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St. Paul, MN is not at all a "European" city. In fact, there are no cities or towns really that fit the description in Minnesota.
Northfield.
On that note, I'd say the MOST European cities are probably all within the 5k-25k range. The bigger they get, the more "American" they are.
I think of Northfield, MN; Decorah, IA; and Pella, IA for my region.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jaxontwinz
So, what are the most European-like U.S. cities in each of the major regions?
Mountain West: is there any?
Santa Fe, NM: Though aestheticly it looks New Mexican and not anywhere like Europe; with its abundance in artistry, narrow streets, and cohesive downtown core surrounding the plaza, and a beautiful cathedral it's as close as it gets to a European model for a city in the Rocky Mountain West.
The funny thing is if you go up to Canada, Canada feels so much more European than the U.S. does. For example, Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia are so much more European than Seattle and San Francisco are. Not to mention how European Montreal feels compared to Boston or how European Toronto feels compared to New York.
The funny thing is if you go up to Canada, Canada feels so much more European than the U.S. does. For example, Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia are so much more European than Seattle and San Francisco are. Not to mention how European Montreal feels compared to Boston or how European Toronto feels compared to New York.
Of course they are. Canada seems to embrace their European colonial roots whereas the US has its own distinct identity, good or bad. Even our most European cities are still majorly US cities first and foremost.
I don't think there are really any European feeling cities in the U.S. I mean, sure there are some superficial similarities in places like Boston and New Orleans, but scratch the surface, and they seem to have more in common with other American cities. Most of the cities people have named in this thread are very good cities, very urban, very walkable, great places for enthusiastic urbanists. But that doesn't mean they are European, just because European cities happen to meet those same criteria.
Let's drill down into a few of the popular choices. DC, is in my opinion, the quintisential American city. It has broad avenues, a distinctly non-European architecture (unless by European we mean Roman, but I suspect most would mean gothic), and is populated by people who desire a different pace and form of living than you'd find in Europe. San Francisco, is a modernistic city filled with sky scrapers and a uniform street grid. What is European about that? Certainly there is quite a bit of Victorian architecture, but does that mean European, or 19th century? When I think of San Francisco, I think of American ingenuity (eg cable cars, Apple, etc.), gold rush, asia/pacific orientation. None of that says Europe to me.
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