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Most cities in the US and Canada are a disappointment at street level. Those cities were designed from the POV of a driver inside a car where they pay attention to the street itself with little disregard on anything else (for safety reasons).
That becomes more and more true the further west you go. Calgary is a prime example of a functional and carefully planned city, but one that isn't particularly exciting.
That becomes more and more true the further west you go. Calgary is a prime example of a functional and carefully planned city, but one that isn't particularly exciting.
So true! On the flip-side, the city below is incredible from street level.
Alright, i'm from the south of France, where you have mountains and the ocean. I moved to Rio for work and boy, what a disappointment. All the photos from the Christ, the Sugar loaf, Gavea makes Rio look like a tropical paradise, but from street level it is a mess. The architecture is a mix of whatever they could build, nothing is preserved. I mean, i am sorry but a city with the history of Rio i expected to find some sort of reminiscence of portuguese architecture but found very little. The beaches are ok, the mountains way unimpressive. Florianópolis which is further south might not be as hot but it does have the ocean and mountains plus people are friendly, not sure why Rio got all the hype.
This happens in all of Brazil generally speaking.
When I visited Europe for the first time I got impressed on how ugly are the brazilian cities. Not properly in the sense of urban decay, but in terms of blandness and poor urbanism. Most of brazilian cities expanded in a time when the mindset was heavily influenced by modernist architects like Le Corbusier, that the "old fashioned" architecture should be put down and replaced by the "modern" brutalist architecture, with all of the tasteless straight lines. Add to this the mess of overhead wires everywhere (this is what I hate the most in São Paulo) - in part due to the increased cost of maintenance because of problems with erosion caused by the climate, mostly hot and wet - and you'll understand the reason.
I always make fun of tourists coming with huge expectations to Paris to discover they are just in a busy city where people are fast, working and don't care about them at all...
But I also have exactly the same expectations when I go abroad (lol, not very smart)
I hope New York will match my very high expectations as I don't care if the streets aren't an operating room, metro isn't Tokyo..
I expect Rio to be sexier than what you said OP humm...
I loved Las Vegas more than I expected, looked amazing from the street level, for me it's 'murica, everything is extreme
I was the opposite. I wasn't anticipating Paris much at all, but my daughter was in Europe after living in Asia, and she planned a trip for us to meet in Amsterdam and then take a train to Paris and then London.
I thought, "Meh, Paris, overrated, not gonna be impressed, big metal tower, snails with butter and garlic, wut." When I got there, I looked around and saw it and felt it and thought, "Ooooh, so this is why people talk about Paris". It's the light and the air and the sense of those who have gone on before.
I was the opposite. I wasn't anticipating Paris much at all, but my daughter was in Europe after living in Asia, and she planned a trip for us to meet in Amsterdam and then take a train to Paris and then London.
I thought, "Meh, Paris, overrated, not gonna be impressed, big metal tower, snails with butter and garlic, wut." When I got there, I looked around and saw it and felt it and thought, "Ooooh, so this is why people talk about Paris". It's the light and the air and the sense of those who have gone on before.
But more importantly, what did you think of London?
Alright, i'm from the south of France, where you have mountains and the ocean. I moved to Rio for work and boy, what a disappointment. All the photos from the Christ, the Sugar loaf, Gavea makes Rio look like a tropical paradise, but from street level it is a mess. The architecture is a mix of whatever they could build, nothing is preserved. I mean, i am sorry but a city with the history of Rio i expected to find some sort of reminiscence of portuguese architecture but found very little. The beaches are ok, the mountains way unimpressive. Florianópolis which is further south might not be as hot but it does have the ocean and mountains plus people are friendly, not sure why Rio got all the hype.
Bahia (Salvador etc.) has many Portuguese-style buildings.
Anyway, I find all modern cities with skyscrapers depressing. The light pollution may look nice from a distance at night, but other than that, no thanks.
Bahia (Salvador etc.) has many Portuguese-style buildings.
Anyway, I find all modern cities with skyscrapers depressing. The light pollution may look nice from a distance at night, but other than that, no thanks.
Even cities like Toronto without extreme pollution are miserable.
According to my experience, the most impressive the skyline, the most disappointing at street level.
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