bengraven
Member
I'm so jealous of you!
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Fellow Americans, do you realize how much people envy us?
- Thread starter Korey
- Start date
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I'm so jealous of you!
They just recently released the first two seasons in Germany.
I think it used to be considered as untranslatable.
shadyspace
Banned
I hope I'm not offending you here, but your posts in this thread have surprised me a bit. From what I've seen from you in the past, you seem to have a particular distaste and awareness of America's (obviously real) racial inequalities. Don't you think that puts us down a few pegs? Or do you consider Europe just as bad?
Alligatorjandro
Banned
racists
that's one thing Canada has going for it. Sadly it ends there.
alright fine, healthcare too lol
bagged milk negates the healthcare though.
King Mystery
Member
Even though I was born here, I want to move to another country. One of these days I'll get my life together, learn a new language, go back to school, get a job, save up some money and move.
I don't know where I'll go; maybe France. I can just imagine myself in Paris sitting at an outdoor cafe, sipping wine while eating exotic non-pasteurized cheeses with fancy crackers, having conversations with snooty French people who are all like, "You're American?! But you seem so cultured and refined. I almost mistook you for a Frenchman. It's a well known fact Americans are brutish morons who get THEIR pasteurized fancy cheeses at Wal-Mart!" and instead of trying to defend my home country, I'm just going to agree with them and we'll do that French laugh "Huhuhuhuhuhuh!" together while the sun setting in the background behind the Eiffel Tower.
I don't know where I'll go; maybe France. I can just imagine myself in Paris sitting at an outdoor cafe, sipping wine while eating exotic non-pasteurized cheeses with fancy crackers, having conversations with snooty French people who are all like, "You're American?! But you seem so cultured and refined. I almost mistook you for a Frenchman. It's a well known fact Americans are brutish morons who get THEIR pasteurized fancy cheeses at Wal-Mart!" and instead of trying to defend my home country, I'm just going to agree with them and we'll do that French laugh "Huhuhuhuhuhuh!" together while the sun setting in the background behind the Eiffel Tower.
There that transcends borders, dislike of black people.
That's just where it begins, my friend.
Really, it depends on where you are in each country. Treating countries like Canada and the US as homogeneous entities is pretty silly. But that's how manufactured nationalism works. It's much simpler that way.
The OP is insane, by the way. Going by Korey's previous posts, he seems too insecure to actually believe that many people are envious of America, but he seems like the type to want to make that argument, regardless.
MWS Natural
Member
How have my posts surprised you? Just because I appreciate the ethnic diversity of America doesn't mean that it isn't filled with racist assholes; but so are many other countries. I wouldn't even step foot in many places in Russian and Turkey.
DanteFox
Member
Idk about tolerant but the US is more culturally diverse. But yeah I've heard good things about Canadian politeness.
shadyspace
Banned
But Canada is ethnically diverse and not filled with racist assholes.
Canada is not more culturally or ethnically diverse than America.
EatinOlives
Member
Having lived in the US for my half my life, I'll say "eh". America's got a very glossy sheen on the outside but more than a few of its cultural aspects are rotten to the core. Among the worst offenses for me personally are: the perpetual worship of wealth above practically everything else, the complete lack of traditional culture (the one poster who likened it to Dubai nailed it), and the ridiculous notion that homogenizing the society's (already overly demanding) careers into their personal lives is something that should be praised. And I'm not even touching on the country's political problems, which in my opinion are beyond repair.
There's opportunity in the country like no other, but you have to watch out. Not everything said opportunity brings for you is exactly "positive".
There's opportunity in the country like no other, but you have to watch out. Not everything said opportunity brings for you is exactly "positive".
Boss Man
Member
How diverse is Canada, exactly? I just tried to find some statistics to show this, but it seems like it's about 90% European. You mentioned racism so I assume you're talking about race.
doesn't america have the melting pot theme while canada has a belief in multiculturalism? the melting pot is basically the idea of assimilation into one, while multiculturalism celebrates and promotes diversity.
