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There definitely is the talk of legalizing Pot across much of the country. Colorado has legalized Pot just a short time ago. I'm not sure how that is working in that state. Drugs are a problem in this country, as I imagine they are Worldwide.
I think it rather odd, that with all the problems this country has. That legalizing Pot seemed to jump to the forefront, in several states as a top issue. Where so many other issues such as Education, Health care, infrastructure, seem to fall to the end of the line half the time. Though I believe in Colorado some of the profits from the sale of Pot, is to help fund the schools in that state. Can you believe that. Schools being funded by Pot sales. As I always say. To each their own.
As far as the move to Urban Centers. Yes that has been going on now for some years. A number of young people flock to certain cities in this country to live in highrises now. Portland, Seattle, Denver, Boston, NYC San Francisco to name a few. The developers also market their properties to Empty nesters also. Some people it seems have tired of life in the suburbs and the long costly commutes. So yes moving to Urban Centers seems quite popular, but usually very expensive for the housing.
Any ideas where you would like to settle when you return to the states?
I'm going to fly to San Diego, because that's the city in the US that I'm most familiar with. After that, I'll go anywhere that allows me to keep working in my IT career.
I'd prefer any place with dry weather, and new housing-- I'm not a fan of "lived-in" cities like NYC, but again, wherever the work is. I went through a break-up, that I still haven't recovered from, but I suppose I'd prefer a place where it's convenient to date, or at least make friends with people who aren't pre-occupied with their family.
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Originally Posted by ccm123
3/ Corporate greed has become rampant. Fees and charges for everything.
THIS is the main reason (although not the only one) why I've decided to stay overseas for so long. It seems like every establishment in the US has fees and surcharges, that take advantage of everyone-- even the budget-conscious, or anyone who's run into one of life's pitfalls. Where I've lived (mostly in Japan and England), the nickel-and-dime experience wasn't nearly as apparent, and you didn't need to go out of your way to hunt for frugal alternatives.
It is much more common for young adults in their 20s to live with their parents. Part of it is driven by economics but I think there is also much less of a generation gap then there was when I was that age in the '90s. Today's parents seem to have a much more indulgent attitude toward the foibles of youth.
Workplace dating is much more common. Management may not be enthusiastic about it, but they are more likely to view it as inevitable whereas in the past they tried to stamp it out.
Sexual dynamics have changed in general. Society seems more sexualized than it used to be. The rise of sex positive feminism has made the left much less puritanical. Young people on the right seem to be less rooted in religion and more driven by cultural affiliation, so they are also much less puritanical. People in their 20s seem to be more likely to go through a period of being involved with a few semi-regular partners rather than being strictly monogamous. Nobody seems to be in any hurry to settle down.
In the past, the more flamboyant members of the various bohemian subcultures (aka "hipsters") were generally only found in large numbers in a handful of major cities and college towns. Now you find them in almost every small to midsized city in the country, and sometimes in small towns too. I think part of it is because the economy and extreme gentrification of most of the cities on the coasts that they used to flock to is keeping them closer to home. I think another part of it is from the rise of the internet. Cultural dissemination in this country used to be top down and controlled by a small number of gatekeepers, so in large swathes of the country people were never exposed to niche subcultures unless they traveled, now they are.
A lot of this is what is what is driving the rise of right wing populism among old white people. The true believers of the Reagan Revolution are having a hard time coming to grips with living in a society that isn't being shaped by their desires.
Last edited by Drewcifer; 06-23-2014 at 11:04 PM..
Here are my observations. I was born in 1985 so I was 15 in the year you left the USA (2000) and I am 29 now.
1. The most notable difference to me at least is that homosexuality has become far more accepted and criticizing homosexuality is now almost a crime. I can remember even as recently as 2008 people were able to speak out against gay marriage and not lose their job, but now if you criticize gays over anything you can expect to get fired. I was in the military during the Don't Ask Don't Tell era but they got rid of it so now gays can openly serve. I myself have nothing against gays but it's amazing how quickly this change happened.
