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Thanks! Interesting. I figured there were probably some immigrant neighborhoods at NW at some time. It looks like SW was the other main area of DC that had some enclaves.
@Lunatic. You've hit the nail on the head. Whenever people (or newspaper articles) mention San Francisco and New York as being "the most European cities in the US", they're talking about a Europeanized way of life: a real sidewalk culture, actually walking to do most general errands, taking public transportation as much or more than your car (and not even owning a car), doing your food shopping several times a week on foot rather than once every two weeks with your vehicle. Here in NY, most of us in all 5 boroughs really do that, and like it. Only in NY and San Fran does this lifestyle really dominate the way it dominates life in large European cities or in Canadian cities like Montreal. And while it is also possible to live this way in New Orleans, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, and Chicago, it would be in a far more restricted number of neighborhoods. Once you get beyond those last cities, it becomes very hard to find in America, no matter how much "European architecture" a city has.
Last edited by masonbauknight; 03-22-2015 at 05:54 PM..
@Lunatic. You've hit the nail on the head. Whenever people (or newspaper articles) mention San Francisco and New York as being "the most European cities in the US", they're talking about a Europeanized way of life: a real sidewalk culture, actually walking to do most general errands, taking public transportation as much or more than your car (and not even owning a car), doing your food shopping several times a week on foot rather than once every two weeks with your vehicle. Here in NY, most of us in all 5 boroughs really do that, and like it. Only in NY and San Fran does this lifestyle really dominate the way it dominates life in large European cities or in Canadian cities like Montreal. And while it is also possible to live this way in New Orleans, Washington, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, and Chicago, it would be in a far more restricted number of neighborhoods. Once you get beyond those last cities, it becomes very hard to find in America, no matter how much "European architecture" a city has.
DC has the second highest rate of carless houses in the US behind NYC. DC is very European in the aspect that most people walk or take public transit for their day to day activity
This is a silly argument because no American city can hold a candle to a city like Paris. I just visited Istanbul and it is also an incredible city that I would put in that category.... American cities do not come close. Everything from the scale of the streets/buildings, the street layouts, zoning laws, Traffic patterns, etc make it impossible.
the European cities I've been to are fundamentally different than American cities for reasons much deeper than just the ability to walk to the grocery store or get to work without a car
Last edited by r_u_a_wizard; 03-22-2015 at 07:59 PM..
DC has the second highest rate of carless houses in the US behind NYC. DC is very European in the aspect that most people walk or take public transit for their day to day activity
I don't disagree, although the "carless" rate in Washington has a lot to do with the poverty rate within the confines of D.C. In terms of a "Europeanized city" in the other ways I mentioned, New York outdoes D.C. by a mile (even most neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens do). Ditto San Francisco. I think Washington compares more to Center City Philadelphia or Uptown New Orleans. Some D.C. neighborhoods just about reach that but nowhere near the New York level. And that's really what all those newspaper articles mean: Europeanized lifestyle, which does confuse some people.
Last edited by masonbauknight; 03-22-2015 at 08:11 PM..
This is a silly argument because no American city can hold a candle to a city like Paris. I just visited Istanbul and it is also an incredible city that I would put in that category.... American cities do not come close. Everything from the scale of the streets/buildings, the street layouts, zoning laws, Traffic patterns, etc make it impossible.
the European cities I've been to are fundamentally different than American cities for reasons much deeper than just the ability to walk to the grocery store or get to work without a car
I lived in Paris for three years, RuAWizard. North American cities look very different from Paris, but I find New York and Montreal match the overall lifestyle in Paris more than any other cities in North America (and even more than some cities in Europe). Parisians I've met have all told me that. And though I love Paris, I still prefer New York (in most ways).
DC has the second highest rate of carless houses in the US behind NYC. DC is very European in the aspect that most people walk or take public transit for their day to day activity
I don't disagree, although the "carless" rate in Washington has a lot to do with the poverty rate within the confines of D.C. In terms of a "Europeanized city" in the other ways I mentioned, New York outdoes D.C. by a mile (even most neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens do). Ditto San Francisco. I think Washington compares more to Center City Philadelphia or Uptown New Orleans. Some D.C. neighborhoods just about reach that but nowhere near the New York level. And that's really what all those newspaper articles mean: Europeanized lifestyle, which does confuse some people.
I don't disagree, although the "carless" rate in Washington has a lot to do with the poverty rate within the confines of D.C. In terms of a "Europeanized city" in the other ways I mentioned, New York outdoes D.C. by a mile (even most neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Queens do). Ditto San Francisco. I think Washington compares more to Center City Philadelphia or Uptown New Orleans. Some D.C. neighborhoods just about reach that but nowhere near the New York level. And that's really what all those newspaper articles mean: Europeanized lifestyle, which does confuse some people.
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