--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If London was an alien city, Edinburgh…" description: "\"“If London was an alien city, Edinburgh was another planet”\" — Jess Walter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/jess-walter-2228_edinburgh_if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-wa_3156964.jpg" --- # If London was an alien city, Edinburgh was another planet ![“If London was an alien city, Edinburgh was another planet” quote by Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/jess-walter-2228_edinburgh_if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-wa_3156964.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/jess-walter-2228_edinburgh_if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-wa_3156964.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/jess-walter-2228_edinburgh_if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-wa_3156964.jpg) > ““If London was an alien city, Edinburgh was another planet”” [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts two cities, suggesting one feels familiar and the other alien, highlighting perspective and cultural differences. **In simple terms:** Cities feel different depending on viewpoint. Key Takeaway Recognize how perception shapes experience. Themes culture perception city life Mood reflective curious Type observational comparative When to use this quote - travel planning - relocating - city tours - cultural immersion Key Concepts urban identity subjective reality Questions to Reflect On - How does your background affect how you view new places? - What makes a city feel alien to you? A Different Perspective Perception can be biased by personal experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Edinburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edinburgh/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) ## Related quotes > [Homesickness hits hardest in the middle of a crowd in a large, alien city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christos-tsiolkas/homesickness-hits-hardest-in-the-middle-of-a-crowd-in-a-large-alien/) [Christos Tsiolkas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christos-tsiolkas/) > [Washington...has become an alien city-state that rules America, and much of the rest of the world, in the way that Rome ruled the Roman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-j-maybury/washington-has-become-an-alien-city-state-that-rules-america-and-much/) [Richard J. Maybury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-j-maybury/) > [Edinburgh is good craic. A romantic and beautiful city, it's one those places that makes me smile when I think about it - there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/edinburgh-is-good-craic-a-romantic-and-beautiful-city-it-s-one-those/) [Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/) > [I used to say Edinburgh was a beautiful actress with no talent. I thought it was just like a shortbread tin. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-gomez/i-used-to-say-edinburgh-was-a-beautiful-actress-with-no-talent-i/) [Michelle Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-gomez/) > [I love Scotland. Edinburgh is a beautiful city and has a wonderful tradition of supporting the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hambleton/i-love-scotland-edinburgh-is-a-beautiful-city-and-has-a-wonderful/) [Peter Hambleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hambleton/) > [There's no leaving Edinburgh, No shifting it around: it stays with you, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bold/there-s-no-leaving-edinburgh-no-shifting-it-around-it-stays-with-you/) Alan Bold > [“Persons of good sense, I have since observed, seldom fall into disputation, except lawyers, university men, and men of all sorts that have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/persons-of-good-sense-i-have-since-observed-seldom-fall-into/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I have an older brother and an older sister - and they had the time of their lives at university. They were at Newcastle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-leslie/i-have-an-older-brother-and-an-older-sister-and-they-had-the-time-of/) [Rose Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-leslie/) > [“And Edinburgh. He was proud of Edinburgh too, and of Scotland; and why not? Why should one not be proud of one's country -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-edinburgh-he-was-proud-of-edinburgh-too-and-of-scotland-and-why/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [I was an adult and I was in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I was performing in this cave - they used to bury the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-darby/i-was-an-adult-and-i-was-in-the-edinburgh-fringe-festival-i-was/) [Rhys Darby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-darby/) > [I have to say I like Edinburgh, but I'm not a big fan of the Festival - I like it but I'm not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/i-have-to-say-i-like-edinburgh-but-i-m-not-a-big-fan-of-the-festival/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [“The writing talent of Edinburgh is textured - we have poets, novelists, non-fiction writers, dramatists and more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-writing-talent-of-edinburgh-is-textured-we-have-poets-novelists/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [If you're not keen on crowds, it might be best to give Edinburgh a miss during festival time when it can get extremely busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-fletcher/if-you-re-not-keen-on-crowds-it-might-be-best-to-give-edinburgh-a/) [Dexter Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-fletcher/) > [Many people have heard the remarkable example of devotion involving a Skye terrier dog who worked for a Scottish shepherd named Old Jock. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/many-people-have-heard-the-remarkable-example-of-devotion-involving-a/) [Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/) > [I would like to go to Russia very much — although the bastards murdered half my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/i-would-like-to-go-to-russia-very-much-although-the-bastards-murdered/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) ## More by Jess Walter > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Without sounding overly sentimental about the process, I'd say trying to describe how you tend to conceive of a book is like describing how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/without-sounding-overly-sentimental-about-the-process-i-d-say-trying/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“What person who has enjoyed life could possibly think one is enough?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/what-person-who-has-enjoyed-life-could-possibly-think-one-is-enough/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [For me, movies and television are interesting because they are the dominant storytelling form of our time. My first love will always be fiction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-me-movies-and-television-are-interesting-because-they-are-the/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [In seventh grade, with some vague sense that I wanted to be a writer, I crouched in the junior high school library stacks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/in-seventh-grade-with-some-vague-sense-that-i-wanted-to-be-a-writer-i/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“There would seem to be nothing more obvious, more tangible and palpable than the present moment. And yet it eludes us completely. All the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/there-would-seem-to-be-nothing-more-obvious-more-tangible-and/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [People sometimes ask who I would cast in my books and I never have any idea. I don't think I could ever write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/people-sometimes-ask-who-i-would-cast-in-my-books-and-i-never-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“A