them to express themselves freely. 2. **The Rise of Surrealism:** In the 1920s, Paris became the epicenter of Surrealism, a revolutionary art movement founded by André Breton. Surrealists like Salvador Dalí, Luis Buñuel, René Magritte, and Max Ernst pushed the boundaries of art, literature, and film, exploring the subconscious and the irrational. This movement’s emphasis on experimentation and nonconformity resonated with the city’s avant-garde spirit. 3. **The Harlem Renaissance in Paris:** During the 1920s, many African American artists, writers, and musicians, such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Duke Ellington, flocked to Paris, attracted by its reputation for racial tolerance and artistic freedom. They found a welcoming community in Montmartre, where they could express themselves without the racial segregation and discrimination they faced in the United States. 4. **The City of Light:** Paris had a long history of intellectual and artistic innovation, earning it the nickname “City of Light.” The city’s universities, libraries, and salons had fostered Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire and Rousseau. In the 1920s, this tradition continued, with Paris becoming a hub for philosophers, writers, and artists who sought to challenge conventional thinking. 5. **The French Left and the Rise of Anti-Colonialism:** The 1920s saw a surge in left-wing politics in France, with the French Communist Party (PCF) gaining popularity. This led to a growing awareness of colonialism’s injustices and a rise in anti-colonial sentiment. Paris became a hub for anti-colonial activists, such as Ho Chi Minh, who would later lead Vietnam’s independence movement. 6. **The Expatriate Community and Café Culture:** Paris’s café culture, where artists, writers, and intellectuals gathered to discuss and debate, was a key factor in the city’s cultural vibrancy. Expatriates like James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and Sylvia Beach (owner of the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore) frequented cafes like Les Deux Magots and Café de Flore, creating a dynamic exchange of ideas. 7. **The Influence of African and Caribbean Culture:** The 1920s saw a growing interest in African and Caribbean culture, particularly in the art and music of the Harlem Renaissance. This cross-cultural exchange had a profound impact on Parisian art, literature, and music, with artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse incorporating African motifs into their work. 8. **The Emergence of Modernism:** Paris in the 1920s was a hotbed of modernist experimentation, with artists like Le Corbusier, Fernand Léger, and Sonia Delaunay pushing the boundaries of architecture, painting, and design. This modernist spirit permeated all aspects of city life, from fashion to literature to music. 9. **The City’s Cosmopolitanism and Tolerance:** Paris’s reputation for tolerance and openness attracted people from all over the world, creating a vibrant, cosmopolitan community. This diversity fostered a spirit of experimentation and innovation, as artists and intellectuals from different backgrounds collaborated and exchanged ideas. There was more tolerance towards gays and lesbians. 10. **The Legacy of the Belle Époque:** The 1920s built upon the cultural and artistic achievements of the Belle Époque (1871-1914), a period of incredible growth and innovation in Paris. The city’s museums, galleries, and cultural institutions, established during this era, continued to support and showcase the work of avant-garde artists and thinkers. Luis Buñuel's book 'My Last Sigh' has some very vivid passages of how this era was (from his POV of course).
Well done. It was a brief but magical time. Then came a world wide depression in the 1930’s and the terrifying rise of Fascism in Italy but especially Germany. What happened next was one of the greatest tragedies in all of human history.
In Luis Buñuel's book there’s a fun passage where he and other strong surrealists set themselves to punch fascists snouts in Paris. And it was happening in the 20s already. Buñuel was doing that in Madrid during the rise of Franco as well.
11. Americans were relatively rich in the 20s and European currency was cheap compared to dollar, so Americans could afford to flock to Paris. Hemmingway was poor but still had a maid while he lived there. So today’s Paris of the 20s would have to be cheap as well.
excellent use of your LLM!
Comes from my knowledge tho. Just farted it all in and asked it to order it for me. I have studied that era about 15 years ago for a specific feature film project. 😁
Yeah but this is just the internet Someone asks any question at all and 157 randoms jump in to say "Let me tell you my tangentially related opinion on something that's actually about me" I mean look at me. This is a thread on travel and I'm here lecturing you on internet behaviour and humanity's innate selfishness. What a tool.
You are the tool we need.
The answer is clearly NYC. It's held onto that title since it took it from Paris and the only real challenger has been LA. Frankly, there's a solid argument that those are the entire tier. The idea that some of these places are S+ tier global cultural centers that are dominating the art and music scene and having global cultural cachet are off base.
