Sure, there are cool urban centres everywhere. But Oakland, California, and Brooklyn in New York City, have pulled ahead of the pack with their wicked local cuisine and buzzing bands, plus two attention-hogging cities to rebel against. Two proud locals get into a heated debate about why their town is the coolest in America.

Meet the Locals

Erika ‘The Brooklynite’ Kawalek

Years Living in Brooklyn: 7

Local Cred: Grandparents-Polish-
Jewish refugees- came to the U.S.
in 1956 and got thei bearings in
Coney Island before moving on to
Canada. She returned to Brooklyn
in 2002; met her ex-husband, a
descendant of the Ditmas clan
(one of Brooklyn's founding families),
in Brooklyn at a post-Mermaid Day
Parade house party.

Zac ‘The Oaklander’ Unger
Years Living in Oakland: 31

Local Cred: Moved to Oakland as a
five-year-old; eventually settled in a
house four doors down from the one
he grew up in (which could mean his
life has gone exactly nowhere, or else
he just really loves Oakland); writes
about the glories of his hometown for
local and national media; also a
firefighter and paramedic who is always
ready to help Oaklanders in trouble, a
profession he writes in his book,
Working Fire.

Zac’s Case for Oakland

ROUND 1: CITY PRIDE

When I tell people I’m from Oakland, they always say, “That’s great—I just love San Francisco.” But let’s get one thing straight: Oakland is a city . Not a borough or a neighbourhood or some sort of residential adjunct to where all the real action is taking place. San Francisco is a lovely neighbour, but Oaklanders can easily live their whole life without ever needing anything from there.

We have our own mayor, our own schools and three professional sports teams with their own endearingly semi-lunatic fans. Try going to an Oakland Raiders football game, sit in what’s known as the Black Hole section of the stadium while telling everyone how much you love San Francisco. On second thought: don’t. Thinking of Oakland as only a city misses the point, though.

ROUND 2: GETTING WILD

Sure, we’ve got office buildings and lawyers in fancy suits, but we’ve also got actual wilderness inside city limits . You can camp in Oakland, light a fire, ride horses and fish for catfish at Anthony Chabot Regional Park, which has 850 acres of eucalyptus trees , wild animals and fresh air. Not to belabour our natural appeal, but it must be mentioned that Oakland also has Lake Merritt, which is right in the heart of downtown and is the first official wildlife refuge in the United States.

ROUND 3: PEOPLE POWER

But Oakland is not only for hawks, deer and Redwood trees. It also has one of the most diverse and vibrant human populations anywhere. Drive along International Boulevard, and you’ll be transported from Thailand to China to Cambodia to Mexico, like some sort of Hollywood world flyover montage. Try the legendary Yoshi’s Jazz Club and Japanese Restaurant, or check out the Malonga Performing Arts Center, one of the most respected schools of African music and dance outside of, well, Africa.

Each neighbourhood has its own distinctive feel, its own culture and its own sound and public art. And the food. Oh God, the food.

ROUND 4: GETTING HUNGRY

While hipster gourmands all over the country prattle on about eating local and organic, Oaklanders actually do it. California has a year-round growing season, with about 120 farms surrounding Oakland alone. The only way to feel bad about your environmental ethos here is if you somehow fail to consume more than a dozen fresh fruits and veggies every day.

You can graze your way through one of the many farmers’ markets, or explore Oakland’s exploding Uptown restaurant scene. Don’t miss the pear ginger scones at Bakesale Betty; the chile rellenos with lacinato kale, pine nuts, and tomatillos at Doña Tomás; or the fresh-from-the-sea Dungeness crab hush puppies at Luka’s Taproom and Lounge. If nature, food and people don’t appeal, there are plenty of other things to do.

ROUND 5: CULTURE

You can look through the massive 36-inch reflecting telescope at the Chabot Space and Science Center, kayak along the coastline or visit Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon, where Jack London did his homework as a kid, and later wrote The Call of the Wild. Watch your step though: the bar is uneven and the floor’s still buckled from the 1906 earthquake.

If all that isn’t adventurous and macho enough, you can take a fire arts class at The Crucible and weld your own mountain bike out of recycled parts .

ROUND 6: CLOSING ARGUMENTS

I asked a friend to tell me what she thought the best thing about Oakland was, and instead of mentioning a restaurant or a festival she said, “It’s big enough to be infinitely interesting, but small enough that you can still make a difference .” People are fiercely proud of Oakland, and we live here because we love it, not because it’s close to someplace else and has cheaper rent .

And if you still thirst for big skyscrapers, bank headquarters and lots of places to get your shoes shined, you can always head to San Francisco, that darling little bedroom community across the Bay. But make sure to bring a coat; the weather is a whole lot nicer in Oakland.

