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The world seems more homogeneous now. When I went to Europe in 1985, it seemed like there were so many differences between life in Europe and in the US. Not maj

The world seems more homogeneous now. When I went to Europe in 1985, it seemed like there were so many differences between life in Europe and in the US. Not major ones, but enough that it was an experience. When I went in 2010, everything was more or less the same. The coffee came from Starbucks. The furniture came from Ikea. The change came on both sides of the Atlantic but there was plenty of convergence.

seer 4y ago
I think the people in europe are still incredibly varied and colorfully different. Its just that foreign (US) brands have penetrated everywhere. If you wanted to hangout at McDonalds and Starbucks _you can_ and it will be the same experience (mostly) as anywhere else in the world. The turist experience has been homogenized for sure. But thats why you just try not to be a tourist. The way I like to travel is to go to a place and work from there for a few weeks from a co-working space. Get to meet the locals, they can show you around where people _actually_ eat, hangout and have fun. It’s a totally different experience that still tickles my wanderlust. Even several cities in Spain for example can be have incredibly different cultures and customs, it’s just not as obvious as in the 70s. I’ve tried staying and working from Alicante, Malaga, Valencia and Barcelona and they have all been incredibly unique experiences in their own right.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  > I think the people in europe are still incredibly varied and colorfully different. I think the same is true (even) of the USA. It was certainly when I first visited in 1981, and found myself thinking "there's more difference between a lobster fisherman in Maine and people in LA than there is in all of Europe". I was underselling Europe with that assessment, but having lived here now for 33 years, the variation in the USA still strikes me as enormous. The problem is that it is harder to see when almost everyone speaks the same language, drives the same cars, eats the same breakfast cereal, references the same cultural elements etc. You might think that this implies a high level of conformity, and I suppose that in some absolute sense that is true. Nevertheless, the vastly differing climates and landscapes across the USA drive what to me still feels like a huge range of difference in lifestyle and attitude.
deleted 4y ago
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seer 4y ago

I think the people in europe are still incredibly varied and colorfully different. Its just that foreign (US) brands have penetrated everywhere. If you wanted to hangout at McDonalds and Starbucks _you can_ and it will be the same experience (mostly) as anywhere else in the world. The turist experience has been homogenized for sure. But thats why you just try not to be a tourist. The way I like to travel is to go to a place and work from there for a few weeks from a co-working space. Get to meet the locals, they can show you around where people _actually_ eat, hangout and have fun. It’s a totally different experience that still tickles my wanderlust. Even several cities in Spain for example can be have incredibly different cultures and customs, it’s just not as obvious as in the 70s. I’ve tried staying and working from Alicante, Malaga, Valencia and Barcelona and they have all been incredibly unique experiences in their own right.

PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
> I think the people in europe are still incredibly varied and colorfully different. I think the same is true (even) of the USA. It was certainly when I first visited in 1981, and found myself thinking "there's more difference between a lobster fisherman in Maine and people in LA than there is in all of Europe". I was underselling Europe with that assessment, but having lived here now for 33 years, the variation in the USA still strikes me as enormous. The problem is that it is harder to see when almost everyone speaks the same language, drives the same cars, eats the same breakfast cereal, references the same cultural elements etc. You might think that this implies a high level of conformity, and I suppose that in some absolute sense that is true. Nevertheless, the vastly differing climates and landscapes across the USA drive what to me still feels like a huge range of difference in lifestyle and attitude.

deleted 4y ago

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