American vs. European Suburbs (and why US suburbs suck)

In this unexpected video I explain why European suburbs are objectively better in any way imaginable.
Not Just Bikes' video about the suburban ponzi scheme: • Why American Cities Ar...
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[@andi_1425]

I was recently told by a member of a local city council that there are usually not many people showing up to the meetings or even speaking there. Therefore, if one person talks about a specific topic, there's usually not much attention. As soon as a second person advocates for the same idea, they start to listen. But if a third person brings up the same issue, council members get seriously anxious and afraid to loose votes and therefore will start to act. My point is, go to town hall meetings, you could be this second or third person! Or even better, bring a friend and be two persons :D

[@ianhomerpura8937]

This is what a lot of people forget in the US. Advocacy groups are strong in DC and in NY as well as in media, but they sorely lack representation at the lowest levels of the bureaucracy.

[@kitbradley2689]

For years in America, I told people that it only takes a few people to do real change at the local level. I could never convince any of them to go with me to town meetings.

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@kitbradley2689 partly because, we must admit, it's boring as f***. But that is where things really happen.

[@kitbradley2689]

@@ianhomerpura8937 It is the horror of representative democracy. It is incredibly dull and crucially important. Yep.

[@qw-]

that's an interesting difference between US and EU, in italy for example you can attend a city council meeting but you can only listen

[@anondescriptbullet]

As someone who has lived in Europe my whole life, that drive around the suburbs was genuinely shocking: It felt more like a G-mod map than a place where people live

[@jonarific8504]

Yeah it does like a the Devs spaced out the assets to save on time/cost. What a ball ache mowing all that lawn.

[@Rainkit]

It really does. Which is why it also feels really isolated.

[@arnodobler1096]

it´s like a Barrack i think

[@erinmac4750]

As a US resident, I have to say you're right. I grew up on the east coast closer to urban areas which were more European style. However, here in California the suburban sprawl is almost legendary. Honestly, a lot of it does look like Gary's Mod! ✌️😸

[@jojodd88]

And the fact that most don’t have real sidewalks makes me nervous... I feel like if you don’t have a car, you’re basically trapped in your own house

[@Fantasia-fw6xt]

This is the reason why in the US when teenagers get their first car or their driver’s license they get extremely hyped and excited.

[@KaterynaM_UA]

Teenagers driving is such a wild concept.

[@FirestoneGod]

@@KaterynaM_UA i know right!? yet in the US it's necessary for people to live an even remotely free life from home

[@Jana-ho9mu]

As a 16 year old driver, this is the first time I’ve had an ounce of freedom and I wish it wasn’t like this.

[@FirestoneGod]

@@Jana-ho9mu now imagine you could've had that freedom at essentially 6 years old. that's middle europe for ya

[@david7598]

@@KaterynaM_UA in some European countries a 17 yo can drive completely alone too

[@Me-td5rg]

The idea that even as a 15 year old in America you’d have to get your parents to drive you everywhere if you wanna do anything because you can’t yet would suck so much-

[@delta__s]

err.. no. You get your driver's license at sixteen and get a car for birthday. Driver's ed is a class in school, like math and physics. And the test is easy enough to guarantee you're passing

[@devo-teeee]

@@delta__s That's best case scenario, drivers ed in a lot of states isn't in school and requires at least $800+ to drop on it, depending on if your parents have that money or have multiple kids its less likely, and if you decide not to driver's ed you'll have to wait an extra two years to get your license in the first place

[@brozius]

@@delta__s And your parents teach you how to drive and this is the reason why Americans are such bad drivers compared to people in Europe. In Europe licensed driving teachers teach people how to drive, so they are better drivers.

[@Grunk369]

@@delta__syeah but until you can drive it fucking sucks to be a kid

[@ZerglingLover]

@@delta__s who the hell gets a car for their birthday?

[@caslikes]

it's incredibly uncanny valley to see the american suburb with no pavements. walking is such an integral part of living in europe, that i can't even imagine not walking to school or the bus stop or wherever.