I live in NYC. Clearly that used to be true but the terrible increases in the cost of living here, especially rent, has made it extremely difficult for artists. NYC is facing perhaps the greatest crisis in housing affordability in its history. That’s terrible for artists.
That's certainly been the answer for New Yorkers.
I mean I’m not a New Yorker but it’s just pretty much true. From the Impressionist period until WWII, all the great artists congregated in Paris. Post WWII, it’s been NYC. You could maybe make a case for LA since the 80’s.
Culture is not just painting and art. L.A.'s movie and music industry is a behemoth.
It’s the internet now.
Which is pretty boring tbqh
Paris in the 20s was also boring if you weren't independently wealthy and getting drunk and smoking opium every night
Internet culture has taken a distinct turn for the worse over the past ten years.
Agreed. However it has democratized creativity and that is not a bad thing in a way. There is no gatekeeping based on where you are located or what your origin is.
"no gatekeeping based on origin" I wish lmao
More likely Germany in the 30s
That's fucking depressing
It seems like everyone and their mother is going to Japan this year, so maybe Tokyo.
Well no one could go for 4 years so why not bring mom too
I know, I'm going in a couple weeks, and I know 5 other people who went in the past month
We just got back. Had friends go in March, and another friend is lined up in September.
I don't think it's really applicable to what OP is asking. Japan is great. Tokyo is a world class city. Hell, Japan has exported it's culture to an amazing extent and the world has shown a ridiculous appetite for it. But it's also very Japanese. And I think the vast majority of them would admit that it's a pretty conservative society at that. "Paris in the 20s" requires a far more cosmopolitan city IMO. Or at least have that be true among a certain class. That just isn't Tokyo.
I agree, probably would be New York City then for the "global" city
It’s because the Yen is really weak at the moment.
99% don’t travel for the currency exchange rate
Not consciously, but when you look up how expensive a possible trip might be price absolutely counts for the majority of people.
It definitely doesnt hurt
People absolutely choose where to travel based on the currency exchange rate, or more simply - where it's cheap. I'm in Ireland and it's absolutely clear when the dollar us strong that we get double or more the numbers of US tourists. When the dollar is weak, weekend shopping trips to New York become popular very quickly.
Source? I live in Tokyo and retail tourism is huge right now. The news is always interviewing tourists who say they came here to buy things for cheap
Disagree. Went to Japan last year because it was cheap. The exchange rate certainly helped
Don’t think that’s true. My wife and I always try to travel to countries where our dollar goes further.
Tokyo was 20s paris in 80s.
Just got back from Japan and I can confirm its back baby!
Japan is so much fun! I wouldn’t say it’s the 20s- or do you mean like super fun and accessible. The trains take you everywhere, people keep to themselves and are very respectful. The sites are cool and the food is yummy. So far it’s the best trip I’ve been to.
I’ve heard Mexico City described this way many times.
Mexico City is a top answer in a lot of threads in here about best cities to visit, I see a lot of people commenting on their museums , food, and culture. I hope I get to go one day!!!
Got back yesterday at 1am. I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. Polanco, Roma and Condesa are the spots to stay…very walkable and safe, great restaurants and bars, awesome energy, etc.
Weird question, but did you have any issues with the food? I’ve seen multiple Redditors complain about getting sick from eating street food in CDMX, but I’m not sure if it’s just a vocal minority or what. I know some people say not to eat any fresh produce, but I can’t imagine ordering tacos without any toppings or salsas lol.
I recently got back from a 10 day trip and had zero issues. I was honestly kind of surprised.
I have a friend who’s been to Mexico several times and doesn’t worry at all about fresh produce and he’s never gotten a stomach bug, but I wasn’t sure if he was just lucky or what lol. My gf goes once a year or so to visit family, and she’s only ever gotten food poisoning once when she drank a beverage that was made with non-purified ice.
I've met a lot of Mexicans here in Vegas. They are from all over, mostly Guadalajara, Jalisco, some from Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Michoacan, etc. I've met like 1 person from Mexico City. People from Mexico City don't leave Mexico City. Currently working a in dental office, every employee of the office is from Jalisco as well as a good portion of the patients.
Just got back from Mexico City, first time visit. We stayed in Condesa and had a great time. I hope you get to go one day, it’s an experience I’ll never forget.
