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1. America is not monolithic.
2. America has very identifiable regions, with variation to those regions.
3. Do not generalize about America based on one specific place.
There are cities in the US which are very boring, the Indianapolis of the world. Very suburban and family oriented. Then there are places like Nashville, NYC, Miami, LA, and Las Vegas which have an entertainment culture.
You also have places like DC which are centered largely around careers, but maintains a healthy after work culture of happy hours and socializing. But because they are career oriented and have a normal m-f 9-5 office culture, they do sleep earlier so things close.
The point being is no place is monolithic. There is no stereotypical American city, or stereotypical American. Each city has it's own culture and fabric it adopts, even if that fabric is constant change.
Yeah, European countries have no homogeneity at all. They all have so many different subcultures that are apparent when you turn the corner of any street.
Sarcasm intended.
yes we should ALL EMBRACE RACIAL DIVERSITY - no offence intended, Europe just doesn't need to be multicultural because it already is, it already has a wide variety of different ethnic groups and doesn't need any more immigration to make Europe loose their native cultures
no it's not England, it's the Islamic Republic of New Pakistan
Is it France ? Nope, It's North Algeria
Is that Sweden or Somalia
I can't tell !
Europe has more cultural diversity than any other continent, it doesn't need to import millions of foreigners to make Europe have an 'urban culture'
Last edited by Sagittarius Sirius; 04-10-2015 at 02:59 PM..
yes we should ALL EMBRACE RACIAL DIVERSITY - no offence intended, Europe just doesn't need to be multicultural because it already is, it already has a wide variety of different ethnic groups and doesn't need any more immigration to make Europe loose their native cultures
no it's not England, it's the Islamic Republic of New Pakistan
Is it France ? Nope, It's North Algeria
Is that Sweden or Somalia
I can't tell !
Europe has more cultural diversity than any other continent, it doesn't need to import millions of foreigners to make Europe have an 'urban culture'
I have not disagreed with any of your posts, spot on!
Right. Because France and Italy doesn't have real heritage and history that is unique to them that most people take seriously. Most countries in Europe hold annual events around the country that people are actually proud to take part in and visit with all of their neighbors and neighboring cities. What did you do for the 4th of July, Go grill in your neighbors backyard? Take your family to Outback and go home and relax?
We go to the lake. Or to the huge fireworks show that's put on here. Or get together with our neighbors. Or our families. Or all of the above. Is there something wrong, or inferior, or substandard about any of that?
I've lived in Europe, and I enjoyed myself. But I wouldn't say that their holidays are any more "special" than ours - they're just commemorating different things sometimes, or speaking different languages, or eating different foods from the street vendors.
For instance, I loved taking my kids to the Fasching parades (Mardi Gras) in the mid sized town I lived in, in Germany. It was great fun. And guess what - now I take my kids and grandkids to the Mardi Gras parade near here (Shreveport, LA). It's a similar sized city - and a similar sized parade - and we have a great time there too. I actually don't see much difference between the two experiences, especially when it comes to size, quality, and ambiance.
I happen to like Cowboys. I live in a big city but on the edge, on purpose, and there's ton of fairs and festivals in the small towns around here. We just had our big rodeo back in February and now it's Fiesta! Siclovia was recently held downtown and I'm assuming they had the Rock and Roll Marathon already as I think it's in January. We had a Christmas River Parade and they dye the river green for St Patrick's Day. I'm sure there's been plenty of other offerings but I'm busy with kids and sports at night and on weekends. Another thing cowboy towns have- Friday Night Football. Nothing like it on a Friday night in Texas.
I'm pretty sure a lot of people are busy with things other than just going to work and going home. They may not be at every fair, festival, or pub crawl because they're at soccer practice, their kid's softball game, or karate. I'm guessing it's the same in a lot of European countries as well.
Right on.
I live in northeast Texas in a bedroom community (ie, small town of about 2500) just outside a larger community of about 200,000. We're nestled in between DFW on one side (an hour and a half away) and Shreveport on the other (about an hour away). We also have lakes, rivers, and tons of small towns, artist communities, gardens and nurseries all around us.
My gosh, between my tiny town, the larger small city, and those two metro areas, if I can't find something interesting to do any day of the week, I have no one to blame but myself.