King Mystery
Member
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Canada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Canada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_origins_of_people_in_Canada
Toronto is one if not the most ethnically diverse city in the world btw.
Phantast2k
Member
Replies are bolded:
Other than that I have to stress that I specifically mentioned that some of those "bad things" are not exclusive to the US. It's just a list of reasons of why I don't envy Americans.Yo i feel you on a lot of this but you're dramatizing a lot and are downright off base on plenty. Organic food is easy to come by. It's in every supermarket chain and if not, local farmers markets and whole foods stores are chock full of them. Fresh produce isn't more expensive compared to premade food either fyi if you have a bit of buying sense.
The longest stretch of time I spent in the US was in NorCal, Bay Area. Most of the time I shopped for groceries at Lucky (huge), Safeway (huge) and sometimes Trader Joe's. Marina Food and some odd Mexican supermarkets too. Now were there organic options to be had at those stores? Sure, lots, but where there organic options for everything that I needed? Hell no. Not even close. I barely went to farmer's markets because it was too unpractical.
Also I was told that "organic" did not always mean gmo free, but now that I googled it I realize that I was misinformed, so yeah I admit defeat there. I didn't look into it back then because I wasn't as food conscious as I am now.
Fresh produce was absolutely more expensive than some dumb chips or sweets (i.e. they had 3 for $3 on huge, no, humongous bags chips that contained like twice my daily calories intake/per bag, lol
GALLONS upon gallons of Coke and Mountain Dew, etc always combined with volume discounts - basically: DRINK & EAT OUR CORN SYRUP SHIT! GET OBESE, MOFO!
Want an avocado? $1.69, bitch! (I'm making that up, but it feels right)...can't reaffirm atm.
Compared to Germany most produce was around two times as expensive, I'm not fucking with you. Freaking oranges cost more than in Germany, even though there isn't one orange tree in Germany (most of it comes from Spain) and California is THE orange state, is it not?
Transport and education depend on region and location as well.
See, I was in the Bay and still found the transport to be bad, not just public transportation, mind you.
Apart from BART most of PT was a joke, buses were seldom on schedule, sometimes drivers didn't even appear for a shift change! Some seemed like they came straight from a different job or didn't take the driving seriously (kind of like Otto from the Simpsons): they missed the stops, talked on the cellphone while driving, drove too fast, etc.
Of course it's specific to that area, but Bay Area is ought to have some of the best PT in the country, is it not? You can't just compare everything to NYC in that regard.
The roads were poorly maintained in some places, even the big old Mission Blvd. that stretches throughout some cities in the Bay Area had some shitty, bumpy spots.
Stretches of the highways (i.e. 880 if I remember correctly) were full of garbage in the midst of them (next to the separator thingy) with some of it sometimes migrating towards the driving areas endangering the flow of traffic.
Always with the tolls, at almost every bridge - god fucking dammit. An absolutely alien concept to most Europeans.
Traffic in LA, enough said. Even France (and esp. Paris) with their crazy traffic circles and shit are a godsend in comparison, lol
Europeans have plenty of fucked up politicians and political problems. I don't think this even needs clarifying. Y'all are just as crazy as we are, just less overt religion.
lol no, not in Germany at least. Ppl. have to step down around here for taking a mortgage with a slightly lower than usual interest rate (because they're friends with the bank owner), or for taking a gov. jet for a vacation, or plagiarizing their phD thesis. Politics is serious business in Germany.
You don't have to compare yourself to Greece or Italy just to look better.
There isn't even this stiff duopoly in politics and the excessive partisanship in most European countries. People don't limit themselves to just two parties.
I could elaborate further, but I don't feel like it
All in all when I compare Germany (or some other European nations) to the US this is clearly a red flag for the US, sorry.
You guys pay for internet based on usage, which fucking blows cocks.
No way dude, we had internet flat rates for ages now. I already downloaded hundreds of gigabytes per month around 2000-2002
We never had bandwidth caps or download limits either. I'm pretty sure it holds true for most EU countries.