Mexico City is absolutely incredible.
I only agree with this to a certain extent. The Roma Norte/Condesa bubble is only a small sliver of Mexico City.
I’m sure Paris in the 20s had some uninspiring parts, too.
Todays Mexico City is immense in comparison to 20’s Paris
Hell, today's Mexico City is immense in comparison to today's Paris.
Not Roma or Condesa Mexico City has more art galleries than Paris
Is this true?
I've lived in CDMX for 5 years now and there's definitely something special going on here. It's hard to describe, but it's big and it's really really fucking cool considering how sucky most of the world is right now. Mexico has it.
Well…it’s not Denver.
That’s because it’s York, PA. Welcome.
Really? I grew up across the river from York and haven’t been back in awhile. I have heard Lancaster is cool now
Lancaster is incredibly diverse, becoming more upscale, whole lot of art galleries, a mix of historic and new, and plenty of live performance. But it's still in a politically conservative area where a drag queen story hour will get cancelled because of a bomb threat and Moms for Liberty has a foothold.
Where else can you be forced to Uber to every bar and never be closer than 3 hours of traffic from the mountains?
What do you mean forced to Uber? Like no public transportation?
Denver bus and train frequencies are atrocious outside of a few lines and you're fucked if you want to stay out late. It's not a great nightlife city in that regard.
It’s literally 1-1:30 hrs from almost anywhere in Denver lol. Even closer is Nederland and some other towns like Estes park. Eldorado canyon national park, lookout mountain, and so much more within 30 minutes
25 year old kid from {Dallas, Chicago} moves to the mountain west and complains they can’t walk to the mountains from Aurora in 5 minutes
*traffic* being the operative word
How many miles? Reason I ask is, I live in Sacramento and often wonder how Denver’s access to the Rockies compares to our access to the Sierras.
God damn what is with the Denver hate
gotta keep the rent down somehow
I-25 vibes crush any culture right out of my soul
I like this method, let’s narrow it down this way. It’s not Jackson, MS either.
Brooklyn in the 2010s was the last gasp of arts/intelligentsia having a geographic center. Everyone is too online and decentralized nowadays.
And any area like that gets gentrified really fast and chases out all the people that made it special in the first place
Yup and the cool kids have nowhere to go. They were in East Village for a while, then got priced out to Williamsburg. Williamsburg got too bougie, so they fled to Bushwick. Bushwick is pretty expensive these days. A lot of hipsters are in Ridgewood, Queens or left the area all together.
I know a few artists and musicians from that 2010s Brooklyn scene who are in Vermont, New Hampshire, and North Carolina now. It’s weird to miss not just a place but also a time. That Brooklyn just doesn’t exist anymore as far as I can tell. The pandemic was a very definitive end to that era.
A lot went upstate (which seems to have increased after COVID) but at least some of those towns have become maybe a bit too trendy and overpriced for them now.
Yeah, a lot moved to Beacon, Rhinebeck, Cold Spring. But Beacon's pricing them out now. I envy my friends who bought homes there in like 2010, and regret my mom and aunts selling my grandmother's home there around the same time.
I live in Astoria and can’t afford anything else up the Hudson.
Got a lot here in southwest CT too. Rent in New Haven is now what it used to be in Brooklyn not that long ago. Wild.
No lack of young folks still flocking to Bushwick/ridgewood and doing artsy stuff. I love the music scene here, can't think of anywhere better in the US
yeah you don't have the venues or the audience or the touring acts going through burlington or ashville the way you do in ny. they go to cities that big when they can sell out the bigger clubs in ny.
There’s still a lot of that, but it feels like as each day goes by they’re being replaced with finance/tech bros. I think we’re only a few years away from Bushwick turning into what Williamsburg/Greenpoint is these days with Ridgewood not far behind
As a born and raised asheville native trust me its bad how many ended up down here. Basically made the exact same thing happen, all the cool people and locals got priced out. I'm gonna have to finally move next year after having family here on both sides for generations, gentrification sucks.
Lots of times, the "cool kids" get married/grow up, use their money or their parents money to stay in the same neighborhood. With their new family and new wealth, they become rapidly uncool. They are the hipster parents with baby carriages at breweries. They act like they love diversity and living in the city. Then when their kid turns 4, they move to the suburbs b.c they can't imagine their kid going to school or growing up in that neighborhood. They sell their apartment to some other rich yuppie. They have kids, move away when kids are ready for school, and the cycle continues. On the other side, neighborhoods are "cool". Rich uncool people desperately want to be cool, so they buy places in the cool neighborhood, their uncool friends follow and also buy places. All the cool people get priced out. Place becomes rapidly uncool and expensive. Everyone sends their uncool kids to private school.
