You are familiar with your surroundings and so the problems which seem real to outsiders have been rationalised in your mind.
Violent crime in the US especially murder, robbery, and rape are far higher than in the UK but then there are lifestyle issues which might put you off being here.
American culture is aggressive dog-eat-dog and no mercy to those who fall by the wayside, it is always ‘in your face’,I know because I read about it.
We Brits on the other hand feel safe on our little island with no guns being waved in our faces at every road junction by the windscreen washer gangs nor do we worry that we might be blown away by the lunatic with a gun who we gave the finger to when he pulled out in front of us.
We don’t have ghettoes like Harlem and we don’t leave our sick and injured out on the streets to die merely because they cannot afford to pay the medical fees.
We don’t have religious lunatics advocating a holy world war 3 and barricading themselves into a compound in a doomsday scenario.
The mafia don’t run all our towns and when we go into the countryside we don’t get told to bend over and ‘squeal like a pig’.
Man am I glad I live in the UK, sure hate to go to that savage bestial USA
Oh for chrissake, give me a break! If you would have ruminated on my OP for a minute, you would’ve seen that I was ranting against what I’ve heard, not what I’ve seen. I’ve freely admitted that I haven’t seen other countries firsthand. I’m just a little confused and angy at how I always see them represented: one part fascination to one part incredible danger. I don’t know what part to believe.
Hey, I understand this concept. I’m not condemning other countries. I’m just confused and wondering what to think. I just wanted to hear from other Dopers on the same topic, that’s all.
Geez man, what’s your problem? You don’t even know me. What makes you think I feel I’m “superior”? Did you actually read and understand my entire post, or are you all about knee-jerk reaction?
Thank god for you, wolfman! An actual ANSWER to the question in my OP!
{Lizard, it’s spelled “quote”, not “qiote”. I fixed it, it was messing up the coding. -Lynn}
Lizard, I think what might have confused people is your first sentence: «Why is it that the more I learn about other countries the more I like my hometown?»
In any case, to answer your statement
«Everyone I talk to, everything I read, and everything else I hear about travel abroad comes in two forms. Form A- The culture is so rich and vibrant! The people are so happy and vibrant! Their way of life is so fascinating etc. ad infinitum until I barf. Form B- The police are corrupt. The government is corrupt. There is no health care. There are no sewer systems. Whole populations live on other peoples’ garbage.»
For every country you visit, there will be some good and some bad. Guidebooks will try and warn you about the bad but extoll the good to encourage you to visit. Also your generalizations are exaggerated. Not all countries have richer and more vibrant cultures, and not all countries are poorer than the USA. So it is true that your view of the world seems somewhat coloured by your lack of experience.
I personally find that in general guidebooks exaggerate the dangers. I have been in several places that guidebooks recommended as being “not so safe” and I have never had a problem. I think using elementary rules of caution you can feel reasonable secure in even big cities in foreign parts of the world.
Whenever you travel anywhere, you will be warned about the same stuff-- mugging, pickpockets, the water, etc., but it has more to do with the vocation of Traveler than it does the place travelled to. Tourists always look fairly out of place, are less familiar with how things work and what is normal (thus making easy marks), and have a more difficult time sorting things out when something does go wrong (and the Korean phrases for “would you like the spicier mustard?” and “hand over the money, asswipe” will probably sound very similar to most of us, and tone of voice may not help much). So this is all standard (better safe etc) stuff. Don’t fret-- just don’t be dumb or feel invulnerable when you get there. Be a smart and perceptive tourist and you should be fine. Don’t accept preordered drinks from strangers ANYWHERE.
check out the website at http://www.fieldingtravel.com/df/tourists.htm for some constructive advice and a couple of good stories from a guy who’s been travelling in really, really bad places.
Nothing wrong about liking one’s hometown, just don’t fall into the trap of using it as the yardstick for what a proper town should be like. Embrace the differences, they’re the reason for travelling in the first place.
Wow, I think you obviously didn’t think before posting this one. What you are saying is there is absolutely no crime in the U.K. “I know because I’ve read about it”? Come on, where did you read this? The newspaper? Do you think the news media reports on good things? I have seen no evidence of “The Mafia” in my home town, and I’m sure the population is over a million at least. What is with the “my country is better then yours” attitude? People are people, wherever you go. There is crime everywhere, regardless of what you think.
Hey Lissa, I’ve got a suggestion for you. Next time you go to Europe, get out of the cities. There are plenty of suburbs over here with immense malls, wide, orderly streets, and big houses and yards.
BTW I live in a nice city terrace (the equivalent of an American townhouse) with a huge kitchen, two good sized bedrooms, two bathrooms, a washing machine and a yard (admittedly small, but it’s all ours) and my rent is cheaper than it was in three of the four American cities I lived in. So there
Pergau, you coming to the next Dublin Dope in October?
So you look at property prices in London, look at where you are (Ohio ?) and conclude you couldn’t afford to live in Europe. I don’t know about your economics background, Lissa, but you might want to take a look at the chapter beginning with “Supply and Demand”. There are reasons.