To say the financial sector hasn't peed on you either is silly given what's happening to the Eurozone right now.
Yeah, I wasn't getting into the financial crisis. I could elaborate on that too, but I specifically stated that I meant the private sector (consumer) banking.
There is no "HAHAHA, GOTCHA!" attitude when it comes to banking fees in Germany. I remember a girl who, when going back to Europe, forgot to close her account at BoA and also forgot to quit a netflix subscription or something, so she had a negative $8 on her debit account for like 1-2 weeks. She had to pay some $120 in fees and that sort of shit, lol
This is insane. If you do that in Germany the bank just lets you go into the negative and then adds negative interest on the amount outstanding.
And again, even normal wire transfers between banks cost an extra fee in the US, sometimes for the receiver as well. Again: insane. We send each other money back and forth between banks absolutely free of charge since the dawn of mankind. And will be doing so in the future across EU borders. No one uses cheques around here, it's a thing of the past.
I find racism talk to be a little silly given motions for burqa banning, the general treatment of immigrants, forget the handling of Roma people and antisemitism.
For every burqa banning (which can also have legitimate security concerns), there is a random strip search or arrest of Latin American looking ppl. in Arizona and such..
It really depends on the country you try to compare the US to.
You can't just make sweeping generalizations about handling of Roma ppl. and antisemitism across Europe. There are huge differences in how immigrants are being treated & integrated.
From my German perspective ppl. I feel like there is less "socio-economic" discrimination against minorities in Germany than there is in the US. Let me elaborate.
Now I am fairly sure that people of color might encounter racism or some sort of animosity in Germany outside of bigger cities and there are certainly areas they are ought to avoid (parts of Eastern Germany, just like parts of KKK-land, or the bible belt). But what I meant by hidden or "socio-economic" racism is for instance the fast that a large proportion of black males have spent time in prison at some point in their lives, or the fact that - say - black people are less likely to achieve tertiary education - not in the least because that kind of education, even in public schools, costs money in the US and they'd have to get in debt to be able to achieve it.
How about the military & minorities?
Those simple facts of life that Americans came to accept are much less prevalent in Germany and some other European nations. For one because education is not tied to financial endowment and because poor, unemployed immigrants or minorities don't have to resort to crime to make ends meet.
Other than that, we cool.
I was once in America, living with my girlfriend at the time, when I head a radio personality tell people Canada wasn't a free country, he said you couldn't say what you wanted. This was around the time some Americans came up to Canada to burn our flag in front of our parliament. I wonder what would happen if a Canadian tried to do that to the American flag in Washington.
I bring this up since I've read a few people mentioning other nations were jealous of their freedom
I bring this up since I've read a few people mentioning other nations were jealous of their freedom
MWS Natural
Member
Even though I have never been there I have much love for Canada. I could definitely see myself living there if it wasn't so cold. I met some chicks from Toronto a few years back and they were cool as hell. I've heard nothing but good things about Canada from others who have spent time in your country.
lol wut. White people still (easily) comprise the majority in the US. White infants no longer comprise the majority of infants in the US, but they still form an extremely strong plurality.
EDIT: And I have no problem with white people becoming a minority in the US. Just clearing up misconceptions.
DC is a very liberal city so you'd probably get some shrugs and a few Americans to join in.
Canada's non-visible minority population (ie, 'whites') was 83% in 2006 (probably around 80% now).
U.S. is 72.4% white, 12.6% black. Then 15% other ethnicities. So the widespread black population is the difference maker.
Over half of Vancouver is minorities. Less than half of Toronto is minorities (majority white). Vancouver has a significant Asian population while Toronto's minorities are more evenly distributed. So it depends on how you want to define "diverse" since Whites/Asians comprise a greater proportion of Vancouver than any two populations combined for Toronto.
Boss Man
Member
16.2% of the country are minorities.
So Canada is about as racially diverse as the mid-west.