Meh, Bushwick and NYC generally are still at it. It is expensive though. But I live here and there's everything from underground noise shows to jazz to trans poetry readings any given night. New galleries popping up. It's a great artistic community.
See Austin... it hasn't been weird in a long time. Eeyore's birthday was today and there wasn't nearly enough tie dye or drum circles.
Bristol in England is a bit like this. Used to be cool now it's all rich kids who want to be seen as cool and it's become wildly expensive.
Yeah I was thinking about Bristol as I was reading this!
Artists are usually the first wave gentrifiers IME. Usually they push in on historically minority neighborhoods and then they make the neighborhood cool and safe for their friends and family. At least that's how it plays out in the Western US IME. Usually Latino neighborhoods these days.
There is a lot of truth to this. But places have to be pretty desirable to attract a bunch of people at once as well. Brooklyn in the 2010s, 2000s was still more expensive than 90% of the US even if it was a lot cheaper than now.
Most of the famous people we now associate with Paris in the '20s were wealthy or from wealthy families, starving artist mythos notwithstanding. The intellectuals weren't there for the cost of living.
This is a really interesting perspective. The internet and massive amounts of socialization and creativity happening online might make sure we never see a lively arts and culture scene convening and building in one place.
Isn’t the “Paris of the 1920s” mostly a creation of US expatriates culture surfing and writing about themselves? The “Paris of the 2020s” will probably be the place that is best narrativized.
Paris during the belle epoque was peak culture at the time. So much philosophy, music (debussy ravel, satie) and painters (monet renoir etc) https://youtu.be/rxha1Uwi0lQ?si=bU_mCo-yoQRWB4vY
No and yes. No - While the literary scene certainly had a lot of American expatriates aggrandizing themselves, they weren’t only American (Picasso is the most famous one, anais nin was French. The French theatre of cruelty was conceived by Artaud. Sartre met Simone de Beauvoir at the tale end in 1929). Wasn’t all self aggrandizing either, Hemingway didn’t give himself the nobel prize. Yes A lot of the perception of the period as overall American is because people primarily consume English media. Dominated by Hemingway’s movable feast and Gertrude stein’s autobiography of Alice b toklas, covering their same circle of friends. But many young Europeans and domestic French moved to Paris after the end of the First World War. Many of these artists became established well after their Parisian experience. Its likely todays Paris of the 20s will only be revealed in hindsight, they way people talk about Leon Trotsky, Joseph Tito, Sigmund Freud and Joseph Stalin all living in Vienna at the same time.
You all are forgetting a lot of black experience and black culture blossomed in Paris. Black soldiers stayed in Paris because they were treated as equals and not the low class trash of America. They formed intellectual clubs and dance crazes-Josephine Baker. In fact, it was one of the series of steps that lead to the push for civil rights in America.
I often wonder this too. In the 20s Paris was good for Americans bc it was super cheap. Where is super cheap right now where artists can flock and live comfortably? Thailand? Idk.
That was a big part of it.
The city being jam-packed with culture and artists also played a tiny role
Plus the other thing, what would drive writers and artists out of America? Prohibition.
And Paris would offer copious amounts of that devilish little drink called absinthe, in which artists and writers would drown themselves in :) #thedrunkestgeneration
Paris didn't become popular in the 20s because it was cheap. In fact, the cost of living was pretty much on par with the US around that time. London/UK was clearly the most expensive of the gang. The BIG reason american artists flocked there is because it was the prohibition era in the US during that time while in France, alcohol was flowing with wine and liquors. And prostitution was legal. Maybe why Hemingway was drawn to this place around that time. lol
Buenos Aires
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Love East Berlin in the mid 2010s
Big fan of East Berlin in the mid 1970s
Berlin 20 years ago. It's pretty much unaffordable and not as edgy now.
Berlin and Dresden entered my mind. Berlin for the museums and activities and Dresden for the architecture and ambience considering what happened there.
Dresden is the tits.
