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Inspired by Ariete's pictures I went for a walk around the "suburbs" yesterday to take some pictures but then I thought it was a bit weird to take pictures of people's houses and stuff so I didn't... But I did find one 'suburb' that seemed more American-style - big detached houses with nice gardens separated by tidy hedges or fences. Probably really nice for families that like their own space but I didn't like the lack of communal space for the kids to play (well apart from the forest but you wouldn't want the really little ones playing in the forest out of sight)
The western U.S. begins with the Mississippi River. California is more than twice as long as its coastline. It is longer than Texas is wide. At its widest California is some 400-500 miles and most of it is desert and mountain. Some of the largest areas are SD, LA, SF, San Jose and Sacramento. The does not include the military bases, or many of the smaller towns like Palm Springs and Malibu. Two of the five Alpha cities are in California too. Cars, planes, trains, buses and ships move in and out of California every day. The stagecoach hasn't been used for transportation for a couple of hundred years.
The 3 mega cities in Americ in order or size are #1 NYC, #2 LA and #3 Chicago. The eastern half of the United States is the most populated for two reasons. it is the oldest, the first populated, the Home of Democracy, and where the 13 colonies were formed. There is no desert. People live on the coast, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, the great rivers and large lakes as we like water and we are willing to put up with Mother Nature's storms and floods. Those that love mountains live in them and those that love to work the earth live in the Plaints.
The second largest population center in America is Los Angeles. So, actually Californians really are not "thousands of miles" -- as you claim -- "from any of the largest population centers in North America." Even SD is a short hop to LV.
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Originally Posted by BigCityDreamer
It is not the largest population or the #1 economy in the U.S. by area, region or per capita.
I call California isolated because most of its population is along the pacific coast and more than 50% of the entire population of the entire western U.S. is concentrated in California. And it is thousands of miles from any of the largest population centers in North America.
Most large cities in America are densely populated. and seeded with small homes on small lots. Most yards are not separated by hedges or fences as it is not allowed as it is related to traffic and 'line-of-sight'. The big detached houses on large lots are usually found in subdivisions or suburbs which are extentions, and an indication of how the town grew from the original center of town. Yes, you can find mansions of 30,000 square feet on acres of land, but they are rare and owned by the very, very, wealthy families. By comparison he average home is probably 2500 sq.ft. A home that is say over 5000 sq ft is going to cost a million dollars or more depending upon where it is located.
I don't think the media has does much to promote the reality of what America looks like because it is ordinary and rather boring. Here is a real estate listing for a small rural town in Mid-America. The homes are very representative of an era of early 1900 to the present. Havana Listings
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Originally Posted by Natsku
Inspired by Ariete's pictures I went for a walk around the "suburbs" yesterday to take some pictures but then I thought it was a bit weird to take pictures of people's houses and stuff so I didn't... But I did find one 'suburb' that seemed more American-style - big detached houses with nice gardens separated by tidy hedges or fences. Probably really nice for families that like their own space but I didn't like the lack of communal space for the kids to play (well apart from the forest but you wouldn't want the really little ones playing in the forest out of sight)
Here among people of my generation and older, within the first few hours of conversation between strangers, the ethnicity of their ancestors will come up. Pretty much everybody 25 and up knows where their heritage lies. For those younger and stupider, the question usually draws a blank.
Most know here, it's an occasional conversation question. It's probably less common because where Kathyrn's from because most white people's ancestry where she's from goes at least two centuries back, unlike here.
I find this rude, the reason why the British census distinguish White British and "other" Is because us Britons understand that not all White people are the same being in Europe with all the immigration from Eastern European countries.
A Polish white isn't the same as white British person and yes the diversity is off the chart especially when you have a White Brazilian, a White French, Polish, Austrian, Finnish in one place that is still diversity.
It makes sense for the US, but it wouldn't really work well for the US. What would white American mean?
It makes sense for the US, but it wouldn't really work well for the US. What would white American mean?
White + US citizenship. Just like in every other country.
That said, a census based on skin colour is pretty stupid itself.
The thing is, "white Biritsh" also includes Brits with Polish parents when they have a British passport. There is no way the government can track down someone's ancestry.
