5 ms·

> what's it like out there comparing to America It's totally different country by country. I never been to the US, but I imagine it's much more homogeneous tha

> what's it like out there comparing to America It's totally different country by country. I never been to the US, but I imagine it's much more homogeneous than the EU. For example you can go to Berlin, Barcelona, Milano, Stockholm or Budapest and you can have radically different experiences. It differs radically financially, demographically and attitude wise. I'd suggest to start with a Euro-trip and visit as many countries as you can and then make a "final" choice where to settle.

19kuba22 10y ago
From my experience traveling Europe and America, Europe is much more homogeneous even if languages are different.
- pepon 10y ago
  No way if by America you mean the US.
  - 19kuba22 10y ago
    I'm referring to the US, though to be honest including Canada wouldn't change much. (Mexico is a whole different story) I know it's not a common opinion, which is why I made clear that it's just my experience. I've been to 19 US states and 15 European countries and I found Arizona to be more different from Pennsylvania than Romania was compared to let's say Spain or Germany.
    - mlent 10y ago
      I'd say it's probably a matter of not having a 'european palate' so to speak. It's like if you give two red wines to someone who doesn't usually drink wine. They'll tell you they taste the same, but to someone who drinks red wine daily, they are totally different. I have traveled the US, and have lived in Europe for several years, and would completely disagree with your assessment.
tomschlick 10y ago
> I never been to the US, but I imagine it's much more homogeneous than the EU I'd argue they are mostly the same. IMO, The US is pretty similar in structure to the EU where the US as a whole is comprised of many states, each with their own laws. Yes there are federal laws but for the most part, each state can do whatever they want. Each state / region has vastly different cultures and standards of living.
- iak8god 10y ago
  > Each state / region has vastly different cultures and standards of living. The culture in the US varies some from region to region (midwest vs northwest vs south etc), but it's absolutely false to say that the differences are "vast", especially on the state-to-state level. Standards of living vary much more between urban/rural even within states than they do across states generally. Leaving aside the fact that EU states speak completely different languages, the cultural differences there are much, much more pronounced. Everyone in the US speaks the same language, watches the same TV shows, follows the same sports, shops at the same chain stores, etc, etc. Your comparison of the political structures is also quite off, though not very relevant to the question of cultural homogeneity.
  - ratacat 10y ago
    I imagine you are correct that the cultural differences across Europe are greater, and yet everybody in the us definitely don't watch the same tv shows, and if i go to Memphis TN, there are plenty of people who I just can't understand what they're saying for the life of me, even though we speak the same language. (I'm from Montana). Probably not as much as Europe, but it is there.
    - iak8god 10y ago
      You're right of course that not everyone watches the same TV shows (etc), but the major cultural divide is urban/rural, not state-by-state or region-to-region. There was an interesting discussion of this and related topics here just the other day: 'Duck Dynasty' vs. 'Modern Family': 50 Maps of the U.S. Cultural Divide (nytimes.com) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13264083 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13264083 I moved in the last year from a mid-sized city in the northeast to a sightly smaller mid-sized city in the south, and everyone keeps asking me excitedly about the culture shock. People eat more okra here and it's hard for me to understand the speech of the few people I've met from more rural areas of the state. That's it. The culture here is "mid-sized US city," just like where I came from. It's almost disappointing.

19kuba22 10y ago

From my experience traveling Europe and America, Europe is much more homogeneous even if languages are different.

pepon 10y ago
No way if by America you mean the US.
- 19kuba22 10y ago
  I'm referring to the US, though to be honest including Canada wouldn't change much. (Mexico is a whole different story) I know it's not a common opinion, which is why I made clear that it's just my experience. I've been to 19 US states and 15 European countries and I found Arizona to be more different from Pennsylvania than Romania was compared to let's say Spain or Germany.
  - mlent 10y ago
    I'd say it's probably a matter of not having a 'european palate' so to speak. It's like if you give two red wines to someone who doesn't usually drink wine. They'll tell you they taste the same, but to someone who drinks red wine daily, they are totally different. I have traveled the US, and have lived in Europe for several years, and would completely disagree with your assessment.

tomschlick 10y ago

> I never been to the US, but I imagine it's much more homogeneous than the EU I'd argue they are mostly the same. IMO, The US is pretty similar in structure to the EU where the US as a whole is comprised of many states, each with their own laws. Yes there are federal laws but for the most part, each state can do whatever they want. Each state / region has vastly different cultures and standards of living.

iak8god 10y ago
> Each state / region has vastly different cultures and standards of living. The culture in the US varies some from region to region (midwest vs northwest vs south etc), but it's absolutely false to say that the differences are "vast", especially on the state-to-state level. Standards of living vary much more between urban/rural even within states than they do across states generally. Leaving aside the fact that EU states speak completely different languages, the cultural differences there are much, much more pronounced. Everyone in the US speaks the same language, watches the same TV shows, follows the same sports, shops at the same chain stores, etc, etc. Your comparison of the political structures is also quite off, though not very relevant to the question of cultural homogeneity.
- ratacat 10y ago
  I imagine you are correct that the cultural differences across Europe are greater, and yet everybody in the us definitely don't watch the same tv shows, and if i go to Memphis TN, there are plenty of people who I just can't understand what they're saying for the life of me, even though we speak the same language. (I'm from Montana). Probably not as much as Europe, but it is there.
  - iak8god 10y ago
    You're right of course that not everyone watches the same TV shows (etc), but the major cultural divide is urban/rural, not state-by-state or region-to-region. There was an interesting discussion of this and related topics here just the other day: 'Duck Dynasty' vs. 'Modern Family': 50 Maps of the U.S. Cultural Divide (nytimes.com) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13264083 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13264083 I moved in the last year from a mid-sized city in the northeast to a sightly smaller mid-sized city in the south, and everyone keeps asking me excitedly about the culture shock. People eat more okra here and it's hard for me to understand the speech of the few people I've met from more rural areas of the state. That's it. The culture here is "mid-sized US city," just like where I came from. It's almost disappointing.