(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

“People come up to you on the street and say, ‘Welcome to New York.’ You’d wait a long time in London before anyone would say that.”
—Bill Nighy, actor

“A lot of creative talent used to jump over London and head straight to New York. But it was easier to get into the States then. You could show up as a young Swedish graphic designer and sneak into New York. Now Washington’s immigration policy has made America a closed shop, and New York has a talent deficit.”
—Tyler Brûlé, journalist

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

“On Broadway, English actors are held up on a pedestal in a lovely way that works to one’s advantage. In London, it’s more like, ‘Okay, come on, prove it to us.’”
—Kate Winslet, actress

“Friends from London will say, ‘Oh, we’re coming to New York next week, can we get together?’ and I’m astonished because I often can’t. It’s very hard to be impulsive in New York, in a place you’d think would be perfect for being impulsive.”
—Nicole Aragi, literary agent

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

“In London, people are so on the back foot—everything is sort of raised eyebrow, ‘Oh, really? Hmm.’ Whereas here, it’s both feet forward and more, ‘Wow, that sounds interesting, tell me more.’ I lived in London for ten years and always felt a bit of an outsider. In New York, I fit in straightaway.”
—Alan Cumming, actor

“London’s tougher to live in. Even if two Londoners live very centrally, they can still be 90 minutes apart. By the time you get out of work and get over to your friend’s house, it’s time to turn around again.”
—Jonah Bloom, editor of Ad Age

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

“London tends to be more decadent. It’s got boom-box and glorious street fashion, but it also has chic old Knightsbridge ladies.”
—Hamish Bowles, fashion editor

“What should New York buyers look for in London galleries? Something quintessentially London—that’s me!”
—Tracey Emin, artist

“In London, women still wear the veil. It’s an Islamic challenge, an attack on multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism, and people are giving ground to it. You don’t see that in New York. I hope we never do.”
—Christopher Hitchens, journalist

(Photo: Patrick McMullan)

“I was just hanging out doing some nitrous oxide, and I realized that there were about fifteen guys dancing with each other around me. That’s totally normal in London, and in New York, it’s really just not.”
—Warren Fischer, Fischerspooner

Related:

• Archive: “Guides”
• Table of Contents: Mar 26, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!