[@gregorybiestek3431]

1:43 The part about kids not walking to school or sports by themselves has an even bigger problem. If a parent was to allow their child to do that by themselves, cross roads, etc, there is a possibility in some US states that they could be investigated for child abuse. Repeat "offenders" could find their children being taken from them and placed in state foster care. This happened to the parents of my child's classmate in 2003. It just became a LOT safer all the way around for all of the parents after that to just drive your kids to school or sports.

[@Astro_Animator]

Most American suburbs have sidewalks for some reason this one doesn’t

[@jeffreyb2135]

I've never seen a suburb without sidewalks. This video is stupid.

[@1ia802]

@@Astro_Animator well sidewalks are somewhat common. on side roads almost never tho. on main roads the side walk tends to get very skinny and randomly just stop.

[@scottbrenham1341]

You could visit the new England area were I live many suburbs you can walk to your town school. Depending on what part of town you stay in though. That area on the video is a different area. In new England is not a flat area it has alot hills. Alot of the old architecture and homes are very European many of the older settlers wanted to bring the same style. Some areas are very expensive depending on what you can afford. Unfortunately not everyone can afford to buy a house.

[@philipkoene5345]

I was in the US a year ago and wanted to get a COVID test in the nearest Walgreens to be allowed on my flight back home. It was about half a mile from my hotel so I just walked there (not that there was a public transit option). The lady on the Walgreens counter pointed to a drive-thru window that was one meter behind her and said that she is only allowed to administer COVID tests in the drive-thru. I was irritated but went round the building to the drive-thru on foot. She said I am not allowed to be in the drive-thru, if I am not in a car. She told me I should get an Uber to drive through the drive-thru. I didn´t have local internet service on my phone, so I spent two hours on a busy road trying to get a cab to drive me through a drive-thru 10 meters behind me. In the end I got a bike-rikshaw that had a street permit. It took 10 minutes and a call to the regional Walgreens manager to confirm if I am allowed to use the drive-thru in a bike-rikshaw with a street permit. In the end she handed me a cotton swab that I had to self-administer - something we could have done very easily in 10 seconds, just insided the Walgreens at the counter. Every bit of this story is true and it has been the very low point of my personal experience with the US.

[@nono-vt6hp]

It's sad that you didn't really have to say it's true. I'm an American and I know it's true.

[@yavnrh]

I couldn't help but chuckle reading this, but honestly this is some surreal stuff. Ugh.

[@miirobrightvisions]

Am in tears reading your story. It was so funny and so sad at the same time. That would be a great clip for standup comedy🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🫢🤣

[@jenanewp1696]

Thats the most absurb story i have ever heard. I cant find the words. It is just unbelievable. They are so stupid. Im sorry you had to experience this. Im an European I would have gone crazy …

[@jasonfischer8946]

I live on the East Coast of America and I feel the same way. There really is no good public transportation here, especially where I live, and I've said for years that there aren't enough sidewalks, especially between communities and large shopping districts. I don't walk all that much because of the distance, but it would be nice to have the option to walk or at least have a decent public transportation option within the area. It's ridiculous.

[@ivobrabec1500]

I was a exchange student in the US and lived with my family in a small village in rural area. The school was 3 miles away in the middle of nowhere in fields. The school bus was leaving too early leaving me with no choice if I wanted to spend time in the library. Walking 3 miles home was not a big issue. Much bigger issue was to explain to all cars passing by that they don’t have to help me and that I am not a stranger if I simply walk home from the school myself. I was the only one :-(

[@shaukahodan2373]

transit is.

