<P> Set and filmed in New York City and based on the 1997 book of the same name by Candace Bushnell , the show follows the lives of a group of four women -- three in their mid-thirties and one in her forties -- who , despite their different natures and ever - changing sex lives , remain inseparable and confide in each other . Starring Sarah Jessica Parker ( as Carrie Bradshaw ) , Kim Cattrall ( as Samantha Jones ) , Kristin Davis ( as Charlotte York ) , and Cynthia Nixon ( as Miranda Hobbes ) , the quirky series had multiple continuing storylines that tackled relevant and modern social issues such as sexuality , safe sex , promiscuity , and femininity , while exploring the difference between friendships and romantic relationships . The deliberate omission of the better part of the early lives of the four women was the writers ' way of exploring social life -- from sex to relationships -- through each of their four very different , individual perspectives . </P>
where does sex and the city take place
New York City