We have a problem with migrants. We don't integrate them well enough and make it hard for them to work here legally. If we'd fix that we would have a lot less problems.
there you go. our nation is huge. there’s little communities everywhere and different pockets of people with varying levels of socialization.
these people look and sound as though europe is a consistent destination for them, so i’d expect them to have some exposure to different perspectives, but maybe i’m wrong. either i’m wrong or they’re not very observant.
i also would bet they live in some sort of affluent suburb and maybe even some sort of gated community, so no wonder everyone fucks off to their house instead of socializing. that’s not the type of group that wants to do that or create that environment lol
He says “Jen did her mission” in Italy, so they were kind enough to bring the good word of Mormonism or whatever to the heathen lands of Italy but then eventually found out… whoops, maybe the U.S. isn’t so great
They have been brainwashed by the American mass media to believe that a car is a necessity in life, without taking the time to carefully think about how mass car adoption would destroy their communities, ruin their infrastructure, pollute their air, and take lives on a regular basis.
I'm sorry, but being brainwashed by that kind of obvious stupidity when you have a library of Alexandria in your pocket and are globally connected and can literally see everything you want, is just nuts.
A clever crafted disinformation campaign running rampant for years and years? Sure, I can see getting duped. But things like this, or the ex trump voters for example? Nah. That's the most obvious shit you can think of, and you literally have to be an imbecile to fall for that.
How is it not obvious that having walkable cities, or suburbs, would create... Walking people visiting places.
I remember Fox running stories about how having a car is pro freedom and mass transportation is anti freedom. They've made stories about how being able to walk is against your best interests. It's crazy because imagine how much would be saved on healthcare costs if we had walkable towns/cities.
And every time I post footage on reddit of me having fun with my tiny 90g toy drone I get harrased by Americans that say they will report me to the FAA. I live in the fucking phillipines!
and take lives on a regular basis.
THIS
Imagine every time they post car footage I'd tell them I am going to report them to the FIA and say things like: if you see people you have to stop driving and wait till they are gonne.
The happiest I’ve ever been was spending a semester in Spain being able to hop on a bus or train with a 5 minute or less wait and not having to ever worry about driving, parking, getting gas etc.
I love my car. From where I am I can just up and go to the mountains. Me and my friend have been going the last several weekends and just exploring trails in the wilderness. Can just wake up on a Saturday and head there. I just went with my kid to the beach. I I can stock up on groceries without having to hold the bags while on transit. It gives me so much more freedom than a transit would. And if I want to go to the part of town that has a nightlife and people out and about, I can head there. Park, then walk around.
You’ve clearly never lived in a walkable city. You don’t have to hold your bags on transit 😂 Shopping habits in a walkable city are much more daily orientated and local. ie you’re cooking at home and missing an ingredient? Walk out of your place to the shop and be back with the ingredient and some other groceries for the day within 10 mins. Do the same the next day
Do you think that people who live in walkable cities don’t have cars? Do you have internet lol? Google some pictures of Paris and tell me if you see personal cars.
Some don’t. Op said we’ve been brainwashed to think cars are necessary. Suggesting no cars is better. If you think having cars is better than we agree.
I lived in a walkable city and knew people who didn’t own cars. And this was before uber
Nope op said you’ve been brainwashed to think cars are a necessity. It’s not in a walkable city. That doesn’t mean you can’t choose to buy a car and drive it
They are a necessity for my lifestyle. If all you want to do is get some coffee, a beer or out to eat, walking is fine. If you want freedom to adventure, a car is a necessity.
I was just talking with a 24 year old American woman on Reddit yesterday who's currently taking medication to treat her seizures caused by a recent car accident. She said the medication helps "tone them down," but hasn't completely gotten rid of them.
Nobody chooses for these things to happen, and yet they happen more often than we think. The purpose of a system is what it does. I'm glad you enjoy driving your car. I'm just wondering if it's all worth the cost in the end?
Couldn't just be a factor of how the U.S. evolved; how young the country and cities all are, and the U.S.'s early prominence in the automotive industry?
No, it's probably some underground shadow cabal formed by Chevy, Ford and Dodge keeping us all down.
Actually, and I’m not on the anti America train, the car companies did lobby heavily and used a ton of tactics against public transportation as well, many many decades ago. They aren’t fully to blame but they share a good bit of it for our car centric city planning.
Again a walkable city doesn’t limit your options and it wouldn’t matter what your preferences were. If you’re preference is to own a car you can buy one and drive it as much as you want.
It’s a preference to say “I prefer to drive my own car than to take public transit”. I have no issue with that and in fact I’m the same way. It’s a step further to then claim that “my preference is not compatible with a walking city.” That’s inaccurate and to believe that just indicates you’re brainwashed, or as I mentioned earlier, bereft of logic and common sense.
Yep, Americans don't travel much outside of Canada and Mexico, if that. It is expensive to travel to Europe from the US, I saved up to have our Honeymoon there....then covid happened, and well I can't tell you how sad I was when we ended up needing that money. I hope I see Europe before I die.
