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Anybody notice how every large sized town or city looks the same in the US?

RunninRichie

RunninRichie

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Sep 5, 2019
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Seems like every town or city here outside of the small towns look the same. Roadway with a traffic light. On the right of the road, chain food restaurants, on the left a plaza with stores. Repeat this for the whole city and its the same damn thing in every one of me. Like George Carlin said "only in America could these assholes turn this beautiful country into a coast to coast strip mall".
 
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I'll say this... the same hipster BS in Seattle is in NYC is in SF is in Austin.

NYC has definitely lost its culture over the last 35 years (at least Manhattan).
 
RunninRichie said:
Seems like every town or city here outside of the small towns look the same. Roadway with a traffic light. On the right of the road, chain food restaurants, on the left a plaza with stores. Repeat this for the whole city and its the same damn thing in every one of me. Like George Catlin said "only in America could these assholes turn this beautiful country into a coast to coast strip mall".
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People I know from Europe who come here say same thing. Very few unique cities, particular those that are flat. Houston/Dallas/LA/Las Vegas/Phoenix/Denver/ KC/Indy/MSP/Chicago/ Orlando/Columbus /Detroit. Add a harbor or hills or a river & now things are a bit different.
 
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JumperJack said:
So strange that people in each town would want the same stuff.
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Well, being one country that's true. In Europe, people in different countries want different things. Paris & London are 200 miles apart & are quite different, unlike Lou & Nashville.
 
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Seems like older cities tend to grow upward and newer big cities grow outward.
For instance, Cincinnati vs Zphoenix. Cincinnati has a remarkable skyline , but Phx is more spread out and not as vertical.

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phoenix-skyline-dusk-chance-kafka.jpg
 
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vhcat70 said:
People I know from Europe who come here say same thing. Very few unique cities, particular those that are flat. Houston/Dallas/LA/Las Vegas/Phoenix/Denver/ KC/Indy/MSP/Chicago/ Orlando/Columbus /Detroit. Add a harbor or hills or a river & now things are a bit different.
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I guess, what should be different about them? Our cities were modernized due to the advent of the car, and a lot of the layouts have been built around the automobile. I feel like I could say the same thing about a lot of European cities. Mostly densely packed, much of the old architecture remains. I haven't been all over Europe, but I can safely say that Amsterdam aint much different than Brussels, which ain't much different than Dussledorf. Aside from the canals in Amsterdam, those 3 cites, while I love each one, are largely the same.

Sure, Chicago and NYC could be the same city.. but Portland Maine is a heck of a lot different than NYC. Savannah Georgia has a completely different feel than Philly.
 
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LineSkiCat14 said:
European cities are littered with bicycle snobs.. which are easily one of the worst groups of people to walk the earth, so there's that too.
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Why are bicycle snobs walking the earth? Shouldn’t they be riding said bike? Or are they a snob because they’re pushing the bike around?
 
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RunninRichie said:
Seems like every town or city here outside of the small towns look the same. Roadway with a traffic light. On the right of the road, chain food restaurants, on the left a plaza with stores. Repeat this for the whole city and its the same damn thing in every one of me. Like George Catlin said "only in America could these assholes turn this beautiful country into a coast to coast strip mall".
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Cities are just highways and strip malls, stores with parking lots that are way too big, congestion and traffic because everyone lives in the suburbs and drives in for work or fun. Nothing is within walking or biking distance, very little public transportation (except the northeast corridor which is older and built more like European cities)

Meanwhile, small towns have few jobs making younger people leave them and move to the city. Small towns are full of meth and decay, cities get more expensive and push more people to the streets and crime

There isn’t much to be optimistic about
 
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All kidding aside the OP hasa point when it comes to urban sprawl. True character is found at the original city center

Driving I 85 through north ATL reminds me a lot of 95 between Miami and Fort Lauderdaoe. 10 lanes, box stores on either side, sound barriers etc
 
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drew_ukfan said:
Cities are just highways and strip malls, stores with parking lots that are way too big, congestion and traffic because everyone lives in the suburbs and drives in for work or fun. Nothing is within walking or biking distance, very little public transportation (except the northeast corridor which is older and built more like European cities)

Meanwhile, small towns have few jobs making younger people leave them and move to the city. Small towns are full of meth and decay, cities get more expensive and push more people to the streets and crime

There isn’t much to be optimistic about
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This is the most stable, easiest time to live in the history of the world.
 
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It's the 21st century everywhere. We all have the same technology. The same economies. 8 billion of us. It isn't just the US. I remember back when Hakeem Olajuwon came to prominence in the 80s. Since he was from Africa people imagined him living in the jungle fighting lions. He said there were 4 music video channels in Nairobi.
 