[@maras3naraz]

Yeah, US citizens don't understand "walking"

[@oxxal7357]

When i visited my great aunt in Sparta, New Jersey. I wen't joggin in the side of a "highway" because there was no road for pedestrians. I lie you not that i got stopped 3 times in 10 minutes and they asked do i need a ride or am i "okay". It was really something new for me. Other thing was that we wen't to central where there was shoprite, wallmart and couple bigger retail stores and lots and LOTS of fast food joints. So me and my sister parked in front of one of these bigger stores and we decided to go try dunkin donuts which was very near, but there was simply no way to walk to it. so we crossed the lawn and some random dude with a pickup-track stopped us and asked wtf are we doing. I have traveled a lot but still this was the biggest cultural shock i have had. :D

[@wolfzmusic9706]

Really? I walk 2.7 miles home from school and no cars stop by or ask me anything because children walking home is normal. Maybe not 2.7 miles, but there are still some children who walk a distance.

[@juvinho2866]

i used to walk 6km from home to school, but at that time i was already in highschool.

[@lokedt64]

I was an exchange student in a smaller town in Missouri back in 2010, and one of the dumbest things I experienced was trying to get to my school. I lived about a 4 minute walk away from my school, but I had to get a ride every day to and from school because walking would mean suicide. I had to cross a six-lane road with no way of crossing as a pedestrian, so after trying a few times I would give up. It´s absolutely insane to me that Americans are so car dependent that they can´t even make a single pedestrian crossing anywhere on the six-lane road that literally carved the city in half.

[@micha2909]

Many European suburbs are basically smalltowns with an own town center and the usual smalltown public services, plus a train station of the suburban transit network (S-Bahn, RER, etc) which takes people to the neighboring big city.

[@marymccluer1630]

Sounds great!

[@Sara-sn5gd]

As something from Europe I never fully understood the whole thing in American movies of ' there's nothing to do around here'. The way suburbs are portrayed in movies is different after all and I thought my suburb and theirs were comparable. In my suburb, there is an ancient roman burial mound 20 minutes away from me, fields, animals, little pounds, forest, a soccer field, river, old church and cemetary, horses

[@Londronable]

Grew up in a Belgian town. 15 minutes or less(mostly less, most of this is within 2 kilometers) by bike as a 12 year old got me, To school. One 4 lane road with 50km/hour limit to cross where cops will be waiting to help people cross during school hours. A sports center. Wall climbing, 4 football fields, athletics track, basket stuff, etc. Something we used all the damn time. Park, often used by scouts and such. Indoor swimming pool, again, something we used often during the summer months. Also the place we went for swimming in school. 2 separate tennis places. Mini-golf Skate park. Mountain bike place where you could jump and everything. My sport club, I played football locally from age 6 to 16. Clothing/entertainment stores were on the main road which is your stereotypical middle age market place mostly. 17th century church, pub from the 1800's, etc. Library Bowling ally And probably like 10+ supermarkets/restaurants/butcheries/bakeries, etc. so rather early on I could stay home alone for a few days(with the occasional check up of grandparents and such) and get my own food while going or coming from school and such. My normal route to school that was maybe 3 kilometers I passed like 3 supermarkets and 2 grocery stores. Growing up in an American suburb seems like a nightmare for somebody that basically grew up independent from a young age.

[@dekenlst]

Look at their demographics and you'll understand

[@ivy_47]

We do have a lot of villages with at least a small portion of "downtown" (old town with walkable infrastructure) here in the Chicago suburbs. Also very fortunate to have decently viable commuter rail (if you're lucky enough to be within walking distance of that train station... most drive to park at it).

[@headcheesegeezer1099]

Yeah I'm sure the people in those movies (which always precisely portrays reality) having such complaints would be very entertained by a roman burial mound or fields...

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

​@@Londronable "Growing up in an American suburb seems like a nightmare for somebody that basically grew up independent from a young age." Quick survey for Europeans. The American movie 'Dazed and Confused' is: a) unbelievable. Nobody would really do that and the police would stop it if they did. b) Nostalgic fun. Boys will be boys. Am I right? c) Horrifying. It reminds me of an abusive social system that I put up with as a child.