Inspired by Ariete's pictures I went for a walk around the "suburbs" yesterday to take some pictures but then I thought it was a bit weird to take pictures of people's houses and stuff so I didn't... But I did find one 'suburb' that seemed more American-style - big detached houses with nice gardens separated by tidy hedges or fences. Probably really nice for families that like their own space but I didn't like the lack of communal space for the kids to play (well apart from the forest but you wouldn't want the really little ones playing in the forest out of sight)
This reminds me of an incident which happened to a relatives 4 year old daughter. At that time the mother was living out in the country surrounded by deep woods. The kids were playing in the yard close to the house when the youngest daughter ran off to the woods. To make things worse at the sametime the mothers dog was bitten by a snake in the nose. The daughter was lost in the woods and the dog was not doing very well either. I went to the woods to search and after about 15 minutes i spotted something red between the trees. It was her. She was crying and explained that she heard a tractor out in the woods and wanted to check it out. Well, the mother drove the dog to the vet an hour drive or so. Both the daughter and the dog are doing fine today. Close call.
Last edited by Northwindsforever; 07-05-2014 at 08:14 AM..
Here among people of my generation and older, within the first few hours of conversation between strangers, the ethnicity of their ancestors will come up. Pretty much everybody 25 and up knows where their heritage lies. For those younger and stupider, the question usually draws a blank.
Interesting.
I'm not saying that no one EVER discusses their ethnicity or family background, but it's not a common topic among people I know, and for people with no foreign or locally unusual accent, it's basically never (not that I've ever heard, anyway) brought up by someone saying, "So where are you from?" I mean, sure, of course sometimes people ask that sometimes but it's not to find out what one's ethnicity is - it's because one is OBVIOUSLY not "from around here" so people are curious.
For instance, we just moved to the town we live in, so people ask us all the time, "Where are y'all from?" They're not asking about our ethnicity - they're asking where we MOVED from. When I tell people I'm not originally from Texas, they ask "Where are you from?" meaning "Where did you move from," not "What ethnicity is your family?"
But I live in Texas, where "white, non Hispanic people" are actually the minority. Maybe in a racially diverse area, ethnicity just isn't a burning issue, I don't know. Or maybe, as Nei stated, since in the American south, so many "white people's" families have been in the US for a couple of hundred years, it's just assumed that most white people without an unusual accent are, well...American. For instance, my family is not at all unusual - in fact, we're what I'd call a typical white family from the American South, and our family has been in the US since the 1600s - both sides in fact. Technically, I'm "British" and "Scottish" and "Irish" with a dash of "German" and "French" thrown in for good measure (way, way back - the Germans and French married British and Scottish and Irish from the early 1700s on so really only the German and French last names survived, though the families were basically of what is now the UK ancestry). So...though I think it's interesting to contemplate that my ancestors were from the British Isles and were among the first settlers of this beautiful country, I definitely consider myself and my heritage and ancestry to be "American."
Last edited by KathrynAragon; 07-05-2014 at 07:25 AM..
I find this rude, the reason why the British census distinguish White British and "other" Is because us Britons understand that not all White people are the same being in Europe with all the immigration from Eastern European countries.
A Polish white isn't the same as white British person and yes the diversity is off the chart especially when you have a White Brazilian, a White French, Polish, Austrian, Finnish in one place that is still diversity.
LOL "not all white people are the same" in the US either, or Australia, or Canada or any other number of places. That's why some people find the phrase odd.
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Or maybe, as Nei stated, since in the American south, so many "white people's" families have been in the US for a couple of hundred years, it's just assumed that most white people without an unusual accent are, well...American. For instance, my family is not at all unusual - in fact, we're what I'd call a typical white family from the American South, and our family has been in the US since the 1600s - both sides in fact. Technically, I'm "British" and "Scottish" and "Irish" with a dash of "German" and "French" thrown in for good measure (way, way back - the Germans and French married British and Scottish and Irish from the early 1700s on so really only the German and French last names survived, though the families were basically of what is now the UK ancestry). So...though I think it's interesting to contemplate that my ancestors were from the British Isles and were among the first settlers of this beautiful country, I definitely consider myself and my heritage and ancestry to be "American."