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To American it might seem all "culturally different," but to a European ( who knows what "cultural differences" are really all about) American culture would look pretty much the same all over the country ( just small variations of the same culture, really.)
Same goes for Europe. European culture seems similar as well. Yes the cities look different and there are different languages, but Europe is very similar in the eyes of Americans. That's why people will say "That's very European" or that "European cities are very beautiful" or that "Europeans have a good fashion sense" etc. Perhaps you Europeans think you are more different than what outsiders really think. I mean you don't even need a passport to travel from one European country to another! You even share the same currency for the most part!
So I could say the same for Europe as well. However, I am educated enough to know that the cultures are very different in Europe as they are within the U.S. If you think a country with 300 million people that is larger than continental Europe in size of land has the same cultures across the land with very little differences, well that's pretty ignorant.
For nature I think it is very exciting ....I can look out my window and see Lake Michigan that is really an inland sea. It's spectacular all year round.
I agree, the natural wonders of the U.S. are superb sights. But I also can see that sometimes there is a slickness and sameness about how some parks are handled, but something like the great inland sea system of the Great Lakes defies being captured overall by plasticky touristic management. I grew up on the Lakes, but unfortunately, unlike Tom9, I could not look out my window and see them, alas. The Lakes were not only part of my own personal background, but with a large part of the family being immigrants from Canada, and/or descendents of American Loyalists who settled in Canada along Lake Ontario there was also a family history resonance.
Cities? Well, NYC is not SF, nor are either Miami, for sure, but I do understand what foreigners mean when they say one U.S. city is like another....though, in fact, they are not entirely so, of course.
Each major city has its own skyline, a smidgen of older bldgs unique to it, its own special location, and a few colorful different neighborhoods, perhaps a regional accent. But one thing I felt very comfortable about when I travelled as a younger person is exactly what foreign tourist sometimes don't like - I was never trepidatious about a trip to a new city. I always knew that most of what I would encounter would be reassuringly familiar, safe, comfortable, and very predictable. And despite some spectacular redevelopment in Ameria's major cities, as I grew older I felt that they were becoming more and more the same otherwise -- this sense of sameness may be there in the number of monotonously similar glass office towers, but mainly it is in the culture. American culture, IMO, is far more uniform than most of us realize, and regional differences have to struggle to assert themselves over the national sameness.
It seems to me that the uniformity in American culture always significantly overrides the local, the particular. For me, as an American travelling in America, it was a plus. But I can see that foreigners might sometimes see the very same thing as boring.
The U.S. clearly doesn't have a very long history as a single nation, but some of the woefully small number of historical sites that we have preserved do deserve a visit. And we do treat our wonderful heritage of architecture with total stupidity and shabbiness. We destroy first and think after.
The U.S. is not Thailand, India, Cambodia or Japan; nor is it Ireland, Spain, Italy or Russia, etc. etc. It is unfortunate to go to the U.S. and expect experiences similar to what you might have in Europe or Asia...or Africa.
The U.S. pretty much invented the post-WW II consumer culture, which has swept through the industrialized world like a tsunami, and sends its economic and cultural value tendrils deep into the cultures of undeveloped nations. It is like the spread of British culture in the 19th and 20th centuries, only even more pervasive and irresitable. It's home is the U.S.A. and people should come here expecting to see the heart of that culture.....and not compare the U.S. to Greece or some other nation and culture whivh - until recently -had a much different cultural experience.
To experience the U.S. is to see and feel the zeitgeist of consumerism, mass production, and the exaltaton of the individual human will.
Same goes for Europe. European culture seems similar as well. Yes the cities look different and there are different languages, but Europe is very similar in the eyes of Americans. That's why people will say "That's very European" or that "European cities are very beautiful" or that "Europeans have a good fashion sense" etc. Perhaps you Europeans think you are more different than what outsiders really think. I mean you don't even need a passport to travel from one European country to another! You even share the same currency for the most part!
So I could say the same for Europe as well. However, I am educated enough to know that the cultures are very different in Europe as they are within the U.S. If you think a country with 300 million people that is larger than continental in size of land has the same cultures across the land with very little differences, well that's pretty ignorant.
Sorry, from a point of view of someone who is coming from a different place, and has traveled both in Europe and the United States, I side with Europeans here.
( Although I think that US is a great place to visit for holidays destination.)
