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Austin is turning into Bay Area 2.0. When I visited San Jose, CA I thought it reminded me a lot of Austin.
San Antonio is more "non American" with its heavy Mexican influence. I mean it's not just Mexican American but a straight up city in Mexico kinda vibe in some places.
The City of San Francisco is actually quite small. Most Bay Area residents still need a car to get around.
NYC is pretty large and it's completely doable and more convenient to live without cars. Also, public transit between cities in Northeast is much stronger, it's not uncommon to take Amtrak from NYC to Boston or DC, and you can expect some public transit in these cities too. Chicago is in the middle of corn fields.
Many affluent middle-class residents in Chicago metropolitan area don't even visit downtown Chicago once in a year, they stay in their suburban community.
obviously Hawaii, but Key West always seemed to me as if it was culturally removed from The States (but not in a bad way) and of course it is as far away from the "mainland" as you can drive
I am surprised so many people are saying LA. I wouldn't say it feels super American, but it felt American when I was there. To me I would say the most non-American cities have been:
1. Miami - It seems like everyone is from Latin America or Europe. I feel that actual Americans are a minority. In the city of Miami the common tongue is Spanish and Portuguese based on my experience. On South Beach it seems to be invaded by Brits, Italians, Spaniards, French, Russians and other folk from Europe. When you walk around Miami chances are most of the people you are crossing paths are from Latin America or Europe. Not from the US.
2. Honolulu - Almost same deal as Miami but only Asian instead. Everyone is of Asian descent, and you have Japanese and Filipino folk everywhere. I take it notch down from Miami because unlike Miami, the most people speak English on the streets. But outside of that, you really feel like you are more in some Polynesian country than in the US.
3. New Orleans - It's flavor is what sets it apart. Part of it is because it has such a unique culture, food, music and architecture not seen anywhere else in the US. It feels more like the Carribbean than anything else.
Miami has become that ethnic? Cool. Seems like a world class destination. Makes me want to visit.
It's definitely unique. You won't believe how often you will hear Brazilian Portuguese on the streets. Also, what's interesting about Miami is you have what are considered a lot of "white" latinos. So you might be walking down the street see a blonde hair blue eyed chick, or a red headed freckled guy, you might think they are just your average American, then you find out they are Cuban and the other Colombian.
My brother-in-law who grew up in Chicago (he's black), went to the University of Miami, and when he moved down there he was shocked by all the "white" Latinos that were there. I am not saying they are the majority, but that's the whole point. You don't really see that on any large scale in any other US city. Miami has a ton of Cubans, Colombians, Argentines, and Brazilians that are pretty damn "white" looking. So it's really quite the experience to behold. Then you also have the Haitian population. It's really a mish mash of Cubans, Haitians, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Brazilians and Argentines. No other city such a mish mash of those ethnicities in one place. It really gives it a unique feel.
What also makes it feel different too is that Mexicans are almost non-existent. With the exception that Mexicans also speak Spanish, Mexican culture is very different from the the culture of the countries that dominate most of Miami. So it's not your typical Latino experience you get in Chicago, LA, SF, Texas, etc, where in those cities the Latin culture is predominantly Mexican. In Miami it's very different. In fact I wonder if most Mexicans would even like or be able to assimilate easily with the Latinos of Miami? I think they wouldn't.
It's definitely unique. You won't believe how often you will hear Brazilian Portuguese on the streets. Also, what's interesting about Miami is you have what are considered a lot of "white" latinos. So you might be walking down the street see a blonde hair blue eyed chick, or a red headed freckled guy, you might think they are just your average American, then you find out they are Cuban and the other Colombian.
My brother-in-law who grew up in Chicago (he's black), went to the University of Miami, and when he moved down there he was shocked by all the "white" Latinos that were there. I am not saying they are the majority, but that's the whole point. You don't really see that on any large scale in any other US city. Miami has a ton of Cubans, Colombians, Argentines, and Brazilians that are pretty damn "white" looking. So it's really quite the experience to behold. Then you also have the Haitian population. It's really a mish mash of Cubans, Haitians, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, Brazilians and Argentines. No other city such a mish mash of those ethnicities in one place. It really gives it a unique feel.
What also makes it feel different too is that Mexicans are almost non-existent. With the exception that Mexicans also speak Spanish, Mexican culture is very different from the the culture of the countries that dominate most of Miami. So it's not your typical Latino experience you get in Chicago, LA, SF, Texas, etc, where in those cities the Latin culture is predominantly Mexican. In Miami it's very different. In fact I wonder if most Mexicans would even like or be able to assimilate easily with the Latinos of Miami? I think they wouldn't.
That last paragraph reminds me of NYC, even though there actually are a lot of Mexicans there now, the Latino culture of NYC is not dominated by Mexicans unlike most other major US cities with a large Latino population
The White Latinos are richer Latinos who left their countries to start a life of business on USA. The more darker Latinos came for work. Houston has a lot of Venezuelans who left Venezuela due to the violence. A lot of them are upper crust and white. A lot work in oil n gas.
That last paragraph reminds me of NYC, even though there actually are a lot of Mexicans there now, the Latino culture of NYC is not dominated by Mexicans unlike most other major US cities with a large Latino population
Yeah that's why I didn't list NY C when I listed cities. However, with NYC there so much diversity that it feels like a beast of it's own. It feels very American while at the same time doesn't feel American. Where I feel cities like Miami, Honolulu and New Orleans feel very non-American.
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