Erika’s Rebuttals and Oakland Low Blows

You mean “barely a city”: Oakland is the 41st largest metropolitan area in the country—three slots after Omaha! O-m-a-h-a!
Truly great cities celebrate civilization and culture, not la vie sauvage, my dear.
If Brooklynites want eucalyptus, they can get some on any corner, in a bodega, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
…and just make sure to be home in bed by 10 p.m., the official bedtime of Oakland!
  “Make a difference”…doing what exactly? Eating organic kale?
Actually, I thought people ended up in Oakland because it’s easy to find parking there.

Erika’s Case for Brooklyn

ROUND 1: CITY PRIDE

Picture New York City. I bet you see the Chrysler Building. Or some other steel-and-glass Manhattan colossus. But you know what? New York City’s most architecturally impressive borough isn’t the one New Yorkers love best. That would be Brooklyn. And what Brooklyn lacks in vertical thrust is precisely what its 2.5 million residents adore most about it: leafy enclaves, houses mixed in with small businesses, beaches, stunning 19th-century industrial parks and shipping yards.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not as though Brooklyn is deficient in breathtaking sites. After all, the borough’s patchwork neighbourhoods amount to what would rank as the fourth-largest city in the U.S. The city’s most iconic landmark happens to be its gateway: the Brooklyn Bridge.

ROUND 2: GETTING WILD

Industrial ruins and a manmade beach—this will be your first glimpse of Brooklyn. A 71-square-mile borough of industry and culture, you’ll think, “they don’t revere nature here.” You would be correct. Brooklynites have swapped Mother Nature—as any great civilization must—for art and culture and manmade glories. So we don’t have wilderness . We do have the oldest and most gorgeous cultivated public spaces in America (and we get to enjoy them with four distinct seasons).

There are magnificent meadows and artifical forests of Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, which changes dramatically every season. And who can ever forget a trip through Green-Wood Cemetery, the Victorian resting place with hills, ponds and footpaths, the perfect place to munch on a Mile End deli sandwich and consider the evening’s plans.

ROUND 3: PEOPLE POWER

Hop the F Train on a sunny Saturday. It surfaces from below ground and cuts through the heart of Brooklyn, skidding along the brownstone rooftops all the way to Coney Island, where the grey Atlantic rumbles ashore and the sheer humanity—from oiled and gold-bedecked Boricuas to Russian pensioners in knee socks playing chess and gossiping under the pavilions—offers a panorama that rivals the contents of Balzac’s The Human Comedy.

ROUND 4: GETTING HUNGRY

Of course all those cultures mean great dining options. As the 19th century’s gateway to America, Brooklyn’s grub has always been cooked to appeal to its international citizenry. Today, the most popular are the authentic Mexican fare from the food trucks in Red Hook Park, and the Senegalese-American comfort food—fried chicken and fruit compote-drenched spicy pancakes—at Abistro’s humble open kitchen.

As for the urban homesteading trend: whether you’re just curious about butchering, or are a convert to urban farming, a pilgrimage to The Brooklyn Kitchen is a must. You can buy ingredients for brewing your own beer, learn how to butcher a pig , raise chickens or plant a rooftop garden. For defectors—and there are many in this streetwise borough—there’s always that miracle of the industrial food chain: a Nathan’s Famous hot dog. Or try the best pizza in the world (topped with artichokes) at Di Fara Pizzeria.

ROUND 5: CULTURE

The constructed beauty, the history, the humanity—no wonder Brooklyn is a crucible of artists, writers and musicians, from Sagan to Seinfeld. And it wouldn’t be Brooklyn without the public access to it all, now would it? Check out the readings at Greenlight Bookstore, the films at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and, in the summer, on an outdoor screen with a few hundred neighbours under the Brooklyn Bridge, catch a concert in Prospect Park or just listen to kids rapping on the corner.

ROUND 6: FINAL ROUND

If Manhattan is the borough of jam-packed office towers, Brooklyn is the borough of little joints. “What I love about Brooklyn is there are more wonderful little joints than anywhere,” composer Arthur Schwartz once said.

Little joints don’t make the best postcards, but they’ll never leave you wondering what to do that day. Once you step over that bridge, you’ll never want to leave. Like a true Brooklynite, you’ll complain aloud, “Manhattan? That blech mall, tourist trap and office park? Fuhgeddaboudit!”

Zac’s Rebuttals and Brooklyn Low Blows

Don’t sell yourselves short—your vermin are the best in the world.
And don’t miss the pine tree dangling from your cabbie’s rear view mirror—that what’s Brooklynites call “fresh air.”
Um, Oakland parks don't have to pull double duty as eternal resting places.
Nothing says “lazy weekend morning” like the 6:13 from Queens rattling your sixth-floor walk-up.
Watching strangers dressed like children playing board games—now that’s entertainment.
T-shirt idea: “My Dad Went to Brooklyn and All I Got Was This Lousy Bucket of Home-Rendered Lard.”