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I meant culture of living. Things like cities with lots of parks and pedestrian zones, more walking/less dependency on cars, hidden coffee shops between old bui
by freediver 5y ago
I meant culture of living. Things like cities with lots of parks and pedestrian zones, more walking/less dependency on cars, hidden coffee shops between old buildings, ability to live decently on a very small budget, free education and healthcare, generally easier to make friends, specially if you are a foreigner - things like that.
I would not necessarily compare Serbians to conservatives in US (we are both generalizing now). What you may have experienced in general is 'caution' because that region of the world experienced wars every 30 years on average for the last 1000 years (unlike US). So it's not like its resisting change, but the progress was hindered so many times, having to rebuild everything from scratch. And it is hard to be 'liberal' in an environment where in some places you do not have basic infrastructure. Political 'progressive' thinking usually comes after you solved basic needs. That's just my assessment.
- wil421 5y agoThe reason I made the comparison to conservatives is because my coworker over there did an exchange program in High School and he thought the South had similar viewpoints to Serbians. I do agree with him about both being conservatives.
- freediver 5y agoYes I would agree that political views are in general more conservative but for historical reasons I described, not because it is someone's choice (plus strong influence of church 'helps').
- salex89 5y agoI'm sorry, but as a Serb from Serbia, I cannot agree with the first part of your answer. Belgrade is not a pedestrian friendly city by no means, and you are dependent on cars more then in an average European city. I've spent some time in multiple, smaller and bigger, and those are not features I would associate with Belgrade.
- freediver 5y agoI was comparing it to USA.
- input_sh 5y agoCompared to the US it definitely is. Especially if you stay away from New Belgrade, I've always underestimated how much is there to walk between like two or three blocs there. Other than that it's just an incredibly interesting city to walk through, even if you're inconvenienced as a pedestrian multiple times on that trip. You never know what you'll find behind the corner: a building that looks like it's falling apart, a gaze-inspiring brutalist building from Yugoslav times, or a modern-looking office. The only thing you know for sure is that you won't have to walk long before finding a café.