Sorry, from a point of view of someone who is coming from a different place, and has traveled both in Europe and the United States, I side with Europeans here.
( Although I think that US is a great place to visit for holidays destination.)
I am just saying that the same can be said for Europe. I mean most European cities are similar in their architecture and time when their cities developed. Look at Spain and Portugal. U.K. and Ireland. Italy and Spain. It's not like they are night and day. Obviously, Europe is more diverse I am not arguing that and I believe more interesting.
However, the point here has been that the U.S. is mediocre in it's cultural offerings and that it's all the same, which I really do think is wrong.
Alaska
Hawaii
New York City
The Grand Canyon
The Rocky Mountains
Yellowstone
Miami
Los Angeles
The Death Valley
St. Thomas
The Arctic
etc etc
How many countries in the world have such a big variety of urban and natural attractions without crossing borders?
The world is a huge and amazing place, and America is just a really small part of it. There's an enormous variety of things to see here considering it's such a small part of the world. Seriously, people who think America is mediocre for tourism either don't know how to find beauty in things or like seeing faults in anything US-related.
As others have said, there's an overall uniformity in American culture because it's obviously one country. But who has visited New York City, Miami, Washington DC, Charleston, San Francisco, Las Vegas... and thinks it's all the same?
Did you know there are Mosques, Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, etc., all over America (in addition to all the churches of course)? What about all the restaurants of different ethnicities and from most countries in the world? How is that all the same?
I don't agree that the U.S. is mediocre for traveling/tourism. In fact, it's one of the most interesting things you can do in the U.S. Considering that the U.S. is only a few centuries old, it's actually a little surprising how much there is to see and do.
As others have said, there's an overall uniformity in American culture because it's obviously one country. But who has visited New York City, Miami, Washington DC, Charleston, San Francisco, Las Vegas... and thinks it's all the same?
Did you know there are Mosques, Hindu temples, Buddhist temples, etc., all over America (in addition to all the churches of course)? What about all the restaurants of different ethnicities and from most countries in the world? How is that all the same?
I don't agree that the U.S. is mediocre for traveling/tourism. In fact, that's one of the most interesting things you can do in the U.S.
Exactly what I have been saying. Of course France and Italy will feel more different when they are compared to each other because they are two complete different countries. However how do their cities within compare to each other? I am pretty sure American cities vary more in culture with each other than French cities do with each other. I mean in the U.K. just take Sheffield, London, Liverpool, Manchester, etc compare them to each other and then grab NYC, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Miami. Which group of cities stands out as more different from one another?
I just don't understand how some can go to Seattle and Miami and think they are culturally the same? Or go to Los Angeles and New Orleans and also think they are the same. This is like saying Seville, Granada and Madrid are medicore experiences because they share a similar underlying culture. Well duh, they are in the same country!
Exactly what I have been saying. Of course France and Italy will feel more different when they are compared to each other because they are two complete different countries. However how do their cities within compare to each other? I am pretty sure American cities vary more in culture with each other than French cities do with each other. I mean in the U.K. just take Sheffield, London, Liverpool, Manchester, etc compare them to each other and then grab NYC, New Orleans, Las Vegas and Miami. Which group of cities stands out as more different from one another?
I just don't understand how some can go to Seattle and Miami and think they are culturally the same? Or go to Los Angeles and New Orleans and also think they are the same. This is like saying Seville, Granada and Madrid are medicore experiences because they share a similar underlying culture. Well duh, they are in the same country!
Having said that, personally I prefer to travel in Europe - because there are so many countries, cultures and cities with so much going on in them. Also, I have yet to visit most places in Europe.
But it doesn't make traveling in America mediocre either.
Having said that, personally I prefer to travel in Europe - because there are so many countries, cultures and cities with so much going on in them. Also, I have yet to visit most places in Europe.
But it doesn't make traveling in America mediocre either.
Oh I totally agree. I am kind of split when it comes to Europe and South America to which is my favorite. I love traveling to to both and they will both offer a variety of different cultures. Which has been my point all along. The U.S. is one country and Europe is made up of dozens. So for one to expect that it will have the same diversity is bonkers. But the U.S. does very well in this regard for being just one country and for being so young as well.
San Antonio Riverwalk. World travel witers and agents from every major country agree that there is no place like it in this world. And San Antonio is one of the US's smaller cities.
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