To be more accurate, a chunk of the "white" population is usually identified as Latino rather than white (Wiki says Non-hispanic Whites comprise 66% of the population).
While we're on the subject, can someone help shed some light on the different ethnicities in Canada? I know that in the US, the white population can be seen as very diverse compared to other nations, with these ethnic differences having caused division for centuries (e.g. Italian, Irish, Jewish, German).
When I think of Canada, I feel that the White population is much more culturally homogenous with pretty much the entirety having its roots in British or French ancestry. Is that true?
SmellyHands
Member
I must have missed this, but why would any Americans want to burn the Canadian flag? Was this something about fishing rights, war crap or what? If you hate Canada you can be convinced to hate anything. "The shit winds are blowing."
VanillaPMP
Neo Member
Hey guise, what seperates India and China?
The Fraser river
Joel Was Right
Member
There are envious traits/advantages of every culture I imagine, doesn't necessarily mean you envy not being from that culture entirely. For example, the lack of free health care in the United States and how divisive it is. Wtf is that about
Sir_Crocodile
Member
Corrupting America's youth.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone made a documentary about it.
MWS Natural
Member
It seems every time the number gets low more groups are included. Italians, Irish, Greeks and various immigrants weren't considered "white" in the days of immigration. Now Hispanic people are considered "white" in regards to the census.
population size?
Not all Americans are as douchey as the one in your avatar.
Is this supposed to be a 'look at us, our president drinks beer' thing?
Cause you really don't want to get into that argument with an Australian. And I mean really:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yard_of_ale
el retorno
Member
A philosophical difference.
Alligatorjandro
Banned
If the US got free healthcare that would make life here a whole lot better.
Vast majority of oranges come from Brazil and Florida. Using the Bay Area or oranges to generalize the cost of produce in the US is a mistake.
The_Hitcher89
Member
Phantast2k
Member
Well, but I am not just comparing oranges. Almost everything except for processed food and "corn crap" was more expensive than in Germany or other European countries that I've been to. I think that some of it can be attributed to misguided agricultural subsidies that are prevalent in the US (corn, corn, corn). We also have our fair share of agr. subsidies, but they don't seem to be so narrowly focused on a few products.
As for the imported fruit: I noticed that too, but why is that the case? Why is it economically sound to import fruit from overseas even though it could be grown locally just fine (unlike in Germany)? I feel like one of the main reasons has to be the subsidy policy that has reshaped the whole agricultural output in the US in the past decades.
But I kind of get your other point as to why, for instance, those same Ecuadorian bananas are twice as expensive in the US compared to Germany (even though the prior is much closer to Ecuador).
Ignoring the tariff differences between the EU and US, most if will probably have to do with the fact that the median household income in the Bay Area is higher than it is in Germany, but then m. inc. within Germany is not fixed either and while for instance real estate prices show "location elasticity", does produce too? It's certainly not the case in Germany, the difference is nowhere near it is between the US and Germany. Weird.
As for the tax, it should be reduced for food, shouldn't it (so less than 10%)? But that's not the issue either, VAT on food is around 7% in Germany.
I have to say though that it feels like this point is not even worth arguing about :/
The area you're using as a reference just has a very high cost of living. Fuel in that part of the country is expensive too, which raises the price of just about everything. You will pay more, substantially more in some cases, for a lot of food in the Bay Area compared with almost anywhere else in the States. On average I don't imagine the price of produce in the US is more than it is in Europe, and would suspect it is less. 90% of the oranges grown in Florida are consumed here.
As for taxes, I'm not sure of the specifics of California law but in general produce doesn't have any sales tax since it's not a prepared food.
Phantast2K, I think you might have been thrown by the fact that you were by the Bay Area in Cali, which has one of the highest costs-of-living in the US.
Yeah, and they enacted a law that forces you to tip 20%.
Why is Korey putting in quotes in to the OP so selectively? One of the biggest turn off's about USA is actually the attitude displayed in the first post.