2. People are now a lot more difficult to meet. Now that people have smartphones and Facebook, they value personal interaction a lot less. When I was a young Marine in 2004, I would regularly hang out at the Jamba Juice and met a lot of friends that way. Nowadays if I go to that same Jamba Juice and try to talk to people, they ignore me and look at their phone.
3. This is related to #2, but people are now far more hostile than they used to be. It's like everyone now lives in their own little bubble. People nowadays don't know how to interact socially anymore.
4. Some might say that this is just me being "misogynyst" but women don't seem to wear skirts or dresses very often anymore. And let's not even talk about pantyhose! I can remember in the 90s women still regularly wore all three of these garments, but something happened.
5. I've definitely noticed that men and women hang out a lot less than they used to. When I was a teenager, I almost always went out in a mixed group of both boys and girls. Nowadays when I go to the mall I see groups made up of all girls with no boys in sight. "Bicuriosity" has become very common among younger women these days.
6. Almost everyone has a tattoo. I'm serious.
The tattoos are horrible too. The sleeve thing especially on women is popular and it looks so stupid
Maybe it's just that I'm older and have different tastes, but it seems that "indie" music and "throwbacks" are now more popular than pop.
Personally, I think pop music is much better now than it was in the 2000s. There's more variety now, whereas pop music in the 2000s was just oversexed rappers upon oversexed rappers, with the occasional hard rock or "pop punk" band thrown in to cleanse the palate. There's since been a distinctive shift toward electronic dance music, and it started with Lady GaGa back in 2008. There's also been plenty of indie rock crossing over to the pop stations, and a rise in the popularity of singer/songwriter musicians. There have even been two #1 hits in the last three years that were nothing but a voice and a piano: "Someone Like You" by Adele, and "All Of Me" by John Legend. There's no way in hell that either of those songs would have even made the top 10 last decade.
Pop music has also become much more international than it was last decade. Earlier this year, the Grammy Award for "Song of the Year" went to a group from France (Daft Punk), and the Grammy Award for "Record of the Year" went to a singer from New Zealand (Lorde). And the song you found when you Googled "Top 40" -- "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX -- is the current #1 song in America. Iggy Azalea is from Australia, and Charli XCX is from Great Britain. I do consider Iggy Azalea to be a phony, though, considering she's a blonde from Australia who raps in thick Ebonics and sounds an awful lot like Da Brat. She's also been trying to pick fights with Lorde for some reason.
Last edited by Craziaskowboi; 06-24-2014 at 05:39 AM..
As others have said, food, drink and nightlife have gotten better. The sorts of things that were happening in NY and SF in that regard can now also be found in most of the second and third tier cities.
Well, like I said earlier, I think dining and drink have become better but I'm not so sure about nightlife in general. On one hand I do like how many craft beer and cocktail bars have opened in recent years. On the other hand I think nightlife in the 90's was more relaxed and more about having fun and socializing. In the 2000's it became more about going to someplace to make the scene, especially with the obnoxious trend of bottle service and "VIP" treatment that surfaced to feed everyone's narcissism.
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Originally Posted by Gnutella
Personally, I think pop music is much better now than it was in the 2000s. There's more variety now, whereas pop music in the 2000s was just oversexed rappers upon oversexed rappers, with the occasional hard rock or "pop punk" band thrown in to cleanse the palate. There's since been a distinctive shift toward electronic dance music, and it started with Lady GaGa back in 2008. There's also been plenty of indie rock crossing over to the pop stations, and a rise in the popularity of singer/songwriter musicians. There have even been two #1 hits in the last three years that were nothing but a voice and a piano: "Someone Like You" by Adele, and "All Of Me" by John Legend. There's no way in hell that either of those songs would have even made the top 10 last decade.
