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This is true. In fact I'd put the causality the other way -- Europeans are going slowly extinct precisely because of the unavailiability to the regular family o

by hugh4 11y ago

This is true. In fact I'd put the causality the other way -- Europeans are going slowly extinct precisely because of the unavailiability to the regular family of things they take for granted in America: big cars and big houses. It's hard to have a second kid when you live in an apartment and drive a Fiesta, and it's really hard to justify a third. A fourth? Forget it.

dogma1138 11y ago
Well WW2 did drove allot of Europe's population out of the country and into the big cities but we can take this chicken and egg game for a long ride. But considering that even countries like Iceland that do culturally were having big families, and living in big houses including split houses where the parents and grand-parents live in connected houses also is suffering from a similar fate I might not be as simple as that. I would say it's a "natural" development of of current life styles, the US managed to delay it maybe because for a long long time and especially after the war the concept of the American dream, a big house, a hot housewife, and 3 kids was in full gear. Now with the American Dream being less relevant, and much less attainable to many Americans we see a switch to less children, less marriages, and more adults living alone.
- hugh4 11y ago
  Iceland is still breeding at a healthy yet sustainable 2.04 births per woman, actually. Compare to 1.4 in Italy (and I thought they were Catholics!) or 1.38 in Germany. Actually now I look it up the US is only 1.88 in the last stats that come up, so Iceland is out-breeding the US. Edit: and while I don't know why I bother researching and typing these things since I inevitably wind up with negative karma the moment I suggest something not directly in line with HN herd opinion, I wish to add that the top-selling car in Iceland is the respectably mid sized Skoda Octavia.
  - dogma1138 11y ago
    2.04 births is not enough to sustain a healthy population either, it's not irreversible likes some mainland EU countries but it's nothing to boast about. And it's also quite a sharp decline since the 80's and 70's for Iceland, just like for any other Western country.

by hugh4 11y ago

dogma1138 11y ago

Well WW2 did drove allot of Europe's population out of the country and into the big cities but we can take this chicken and egg game for a long ride. But considering that even countries like Iceland that do culturally were having big families, and living in big houses including split houses where the parents and grand-parents live in connected houses also is suffering from a similar fate I might not be as simple as that. I would say it's a "natural" development of of current life styles, the US managed to delay it maybe because for a long long time and especially after the war the concept of the American dream, a big house, a hot housewife, and 3 kids was in full gear. Now with the American Dream being less relevant, and much less attainable to many Americans we see a switch to less children, less marriages, and more adults living alone.

hugh4 11y ago
Iceland is still breeding at a healthy yet sustainable 2.04 births per woman, actually. Compare to 1.4 in Italy (and I thought they were Catholics!) or 1.38 in Germany. Actually now I look it up the US is only 1.88 in the last stats that come up, so Iceland is out-breeding the US. Edit: and while I don't know why I bother researching and typing these things since I inevitably wind up with negative karma the moment I suggest something not directly in line with HN herd opinion, I wish to add that the top-selling car in Iceland is the respectably mid sized Skoda Octavia.
- dogma1138 11y ago
  2.04 births is not enough to sustain a healthy population either, it's not irreversible likes some mainland EU countries but it's nothing to boast about. And it's also quite a sharp decline since the 80's and 70's for Iceland, just like for any other Western country.