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It will be interesting to see how WFH, and therefore vacant office space, will shape the future of cities.

Last I read, NYC has quite a lot of empty office pace, which means NYC is taking a big hit in tax revenue. Meanwhile all those people are now WFH, many in areas outside of downtown and urban areas, where they are helping the economy there.

Albany's downtown is a total wreck right now. Businesses and working citizens are fleeing, while crime and homelessness takes over. Neighborhoods that were once decent are becoming places you don't want to venture into.
 
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Ron Mehico said:
Let me know how your next hunt goes, I need to find a strategy to maximize the amount of pelts I get to survive this upcoming winter
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If investors keep buying homes, that might be a reality for a lot of people.
 
Ron Mehico said:
For sure, everything is sooooooo hard now.
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housing affordability is the lowest it’s been in 40 years, I’d say a lot of people are thinking it’s hard

I have zero debt, no kids, no major expenses and I still can’t afford to buy a home. Pretty bleak for a lot of first time home buyers. I’m sure you bought your home in 1990 for 40k and have $300k in equity tho. Makes things a bit easier

And if not you, you know the people I’m talking about
 
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Americans love monoculture. If you are different than the popular narrative, you are garbage.
 
drew_ukfan said:
housing affordability is the lowest it’s been in 40 years, I’d say a lot of people are thinking it’s hard

I have zero debt, no kids, no major expenses and I still can’t afford to buy a home. Pretty bleak for a lot of first time home buyers. I’m sure you bought your home in 1990 for 40k and have $300k in equity tho. Makes things a bit easier

And if not you, you know the people I’m talking about
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This is also going to be a pretty big dilemma in the future. There is now a fine line drawn in the sand: those who bought a house before 2021 and those who didn't. And it could very well be the different in nearly a million dollars in the bank between the two. I'm in the weird scenario where I did both. I purchased a Duplex in 2018 when prices and rates were very favorable, but I also had to buy our actual home in today's climate, and spent easily 15-20% more than what the house should be worth.

I kind of agree with both of you. I do think there is no better time to be alive than now.. but I'm not sure that's going to continue. The wages aren't keeping up with the cost of living. Too many 20 30 and even 40 year olds are priced out of home ownership.
 
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drew_ukfan said:
housing affordability is the lowest it’s been in 40 years, I’d say a lot of people are thinking it’s hard

I have zero debt, no kids, no major expenses and I still can’t afford to buy a home. Pretty bleak for a lot of first time home buyers. I’m sure you bought your home in 1990 for 40k and have $300k in equity tho. Makes things a bit easier

And if not you, you know the people I’m talking about
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I grew up in a 2 bedroom apartment as a family of 5 in the 80s because my father, a PhD, couldn’t afford a home. They managed to buy their first home in 1993 at a 12% interest rate. It was still better than the country we immigrated from where there weren’t homes even available to buy unless you were a senator or some shit. Believe it or not you couldn’t buy a 5,000 sq foot mansion on minimum wage in 1987. The current housing market is awful, yes. It’s very unique right now due to the lower interest rates that were around just 3 years ago so people are locked into their mortgages that would otherwise sell and the inventory is extremely low. This is similar to what happened in the housing market in the 80s, actually. It will turn around, all this shit is cyclical. In the meantime enjoy your debt free single life, where you can eat 5 steaks a week in your air conditioned/heated place, with no fear of war, an attacking bear, having to build shelter like a pioneer in the 1700s, or dying of a bacterial infection or typhoid fever. Hell, feel free to go on an app and get sex from a stranger while you’re at it. Just have some perspective that your life is easier than 99.9% of humanity before it.
 
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Housing market ain't getting better anytime soon. Talks of a possible additional rate hike, or at least not lowering them is going to keep this going for a while, and the second the rates DO drop 1-percentage point, all the millennials and Gen-z'ers who have been waiting on the sidelines, are jumping back into the buyer pool en masse. This will create bidding wars again where houses got for an additional 10-15%.

I'm not sure when we will get back to 3% rates and stable/affordable home prices, if ever.

And it's not just housing that's stuck. I'm thinking of trading in my 10-year old car, that's been off payments for about 5 years. But I'm not buying anything with 8-9% interest rates on a car loan. I'll drive this into the ground before I get hosed like that. And I'm far from the only one who feels this way.
 