[@somedudeok1451]

As a kid I never realized how much the planning and arrangement of Vienna benefitted my childhood development, in contrast to other cities. My childhood would've been much worse in quality, if I didn't have the ability to visit friends, go exploring or go play sports on my own. Had I grown up in America, anytime my mom wouldn't be free to drive me somewhere, I'd have missed out on a learning experience. Thx Vienna. :)

[@josephhoward4697]

As an American, you just described a normal day in my childhood

[@bunglebutts3163]

so jealous haha, growing up in middle of usa kind-of really sucks

[@meteorical8036]

The main problem with this type of content on KZbin is it gives an unbalanced perspective. Yes, much of the US is empty suburbs. But much of the US is also dense and accessible. I've moved 9 times within the US and never had a car, relying on walking and public transit instead. And it's been easy in the places I've lived. You can grow up in the US and go exploring, visit friends, and play sports on your own.

[@bunglebutts3163]

@@meteorical8036 where have you lived lol

[@meteorical8036]

@@bunglebutts3163 Mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area

[@sleepyredpanda2643]

I travelled to Germany for a solo vacation when I was 19 and I found it so incredibly convenient that I could walk anywhere I wanted and if it was far I could just use the train (which stations were also easy to walk to) that would cost at most three euros. Coming back home to the US made me start hating using my car all the time and missed walking to the center in 10ish minutes from my temporary home.

[@lordicarus8807]

As a Brazilian, American suburbs have never made any sense to me. Here, most of the most expensive properties are the ones located downtown, where you have schools, hospitals, supermarkets and, most importantly, your workplace, close to you and thus it's far more practical. In most cities, the distance from downtown is inversely proportional to the property's cost, since nobody wants to have to waste hours daily to go to work, school, supermarket, etc... Of course, there are exceptions to this, mainly some rich neighborhoods that are walled off and have their own private security companies to take care for them, but this is mostly due to Brazil being a fucking criminal hellhole. Apartments in big cities are valued for the same reason, they do provide some extra protection against burglars, and no, we're not retarded to have those fire ladders outside the window.

[@CoryEvans]

In America, most suburbs have schools, hospitals, supermarkets, and workplaces that are close to home. The proximity to such amenities is the driving force in buying a home. The maker of this video and many of the people in the comments seem to be confusing rural, suburban and urban.

[@lordicarus8807]

@@CoryEvans I see, thanks for the clarification.

[@simonjaz1279]

@@CoryEvans yeah this guy is well known for not understanding what a 85% of Americans go through. Most Americans live in an urban environment where most of this stuff is fairly close (relatively speaking).

[@sluggo206]

That's how most cities around the world and throughout history are: the upper middle class lives near downtown where the most shops and jobs are, and the working class and poor live in the periphery. A few rich people live in remote mansions somewhere, but only a few. That's inverted in the US for several reasons. Ever since the 1700s there has been an ideal of a large country house since the US has so much space compared to Europe. Religious zealots condemn cities as centers of sin and low morals. Large cities like New York were industrial, with polluting factories in lower Manhattan. Poor workers lived near the factories because they couldn't afford to live elsewhere and couldn't walk from elsewhere. Rich people lived in the opposite half of town. When people go the chance to move away from those polluting factories and overcrowded tenements, they did, and often they moved to a small country house and retained a lifelong anti-city attitude. Then there's chattel slavery. Many whites wanted to live in areas without blacks, non-WASP minorities, or people poorer than themselves. They equated all those problems with inner cities. In the 1950s the Civil Rights Act outlawed "separate but equal" (i.e., apartheid), and a Supreme Court decision mandated school integration -- busing students from segregated neighborhoods to integrated schools. White families moved outside the city boundaries to suburban school districts, where they couldn't be bused across school-district boundaries. That was right when suburban greenfield tract housing and freeways were being heavily built, so you could get one if you had the money. It's the American Dream to live in a suburban house, many thought. The greenfield developments and freeways were subsidized by government, so their price is artificially low, and city dwellers subsidize their suburban counterparts.

