(VE) Lima City and New York City: Different but Alike (by edgardinho)

The culture and everything that involves it are very important to establish the richness standards from all world societies; no matter distance neither economic situation between countries. Indeed, there are some countries with very important cities that contribute in variety and in richness to the world. For instance, Lima and New York are some examples of cities in America where “culture” is expressed in different ways. In other words, Lima City and New York City are different in some aspects; however they share some remarkable similarities, too.

One obvious difference is the architecture. Lima’s architecture is characterized by a mixture in styles as reflected from shifts between trends throughout various time periods of the city's history. Moreover, “Lima's urban setting is characterized by lime green-lined streets as well as the abundance of plazas throughout the city”, according to Wikipedia (“Lima City”). However, New York’s architecture is characterized by their buildings that have form of skyscraper. According to Wikipedia, “This [buildings] are more than any other city in United States, and second in the world behind Hong Kong” (“New York City”).

Another area of difference between Lima and New York involves Climate. Despite featuring a desert climate, Lima’s temperatures vary from mild to warm. In fact, it is neither cold nor very hot, which is very unusual in a desert climate. Besides, the microclimate makes atmosphere very humid during all the year. In contrast, “New York has a subtropical climate and enjoys an average of 234 days with at least some sunshine annually…summers are typical hot and humid with average high temperature of 26 – 29 °C…temperatures in winter could be as low as −12 to −6 °C”, according to Wikipedia (“New York City”).

In spite of these differences, these two apparently opposite cities share several important experiences.

Both, for example have, have multicultural richness. Although Peru and the United States are countries with originally European roots, their liberal immigration policies, especially in cities such as Lima and New York, have resulted in their becoming a heterogeneous society of many ethnicities – Europeans, Africans, Asians and Latinos. All are represented in all areas of their societies, including politics, education and business.

Not only Lima but also New York has developed the art of business and commerce, of buying and selling, to the highest levels. In fact, there are many malls and retail departments where you can find anything, with a mixture of quality and convenient prices. Furthermore, Lima and New York are consumer cities. The people of both cities love to go shopping and are enthusiastic consumers of convenience products and traditional foods. International restaurants offering different kinds of food are as popular in Lima as they are in New York, and attractive tourist places are as common in Lima as Recreation Areas are in New York.

Lima City and New York City: different, yet alike. Although the two cities differ in many areas such as mixed architecture versus skyscraper, and desert but humid versus subtropical climate, they share more than one common experience. Furthermore, their differences probably contribute as much as their similarities toward the mutual interest the two cities have in each other thanks to the “Free Trade Agreement – TLC”. It will be interesting to see where this reciprocal interest leads in the future.

“Lima City.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 21 Jan. 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima>.


“New York City.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 22 Jan. 2010 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City>.