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Originally Posted by pvande55 ....Infrastructure not designed to favor private vehicles means you might have to walk even further from your parking space than at a big box store. And smoking is allowed everywhere.
I love that we Americans have been jogging our butts off since the 70's, and we glory in holding marathons...but dammit! we will die with our guns in our hands before we will walk.
Smoking in Europe? In most of Western Europe smoking has to be done outdoors, or in rooms dedicated to smoking. National laws on this vary, but not a huge amount.
In Scotland you can't even smoke outdoors at the train stations!
I never said I hate the Netherlands. I said I do not like or want to live there or anywhere in Europe of the reasons I gave on first page. I do not like however that prostitution and drugs are legal and everywhere.
You prefer your prostitution and drugs illegal as in the US?
Has that stopped either?
Legal and regulated is much better than what the US provides.
How do Americans feel about the lack of military in Europe? Obviously I am not talking about military personnel living in Kaiserslautern etc., but of American civilians that move to Europe to work. I assume when you are used to the military being as present as it is in American society, Europe might strike you as utterly civilian
Again we come across one of these topics, don't make any comments disparaging or negative about Europe because you will receive the most hatred and be attacked more than almost any other topic one can think of. Don't bother to mention the very fact that their nations are based upon an historic ethnic and cultural community and that it breeds an environment where social cohesion is nigh on impossible for someone considered an "outsider" to join, don't mention that because of this and because of demographic shifts they need immigrants to continue being viable nations or they will fight back with hyperbolic and mostly stereotypical and patently false statements about the United States. Don't mention that it is their very own governmental policies which create their youth unemployment problems. If you insist on raising these issues don your coat of asbestos because you will be flamed, called a troll, and told it's actually you that has the problem, "you should look around you before criticizing them," you will be called stupid, you will be called fat, you will called a gun toting psycho.
I like Europe, I enjoy spending time in Europe, I love Europeans. However I am so thankful that I was born where I was, live where I do, and am a citizen of the nation I am. No country is perfect, not even the US, but just going online you learn to accept criticism of the United States and to quickly grow a thick skin, unfortunately Europeans do not encounter this, and do not have this thick skin, so to mention the very real facts and problems Europe faces you will face a bitter, angry, and mean group of people.
Well, DUH, this is the Europe folder.
Oh yeah, no skyscrapers is a monumentous problem in Europe.
I disagree with you.
I'm very comfortable and fit in quite well in Europe.
1) Food is cheaper in USA. Groceries, milk, meat etc.
2) Eating out is also cheaper. Places like Golden Corral, Cici's Pizza, Chili's, Mexican Restaurants do not exist in Europe. but I liked Wimpy's in UK. Chinese Buffet restaurants are much much better in USA then anywhere in Europe. Even a Chinese buffet restaurant at Colorado Springs or Amarillo will beat food at Liverpool or London Chinese Restaurants. Everything is less quantity and 1.5 times more expensive.
3) Electronics items, kitchen gadgets are way cheaper here in USA thru Walmart, Amazon then in Europe.
4)Clothes, shoes are cheaper here in USA. Try buying a Levis Jeans there and its horribly expensive.
5) USA has guns but Europe has anti-social behaviour.So many young people walking in tracksuits/sweatpants and creating disturbance. And those elements have no fear of police there. I find myself safer to walk in Atlanta as compared to walk in Liverpool. Lot of anti-social elements near bus stations, train stations in European cities. In comparison even Newark or Atlanta looked safer to me.
6) Customer Service in USA is better. In Europe, you are pushed to call paid telephone lines where they charge per minute. In USA you can talk and talk for hours for free thru 1-800 toll free lines.
7) Things like opening a Bank Account or Utilities or Driving License is very easy and customer friendly in USA.
8) Chain Hotels are better - way better in USA. We can still get a decent room for 80-90 dollars per night. Not possible for that amount in Europe.
9) USA has better cars and good deal at less prices also. I dont feel like spending 10000 pounds for a tiny-tot 2 door car. Even second hand cars are very expensive there and so is car insurance.
10) Parking is scarce in Europe. Highways have less resting stops and not wide enough. I found driving on I-20 in Mississippi a better experience then M-1 of UK or A40 near Essen, Germany.
11) It is easier to find jobs in USA for foreigners as compared to any European country.
12) Airports in USA are better. changing terminals is easy. Baggage is not lost easily as compared to say London Heathrow Airport. Also, staff is helpful here and you dont have to walk and walk.
13) Renting Apartments is easy in USA. They have a good supply of quality apartments at affordable prices for everybody in USA.
Europe is better then USA in following respects:-
1) Lot of history, museums, monuments.
2) Public transportation like coach/bus travel both within city as well as between different cities.
3) Rail network is fantastic there.
4) Healthcare is great. Affordable as well as effective. It is not an extortion racket like we have in the guise of Insurance companies run system here.
5) Less number of religious fanatics there.
English is not my first language and I apologise for mistakes here.
Your post is extremely UK centric.
The rest of your post is personal, I live in Germany and can disagree with most of what you wrote.
Electronics and clothing is cheaper in the US because of the exchange rate.
Believe it or not, the UK is still different culture and lifestyle than U.S./Canada. The UK is not exactly like mainland EU, but it has still much more in common with rest of EU than it does with U.S./Canada despite having few same stores.
The UK is very old, while USA and Canada are only few centuries old. Everything is still smaller in the UK, and they drive on the left. Small parts of New England may be similar to the UK, but so could it be to rest of Europe though.
again...you are correct. I'm originally from the UK and having lived in North America and been to Europe, the UK is much more in line with the European culture, sports, life etc..when I moved from the UK to North America it was major culture shock.
Well, everyone has their own reasons for loving or disliking regions of the world.
I lived in Europe for three years. That was enough time for me to travel throughout Europe and experience many different cultures. That also gave me enough time to get over the culture shock, and to truly discover what I loved and didn't love about the cultures of both Europe and the US.
I was raised to respect and appreciate the differences in cultures, so I didn't go to Europe with a negative mindset, but I also respect and appreciate my own country as well.
I found that I grew to love many cultural aspects of Europe - so much so that I return as often as I can - for a VISIT. In fact, my husband and I both love southern Germany so much that we have actually considered buying a second home there at some point. A SECOND home. Because we would continue to live in the United States by choice because we personally love it here in Texas. We much prefer the US to Europe as our permanent residence, for all the reasons I've already mentioned and many more.
That being said, there's lots to like in Europe. I encourage Americans all the time to plan a vacation to Europe and experience the differences themselves. They'll find many things they enjoy - and they will usually be really ready to get back home again as well!
I am sure our European friends feel the same way when they visit the US.
Sorry man you are delusional, North American life is different. Our food portions are more plentiful, our lifestyle is very much go go go, as for television, getting US imported TV doesn't make you more aligned with the US, its also available in other areas of the world equally as Non-North American.
I think what is happening here is something I noticed when living in the UK, which is this 'we are not European' thing, like somehow even though geographically in the same area, the UK is completely different, its simply not true. This is something I myself believed when I lived there as well (having never gone to Mainland Europe at the time) But now I can see clearly that in the UK things are different than in Europe in terms of lifestyle, but still much closer than to the US/Can.
When I moved from Germany to Britain, the only things I had to get used to were coins and notes, language, and watching for cars driving the wrong way around Other than that things worked more or less like back home. Not the slightest culture shock...
We have both but I just hang around the people who just straight up don't care about religion.
But what I ment is that I would rather hang out with annoying Christians than annoying atheist. .
The greater question is would either of them want to hang around with you?
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Other than that things worked more or less like back home. Not the slightest culture shock...
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