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You ranked Seattle way too high. Europeans know nothing about Seattle. And San Fran is also a bit too high. I think you are only thinking from a west coast perspective with an Asian influence to the west but Europeans think of Philadelphia (hello where the country was founded) way above San Fran.
Most Europeans could probably mark NYC, PHL, DC, Miami and Chicago. On the west coast probably LA. MAYBE San Fran. But you are giving it way too much credit. No one thinks of Seattle. It is actually rather smaller than you make it seem. Its metro is still quite small at I think 4 Million?
Right, I said I have more of an Asian perspective. To Asians, no way Philly is more iconic than San Fran. But if you're only looking at European's views of America then you are neglecting Asian's views of America, and Asia has a far larger population than Europe.
And to be fair, I think Silicon Valley products are used all across Europe, so I'm pretty sure Silicon Valley is famous there, too.
No way Asians know more about Philly than San Francisco. Maybe Europeans, but it's hard to think that the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Rocky together are more famous than the Golden Gate Bridge alone, not to mention Silicon Valley.
Boston would be quite well known among Asians for Harvard and MIT, though.
By Asian I mean South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian. Middle Easterners typically do not consider themselves Asian.
Right, I said I have more of an Asian perspective. To Asians, no way Philly is more iconic than San Fran. But if you're only looking at European's views of America then you are neglecting Asian's views of America, and Asia has a far larger population than Europe.
And to be fair, I think Silicon Valley products are used all across Europe, so I'm pretty sure Silicon Valley is famous there, too.
No way Asians know more about Philly than San Francisco. Maybe Europeans, but it's hard to think that the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Rocky together are more famous than the Golden Gate Bridge alone, not to mention Silicon Valley.
Boston would be quite well known among Asians for Harvard and MIT, though.
By Asian I mean South Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian. Middle Easterners typically do not consider themselves Asian.
I won't discredit that San Fran is not on their radar in Europe. But Seattle is definitely not. It is actually quite small. Its metro is less than 4 million and not even the 10th largest metro in America. Europe does not think of it and it is ranked way too high on your assessment.
Philadelphia also has University of Pennsylvania which is an Ivy League school and attracts a large Asian population. FYI.
Philadelphia also has one of the largest chinatowns in the USA. A very large vietnamese population as well as Korean.
It is where Democracy started in all of America. It surely ranks higher than Seattle.
I won't discredit that San Fran is not on their radar in Europe. But Seattle is definitely not. It is actually quite small. Its metro is less than 4 million and not even the 10th largest metro in America. Europe does not think of it and it is ranked way too high on your assessment.
Philadelphia also has University of Pennsylvania which is an Ivy League school and attracts a large Asian population. FYI.
Philadelphia also has one of the largest chinatowns in the USA. A very large vietnamese population as well as Korean.
It is where Democracy started in all of America. It surely ranks higher than Seattle.
Philadelphia’s Chinatown is one of the best in the country but not one of the largest.
I actually agree with this. Sure, an average Asian or European has heard of places like Salt Lake City, Dallas, etc, but they can't really name anything from Dallas other than an early 80s TV show that no one even in America watches nowadays. San Francisco? They not only know the name, they know what the city has.
A foreigners impression of America goes something like this. You have about four cities that foreigners actually know about, not only their name, but what's in that city.
1. NYC--Wall Street, Times Square, Statue of Liberty. People invest all over the world, and they always hear about Wall Street.
2. San Francusco--Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars, Chinatown, and Silicon Valley, because Silicon Valley makes world news and because Android and Apple phones are popular worldwide, as well as Facebook. Also, Teslas are all the rage in progressive countries like those in Scandinavia. They probably think Silicon Valley is San Francisco instead of being near SF, though.
3. Orlando--Disneyworld
4. DC--white house and the American government
5. Los Angeles--Hollywood. 6. Seattle--Amazon and Microsoft.
And that's about it. These six cities (except Orlando) make up the vast majority of American news that is heard around the world, so it's these cities that people actually know about what's in the cities.
Now, I'd wager that San Francisco is more well known than LA in terms of foreigners actually having a clearer image of SF than they do of LA. All foreigners can envision of LA is Hollywood. But foreigners know about not only Silicon Valley, they instantly recognize the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable cars on the steep hills, Chinatown, the wonderful built environment in SF. There is no structure in LA except the Hollywood sign that even comes close to iconic recognition as the Golden Gate Bridge does.
And SF, I'd also say, is more well known abroad than DC. All foreigners really know about DC is the white house and the federal government. The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, etc are nationally famous but none of them as iconic worldwide as the Golden Gate Bridge. And there is no DC neighborhood that is as famous worldwide as SF Chinatown. There is no DC equivalent of cable cars either.
Just my perspective and observations, but I my family is from Hong Kong, so my perspective is probably biased towards my observations of Asian perceptions of the US, and Asians are much more familiar with the West Coast than the East Coast outside of NYC. Europeans would likely be vice versa.
I agree and you made a good list from 1-5 in speaking about what foreigners think of with USA. But Seattle is out of place. Amazon and Microsoft are known for being American companies. People dont think Amazon and think “the company that’s headquartered in seattleâ€. They just think “the company where you can buy stuff onlineâ€. Just like we don’t think of Atlanta when buying a coke bottle. We just think of the drink. More reasonable would’ve been Grand Canyon and Arizona.
