The amazingly good things about the US
Discussion
Yes, I know...Trump, school killings,, 9/11,racism,fundamentalism, gun culture, Neo Nazis.....
As someone who grew up in Ireland, emigrated to Canada, and who visits the US often, I think its worthwhile stepping back now and then,
Here are the things I have always loved about the US.....
(1) Its empty...huge distances and endless roads- how often have I stood listening to wind in the grasslands..utterly alone.
(2) Yet if you want density, hard to beat Manhattan which throbs with energy - I lived there and it is still in me.
(3) It has some of the greatest natural beauty anywhere in the world. If you stand in Monument Valley, or high on Big Sur, or drive to Key West across the keys, its breathtaking.
(4) Music....the Blues trail, the rock'n'roll
(5) Car culture. True, there are far fewer great American cars, but the endless number of car and trucking events is a delight
(6) The variety of food. Nowhere near as varied as Europe, but there is a major regional difference.
(7) The people I meet. It is fashionable of PH to caricature Americans ad fat people who cannot change a wheel on a car and are gun-toting rednecks.
I am sure that these people exist I am equally sure that when I am at my house in AZ I will come across some whipcord-thin rancher with a weatherbeaten face who can not only change a wheel, but pull an engine. Of course, the eccentrics are legion.
I do know about the gun culture and violence. Its real. However, the people I come across on a daily basis are generally decent and helpful.
I love going back to Europe and do so often. Canada is a very different place to the US and I am happy to make it my home.
However, when I hit the road and know that I can drive, 10,000 miles if I choose, its not a bad feeling at all. It is a complete cliche of course.....but with an road that never ends....you're free as a bird.
Its hard to miss the US in the generalizations, but I have spent a lot of happy time there.......
As someone who grew up in Ireland, emigrated to Canada, and who visits the US often, I think its worthwhile stepping back now and then,
Here are the things I have always loved about the US.....
(1) Its empty...huge distances and endless roads- how often have I stood listening to wind in the grasslands..utterly alone.
(2) Yet if you want density, hard to beat Manhattan which throbs with energy - I lived there and it is still in me.
(3) It has some of the greatest natural beauty anywhere in the world. If you stand in Monument Valley, or high on Big Sur, or drive to Key West across the keys, its breathtaking.
(4) Music....the Blues trail, the rock'n'roll
(5) Car culture. True, there are far fewer great American cars, but the endless number of car and trucking events is a delight
(6) The variety of food. Nowhere near as varied as Europe, but there is a major regional difference.
(7) The people I meet. It is fashionable of PH to caricature Americans ad fat people who cannot change a wheel on a car and are gun-toting rednecks.
I am sure that these people exist I am equally sure that when I am at my house in AZ I will come across some whipcord-thin rancher with a weatherbeaten face who can not only change a wheel, but pull an engine. Of course, the eccentrics are legion.
I do know about the gun culture and violence. Its real. However, the people I come across on a daily basis are generally decent and helpful.
I love going back to Europe and do so often. Canada is a very different place to the US and I am happy to make it my home.
However, when I hit the road and know that I can drive, 10,000 miles if I choose, its not a bad feeling at all. It is a complete cliche of course.....but with an road that never ends....you're free as a bird.
Its hard to miss the US in the generalizations, but I have spent a lot of happy time there.......
The US is immensely richer and immensely poorer. The range is huge.
If you live in SF or Manhattan the chances are you are making a lot of money...you just have to.
If you live in rural Mississippi you will have a very modest income indeed.
Again,. making generalizations about the US can lead to an inaccurate view, I would suggest.
If you live in SF or Manhattan the chances are you are making a lot of money...you just have to.
If you live in rural Mississippi you will have a very modest income indeed.
Again,. making generalizations about the US can lead to an inaccurate view, I would suggest.
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 5th March 08:01
My reason for starting the thread was more about balance than suggesting that everyone move to the US
..of course there are negatives ( as there are in all of the seven countries in which I have lived), but I often see some very stereotypical stuff here that would lead you to believe that the US is a nation of enormously fat helpless people with guns who have no culture and eat hamburgers.
Such people exist and equivalent people exist in many Western nations. However, in my experience the people I meet in business are generally effective, smart and very hard working, understand the world as a whole, have travelled, and have the same bell curve of intelligence as any other society. There is an inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit in the US that seems to continually churn out new ideas and new businesses, which is why so much investor value is created by American companies.
I could equally start the thread titles "amazingly bad things about the US", and list the negatives, but moat of them show up without my adding to them - as I said, just a small attempt to restore some balance and completely appreciate that its not everybody's cup of tea, ( or coffee for that matter). Appreciate the posters who added a lot more than my brief list.
..of course there are negatives ( as there are in all of the seven countries in which I have lived), but I often see some very stereotypical stuff here that would lead you to believe that the US is a nation of enormously fat helpless people with guns who have no culture and eat hamburgers. Such people exist and equivalent people exist in many Western nations. However, in my experience the people I meet in business are generally effective, smart and very hard working, understand the world as a whole, have travelled, and have the same bell curve of intelligence as any other society. There is an inventiveness and entrepreneurial spirit in the US that seems to continually churn out new ideas and new businesses, which is why so much investor value is created by American companies.
I could equally start the thread titles "amazingly bad things about the US", and list the negatives, but moat of them show up without my adding to them - as I said, just a small attempt to restore some balance and completely appreciate that its not everybody's cup of tea, ( or coffee for that matter). Appreciate the posters who added a lot more than my brief list.
E34-3.2 said:
I see that you mentioned "good food" in your post. Is there such a thing as good food up there? My budget on food for my clients is unlimited and I still struggle to find anything decent in the US. Most of the food I order is from Europe as it is nearly impossible to find flavour in fruits and vegs. Meat is a disaster. Fish is OK when I catch a guy going at sea for me and bread taste like paper.
That does not in any way line up with my experience, and I have eaten in a wide variety of topflight restaurants around the planet, ( including some outstanding places in London)..NYC and SF have simply superb restaurants that are on a par with any in the world, and there are regional places , some very simple with food of extraordinary freshness and taste. I was in Maine last summer and had the best lobster rolls imaginable after picking my lobsters..all at a roadside shack. Certainly would nit agree that meat is a disaster.
Yes,,there are lots of tasteless and undifferentiated chain restaurants, but I am surprised by the extent of the generalization.
I am well aware of the faults of the US and did not start this thread to list the many bad things of which I am aware, but, in the holidays section, the good things that might be worth mentioning.
Of course the web has a way of distorting that intention.
E34-3.2 said:
Yes, I know many of the top restaurants and their chefs and I agree that they are some lovely restaurants on the Michelin star level. I struggle with their everyday food.
I am only working with some of the best products in the world at whatever price it will be and I have to be honest that we avoid like plague American products. True, not all of it is bad and I apologies for my generalisation.
No worries..I think there are truly awful chains restaurants which I avoid like the plague...manufactured food, but in most of the cites I visit, ( a lot) there is usually something worthwhile. As a generalization ( a big one) the coasts are better than the centre. Again there are exceptions like Santa Fe or Chicago, but places like Kentucky can be a bit of a challenge. I am only working with some of the best products in the world at whatever price it will be and I have to be honest that we avoid like plague American products. True, not all of it is bad and I apologies for my generalisation.
As I previously mentioned, this was the greatest Lobster roll I have ever eaten, at a shack
by a roadside in Maine...fresh and delicious:
Edited by RDMcG on Monday 12th March 22:04
Edited by RDMcG on Tuesday 13th March 00:55
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff