Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thing is, people in Europe are also into private property. I mean, they're into ownership too. They just happen to like community, and having huge, beautiful, unsprawled territory surrounding it. They're not into sprawling like a cancer. Cancerous, spreading sprawl is what goes in the U.S.
There is no place from them to sprawl:>) Have you ever dealt with real estate prices and construction constraints in Europe? Almost as bad as parts of Texas.
There is no place from them to sprawl:>) Have you ever dealt with real estate prices and construction constraints in Europe? Almost as bad as parts of Texas.
Plenty of room in Scotland. But I'd personally prefer any new building is minimal.
I might have enjoyed living in the middle of London when I was in my 20's. No desire to live in a city any more though, had enough of those. We have a spacious house on 1/2 acre across from the sea. Plenty of places to walk or cycle, forests, mountains, beach. Clean air and water. Zero complaints here.
Same here - when I was in my twenties I thought Atlanta or Dallas or San Francisco seemed like Utopia. Now that I'm not so interested in partying, I appreciate other things. Living in east Texas, we live five minutes from a very large lake, we've got all sorts of places to walk or cycle, as well as plenty of state parks, heavily forested rolling hills and green, scenic pastures, etc and we're a half a days' drive at best to mountains, the ocean, huge metro areas with all their amenities (DFW is an hour and a half away for starters) - meanwhile living in a peaceful, pleasant suburb of large homes on large lots with big oak and elm trees (not to mention the tons of crape myrtles with their blooms that last all summer long). I have no idea why some people have this nightmare idea of living in the suburbs. Groceries, entertainment, shopping, etc are within a five or ten minute drive and frankly I'd rather drive than try to cart everything back and forth on the back of a bike or hauling a rolling shopping cart - been there done that and while city living has some positives, I just don't prefer it for myself.
Sprawling out to own every bit of land like a cancer over the American landscape, suburb after suburb, ever-expanding like metastases.
Lets start with enforced birth control, controlled square footage of allotted living space, limited number of pets, no private gardens/yards, no public parks/sports facilities, skip libraries, no more malls, limited selection of groceries and goods thus no need for a multitude of stores, no immigrants, ... the need to expand will shrink.
Europe's history is very selective. North of the Med, Europe doesn't have
much history, so boohoo. European history holds no candle to China's.
You know compared to the world 'US history' is very very young. We're like a little kid compared to them. I grew up in NYC. The years of course have changed it irrevocably. The NY I knew and loved is simply in memory not an object anymore. Tiem marches on. It's perhaps no different than other great metropolises in the world where space becomes a premium and it's a battle between building up and building sprawl. But something tells me Europe may be handling this situation a bit better. I'd say they revere the past and want it preserved and still making their cities viable places to live.
They seem to offer natives the best of both suburban and urban environments.
Same here - when I was in my twenties I thought Atlanta or Dallas or San Francisco seemed like Utopia. Now that I'm not so interested in partying, I appreciate other things. Living in east Texas, we live five minutes from a very large lake, we've got all sorts of places to walk or cycle, as well as plenty of state parks, heavily forested rolling hills and green, scenic pastures, etc and we're a half a days' drive at best to mountains, the ocean, huge metro areas with all their amenities (DFW is an hour and a half away for starters) - meanwhile living in a peaceful, pleasant suburb of large homes on large lots with big oak and elm trees (not to mention the tons of crape myrtles with their blooms that last all summer long). I have no idea why some people have this nightmare idea of living in the suburbs. Groceries, entertainment, shopping, etc are within a five or ten minute drive and frankly I'd rather drive than try to cart everything back and forth on the back of a bike or hauling a rolling shopping cart - been there done that and while city living has some positives, I just don't prefer it for myself.
Same here. I've lived in cities, suburbs, towns, small towns, and now a coastal community - not even a village. But we are 10 miles from a small town where I can shop at one of our two grocery stores. One is quite big though. We are really in an ideal location as it's very quiet and friendly where we are, but in less than an hour and a half we can get to an international airport and major city, 20 minutes of which is spent on a ferry.
