Battle of the passport-free zones: Schengen vs. The United States (live, restaurants)
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As an addendum to my original answer, I would like to break it down further. I read the original OP as solely to do with climate and in that case, USA wins. As a tourist, I definitely think Schengen is much better as it has more diverse cultures, architectures and many different languages that you can experience in one trip. However, for day to day living, then the USA wins simply because it is more culturally and linguistically homogeneous and it is easier to move around and integrate into different states than it is in the Schengen Zone (i.e. Netherlands and Greece are a lot more far removed than California is from Minnesota.)
Well, I'm not simply talking about climatic variety within the U.S. I honestly think that the U.S. is at least as interesting, from a visitor's perspective, as the Schengen zone is. You have an unparalleled collection of National Parks in the U.S. People from all over the world, speaking thousands of languages, each with their own cuisine live in the U.S. Many large U.S. cities are majority minority and dominated by Spanish speakers. The U.S. may not have any Medieval architecture, but it does have some very fine 18th century baroque/neoclassical architecture in Charleston, Savannah, etc. that could rival Heidelberg or Salzburg.
Eh, most ethnic food in the US is excessively Americanized. Outside of NY, SF, LA, you don't really get good Chinese food. Most are "Panda Express" Chinese food.
Schengen has an advantage though, especially for nationals of developing countries -- there are countries where it is easier to get Schengen vs US tourist visa
Well, I'm not simply talking about climatic variety within the U.S. I honestly think that the U.S. is at least as interesting, from a visitor's perspective, as the Schengen zone is. You have an unparalleled collection of National Parks in the U.S. People from all over the world, speaking thousands of languages, each with their own cuisine live in the U.S. Many large U.S. cities are majority minority and dominated by Spanish speakers. The U.S. may not have any Medieval architecture, but it does have some very fine 18th century baroque/neoclassical architecture in Charleston, Savannah, etc. that could rival Heidelberg or Salzburg.
The US is in many ways underrated when it comes to it's historical offerings. How many people have heard of the Ancestral Pueblos in the Four Corners region? There's a lot of stuff that flies under the radar.
That being said, I'd still give the edge to the Schengen area as I believe it offers a lot more when looking at the overall package.
Nope, you'll hear tons of people speaking Spanish in large cities in California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Floirda. I'm not talking about just in small ethnic enclaves, I'm talking about Spanish being widely spoken throughout the entire state. Just because Spanish, Chinese, etc. are not official languages in the U.S. doesn't mean they're not spoken by millions of people.
You are twisting my point here. Sure, you hear plenty of languages in small pockets around the US. There are plenty of people who speak a handful of languages in the USA. However, only one language - English will serve you literally everywhere from Maine to Maui. You are not completely lost and out of touch if you don't speak Spanish in LA, Chinese in San Francisco, or Hebrew in New York City. However, speaking only those languages with no English is definitely a hindrance. While many speak English as a second language in Europe, which can help you navigate most of the Schengen Area, it is not the language spoken, in public, by nearly all of society. If you don't speak the local language, in many cases, you will be limited.
Isn't that actually an argument in favor of the USA? Why would you want 9 currencies? Just from a collector's perspective?
Firstly, I thought we were talking about diversity here? Secondly, I like spending different currencies while traveling. Its one of those little things that reminds me that I'm somewhere else. If that's not for you, then luckily there's also the Eurozone- 19 countries that all use the same currency.
More people in a country doesn't mean a more interesting country. China has the most people of any country in the world but smaller countries like Japan arguably beat it in terms of tourist interest.
Okay but you're comparing 1 country to 26. 419 million people from 26 countries versus 327 million from one country - which do you think is more diverse?
OK, yeah, Europe has that great medieval architecture that the U.S. doesn't have. BUT, places like Charleston, Boston, Savannah have plenty of 18th century baroque architecture that could rival places like Salzburg.
Cool. Architectural style comes down to personal taste, however, the centuries, even millennia of Architectural development up to present day, coupled with the diversity in geography found in Europe are not comparable by the relatively young age of the US. Urban building, save for a few urban centers on the East Coast of the USA, is a relatively new thing. Most big cities in the USA have really only grown up in the last 150 years or so, and have done so very quickly.
Also, yes, in general public transport in the U.S. is far behind Europe. BUT in touristy cities like NYC, Washington D.C., and Chicago, public transportation will get you to everywhere that you would possibly want to go as a tourist. Sure, maybe there's not as many trains from Chicago to suburban Naperville as there are trains from Central Paris to the Parisian suburbs. But as a tourist, do you really care about going to some far flung suburb of Chicago? Nope, virtually all the sights are in Central Chicago.
It's not just public transport, it's the infrastructure and the way cities are laid out as well. The majority of US cities grew up after cars became a factor (see previous point), so many cities are built to not only give people more space, but to make use of their car - something that was considered a luxury. If you like space, then great. But this comes with the major side affect that now, such a high percentage of people live in suburban areas that you have massive traffic jams, and after driving 20 miles per hour down the freeway during rush hour, you have to spend another 45 minutes or handful of cash just to find a place to leave your car while you tend to whatever business you do. Public transport works in Europe not just because the networks are more extensive, but because the areas they serve are more compact. This comes down to personal preference again, but I much prefer compact urban centers that allow me to navigate the majority of the city without having to sit in traffic and taking 10 laps around the block just looking for a place to park. These types of urban areas also promote being outside much more since you don't have to isolate yourself in your car every time you need to grab a stick of butter at the supermarket.
Good for you, but America has a VAST variety of food. North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas City, Texas, etc. all have their own style of barbecue. New Orleans, Maryland, Boston, and San Francisco all have their own style of seafood. Chicago and NYC have different styles of pizza. And I haven't even touched on authentic ethnic food.