Our tiny little town has several festivals on or around the lake every year. Within fifteen minutes drive time, we could be at some sort of local festival at any number of small towns at least once a month, sometimes more than that, throughout the year - live music, arts and crafts, street food, you name it. I can sign up for classes on everything from pottery to making soap to creating a fairy garden at various places within a few minutes' drive. Mardi Gras parades, Vegas shows, ballets, symphonies, art exhibits, concerts, festivals - all sorts of cultural gems are available all around me.
And I live smack dab in the middle of "cowboy country" in northeast Texas. Pretty rural for the most part. Two minutes from my driveway, the sides of the road are nothing but pasture and cows for miles. But I can drive in a different direction and be sitting at an outdoor cafe enjoying a delicious glass of locally produced wine in fifteen minutes.
We have some friends from Europe who come to the US as often as possible for vacation. In fact, they're visiting next week and will be staying with me for three days. You know what they want to do? They want to drive around and look at neighborhoods. They want to eat Tex Mex and Asian food. They want to go shopping at the mall. They want to hang out and grill on our back patio. They want to walk around our neighborhood. They want to go to antique stores. They want to go to a rodeo. They want to go to the lake.
They've done all that before, so they know what they're in for. And they want to do it again - because it's fun and different from their lives in Belgium, even though they are affluent and have very pleasant lives in Belgium.
Some people on this forum are way too caught up with density.
Yes, I would love for the US to take cues from Europe when it comes to urban development and public transportation, but just because it doesn't have those things, hardly make it boring.
1. America is a huge country. I think you would be surprised to see that once you get out of many of the major European cities, you'll run into a ton of tiny hamlets that you would consider "boring". But fact remains, the US has more interesting cities than ANY other country. What does France have outside of Paris that can hold a candle to Chicago, LA, New Orleans, Houston etc?
2. The US has for more interesting subcultures than European countries do. Most European countries are lily white and homogeneous. America is the biggest social experiment that the world has ever seen. Because of that, we have a ton of rich subcultures in this country.
Many of the things the US has may not appeal to you, but that doesn't mean they're boring. Perhaps it would help you to open your mind a bit. Maybe you might just find new things enjoyable.
Some people on this forum are way too caught up with density.
Yes, I would love for the US to take cues from Europe when it comes to urban development and public transportation, but just because it doesn't have those things, hardly make it boring.
1. America is a huge country. I think you would be surprised to see that once you get out of many of the major European cities, you'll run into a ton of tiny hamlets that you would consider "boring". But fact remains, the US has more interesting cities than ANY other country. What does France have outside of Paris that can hold a candle to Chicago, LA, New Orleans, Houston etc?
2. The US has for more interesting subcultures than European countries do. Most European countries are lily white and homogeneous. America is the biggest social experiment that the world has ever seen. Because of that, we have a ton of rich subcultures in this country.
Many of the things the US has may not appeal to you, but that doesn't mean they're boring. Perhaps it would help you to open your mind a bit. Maybe you might just find new things enjoyable.
I'd like to recommend trying out a cowboy or two. Or a cowgirl.
Right. Because France and Italy doesn't have real heritage and history that is unique to them that most people take seriously. Most countries in Europe hold annual events around the country that people are actually proud to take part in and visit with all of their neighbors and neighboring cities. What did you do for the 4th of July, Go grill in your neighbors backyard? Take your family to Outback and go home and relax?
Quote:
Originally Posted by allenk893
The fact that you think there's something wrong with that says volumes about your values and character.
For one thing Mwahfromtheheart, most people live in apartments in Europe, so they don't have backyards to grill in, nor do the neighbors! What do you feel is a more appropriate way to celebrate the 4th? I agree with allen893.
In my community, the city holds a "festival" (since you like that word) on the 4th, from 6-10 PM at the golf course. Culmination is the fireworks. This is a city of ~20,000 people on the northern edge of the Denver metro area. There are all sorts of mobile vendors, ice cream, pizza, etc. There are bands. Most cities on the Front Range do something like this. You may peruse this events calendar if you like. City of Louisville, CO : City Calendar
Quote:
Originally Posted by tom77falcons
You mean Americans are strange. Most people in the developed world have no problem with public transit and welcome it. Not here, "not in my backyard".
I've never heard that. Most cities are clamoring to get light rail.
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Or a cowgirl.