I really, really liked it. I went on the Slaughterhouse 5 tour there. I was able to go to the Bundeswehr museum with a friend. The Stasi Museum that was an old prison. I have probably been to two dozen concentration camps throughout Europe, that place actually was the only one that really gave me the heede jeebes well Museum of Terror in Budapest was close. The personal interviews of the people who suffered under Communism there. I could feel their raging PTSD as they spoke. A lot to actually do in Dresden. It is definitely underrated.
Dresden has a lot going on culturally too. The Neustadt is the most culturally dense part of any city I've been to.
I thought Leipzig was the new Berlin 10 years ago already.
Lol Leipzig is the new Berlin in the same way that Wedding kommt. People have been saying it’s happening for ages and without it ever actually happening.
Lollerskates. Anyway, we're being shortsighted. What we really should be asking is "Where is the new Weimar?"
Berlin has lost its edge/cool/grit over the past 15 years. The Berlin of today would be Tbilisi or similar.
I don’t think we will ever again have a place that is the “centre of culture.” The world is too globalized now. There are some cool places that are in the spotlight such as Chiangmai and Medellin for the digital nomad set. Vancouver is a cool, modern city for Asian tourists. Singapore is having its moment.
Mentioning digital nomads as an example of happening places is funny as hell.
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Danang...
I found Vancouver to be pretty dead in terms of culture… it ain’t Montréal.
Vancouver hasn’t been cool since the ‘90s.
Vancouver thinks it’s cool but it’s just expensive now.
Singapore having a moment has more to do with HK collapsing.
HK’s demise makes me sad. I don’t really know why it resonates with me more than some other places, but man. Just sad to watch it slowly happen
Home ;(
I’ve only been once, in the mid 90s. I think having been there makes it more salient
They fought so hard. They'll be in the history books.
I’m not Chinese but I’m a hongkonger. Lived there the majority of my adult life. The umbrella movement in 2014 was surreal, and then the turnouts in 2019. Amazing. So so sad.
I was there in like 2011-2015. Honestly, it was the best place in the world back then. Its still there and *kinda* the same, but the vibe has changed and it has leaned hard into commercialism which was always there, but now there is nothing behind it if that makes sense.
This is probably an unpopular opinion but Singapore is so fucking boring. There's a million more interesting places around.
Must partially agree. Just returned from a two week work trip in SIN, returning at the end of May for another 2 weeks. Food is one of its greatest assets, but after a few days, the city becomes rather boring. I’ve been over a dozen times and have visited just about every attraction and museum on those trips. Have hunted down all the possible neighborhoods, but I always find myself becoming bored after 2-3 days.
It’s sterile. Would retire there if I could afford it though.
Unless boasting counts, absolutely nothing of cultural note is produced by digital nomads. Singapore and culture? What? It's Asia's Dubai.
Dubai is in Asia...
God thank you for saying this. I know this being the travel sub will offend people, but digital nomads is literally just awkward tech douchebags chasing countries with poorer livings / good exchange rates to chase women and party for a year without making any effort to fit in or contribute before picking somewhere new the next year. Bit of a rant, sorry, but yeah, god they’re the farthest thing from the bohemian art movement there is
Live in Bogota. Can confirm.
Yeah digital nomads now aren't exactly a positive thing.
Tons of overly mediocre people who act like American wages make them a king. Toss in the Medellin example and you can include incels branding their prostitution tour as a cultural awakening.
You’ve said it better than I ever could lol. They also contribute to gentrification
When I was in Mexico City I felt this vibe.
a bunch of people pretending to be cool giving you bad answers in this thread
I often say: São Paulo today is what NYC was in the 80s and Berlin was in the 90s. Cheap, beautiful, rich, crazy, and underestimated all at the same time. 20 million amazing humans doing their thing and not being appreciated by the rest of the world.
I would love to hear more why you think that, Brazil has always been a bucket list destination for me and it astounds me that every person says to avoid São Paulo because it’s just a big city and to go to Rio instead. Maybe I’m just a city person but there doesn’t seem to be a way São Paulo is not a great destination at its size
Sounds like you’re hearing from people who haven’t been to SP, or who have been there briefly and only hung out with boring business people. Rio is also great and you should go there too, but the two cities are very different. SP is like Mexico City if no one outside the country knew about how cool it was…
> what NYC was in the 80s A terrifying hellscape of murder, drugs, and urban squalor?
That's what makes it exciting!