I am an American and lived in Germany for three years in the early 90s, so that's my point of reference.
I found that Germans weren't envious of Americans, and that their "lifestye" wasn't very different from Americans. I lived in an apartment in a newer house in a suburban-style neighborhood on the outskirts of a small town. It was about 15 minute by car to a larger city.
From what I could see, Germans made more money for their work than Americans earned for similar work. So even though things cost more to an American working there (being paid in USD), the buying power for Germans appeared to be fair. There was very little poverty and crime.
People owned homes and cars. They got up in the morning, went to work, and came home. Took vacations, went walking and biking, watched TV, went shopping, etc. Things just seemed very normal and similar to me.
Areas where I, as an American, am envious of the European lifestyle: Great history and architecture everywhere, people were healthier and walked a lot, food portions at restaurants were reasonable (quality over quantity), great public transportation. Healthcare was great and paid through taxes rather than the U.S. screwed up model.
The only negatives I can think of is that kitchens and bathrooms in homes were usually rather cramped and poorly designed. And although University was free, if you chose the wrong career path, you were stuck and from what I understand, you can't go back to school and "re-invent" yourself.
Tell me more about that. What is going on there? What is the "cancer" you're talking about?
I heard of most parts of Texas were private property and there was almost no possibillity to go into nature because all land is fenced. People with horses had to drive for hours to find a place to ride into nature.
I spent most of my time on private property since i was on a ranch. The guy had 15.000 hectare of land. It was a working ranch were i joined in the round ups. But on our way through the plains and mountains, we met a lot of campers. I guess they were on his property and he didn't have a problem with it. We did also ride on a lot of BLM land, surching for lost cattle and those parts of land seemed uge.
So how does that work? Is Wyoming one of the few states with "open" land for the public? Because even though a lot of land is public, to me it seems there's still plenty of it, especially comparing to the Netherlands.
But that's from a dutch man's perspective ofcourse.
I recall when I lived in Germany that there was public forest all over, between the small villages around where I lived (in soutwhest Germany). So I could walk from my home to a path that took me into a beautiful forest in rolling hills. Sometimes I would ride my bike and go to other villages in the area.
In the U.S., this really doesn't exist. Outside of state and Federal park land, everything is owned by people. So in rural areas, you would have to ride your bike on roads to get from one town to the next.
I live in Denver, and it's known for having extensive parks and bike paths to get around the city, so it's probably unusual for the U.S. We have bike lanes on many streets and open space for walking and biking on paved paths that you probably don't find much of in most U.S. cities.
This is very interesting. You're right. The first refrigerators (ice boxes) were non-electric and required a block of ice to be purchased and placed inside. In olden days, the wealthy would use shavings of ice and pour drinks over it or make ice cream for weddings, parties, etc. It was a sign of wealth because it was so expensive. Europe got used to being without it, and they never developed a taste for it, even now, long after the world has fridges.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but European fridges tend to be smaller because Europeans have shops closer to home and don't have to pack so much stuff in fridges. When I lived in Spain, I bought almost daily - fresh stuff. Sure I kept stuff in the fridge, but not near as much as I do today. Today I have a packed fridge! Lots of frozen stuff, too. And the icemaker of course, which I love.
Interesting. I always figured Americans used more ice because it gets so damn hot here
From what I've seen on "Househunters International", regrigerators are getting bigger in Europe. But it's true that Europeans tend to shop for less, more often, and have grocery stores closer to their homes. It was much easier for me to walk three blocks to a small market and pick up a couple items for dinner, rather than in the U.S where most people probably live over a mile from the nearest grocery store.
One other note on the "American Lifestyle". As the American middle class continues to decline, the "average American" really doesn't live a lifestyle as is presented in most American television and movies. More and more, Americans are living in small old houses and apartments that are not beautiful inside.
We own a nice home that probably looks like the American "middle class dream", but the reality is that it takes two parents working full-time jobs that pay way above average salaries to live that way. Although I feel like we live a very middle class life, the reality is that based on salaries, we're "upper middle class". So if there is any envy in other nations, it's probably based off an inaccurate perception of how Americans actually live.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
