Or the seemingly crumbling infrastructure, airports that make me feel I'm traveling back to the 90s, metro systems that are filthier and noisier than almost any

Or the seemingly crumbling infrastructure, airports that make me feel I'm traveling back to the 90s, metro systems that are filthier and noisier than almost any other I've ever taken (even the ones in developing countries). You being bombarded by ads everywhere, and for bizarre/dystopian products (like healthcare or medicine), payday loans, lawyers. It makes me icky to travel in the US. I agree with you, there's a hollowness in American urbanscapes that's hard to put a finger on. Even bustling areas in SF or NYC feel... Decadent?