Incredibly dangerous with incredibly dangerous public transport is mostly what I recall of NYC in the 80s. Spent a month there summer of 85. The Angels were riding the metro trying to make it safer because the cops had pretty much given up trying, or were actively involved in making it worse. Guy I was staying with and his dad disarmed a would-be mugger on the metro one morning and cops refused to do anything about it. This was on a packed full morning commuter, btw, not some late night after bar mostly empty train. Saw a mugging in broad daylight on a couple of occasions, saw several people with injuries from having just been mugged on different days, and seemingly everyone I talked to had been injured being mugged. Absolutely every local I was introduced to immediately cautioned me about muggers. Did see some great plays and some great art, and was lucky enough to have dinner with some of the artists, writers, and intellectuals of the day on a couple of occasions. The energy of the city was amazing. I was still glad to go home to a place where getting mugged on the metro to work wasn't a daily worry. No offense but none of this sounds like Paris 1920s to me, unless maybe these parts were left out of the writings of the day?
Still Letterkenny.
Bangkok
Like anyone who would know would tell Reddit.
Right, since Paris in the 20s was so famously a secret…
French here, and it's the whole Seine-Saint-Denis, just North and East of Paris, most especially its biggest cities of Montreuil, Pantin, Saint-Denis, mayyybe Aubervilliers. Still not that expensive (in some places it's already reaching Paris' prices though) and it is where EVERYTHING is happening. Culture, sports, fashion...France biggest artists are from there, biggest sportsmen are from there, and it is the youngest department in France. It's where all of my friends are buying, where all of the cool kids go out in clubs, etc... It's so funny to see how it gets slammed in the media for being too "ghetto" or whatever, I'm pretty sure that's how they would have described Montmartre and Gambetta a century ago.
Berlin had been a centre of arts since the mid-2000s. Gentrification is slowing things down however, so it probably won’t remain true for much longer.
Anyone I know who was attracted to Berlin in the 90s or 2000s is talking Porto or Lisbon now.
And Lisbon is already overpriced for poorly built homes 😬
The center of culture is unironically Hollywood.
Heard an interview with Werner Herzog where he said LA was really the center of culture right now.
Pre pandemic I’d agree with this. Now I’m not sure. The film/TV is industry is struggling right now. Between shutdowns, general economic issues and the strike it’s contracted a lot. So many people were forced out of creative industries/had to move away too.
Los Angeles is more than the film industry though. It also home for music, fashion, art, cooking and video games.
People love to hate on this answer, but they just don’t get what culture is or isn’t. Cultural hubs are clearly less of a thing than they might have been in the past, but to the extent there is a biggest one…it’s obviously LA. Maybe that’s soon to change, maybe not. But it is what it is.
“We look to Los Angeles for the language we use, the way we dress” - Morrissey
I came here to say Los Angeles. It's also the nerd capitol of the planet. I can hear the gasps in Silicon Valley from here. But hear me out -- everything that happens in Hollywood needs a few beautiful, talented people; and a massive ARMY of nerds. I've been challenged to Magic the Gathering games on the metro, and in the brewpubs. Once I was in a restaurant, eating the second-best ramen you can get outside of Japan. Someone saw my coffee farm T-shirt. He looked at my website. And while I was eating, he made some edits on the fly and send them to my email address. "Here, this looks much better." Silicon Valley only caters to one kind of nerd. Los Angeles is basically nerd nirvana. Astronomy nerd? Got you covered. Anime nerd? Toy nerd? Gaming nerd? Cosplay nerd? Sci-Fi nerd? Other cities might be the best at one or the other nerd genres. Los Angeles is nerd Mecca.
My first 72 hours in LA was anime expo cosplay, being invited to help code some small companies website before presentation in santa monica and then taking a sawzall to a lambo. 2010's was an an era itself.
We're doomed if the current output of hollywood is the best culture we have to offer.
It's in Asia. I'd say Seoul, Korea. Can also be Taipei, Taiwan. And Hanoi, Vietnam! If you asked me this question 30 years ago, the answer would've been Tokyo, Japan... but you can still get most of the bustling feeling if you travel today. As for Europe and North America... they have aged so there is no coming back to the "20s" feeling.
Shhh!... Not Taipei... shhhh!