[@TheAmericanCatholic]

@@simonjaz1279 it’s far enough that walking is still not practical and the sprawl is still way to bad for transit so it’s still car dependent. In a suburb I lived in 25mi(40km) outside of Detroit .As a teenager I had to bike 30 minutes through the suburban maze , through a dirt trail , then cross a 55mph (90km/h) busy rural road to get to a cvs (a convenience store and pharmacy) and bike 45 minutes 4 mi (6.4km) to a nearest grocery store where 60% of the route isn’t even paved with sidewalks.

[@lolsos-qx4zp]

My family recently moved from Australia to California and my dad was very shocked when his car broke down and told his friend he was going to take the trains. He replied with only poor people take the train and that he's going to get stabbed or something. Its not only the zoning laws and building layout that needs to be changed but also people's mindset.

[@MrTaxiRob]

your dad's friend sounds like someone who would vote for Brian Dahle

[@wkcia]

It’s not like australia has amazing planning or PT either, Sydney itself is a fascinating example of urban planning hierarchy. The super rich get roads and no PT (so the poors don’t visit), the upper middle class gets nice European style neighborhoods with excellent PT, and the poors get terrible road gridlock and bad PT.

[@MrTaxiRob]

@@wkcia here in San Diego CA we have the same kind of hierarchy. No one questions why we spend millions on landscaping the 6 lane road medians in the north part of the city but still can't even pave some of the roads in the urban core.

[@steemlenn8797]

@@theholypopechodeii4367 Propbably because all the service workers need to get into the center so the rich guys can be waited upon.

[@theomaiklem3413]

That mindset has been cleverly pushed by the oil and car industry

[@PeterSchmuttermaier]

My girlfriend and I like to watch this show, "Property Brothers". Oftentimes, she says how beautiful those suburban areas they show there are. I try to tell her that there is literally nothing but huge houses for miles and miles. No shops, no cafés, no restaurants, no parks, no public pools - everything is an hour-long car ride away. She doesn't quite believe it. Because, you know, that would be crazy...

[@lapdogg2575]

I’m an American and I love cars… but I also love sustainability and sensible living spaces where people can easily access the things they want and need. Zoning definitely need to be fixed over here. When I’m at our apartment with my youngest son, we live in a suburban area where you have to walk at least 3 miles if you want to access the city bus. And let’s not talk about the building materials used to make this place. Thinnest windows, thinnest walls.. you hear the neighbor kid tumble down the halls. I think I just wrote a song with that last comment.

[@redrusski7180]

When I was a kid and watched American cartoons, I always thought the way estates were drawn was just because it was a cartoony world. The fact they actually look like that was mind blowing to me.

[@AureaisChannel]

Same! I am from Argentina and it was mind blowing to me to learn that the US does, indeed, look like in cartoons. I was also extremely disappointed that there are just very few cities that look walkable and with life, like New York (which... it's a city that tends to be in a huge chunk of US movies and distorted my perception!) I am sure the US is beautiful in many other ways, but I wouldn't consider living long term.

[@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece]

Same, I thought it was just lazy design. Taking the Simpsons for example: Just copy paste relevant houses in the same neighborhood and later add other set pieces like the tavern or the stores "somewhere else". I mean technically it's still lazy design, but somehow they managed to make real life like a poorly thought out film set.

[@Babo49_49]

Absolute same with me. I thought they drew the houses and streets identical because the artist were just lazy

[@fgregerfeaxcwfeffece]

Oh damn, the Simpsons where probably a bad example. Considering it's from Matt Groening, it's probably intentional mocking of "individualism" among other things I might not even have noticed yet.

[@danielbishop1863]

It depends on the subdivision. The decent ones will have multiple styles and colors of houses so that it doesn't look *too* same-y. But there are actually some places where the houses are absolutely *identical*.

[@deadboy9955]

Living a year in Europe (Budapest to be specific) has made me appreciate how important a well developed infrastructure that gives you quick, accessible and comfortable public transit is.

[@HelloThere-xx1ct]

If only America's cities weren't thousands of years old then our urban planning would surely be better. It's not like every major US city was built from the ground up in the last 200 years. Oh wait.....

