Maria and the rivalry between families and in gangs. One of the major similarities is the importance that the families, in Romeo and Juliet and the gangs in West Side Story have to the plot. A significant difference between the two love stories is the setting. Romeo and Juliet takes place mostly in Verona while West Side Story takes place in New York. This plays a big part in the plot, because of the way people act towards different things going on. This goes along with the fact that they were set in two completley different time periods. IN Romeo and Juliet it was different