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>TL,DR: If you want to get a nice, family friendly, comfortable urban environments -check the former USSR and the other Eastern Block countries. I was in St. P

>TL,DR: If you want to get a nice, family friendly, comfortable urban environments -check the former USSR and the other Eastern Block countries. I was in St. Petersburg, Russia a decade ago, and the parts of the city I saw that were built in the Soviet era looked anything but friendly and comfortable.

IWeldMelons 9y ago
They might have looked dull, but not duller than any American city, esp. built in 20th century. Besides, the whole point is not the looks, but the layouts are nice. Still, currently living in a large Soviet city, and to me it is much nicer than Philly or NYC.
- rhapsodic 9y ago
  >They might have looked dull, but not duller than any American city, esp. built in 20th century. Besides, the whole point is not the looks, but the layouts are nice. Still, currently living in a large Soviet city, and to me it is much nicer than Philly or NYC. The only comparable places I've seen in the US, in terms of sheer ugliness, are large high-rise government housing projects. I will say this about St. Petersburg, in all sincerity: The woman (35 yrs and under) there seemed to be, on average, notably more attractive than in any other place I've been, before or since.
  - IWeldMelons 9y ago
    OTOH, I have not seen anything uglier that cookie cutter American suburbia. I still cannot figure how NYC (https://nyulangone.org/files/city-street-in-bay-ridge-brooklyn.jpg https://nyulangone.org/files/city-street-in-bay-ridge-brookl...) in nicer than Almaty (http://www.walkingalmaty.com/uploads/2/3/7/9/23797930/8867995_orig.png http://www.walkingalmaty.com/uploads/2/3/7/9/23797930/886799... or https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uoAK6mvo248/VHUZgL6rFuI/AAAAAAAAWDg/CqBY1fuo6eQ/s1600/P1090059.JPG https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uoAK6mvo248/VHUZgL6rFuI/AAAAAAAAW...) keeping in mind that the houses in Almaty have common areas, playgrounds without traffic going thru, benches etc; in case of Brooklyn it is just a building facing the street and there is nothing behind it. Oh, and that building has moldy walls made out of paper.
  - thriftwy 9y ago
    > The woman (35 yrs and under) there seemed to be, on average, notably more attractive than in any other place I've been, before or since. This just means you've never been to ex-Yugoslavia! (Been there with my wife; she agrees wholeheartedly)
    - vkreso 9y ago
      I'm from ex-Yugo (Croatia) and even though I'm heavily biased, completely agree.

IWeldMelons 9y ago

They might have looked dull, but not duller than any American city, esp. built in 20th century. Besides, the whole point is not the looks, but the layouts are nice. Still, currently living in a large Soviet city, and to me it is much nicer than Philly or NYC.

rhapsodic 9y ago
>They might have looked dull, but not duller than any American city, esp. built in 20th century. Besides, the whole point is not the looks, but the layouts are nice. Still, currently living in a large Soviet city, and to me it is much nicer than Philly or NYC. The only comparable places I've seen in the US, in terms of sheer ugliness, are large high-rise government housing projects. I will say this about St. Petersburg, in all sincerity: The woman (35 yrs and under) there seemed to be, on average, notably more attractive than in any other place I've been, before or since.
- IWeldMelons 9y ago
  OTOH, I have not seen anything uglier that cookie cutter American suburbia. I still cannot figure how NYC (https://nyulangone.org/files/city-street-in-bay-ridge-brooklyn.jpg https://nyulangone.org/files/city-street-in-bay-ridge-brookl...) in nicer than Almaty (http://www.walkingalmaty.com/uploads/2/3/7/9/23797930/8867995_orig.png http://www.walkingalmaty.com/uploads/2/3/7/9/23797930/886799... or https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uoAK6mvo248/VHUZgL6rFuI/AAAAAAAAWDg/CqBY1fuo6eQ/s1600/P1090059.JPG https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uoAK6mvo248/VHUZgL6rFuI/AAAAAAAAW...) keeping in mind that the houses in Almaty have common areas, playgrounds without traffic going thru, benches etc; in case of Brooklyn it is just a building facing the street and there is nothing behind it. Oh, and that building has moldy walls made out of paper.
- thriftwy 9y ago
  > The woman (35 yrs and under) there seemed to be, on average, notably more attractive than in any other place I've been, before or since. This just means you've never been to ex-Yugoslavia! (Been there with my wife; she agrees wholeheartedly)
  - vkreso 9y ago
    I'm from ex-Yugo (Croatia) and even though I'm heavily biased, completely agree.