[@goosemann2389]

@n what are you attempting to say

[@kopyce6189]

@@florianschneider3982 common florian name L

[@demiru.2833]

200 years is more then enough to make proper infrastructure and cities

[@jonarific8504]

@@HelloThere-xx1ct there are plenty of videos out there highlighting that before the car us cities were much like European ones. US cities were a choice not an inevitability. If anything Europe had more excuse to do so rapidly redeveloping/expanding after the ravages of WW2 destroyed many of their cities. The Netherlands had car focused development like the US until they decided to focus on bike infrastructure and are just 20-40 years ahead of a lot of places. We could all be like that with enough political will.

[@Kalise1d]

The ending call to action really stood out to me! A few days ago, I went to my very first town hall (I’m 21) & I talked about how my city is not a walkable city & used a lot of the info that Not Just Bikes talks about as a starting point. I was pleasantly surprised that the people clapped but I had people come up to me afterwards wanting to talk about what I had said!! While this isn’t the end of the road for me, I will not stop until the roads in my city are multi use!

[@reavy6945]

I'm all for multi-use roads but for example in Prague many "demands" are turning into borderline extremism and some of the streets already reflexted this. Just not far from my house a street that had wide enough sidewalk, road and tram line running in the middle they widened the sidewalk to the point you could play football there even though not that many people walk there while pushing cars onto the tram line so the moment a tram stops there the whole street jams up completely and people who are stuck in the traffic stare at the empty bike lane and half empty side walk. Also none of the public transit/bike/walk "activists" understand that not everyone has a luxury of having enough time to use public transportation for everyday stuff.

[@Alaninbroomfield]

American here. I would NEVER "drive my kid to school". He can take the dang school bus which my taxes already pay for. Back to the video, this guy is right, America centered its infrastructure around the car and now almost all of us have to drive a dang car to get ANYWHERE. It sucks.

[@HomestarCrawler]

I'm from Canada and in my mid 20s I was studying in Europe (Czech Republic). I then decided if I want to go back or stay. One of the deciding factors was the amount of time I spend driving places. In Canada, I'd spend an hour going anywhere (another hour going back), and always had to drive. In Europe, I could walk most places and be there in 10-15 minutes. Plus I could always have a beer with friends anywhere, since I was walking, and also not get fat. Just by doing the math, I realized that by staying in Europe I'd spend a lot more time living and a lot less time driving. And I'm still here 🙂

[@tomasgedrimas5475]

European here who has been to US. You have given some good points, however my guess is that you live in Prague. Now you are in your 20s, but you will be in your 30s sooner or later and you will probably have a family. Try living in a small oldtown apartment with 2-3 kids. As the school infrastructure is most post-soviet countries are ridiculous you will need a car, no bus will come to take your 1st grade child to school, unless you can afford a private taxi. You will have to take them to school and probably take them back, with all the traffic you will spend more than 1 hour doing that. Most likely you will not have private parking in your oldtownish European place, it will be pain in the butt to find one every time you come back. Now you will not have your backyard either so you will have to take your children out much more. Now what is left for you is to find a house in the new suburbs of Prague. At this point your daily commute will probably become longer than in Canada as the cities are well planned there, while here they are old and chaotic. Soon you will understand that a big backyard, cul-de-sac lifestyle and tons of parking is much easier than all this EU suburb mess :) Personally I love the US way, however I really like Scandinavian cities too, they are very well thought out.

[@olgahein4384]

@@tomasgedrimas5475 I just have one question for you (as everything you described wasn't even a problem for me as a child, in the 90s when i lived in Moscow, in a village near Krivoj Rog, and a tiny medieval village in the very center of the Black Forest in Germany): Why would you need a parking space to bring your kid to school or to pick it up? You just stop your car in front of the school, kick your kid out in front its friends and keep driving. And when you pick your kid up, you also just stop in front of the school where the kids who wait for their parents usually hang around and take it in and keep driving. It takes not even 2 minutes for each and parents do that all the time.