Phantast2k has great replies. I really like reading them. It's not just juvenile mine is bigger you are wrong argument. But the following is probably the post in this thread:
Coming from Serbia. All things considered I don't think I'd want to move to USA. But I would very much like to visit. There are many things I like, but the things I don't like outweigh them. Some stuff I can think of atm (mind you this is just me, based on various input. From forums, friends and relatives):
Pro:
The Language. English is one of the most popular languages in the world and I am already greatly familiar with it.
The dream about the American Dream. Although I feel like the AD belongs to the past.
Clothing and tech stuff seems way more affordable, also tech is generally presented first in the USA.
Gas prices, though I wonder for how long.
Neutral:
Big cities and amazing skylines.
Military. Neutral because US military has some amazing tech but ridiculously huge budget. The world policing and power projection does not help either.
Some amazing places to visit. Neutral because this is not America specific.
To far from Europe.
Imperial system. Even if bad, one could get used to it. I suppose.
Con:
The much mentioned healthcare and education system.
The shoot first ask questions later police mentality.
Public transportation and probably transportation all around.
Overplayed harassment laws
What the hell are these kind of stuff all about?
The "this block is safe but you better not show your nose down that street" city layouts.
Lobbying system. In my view it is a form of legalized corruption. I have enough of corruption in my country, don't need to go to a place where it is legalized in some form.
The whole live to work attitude. What is even worse, business owners in third world countries tend to adapt these as bad excuses to make people work more for the same money.
Tipping should be based on outstanding service, not mandatory.
As I said. Many of the above are based on internet research, and are not necessarily true. If I were to be envious of a country it would sooner be Germany than the USA. Once again ATF487 summed it up very nicely:
Phantast2k has great replies. I really like reading them. It's not just juvenile mine is bigger you are wrong argument. But the following is probably the post in this thread:
Coming from Serbia. All things considered I don't think I'd want to move to USA. But I would very much like to visit. There are many things I like, but the things I don't like outweigh them. Some stuff I can think of atm (mind you this is just me, based on various input. From forums, friends and relatives):
Pro:
The Language. English is one of the most popular languages in the world and I am already greatly familiar with it.
The dream about the American Dream. Although I feel like the AD belongs to the past.
Clothing and tech stuff seems way more affordable, also tech is generally presented first in the USA.
Gas prices, though I wonder for how long.
Neutral:
Big cities and amazing skylines.
Military. Neutral because US military has some amazing tech but ridiculously huge budget. The world policing and power projection does not help either.
Some amazing places to visit. Neutral because this is not America specific.
To far from Europe.
Imperial system. Even if bad, one could get used to it. I suppose.
Con:
The much mentioned healthcare and education system.
The shoot first ask questions later police mentality.
Public transportation and probably transportation all around.
Overplayed harassment laws
What the hell are these kind of stuff all about?
The "this block is safe but you better not show your nose down that street" city layouts.
Lobbying system. In my view it is a form of legalized corruption. I have enough of corruption in my country, don't need to go to a place where it is legalized in some form.
The whole live to work attitude. What is even worse, business owners in third world countries tend to adapt these as bad excuses to make people work more for the same money.
Tipping should be based on outstanding service, not mandatory.
As I said. Many of the above are based on internet research, and are not necessarily true. If I were to be envious of a country it would sooner be Germany than the USA. Once again ATF487 summed it up very nicely:
RoadHazard
Gold Member
Actually, I'd call that a rather big con. The metric system is just far superior (and the de-facto world standard), and the US not having adopted it makes talking to people from there about various measurements (or reading texts containing them, etc.) needlessly complicated.
(Green = metric)
The Technomancer
card-carrying scientician
Man, the Imperial system drives me nuts. I made the internal transition to Metric pretty much as soon as I entered college and now I groan whenever I have to work in Imperial. Feet aren't so bad but inches are a pain in the ass.
Well I suppose that makes sense, given the high cost of living, but still: who would want to live in such a horrible place!?!
RoadHazard
Gold Member
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