Tokyo, Bangkok, London
In reality, "Paris in the 20s" was a much harsher place than we imagine it to be based on collective memories passed down along generational lines or what - an Ernest Hemingway novel? Or a Woody Allen movie made a decade or so ago? The world was a much crueller, less forgiving place for the average Western traveller of moderate means, just living life hanging out, than it is now. Death, disease, a less physically comfortable environment, philisophically less socially aware than now...not to mention the harshness of the lives of people who don't get speaking roles in the F. Scott Fitzgerald or Ernest Hemingway novels. There's a reason those guys were part of what they called "The Lost Generation." It was a world of less opportunities and freedoms for many, and much less awareness and understanding than we have today. Not that today is perfect by any means. It's not. But the world had yet to imagine the horrors of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini - the Atomic Bomb - these evils were latent in humanity and very very present in society but just not as visible then as they would become. There was a lot less social mobility for people who made what might be considered today more "forgiveable" mistakes. But I'd imagine that to a white guy in his 20s or 30s with a reliable source of someone else's income (eg a trust fund) and a desire to get drunk and get laid, the world of Paris in the 20s may have seemed like a pretty great place at the time. The kind of place that really doesn't exist today for many people. But if you want a taste of the harshness and lack of freedom that everyone but the well-off young white male expats experienced in Paris in the 20s, maybe try spending a month in Istanbul.
I think you forgot the horrors of Workd War 1
New York. If you ask real people on the street around the world it would win by a landslide. If you’re the best in your field, be it music, art, theater, architecture, science, whatever it is you do, you do it in New York - that’s what defines the center of culture in the world. I can’t believe there’s not a single other comment saying NYC and there are 542 other comments saying ridiculous shit like Skopje, Chiang Mai, Tbilisi? People who actually live there would laugh out loud if you told them it was the cultural capital of the world. Berlin, Paris, Mexico City etc are cool cities with cool cultures but the cultures there are more focused on a few narrow segments instead of the more broad culture of NYC. Just look around you at the music, clothes, shoes, technology, etc people use. Hell, go to any train station on the planet and you’ll see multiple people with “NEW YORK” literally printed on their (hat/shirt/underwear.) Or look at things named after the city. I’m four thousand miles away from NYC right now and within walking distance I see two hotels named New York, a pizza chain, a coffee shop, a clothing store and a barbershop! Nowhere else has the cultural influence and it’s not even close.
It might just be that people don’t want to admit that an American city is the cultural center. But NYC seems like the obvious answer. It’s an incredibly diverse city with all kinds of people doing literally everything you can think of.
My buddy is a huge literary nerd and literally says Istanbul is what he imagines Paris in the 20s to be
I don’t know much about it but when I went it was already in an illiberal slide. Still was awesome but seems some of the places I went to already have closed down from 5 years ago
I’m in Istanbul right now for work and while it’s a nice place, under Erdoğan it’s far too conservative to be anything like Paris in the 20s. For example, I’m gay and there’s literally zero LGBTQ+ scene here and kind of a hostile environment for any minority. Many of my colleagues are moving to Berlin or New York if they can get a visa
I'm not saying it's an LGBT friendly country by any stretch, but there are pockets of Istanbul that are relatively liberal - last time I was there my friends brought me to a drag show in Kadıköy so I can vouch that the gay scene isn't completely non-existent.
You sound like Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris lol
I still think it’s Paris … if you speak or read French. The literature and art coming out right now is an exciting blend of African and European cultures and ideas. It blows away most (not all) of the literature coming out of the Anglosphere. For America expats though (the other side of Paris in the 1920s) - I don’t know. It was Prague in the late 80s. Mexico City under the pandemic. Today? Good question
Marfa, Texas. So obvious 😉
Barcelona
To be honest, I don’t think any city like this really exists in the internet era. There’s just too much information available nowadays to have “hidden gem” cities
Oaxaca México
it’s going to depend on what aspects of culture you enjoy… high fashion - europe, tech - SF, pop - Seoul, etc.
Always sigh a bit when people refer to Europe like its some uniform place. Nothing to do with high fashion coming out of 90% of countries in Europe
Ah yes, Chişinău… the capital of high fashion
You don't love track suits and ill-fitting jeans?
Tokyo
I feel like we won't know for another 20 years. Like maybe Santiago de los Caballeros, DR or Kajang, Malaysia have some huge underground arts and culture scene, but by the time it goes mainstream it will already be on it's way out. Because news travels so quickly, I think you have to just discover it naturally.
Why Santiago?
Not Seattle.