[@tomasgedrimas5475]

@@olgahein4384 You got it wrong. The main point was not a parking place near school, it was the parking place near your apartment when you come back. Especially when a lot of people work from home now it happens so that you leave your children at daycare/school and come back home. This child picking from school makes huge traffic, especially in the terribly planned soviet neighbourhoods. Sometimes you can spend 10-15 minutes looking for a place to park, Frank highlighted that he used to drive a lot so now he saves time. I am not really into agreeing with that.

[@CaroAbebe]

@@tomasgedrimas5475 Living in most European cities you don’t need a parking space. In the suburbs, parking lots are generally available, and so is public transport. In my part of Europe parents taking their kids to school and home again isn’t looked upon favourably, by the way. It increases traffic and pollution, besides, parents bringing their children endanger other children.

[@brozjoszip6401]

@@olgahein4384 in cities most schools ask parents to park further away from the main entrance because it gets crowdy around school end time. So simple. Well, if you live in a small town in Europe, most people still use cars, especially if they want to Pick up their small children from school, and they arrive to the school usually at the same time. In the Warsaw Pact- communism times - 35 years before it was easy. Less cars, less parking rules, people were happy with a Soviet Lada. (Which is not even Russian, instead Italian sell).

[@jonass.7668]

My sister visited a friend in Houston last spring, he was living in the suburbs with his parents while earning 80k. While he was working at home she wanted to visit the city center. She was advices to take an Uber but she didn’t like the idea and the cost, so she chose the bus. Her friends parents were shocked, because the bus was only used by homeless, jobless or very poor people. She did it anyway and had great time as the busdriver was super nice and happy to have an out of the order customer. He told her where to exit and where to go from there. Public transport partially even exist at those spaces but nobody uses is for obvious reasons. After that experience my sister was super confident to not take the Joboffers she had in the US and decided to move back to Europe 😂😂

[@thewhitewolf58]

Yeah america is not a good place for jobs unless your fast tracting to a board member. We pay bare minimum and expect a 140 percent out of you for that. Also even with the low $15 wage you got boomers in their comfy ass jobs whining how thats too much money to give to the peasents. I bet you could actually live life alot better with europian wages since america is addicted to quartly profits at all costs.

[@alfrredd]

That mentality (public transport is for poor people) is deeply engrained in American society sadly.

[@thewhitewolf58]

@@alfrredd yup sad to say think nyc is one of the few who got away with it.

[@u3u36]

@@thewhitewolf58 NYC is not a good example, public transportation there is old, filthy and full os drugheads. USA has no good examples of good public transportation.

[@willybillyshow]

Hahaha, I had a similar experience the first time I traveled to the US: people were shocked I took a bus from Philadelphia into Jersey. But I have to admit, once I crossed the state border the neighbourhoods became quite dodgy and the people on the bus more noisy hahahaha. Well it was a once in a lifetime experience!

[@phantombunny]

I don't know how to get the idea that I don't want suburbs where people are literally trapped in their houses and unable to walk anywhere heard. I mean, you can make any suburb nice by adding sidewalks, a town square, a transit system. I live in Evanston which is a suburb of Chicago. But it's connected by the train, it has a town square, everything is walkable and bikable. I'm sure it's still not as convenient as Europe, but it's pretty awesome, there's even a bike path by lake Michigan. However this is not the most expensive place to live in. Evanston is old, it was probably built around the turn of the century. Just because a suburb is in the middle of nowhere doesn't mean there's no place to walk to. A hiking path would always be nice, especially if you can walk there, by the sidewalk. These places seem to be built so gas companies can make money. Built for cars, not people. I just don't understand how living without sidewalks became a thing. It's completely unsafe. And just the exercise of going for walks for fun is forbidden from you. It seems impossible to me. There's this weird idea that people in the suburbs want it that way and they're "uppity". Some suburbs which are more inconvenient because the houses are bigger are actually more expensive. Yet they have no sidewalks. To me though, suburbs without sidewalks seem like a suburb of the trailer parks, not the cities. I believe in Jamaica you would call them Shantytowns. But one of the horrible things about democracy is that everything is blamed on you because it's assumed that everyone decided this together, when in fact, people had no choice but to move to places without sidewalks really, that was what was available. I mean, I would rather be dead than live in a place like that. People really have very little idea how to appeal to government to do what they want, and suburbs without sidewalks are a result of corporations skirting the law-- legally businesses have to have sidewalks, but not houses.