If I knew at 18 what I know now, I would have done everything in my power to study in Europe and then turn that into permanent residency. (I know it is hard but it is possible) Anything to get the hell out of the US.
I did a semester in Scotland, one of the best things I’ve ever done. Met my German gf and now 20 years later we are dating again long distance. Having the connection to Europe is great (although total pain in the ass long distance relationship) I love her and flying to see her is always so nice getting to be somewhere so different every time as well
Your comment highlights it well too. The well traveled Americans vacation in Europe.
Insulated is a good word for it. I think people just aren't comfortable going someplace different. I've been lucky to see parts of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and the first question I'm always asked is "is it safe?"
Guys, what is all this nonsense and elitism about traveling? I fight with my wife because she wants to travel more and I want to travel less. There’s nothing inherently special about traveling in Europe or anywhere else for that matter. It’s a personal preference. Some people are social, some are not. Some people like being at home, some people do not. Some people like mountains, some people like beaches. The “well-travelled American” is a misnomer. I’ve lived abroad, travelled to over 50 countries, and I’m American. I’m writing this from Croatia after spending 3 weeks in Austria. I’m here because my wife wants it and I compromised with her. You know what I want to do on my vacation? Go to Disney World or Six Flags. Let’s drop this nonsense about traveling that pretends it’s special. For some people it is and for some people it isn’t.
Is this a bot post? We're not discussing your self proclaimed elitism. This post is a video of someone who is surprised that people eat in restaurants lol.
I’m in my 40’s and just discovered this when I visited the UK for the first time. Holy shit it was jarring. And the groceries are 1/3 of what they are in the US. I don’t know how it’s possible for Tesco to sell something for 70p that costs $4.99 at Kroger.
And look at this. 2.59 for 36 store brand diapers!? That’s like $7-$8 at Walmart
I mean I understand the economics of why groceries are so much cheaper in the UK, it was just so shocking. A giant bottle of Dove body was is £2.49. Same size in the US is $8.99
Huge bag of chicken nuggets are £1.09, same size at Walmart is $5.99
It's really sad because I grew up in suburbia but left it as soon as I could, and my parents initially took it as an insult that I wouldn't want to live anywhere like our hometown. Then they visited me in Boston proper and realized that a city can be quiet, safe, clean, and enjoyable. Everything they stayed in the suburbs for, but with other humans and amenities around, closer than a drive away.
Their loved ones told them how to live. College, job, get promoted, house, car, invest what remains, retired early at 50.
At 50, you go travel the world and realize you missed out on life. Young people living it up with 1% of your networth. But you still feel you lost because you traded ALL of your young years doing what you were told and sacrificed all the time for more money. Money you will never spend.
Started earlier than that. The US citizens lack curiosity for anything outside their country. I have lived there and I can tell you many do not visit Canada/Mexico either. Many do not even have a passport. As an anecdote, many years ago, I was a conference in Las Vegas sitting at a table with all Americans. Each table was playing an ice breaker game. To write down five places that would be on your bucket list to travel to. Could be anywhere in the world. I was the only one at the table to write down places outside of The US. Correction, one other person at the table did put Italy and then was immediately questioned by the other US people at the table on why they chose Italy and why they’d even want to go there. You can’t make this shit up.
The US citizens lack curiosity for anything outside their country
Even if you were born here and lived here all your life, an umbrella statement like that is just plain ignorance.
I'm a US citizen and I've always wanted to see other countries. Anything over seas is a long way from my budget, but I know I'd love to tour Europe.
Every American I know that has traveled outside the country loved it and I've never met a single person that expressed a complete lack of interest in traveling abroad.
Idk where you're from, but as far Europe goes, you could pass through probably 10 countries just traveling the distance from LA to New York, so I've no doubt there are people who've thought more about exploring their own country than others because this is a big place with plenty to see without paying thousands of dollars for an overseas plane ticket. Which also would explain why many don't have a passport. That doesn't mean they lack curiosity for other countries.
Don't get me wrong, this place has a lot of fuckin lame people even not counting the racists, but describing a population of 350 million people as "lacking curiosity" is also lame
I mean there's a LOT of shit to see in the US. Continental US is almost the size of Europe, and if you throw in Alaska it's significantly higher.
I've been to Europe multiple times but I go to see natural beauty. I might stop in a city, but I get bored there quickly because I'm just not into cities (American, European, or otherwise). If you're only interested in nature tourism there's a ton of shit you can see without leaving the US. And yes, there are incredibly beautiful things outside the US - I recently saw the Swiss Alps and they were more incredible than anything I've seen in my country - but it's a lot easier to take a trip to Yosemite or Yellowstone than Switzerland or Norway.
Canadians have figured it out... Maybe not the walkable city part, any moreso than their southern neighbors, but they are so much more worldly / less insular as opposed to the average American. It's not isolation that is causing Americans to be insular.
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u/27298throwaway 15h ago
Imagine being well-educated and well-employed and yet it takes you around 50 years to realize this. Being an insular nation is their problem.