I had to laugh when my friends told me about the trouble they got into when they packed their paper disposals in the wrong containers. Quite surreal.
But then again, so many big cities look like dumpsters. When I was in Paris for 2 years, I grew so tired of it. So if I had to choose then I would rather pick the city where they enforce strict recycling and keep the city clean.
I do agree that there are many places in the world that are more friendly,but having now travelled to 61 countries, I find that there are always trade offs. No places Re perfect with regards to everything, so one just have to choose what are the most important factors to one's own well being. Luckily, there's a lot to choose from.