I agree and you made a good list from 1-5 in speaking about what foreigners think of with USA. But Seattle is out of place. Amazon and Microsoft are known for being American companies. People dont think Amazon and think “the company that’s headquartered in seattleâ€. They just think “the company where you can buy stuff onlineâ€. Just like we don’t think of Atlanta when buying a coke bottle. We just think of the drink. More reasonable would’ve been Grand Canyon and Arizona.
Interesting. But whenever you mention Google, Apple, Facebook people around the world know it's from Silicon Valley and they think Silicon Valley is San Francisco. Everywhere around the world cities are naming themselves the Silicon Valley of this or that country to sound more high tech.
I won't discredit that San Fran is not on their radar in Europe. But Seattle is definitely not. It is actually quite small. Its metro is less than 4 million and not even the 10th largest metro in America. Europe does not think of it and it is ranked way too high on your assessment.
I know Seattle MSA is not that big. But Salt Lake City MSA is even smaller. Still, SLC is surprisingly world famous due to having hosted the Olympics, being a world class skiing destination, and of course, for Mormons, who are are on every corner of the earth due to mission work.
I can see your point about Seattle not being that famous, though. What do you think about my assessment of SLC?
Interesting. But whenever you mention Google, Apple, Facebook people around the world know it's from Silicon Valley and they think Silicon Valley is San Francisco. Everywhere around the world cities are naming themselves the Silicon Valley of this or that country to sound more high tech.
Your list is based on things like bridges, signs and tech companies. What about movies, music, and pop culture? What about sports? Isn't basketball popular in Asia?
Your list is based on things like bridges, signs and tech companies. What about movies, music, and pop culture? What about sports? Isn't basketball popular in Asia?
I guess, but sports alone isn't going to make somewhere as famous as Silicon Valley. Cleveland or OKC isn't going to be as famous as Silicon Valley even if Cleveland or OKC had a good basketball team for a while.
I did mention sports as in the Olympics, which did make SLC surprisingly famous around the world, although the world class skiing and the fact that it's the Mormon HQ and Mormons are just ubiquitous due to missions is also a contributing factor.
Movies, well that's why I mentioned Hollywood. Few in Asia really know that Atlanta is now the East Coast Hollywood. Country Music might make Nashville famous, but Country Music isn't exactly big in Asia. Elvis is famous across the world, but does that make Tupelo, Mississippi world famous? Beyonce might also be internationally known but even Americans often don't know she's from Houston. Often the celebrities get all the glory while their hometown, unless it's LA, gets none of the fame.
Location: Midwesterner living in California (previously East Coast)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrJester
I actually agree with this. Sure, an average Asian or European has heard of places like Salt Lake City, Dallas, etc, but they can't really name anything from Dallas other than an early 80s TV show that no one even in America watches nowadays. San Francisco? They not only know the name, they know what the city has.
A foreigners impression of America goes something like this. You have about four cities that foreigners actually know about, not only their name, but what's in that city.
1. NYC--Wall Street, Times Square, Statue of Liberty. People invest all over the world, and they always hear about Wall Street.
2. San Francusco--Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars, Chinatown, and Silicon Valley, because Silicon Valley makes world news and because Android and Apple phones are popular worldwide, as well as Facebook. Also, Teslas are all the rage in progressive countries like those in Scandinavia. They probably think Silicon Valley is San Francisco instead of being near SF, though.
3. Orlando--Disneyworld
4. DC--white house and the American government
5. Los Angeles--Hollywood.
6. Seattle--Amazon and Microsoft.
And that's about it. These six cities (except Orlando) make up the vast majority of American news that is heard around the world, so it's these cities that people actually know about what's in the cities.
Now, I'd wager that San Francisco is more well known than LA in terms of foreigners actually having a clearer image of SF than they do of LA. All foreigners can envision of LA is Hollywood. But foreigners know about not only Silicon Valley, they instantly recognize the Golden Gate Bridge, the cable cars on the steep hills, Chinatown, the wonderful built environment in SF. There is no structure in LA except the Hollywood sign that even comes close to iconic recognition as the Golden Gate Bridge does.
And SF, I'd also say, is more well known abroad than DC. All foreigners really know about DC is the white house and the federal government. The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Memorial, etc are nationally famous but none of them as iconic worldwide as the Golden Gate Bridge. And there is no DC neighborhood that is as famous worldwide as SF Chinatown. There is no DC equivalent of cable cars either.
Just my perspective and observations, but I my family is from Hong Kong, so my perspective is probably biased towards my observations of Asian perceptions of the US, and Asians are much more familiar with the West Coast than the East Coast outside of NYC. Europeans would likely be vice versa.
Off topic, but I don't think your list make much sense.
Seattle is ranked too high
Same with Orlando (yes, people know Disneyworld, but few are knowledgeable enough to know it's in Orlando specifically. Heck, people know there's a Disneyland in Southern California, but they often don't realize it's not inside the city of LA, but in Orange County.
Everybody overseas knows NYC, DC and LA.
After that it's a jump ball between Miami, SF, Chicago, and maybe Boston.
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