Edmonton , General info:
8/10

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta, located on the North Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is an area with some of the most fertile farmland on the prairies. It is the second largest city in Alberta after Calgary, and is the hub of Canada's sixth largest census metropolitan area, with a metropolitan population of 1,034,945, making it the northernmost North American city with a metropolitan population over one million. At 684 square kilometres (264 sq mi), the City of Edmonton covers an area larger than Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto or Montreal. Edmonton has one of the lowest population densities in North America, about 9.4% that of New York City. A resident of Edmonton is known as an Edmontonian.

Edmonton , Cheap stuff:
8/10

Edmonton serves as the northern anchor of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor (one of four regions that together comprise 50% of Canada's population) and is a staging point for large-scale oil sands projects occurring in northern Alberta and large-scale diamond mining operations in the Northwest Territories.

Edmonton , Different stuff:
10/10

Edmonton is the most northerly major city in North America. At the summer solstice, Edmonton receives seventeen hours and six minutes of daylight, with twilight extending well beyond that. Edmonton receives 2,289 hours of sunshine per year, and is one of Canada's sunniest cities.

Edmonton , Don't miss:
9/10

The Edmonton International Fringe Festival, which takes place in mid-August, is the largest Fringe Theatre Festival in North America, and second only to the Edinburgh Fringe festival in the world. More than 1500 performers take part in the festival each year. In 2006, over 77,000 tickets were sold to indoor shows, and over 500,000 people visited the festival site.

New York City , General info:
10/10

New York City (officially the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States of America. Its business, financial and trading organizations are significant players in the nation's economy and in the world. The city is also one of the world's most important cultural centers with hundreds of world-class museums, galleries, and performance venues. Home of the United Nations, the city is also perhaps the world's largest diplomatic center.New York is the most diverse city in the world. Whatever your ethnicity or race, there's a slice of New York that feels like home. Nearly 40% of all New Yorkers were born outside the US.

New York City , Cheap stuff:
10/10

Cheap walking, nothing else.

New York City , Different stuff:
10/10

Numerous major American cultural movements began in the city, such as the Harlem Renaissance, which established the African-American literary canon in the United States. The city was the epicenter of jazz in the 1940s, abstract expressionism in the 1950s, and the birthplace of hip hop in the 1970s. The city's punk and hardcore scenes were influential in the 1970s and 1980s. The city has more than 2,000 arts and cultural organizations and more than 500 art galleries of all sizes. The city government funds the arts with a larger annual budget than the National Endowment for the Arts.

New York City , Don't miss:
10/10

Broadway theatre, or a Broadway show, refers to a performance, usually of a play or musical, presented in one of the 39 large professional theatres with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District of the New York City borough of Manhattan. Broadway theatre is the best known form of professional theatre to the general public in the United States and the most lucrative for the performers, technicians and others involved in putting on the shows. The Broadway theatre district is a key tourist attraction in New York City.

Rich nightlife.

New York City , Food:
10/10

Has all the eating options covered and you can find almost every type of food available and every cuisine of the world represented. There are literally tens of thousands of restaurants, ranging from dingy $2-a-slice pizza joints to the $500-a-plate prix fixe sushi at Masa. Thousands of delis, bodegas, and grocery stores dot every corner of the city and DIY meals are easy and cheap to find. Street food comes in various tastes, ranging from the ubiquitous New York hot dog vendors to the many middle eastern carts at street corners in mid-town. Fruit stalls appear at many intersections from Spring to Fall with ready to eat strawberries, bananas, apples, etc. available at very low cost. Vegetarians will find New York to be a paradise with hundreds of vegetarian-only restaurants and good veggie options in even the most expensive places.

Don't miss - The New York Hot Dog, vendors all over the city sell hot dogs from carts. The New York Pizza, a peculiarly New York thing, you can buy pizza, with a variety of toppings, by the slice from almost every pizzeria in the city.

New York City , Hotels:
10/10

New York has some of the most expensive hotels in the world. Expect to pay up to $50 for a hostel style hotel; around $100-$200 for a budget room with shared bath; $250-$350 for a mid-range hotel with a decent room and a restaurant and/or room service; and much higher in the many high end hotels in the city. In the mid-range and splurge hotels, it often pays to ask for a corporate rate. Most rooms below $200 in Manhattan are small with room for a bed, a tv and little else.

New York City , Safety:
10/10

In contrast to a dangerous reputation it once arguably deserved, New York in the 1990s and early 21st century became one of the safest cities in the United States. City had the lowest crime rate of among the 25 largest U.S. cities, with New York's crime rate decreasing during periods when the nation as a whole saw increases. Violent crime in New York City has decreased 75% in the last twelve years and the murder rate in 2005 was at its lowest level since 1963.