How much and would the last 35 years of his life (in rural Surry and Sussex) count as well as his travels (including Africa and the US) around the world ?
Still, I’d think that pales when compared with your travels, Lizard.
There really is a lot of parochial attitude in this thread. Now, i don’t think that’s a problem but you could at least try to open your minds just a little. Each to their own.
Lizard, you’re going to Mexico on the company - is it that difficult to think of it as an exciting adventure, an opportunity to see other cultures, inbue influences and even, OH MY GOD !, to get a bloody passport.
Hah, my fault. I hear this so much, that I have an automatic response to it. I constantly hear people from other countries(asians mostly) dissing the U.S.
>> I hear this so much, that I have an automatic response to it
This is probably the topic that most makes me shoot my mouth off and I need to control. When I am in Europe and people feel the need to tell me how bad America is my instinctive reaction is to argue with them. Then in the USA when people tell me there’s no place like the USA and the rest of the world is envious they’re not Americans I also con’t help myself in the face of such stupidity. Later, most of the time I regret not having kept my mouth shut. The world is full of ignorant fools and idiots and arguing with them is not going to enlighten them. I need to learn to avoid these people and keep my mouth shut.
How many international bad guys in your movies are portrayed as Englishmen ?
Probably as many serious gangsters and drug dealers who are portrayed as American in ours.
But it would be a foolish person who took it for real.
The OP looked a little like they were taking some of the Mexicans problems too much to heart.
I was simply showing how irrational getting information third hand can be.
There is plenty wrong with most countries and it is easy to take criticism personally.
London
Must be irksome to know that for the price of an average family house round your way you could buy up half of my town, if you could find a job round here to pay fo it.
Thanks to london_calling for bringing my attention to this.
Have you ever been to a major city in America? Ever been to a place I like to call home, San Francisco? Cause if you had you would be aware that you really don’t know what you are talking about. Try paying $800,000 for a 1 bedroom flat in the middle of the tenderloin, no yard, hookers out front. Malls? Never heard of them. Wide streets? Sure some of the major ones, but most are small one way, confusing as fuck, badly planned messes. Big Houses? Yeah we have a few of those. Of course they’re broken up into 3 flats and have 20 people living in them. And yards? Again, I’m not familiar with the concept.
What you are talking about is suburban life versus city life. Not American versus foreign life.
More than irksome, it pisses me right off. I moved down here from South Yorkshire about seven years ago. All my friends back home live in nice terraced or semi-detached houses with gardens. I live in a two-bedroom, top-floor flat, for which I pay about three times what they pay for their houses.
If I moved back up North with my current salary, minus the desultory London weighting, I reckon I could afford a three or four bedroom house with a large garden in one of the nicer parts of Sheffield. As it is, I’m either going to have to get used to living in a small falt for the rest of my life, or move out to somewhere where I can afford a small house but it will take me 90 minutes to get to work every day.
Either way, the quality of life in London is pretty bad compared with the rest of the country, IMHO.
Admittedly, I didn’t read the thread. I skimmed it until I got to DDG’s post before I decided I had to add something. DDG, you live in Omaha or Lincoln, no?
You mention Kansas City as being a ‘scary’ city. Well… I can assure you, there are very few places in Kansas City I would be afraid to walk along at night. Perhaps in KC proper there is a higher density (Troost, Prospect, Southwest Blvd, The Paseo, South 7th St. Bridge, Front street, etc.) but in KC as a whole, I’d spend most the night outdoors and not be bothered in the least. Hell, I’ve walked from 55th and Harrison (one block east of Troost) to 49th and Oak (right off the Plaza) many a nights at around 2 am, and it doesn’t bother me in the least. In fact, I mention Front Street above, but a friend’s dad lives there, and I’ve spent many nights outdoors around there, with no worries. Of course, knowing the pimps, gangsters, and drug dealers helps. I’m sure Anth isn’t bothered in the least strolling around near her abode, or SeriousArt, or YB, or anyone else. It’s a very nice city with a bad rep, and a few shady spots, but then, what metropolis isn’t?
Now, South Omaha, let’s not go there!
Hey, if anyone wants to see how nice KC can be (females… ;)) I’d be more than happy to show you our huge yards, our green trees, our blue skies, and countless fountains.
It’s all in the perspective, I guess. Go with an open mind, and you will enjoy yourself. I lived in Jerusalem, Israel for a year, and a lot of Americans ask me about danger and wasn’t I worried and wasn’t I scared? No, the crime rate in Israel is much lower than in the US - I walked around East Jerusalem (which is not really a BAD neighborood, but it’s the Arab part of the city, and some Jews I knew were wary) at 1 am and never was worried for a second, which I would have been even here in my nice little town in Northern California. I guess in this case, it has to do with media-produced ideas about what a country is like. In my experiences, these images are often incorrect or overemphasized. I suppose that’s the best travelling advice I can give - be open-minded.