Ron Mehico said:
I grew up in a 2 bedroom apartment as a family of 5 in the 80s because my father, a PhD, couldn’t afford a home. They managed to buy their first home in 1993 at a 12% interest rate. It was still better than the country we immigrated from where there weren’t homes even available to buy unless you were a senator or some shit. Believe it or not you couldn’t buy a 5,000 sq foot mansion on minimum wage in 1987. The current housing market is awful, yes. It’s very unique right now due to the lower interest rates that were around just 3 years ago so people are locked into their mortgages that would otherwise sell and the inventory is extremely low. This is similar to what happened in the housing market in the 80s, actually. It will turn around, all this shit is cyclical. In the meantime enjoy your debt free single life, where you can eat 5 steaks a week in your air conditioned/heated place, with no fear of war, an attacking bear, having to build shelter like a pioneer in the 1700s, or dying of a bacterial infection or typhoid fever. Hell, feel free to go on an app and get sex from a stranger while you’re at it. Just have some perspective that your life is easier than 99.9% of humanity before it.
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I never said my life wasn’t easy, I have it good. And I agree that it is cyclical. My gf probably wouldn’t like the sex with a stranger part!
 
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LineSkiCat14 said:
Housing market ain't getting better anytime soon. Talks of a possible additional rate hike, or at least not lowering them is going to keep this going for a while, and the second the rates DO drop 1-percentage point, all the millennials and Gen-z'ers who have been waiting on the sidelines, are jumping back into the buyer pool en masse. This will create bidding wars again where houses got for an additional 10-15%.

I'm not sure when we will get back to 3% rates and stable/affordable home prices, if ever.

And it's not just housing that's stuck. I'm thinking of trading in my 10-year old car, that's been off payments for about 5 years. But I'm not buying anything with 8-9% interest rates on a car loan. I'll drive this into the ground before I get hosed like that. And I'm far from the only one who feels this way.
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We have to hope that the investment companies leave the housing market, we know the gov ain’t gonna make them sell off. If you’re in the right city with massive new home builds that are just sitting, there is more hope.

But, have no desire to buy a house anytime soon tho, I don’t want to be house poor and stuck. Best of luck to all
 
Ron Mehico said:
I grew up in a 2 bedroom apartment as a family of 5 in the 80s because my father, a PhD, couldn’t afford a home. They managed to buy their first home in 1993 at a 12% interest rate. It was still better than the country we immigrated from where there weren’t homes even available to buy unless you were a senator or some shit. Believe it or not you couldn’t buy a 5,000 sq foot mansion on minimum wage in 1987. The current housing market is awful, yes. It’s very unique right now due to the lower interest rates that were around just 3 years ago so people are locked into their mortgages that would otherwise sell and the inventory is extremely low. This is similar to what happened in the housing market in the 80s, actually. It will turn around, all this shit is cyclical. In the meantime enjoy your debt free single life, where you can eat 5 steaks a week in your air conditioned/heated place, with no fear of war, an attacking bear, having to build shelter like a pioneer in the 1700s, or dying of a bacterial infection or typhoid fever. Hell, feel free to go on an app and get sex from a stranger while you’re at it. Just have some perspective that your life is easier than 99.9% of humanity before it.
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Great post, but if your folks' mortgage interest rate was 12% in 1993, they got hosed.
 
The original point is very true. There used to be a lot more local stores that gave an area it's own identity. Now Lowe's, Menards, and so on make a lot of places look similar.
 
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This is why I choose to live in places like Key West and St Pete lately. I can walk, bike, scoot anywhere I need to go including work. They’re beautiful most any direction you turn and things to do.

One thing I can’t stand is the boredom of suburbia. If you have a family sure it’s fine but as a single dude with a dog, the least happy I’ve been living wise was when I bought my house and lived in a neighborhood.

I literally had to drive to go get or do ANYTHING. That’s super annoying and not how we’re supposed to live or thrive in my opinion.

I find places like the aforementioned suburbia much less active with people and dogs for recreation or exercise. Obviously where I live is warm year round so it’s more feasible but I decided that on purpose.

But yeah America is one huge country so of course the cities can look monotonous and homogenous, I’d bet Russia does as well but that’s because we’re so big and one unified country.
 
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drew_ukfan said:
We have to hope that the investment companies leave the housing market, we know the gov ain’t gonna make them sell off. If you’re in the right city with massive new home builds that are just sitting, there is more hope.

But, have no desire to buy a house anytime soon tho, I don’t want to be house poor and stuck. Best of luck to all
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That’s why I’ve started to buy houses to rent. I still rent myself but have other people that buy my house(s) for me. That way I’m not stuck personally.

I also will likely almost never buy a new car or anyone that I owe on, straight cash, touch payments. I’ve never cared about a new car, it looks more like a new house down payment to me.
 
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