211–220 of 474 posts
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I'm in Berlin and feel fully integrated here. Whether or not that's possible really depends on location, there's many in Europe where it absolutely is.
The downside is, Berlin is not really integrated into Germany.
I'd kind of consider that a selling point. Berlin is cool and is different from the rest of the country. But I guess whatever floats your boat.
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Vienna is one of the nicest and wealthiest cities in Europe. LA is a car-centric sprawling cesspool. Even for the US, it’s uniquely terrible. If you’d moved to some of the less desirable locations in Europe, you’d probably find them to be a shithole, too. Your lack of perspective (“how much of a shithole the USA really is”) is something I’d only expect from someone half your age on their first backpacking tour of Eur…
The Ruhrgebiet is a shithole. But then again, so is Florida. As is North Dakota and most of Utah. Arizona is pretty nice, but I probably think that only because of my Australian skin. The USA is a huge shithole, and if you don't understand why anyone would think that, I have a bridge to sell you .. under which live 12 families, kids and all, who couldn't pay their medical bills after Mom/Grandpa died of cancer. It is…
I think this is thankfully becoming at least slightly less common, at least among educated Americans. For me at least the combination of meeting more people outside my bubble, travelling and learning more about the history of the United States has led me to a similar conclusion that you have reached.
A few weeks ago I returned to my rural Minnesota hometown to see people that had come from families that had lived there multiple generations wearing confederate flag clothing. I wonder if they had any concept of which side their forefathers would have been fighting with back then.
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The Ruhrgebiet is a shithole. But then again, so is Florida. As is North Dakota and most of Utah. Arizona is pretty nice, but I probably think that only because of my Australian skin. The USA is a huge shithole, and if you don't understand why anyone would think that, I have a bridge to sell you .. under which live 12 families, kids and all, who couldn't pay their medical bills after Mom/Grandpa died of cancer. It is…
In your first post you wrote: "I've gained Immense amounts of respect for humanity" yet you turn around and write this. You were a tourist here. You lived in Los Angeles. Yet you somehow feel emboldened to call a nation of 330M+ people "A huge shithole"? And you haven't met any nationalistic Serbians? Sorry if I don't take you seriously.
OP seems to deal in intense absolutes
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Australia is a different dimension altogether - you have a lot of the trappings of Western (US/European) culture, but none of the advantages of access to a free market. Personally, I can't stand Australian culture, nor American either these days - which isn't to say I'm launching into an adopted German/Austrian stance, just that .. being away from these lands for a decade at least in each case, I started to see the s…
I'm not sure if this is intentional but in all your comments you just come across as a hateful, angry person.
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> Words to blow ones minds, history that brings tears with a few simple footsteps... These are exactly the kinds of faux profundities I used to hear — and say! — traveling in youth hostels in my late teens. It’s jarring to see them coming from someone ostensibly past forty.
You probably shouldn't have stopped travelling.
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The number of cities where that is the case are a distinct minority. And no it isn’t the same thing, but that was what parent comment was communicating. If people assume you are poor because you aren’t driving then you live in a place where you can’t walk to get groceries, in a practical sense, because clearly for any normal person the trade offs are prohibitive.
I've lived in three different US cities and in each, walking to get groceries was normal and not challenging. I made my reply assuming the parent comment meant literally what they said. If you are reading another meaning into it, that's fine and I don't disagree. But they also don't contradict my comment, so why frame it like an argument?
I find it odd that you’re asking why I’m framing it as an argument as though an argument wasn’t already framed.
I've done it, and it was one of the best decisions of my life. WHERE: I'm Australian, moved to LA when I was 18 and lived there for 15 years. Then, I moved from Los Angeles to Germany (Duesseldorf), and then to Vienna, Austria. WHAT SACRIFICE: No more In 'n Out Burger, no more decent Mexican/TexMex food, no more LA food trucks. These are literally the only things I miss about the USA. Literally every other aspect of…
Vienna is one of the nicest and wealthiest cities in Europe. LA is a car-centric sprawling cesspool. Even for the US, it’s uniquely terrible. If you’d moved to some of the less desirable locations in Europe, you’d probably find them to be a shithole, too. Your lack of perspective (“how much of a shithole the USA really is”) is something I’d only expect from someone half your age on their first backpacking tour of Eur…
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I'm in Berlin and feel fully integrated here. Whether or not that's possible really depends on location, there's many in Europe where it absolutely is.
The downside is, Berlin is not really integrated into Germany.
It's why so many people flock to large cities - you feel less like an 'outsider' because the population of these cities is so varied.
Biggest sacrifice I had to make was downsizing my residence. I have a small flat in Helsinki instead of a large US home. Homes are generally much smaller here, though with more rooms for the square footage than they do in the USA.
I have gained so much. I live in a place where it is safe for my children to wander the city alone. I live in a place where I never get harassed by homeless people in the street, in an exceptionally clean city with very little crime.
I live by the sea and enjoy clean air 365 days a year, instead of smoking the state of California every summer.
The Finns have an extremely strong predisposition to minding their own business. It makes it a little harder to make friends, perhaps, but I love not having to deal with busybodies. I am partially blind, and travel with a cane or a guide dog from time to time. In the USA I was harassed almost daily by people who didn't understand that you don't have to be totally blind to benefit from a guide dog or a white cane.
In Finland I have never been questioned about this.
They also have a much more work to live mentality and better work life balance than in the USA. You notice this when you see that when people introduce themselves they often do not mention their profession, as it's not seen as a core part of their identity like it is in the states.
I don't own a car, as the public transportation is so great here that it isn't worth the hassle of having one.
I have enough children that the taxes aren't actually that much higher for me. If I was a single person then the math would be very different, I am sure.
Local salaries are much lower than in the USA, but I do contractor work for US companies and still charge US rates so I haven't felt the impact of this personally.
I love having access to good health care that isn't tied to my employment; it makes being self-employed much easier.
I love being able to walk everywhere. The USA is a terrible place to be a pedestrian.
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I'm in Berlin and feel fully integrated here. Whether or not that's possible really depends on location, there's many in Europe where it absolutely is.
The downside is, Berlin is not really integrated into Germany.