Tim O'Brien Quotes

I think L.A. has got a great lifestyle, but I love New York. You couldn't do 'Broad City' in L.A. because L.A. is a much gentler place. The standard of living is so different.

The world's major metropolitan cities are more or less the same.

I don't want to compare my city to Zurich; thank God we're not that boring. Rio is advancing fast, but we're at a different phase in our civilization.

Most cities are the same.

I like Iowa. I know Iowa. I've spent some time in Iowa. Good people in Iowa. It's a great state.

America is a nation with no truly national city, no Paris, no Rome, no London, no city which is at once the social center, the political capital, and the financial hub.

Given the choice of living in Los Angeles or living in Sydney, I would choose Sydney.

I don't think any other city in the world... the sun doesn't shine the same way anywhere as it does in New York. And then I guess everyone's very good at hanging out. Not in a crazy way, but you're just constantly interacting and learning.

I personally don't even try to compare New York and L.A. To me, they are just way too different.

I'm wary of the whole Los Angeles scene. I'm a California kid, but there's a difference between California and Los Angeles. L.A. is urban. California is restorative.

My mum and dad were speaking all the time about, 'In Sudan we do this,' and 'In Egypt we do that,' so I was very aware of cultural differences. I was confused growing up; it gave me a feeling of being an outsider watching others. But I think this is good for a writer.

Irvine, being a planned community, is really good shorthand, especially in a movie or book, for understanding suburban pressures.

The problem isn't that people don't understand how good things are. It's that they know, from personal experience, that things really aren't that good.

Cities are the greatest creations of humanity.

In America there's lot of cool cities, but in Canada there's, like, well, Vancouver, Toronto and Halifax may be cool, but they're so expensive. Montreal is the only city that's affordable but also has buses and culture.

I didn't like Los Angeles very much but I like San Francisco.

I don't think I would live outside of the Northwest. I think the quality of life in Portland is really good. People move from intense, high-powered jobs, and move to Portland, work half as much and live twice as good.

I have a lot of land. I bought it because I had a very strong feeling. I was in my early twenties, and I had grown up in Los Angeles and had seen that city slide off into the sea from the city I knew as a little kid. It lost its identity - suddenly there was cement everywhere and the green was gone and the air was bad - and I wanted out.

There's something about Brooklyn that reminds me of Toronto. I think because it's so community-minded.

I changed the city of New York. I gave people back their morale.

I have got the best of both worlds; growing up in Edinburgh and now living outside Glasgow.

So far, Vancouver is my favorite relocation city. It feels like home. Parts of it remind me of the east coast. It's very clean. The food is great. And the people are lovely. Not that I didn't love working in other glamorous locations like Downey, Detroit, Cleveland or Bulgaria... but, damn, it is fun to be Canadian.

I don't really like New York better than Portland. It's just a different place.

I would much rather America was a more stable, wonderful place. You know, I love it.

I like England more than I did when I left. It's become a bit of a better country in the last ten years, in the attitude of it. A bit more Americanized, which is both good and bad. At least when you order a cup of coffee they don't give you a hard time.