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Moved to Munich several months ago, in the states I've lived in the SF bay area, Utah, NYC (for a couple months), Alabama, and Seattle. Good: Everyone knows that transit is way better in Europe than (almost all of) America, but what I really like is that it's also vastly more walk-friendly. The streets are narrower, there are pedestrian islands at larger intersections, lots of little random walk paths/trails, lots of random little pedestrian plazas, and of course more mixed-use development means more things within easy walking distance. In the US, most streets if you're walking around it's pretty clear that you're a second-class citizen at best, with street design that's at best mostly indifferent and frequently outright hostile to walking. I also like that kids are more independent here. American parents shelter/helicopter around their kids a lot, and this tends to be more true the more affluent you are. You see a lot more German kids by themselves walking/biking/bussing around for a given age group compared to the states. Of course, the fact that they can walk around without the threat of imminent death hanging over their shoulder constantly helps a lot. Bad: Eating out here mostly sucks compared to the states though. More 'formal' sit-down restaurants aren't too different, but there are way, way fewer fast food or fast casual or casual sit-down places here, and the variety seems less. The number of places that are still cash-only or don't accept credit cards is obnoxious. I was using AldiTalk (an MVNO) for a while as my cell provider, and in order to refill online, you can't use a credit card, you have to use a bank account transfer system, which means they must first mail a real piece of paper to your house in order to confirm your address before you can do any refilling. Really the theme here is that a lot of little random consumer-y thing are less convenient in Germany compared to the US. I'm still enjoying my time though.
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Feb 2, 2017 15:31
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Grandmother of Five posted:People are exaggerating when they are talking about in-depth talks with strangers, though, right? Maybe that is part of the Scandinavian standoffishness, but outside of very few contexts, striking up an in-depth conversation with a stranger is just weird. If you're waiting in line or stuck in a common area, like waiting on a train, then it wouldn't be odd, but are people actually expecting, in-depths personal talks with strangers, or is the counter-reaction just the sort of typical goony "i don't see the point of small talk / pleasantries"?
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Mar 1, 2017 14:49
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quote:I don't read as terribly American abroad because I don't wear jeans, am literate and am politically liberal Nessa posted:If you're not familiar with Canadian accents, it can be difficult to pick us out. We definitely have them though!
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Apr 4, 2017 13:05
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America being big has basically nothing to do with its road and urban design being so sprawly. It's sprawly and spread out because we collectively decided to make it that way via various government regulations once cars started being really common. And yes, it makes almost all of the country incredibly hostile to walking, biking, and transit, which hurts poor people even more than they would be otherwise, plus makes us even fatter.
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May 7, 2017 14:05
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Edgar Allen Ho posted:Another side-effect of this is that huge parts of the US were developed with cars in mind, where Europe already was extensively developed before the invention of the automobile. You can often tell the older parts of the US from the street layout.
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May 19, 2017 15:27
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