Pop music has also become much more international than it was last decade. Earlier this year, the Grammy Award for "Song of the Year" went to a group from France (Daft Punk), and the Grammy Award for "Record of the Year" went to a singer from New Zealand (Lorde). And the song you found when you Googled "Top 40" -- "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX -- is the current #1 song in America. Iggy Azalea is from Australia, and Charli XCX is from Great Britain. I do consider Iggy Azalea to be a phony, though, considering she's a blonde from Australia who raps in thick Ebonics and sounds an awful lot like Da Brat. She's also been trying to pick fights with Lorde for some reason.
I agree 100% with this, and I think Pop music is the best it has been since the 80's. Although I'm typically not into Pop music I do think the current stuff is much more palatable then in the 90's & 2000's.
Another example: Back in 2008-09 (the last time I was in the US), during my flight, the passenger next to me impolitely offered (pressured) me to try some pot brownies. He was loud enough for someone else to hear, if they were paying attention. I've never tried pot, and even if I wasn't interested in passing a drug test, I don't have any interest in it either way.
He gave a lot of "come on, what's the big deal" type responses to my rejections. Growing up, if anybody offered me pot, it was where no strangers could witness. If there was slight disapproval on my face, the conversation ended right away.
So, is marijuana just accepted in the open as legal now? Does that extend to other drug use? Even at the workplace? The news headlines only tell you so much.
I think it's safe to say that your experience was not typical. Certainly not in most places, and I doubt it's common even in the few states in which recreational pot is now legal.
I'll throw one more thing in here. People have talked a lot about a liberal shift in American politics. I think that's demonstrably true for social issues like pot and gay marriage, but I don't know that it's true for economic issues. I've seen an active backlash against gov't spending on social programs and a growth of libertarianism that cuts across regions and age demographics. Since this isn't the political forum, I don't want to get into whether that's right or wrong, a good thing or a bad thing, but it's something I've noticed that may go along with the polarization mentioned earlier in the thread. Environmental issues, for example, are more right/left polarized than they used to be, and whereas many conservatives were once more tolerant of a modicum of taxation and non-military spending, there are now a lot more public voices calling for a dismantling of big chunks of the federal gov't.
I agree 100% with this, and I think Pop music is the best it has been since the 80's. Although I'm typically not into Pop music I do think the current stuff is much more palatable then in the 90's & 2000's.
I tend to agree with the above sentiment, but my comment wasn't really on the quality of pop music in the us.
Rather I just think that there's less of a celebrity culture in pop music nowadays.
Well, like I said earlier, I think dining and drink have become better but I'm not so sure about nightlife in general. On one hand I do like how many craft beer and cocktail bars have opened in recent years. On the other hand I think nightlife in the 90's was more relaxed and more about having fun and socializing. In the 2000's it became more about going to someplace to make the scene, especially with the obnoxious trend of bottle service and "VIP" treatment that surfaced to feed everyone's narcissism.
The 2000s was the decade of the $30K millionaire. Within another 10 years, we'll look back at the 2000s and ask ourselves what the **** we were thinking. That was a decade in which people pretended that gaudy and tacky was classy. It's no coincidence that pop culture of the 2000s was completely and instantly rejected the moment the economy collapsed.
The 1990s was much more laid-back with much less narcissism, though that began to change late in the decade.
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Originally Posted by 5Lakes
I agree 100% with this, and I think Pop music is the best it has been since the 80's. Although I'm typically not into Pop music I do think the current stuff is much more palatable then in the 90's & 2000's.
Pop music in the 1990s was fun too, though I do believe that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the beginning of the end of that fun. As fashionable as it is to hate it, a song like "I'm Too Sexy" showed that we didn't take ourselves so damn seriously back then. In fact, that particular song was making fun of people who took themselves so seriously. Unfortunately, art started to become big business after the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and 1997 was the last bastion of the "care-free '90s" that I enjoyed. After that it was mostly oversexed rappers and a resurgence of the prefab pop star until the late 2000s.
Pop music is a lot less "in-your-face" than it was 5-10 years ago.
These are good things.
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