writer needs four things to achieve greatness, Pasquale: desire, disappointment, and the sea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/a-writer-needs-four-things-to-achieve-greatness-pasquale-desire/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Life, he thought, is a blatant act of imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/life-he-thought-is-a-blatant-act-of-imagination/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“And Pasquale forced himself to look away from her then. It was like prying a magnet off steel, but he did it: he turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/and-pasquale-forced-himself-to-look-away-from-her-then-it-was-like/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [I've been simultaneously drawn to and repelled from Hollywood for years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-ve-been-simultaneously-drawn-to-and-repelled-from-hollywood-for/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [I cling to the idea that Herman Melville had to work at the end of his career watching ships in a dock, as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-cling-to-the-idea-that-herman-melville-had-to-work-at-the-end-of/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [I come from a newspaper background, so maybe I'm attuned to current events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-come-from-a-newspaper-background-so-maybe-i-m-attuned-to-current/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Maybe every couple lived in the gaps between conversations, unable to say the important things for fear they had already been said, or couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/maybe-every-couple-lived-in-the-gaps-between-conversations-unable-to/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“How do you think it should end?” Young Pasquale considered the question. “Well, instead of going back to America during the war, he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/how-do-you-think-it-should-end-young-pasquale-considered-the-question/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) [Explore all 177 Jess Walter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) ## More Edinburgh quotes > [I would like to go to Russia very much — although the bastards murdered half my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/i-would-like-to-go-to-russia-very-much-although-the-bastards-murdered/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [Many people have heard the remarkable example of devotion involving a Skye terrier dog who worked for a Scottish shepherd named Old Jock. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/many-people-have-heard-the-remarkable-example-of-devotion-involving-a/) [Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-moussaieff-masson/) > [If you're not keen on crowds, it might be best to give Edinburgh a miss during festival time when it can get extremely busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dexter-fletcher/if-you-re-not-keen-on-crowds-it-might-be-best-to-give-edinburgh-a/) [Dexter Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dexter-fletcher/) > [“The writing talent of Edinburgh is textured - we have poets, novelists, non-fiction writers, dramatists and more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/the-writing-talent-of-edinburgh-is-textured-we-have-poets-novelists/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [I have to say I like Edinburgh, but I'm not a big fan of the Festival - I like it but I'm not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-mack/i-have-to-say-i-like-edinburgh-but-i-m-not-a-big-fan-of-the-festival/) [Lee Mack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-mack/) > [I was an adult and I was in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I was performing in this cave - they used to bury the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-darby/i-was-an-adult-and-i-was-in-the-edinburgh-fringe-festival-i-was/) [Rhys Darby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-darby/) > [“And Edinburgh. He was proud of Edinburgh too, and of Scotland; and why not? Why should one not be proud of one's country -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-edinburgh-he-was-proud-of-edinburgh-too-and-of-scotland-and-why/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [I have an older brother and an older sister - and they had the time of their lives at university. They were at Newcastle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-leslie/i-have-an-older-brother-and-an-older-sister-and-they-had-the-time-of/) [Rose Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-leslie/) > [“Persons of good sense, I have since observed, seldom fall into disputation, except lawyers, university men, and men of all sorts that have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/persons-of-good-sense-i-have-since-observed-seldom-fall-into/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Edinburgh is good craic. A romantic and beautiful city, it's one those places that makes me smile when I think about it - there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/edinburgh-is-good-craic-a-romantic-and-beautiful-city-it-s-one-those/) [Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/) > [There's no leaving Edinburgh, No shifting it around: it stays with you, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bold/there-s-no-leaving-edinburgh-no-shifting-it-around-it-stays-with-you/) Alan Bold > [I love Scotland. Edinburgh is a beautiful city and has a wonderful tradition of supporting the arts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hambleton/i-love-scotland-edinburgh-is-a-beautiful-city-and-has-a-wonderful/) [Peter Hambleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hambleton/) > [I used to say Edinburgh was a beautiful actress with no talent. I thought it was just like a shortbread tin. I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-gomez/i-used-to-say-edinburgh-was-a-beautiful-actress-with-no-talent-i/) [Michelle Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-gomez/) > [“It's easy to identify tourists on Edinburgh's Royal mile. They're the ones bound in knitted scarves, wearing puffa jackets and woolly hats no matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriella-bennett/it-s-easy-to-identify-tourists-on-edinburgh-s-royal-mile-they-re-the/) [Gabriella Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriella-bennett/) > [The first year I was in Edinburgh in 1999 I got six parking tickets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-horne/the-first-year-i-was-in-edinburgh-in-1999-i-got-six-parking-tickets/) [Alex Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-horne/) [Browse all 164 Edinburgh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edinburgh/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If London was an alien city, Edinburgh was another planet”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jess Walter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-was-another-planet/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Edinburgh" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-was-another-planet/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/jess-walter-2228_edinburgh_if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-wa_3156964.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/jess-walter-2228_edinburgh_if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-wa_3156964.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34c/jess-walter-2228_edinburgh_if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-wa_3156964.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If London was an alien city, Edinburgh was another planet” — Jess Walter", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jess Walter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If London was an alien city,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-was-another-planet/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/if-london-was-an-alien-city-edinburgh-was-another-planet/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```