Man, I'm from the USA. I've lived everywhere from a small rust belt town of 800 people to Northern and Southern California, two islands in Hawaii, and a few summers in Maine. I've driven across the USA 3 times. My mom is from Chicago. I've eaten all the food America has to offer. I will devour BBQ and Chicago Style pizza is one of my favorite dishes world-wide (Pequod's FTW). American has diverse food, sure. I already acknowledged that. But so does Europe. You cannot say that the variety of food available in the USA is greater than the food available in Europe. If you prefer BBQ, Buffalo wings and New England Clam Chowder, then that's great. But you simply can not compare the variety of food options available from Iceland to the Azores to Santorini to Poland with what is available in one country. Aside from what's actually on the plate, the entire culinary experience can be so vastly different from one country to another. In Iceland you'll get a menu written in Icelandic, with Icelandic named dishes, Icelandic ingredients, Icelandic alcohol- every aspect of that experience, aside from just the food, is going to be completely different from going to a restaurant in Corfu, or Warsaw, or Geneva. Sure, you can go to certain ethnic restaurants in places in the USA that give you a pretty authentic experience, but those exist in Europe as well.
Last edited by wikiwikirunner; 02-10-2020 at 05:31 PM..
Firstly, I thought we were talking about diversity here? Secondly, I like spending different currencies while traveling. Its one of those little things that reminds me that I'm somewhere else. If that's not for you, then luckily there's also the Eurozone- 19 countries that all use the same currency. This thread is not exclusively about diversity, however. That is only one point of the discussion. Convenience is another big part. Having one currency instead of 9 adds to convenience.
It's not just public transport, it's the infrastructure and the way cities are laid out as well. The majority of US cities grew up after cars became a factor (see previous point), so many cities are built to not only give people more space, but to make use of their car - something that was considered a luxury. If you like space, then great. But this comes with the major side affect that now, such a high percentage of people live in suburban areas that you have massive traffic jams, and after driving 20 miles per hour down the freeway during rush hour, you have to spend another 45 minutes or handful of cash just to find a place to leave your car while you tend to whatever business you do. Public transport works in Europe not just because the networks are more extensive, but because the areas they serve are more compact. This comes down to personal preference again, but I much prefer compact urban centers that allow me to navigate the majority of the city without having to sit in traffic and taking 10 laps around the block just looking for a place to park. These types of urban areas also promote being outside much more since you don't have to isolate yourself in your car every time you need to grab a stick of butter at the supermarket.
Manhattan is denser than even Paris, the densest city in Europe. You're talking about Americans driving during their commute from the suburb to the Downtown. That is irrelevant to this discussion, which is looking solely from a tourist's point of view. A tourist is typically going to stay downtown, not go to to the suburbs.
Eh, most ethnic food in the US is excessively Americanized. Outside of NY, SF, LA, you don't really get good Chinese food. Most are "Panda Express" Chinese food.
Schengen has an advantage though, especially for nationals of developing countries -- there are countries where it is easier to get Schengen vs US tourist visa
OK, so name a Schengen city that has better Chinese food than NY, SF, or LA. London... oh wait, it was never part of Schengen to begin with.
This thread is not exclusively about diversity, however. That is only one point of the discussion. Convenience is another big part. Having one currency instead of 9 adds to convenience.
The title of the poll says Which offers more variety for a traveler?. Luckily, currency-wise, a majority of the Schengen Zone does use the same currency if that's important to you.
Manhattan is denser than even Paris, the densest city in Europe. You're talking about Americans driving during their commute from the suburb to the Downtown. That is irrelevant to this discussion, which is looking solely from a tourist's point of view. A tourist is typically going to stay downtown, not go to to the suburbs.
Cool, compare one borough of one US city to one European city. That's a fantastic sample size. What about Queens, Staten Island, or Bronxville versus Paris? How about every other European city versus similar sized American cities? What about getting between cities and countries? Flights in Europe are a fraction of the price of flights in the USA, plus most countries have extensive high speed rail networks.
As far as people commuting from suburbs to downtown - this is not irrelevant. Ease of navigating the city is huge. In most American cities, a traveler is limited without a car because everything is farther apart. This is not the case in the majority of Europe.
US for natural wonders, Schengen Area for history and interesting cities. Most US cities are a lot less exciting and bustling than their European counterparts which are generally more walkable and have had a lot of different historical and political factors that shaped their layout and look, but the natural wonders that are still intact in the US are wonderfully varied. One great thing about the Schengen area is being able to choose to navigate by foot and mass transit in a lot of places and see a lot of minutiae which is quite a bit harder for the vast majority of major US cities.
OK, so name a Schengen city that has better Chinese food than NY, SF, or LA. London... oh wait, it was never part of Schengen to begin with.
So now we're comparing the USA versus Europe based on a food that comes from neither place . There are fantastic Chinese restaurants all over Europe, including many in Madrid, where there is a high Chinese population.
US for natural wonders, Schengen Area for history and interesting cities. Most US cities are a lot less exciting and bustling than their European counterparts which are generally more walkable and have had a lot of different historical and political factors that shaped their layout and look, but the natural wonders that are still intact in the US are wonderfully varied.
Yes, I would agree to this to an extent. You can't beat the sheer diversity in natural landscapes, national parks in the U.S. Schengen arguably has some more interesting cities, but NYC's also no slouch. Neither is Boston, Charleston, Philly, Chicago, etc. Each are very different from each other, just like various cities in Schengen.
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. There are fantastic Chinese restaurants all over Europe, including many in Madrid, where there is a high Chinese population.