[@anna-flora999]

"probably build around the turn of the century" Which one?

[@JohnKruse]

@Anna-Flora is right. I am from the western US, but lived in neighborhoods in Greater Boston (e.g., Somerville, East Arlington) that were pretty walkable and there was a reasonable and reliable transit system. In other places I lived, like Tucson, demand a car. I'd had to take the bus when my car was in the shop. Even though the bus was scheduled once every two hours, it might not even show up, and my route only ran from 7am-7pm. Try standing in the AZ sun wondering if the bus will even show up. The difference was the Boston neighborhoods were built before the widespread introduction of cars, the western ones were all designed with private cars as an assumption. I'm now in Italy, and our car is used only for emergencies and to take weekend trips. I kind of miss having a bit more bucolic space, but given the choice, higher density neighborhoods that aren't purely residential are demonstrably better.

[@eduardochavacano]

But it looks really. Nice in Desperate Housewives.

[@massvt3821]

Evanston is a classic streetcar suburb, combining the better aspects of city and suburb. Not only does Evanston have Northwestern University and Lake Michigan, it also has sidewalks, and a subway/commuter rail in the Purple Line, running south back into Chicago. Great town..

[@alpham777]

Chicago has great suburbs, I'm in Elgin we have sidewalks, a private park with tennis and basketball courts, and many local owned shops in walking distance ( no one does though cause well, we like driving lol) Also walking distance to middle and elementary school but they also have bus drivers which is something else this guy didn't really mention mommy and daddy don't have to drive most kids.

[@michaelgilbert7489]

The bottom line is, suburbs in the US are built around a culture of having your own vehicle while the rest of the world builds around public transportation systems which is more efficient.

[@Alpha1200]

As a European who doesn't have a driver's licence and has relied almost exclusively on public transport or biking throughout most of my adult life, it's pretty crazy learning about how things work in America.

[@April480p]

For real though, i live in a pretty big Polish city, and i've been going on foot to the nearby towns all the time. The thought of not being able to even leave your house without a car sounds so surreal to me.

[@stewie4320]

getting a drivers license gear is the easiest thing to do in the US though and automatic cars are common

[@harrysvane2193]

Retard brokie yeah buddy aint nothing but a peanut

[@gerillazack77]

​@@stewie4320 Do you guys in US suburbs get physically active like walking, or biking? I did it every day and it's 100 meters from my building and i live in suburb area in Europe/Balkans(Serbia/Belgrade suburb Galenika)lemme describe my neighborhood...i walk every day 200 meters to our suburb center and it has: Post office, once we had bank now there are everywhere bankomats(ATM cash-mashine), local Clinic, Apothecary (drugs-shops)3x private and state, local small Library, bookstores 2x, open air grocery market and big supermarket, small markets 3x, drugstores 4x, butcher markets 2x and barbecue, bakery, fish market, Chinese shops 2x, money exchange 3x, local-Caffè 4x with barbecue for order and mini restaurant in some of them, mobile service shop, hairdressers 4x, pc/tv service, car services 2 nearby, ...even hi-teck all stuff mall is like 450 meters from my home 6 minutes walking...huge restaurant with domestic meals right next to highway and my home 950 meters 12 minutes walking...we have one big primary scool in our suburb area and two kindergartens, we have 8 open sport terrains like mixed-ones with mini-football (soccer) and basketball...behind every building we have children's playground and parks with trees and flower mini gardens infront our buildings....Only thing that we lack is parking spots, even we have huge parking lots everone wanna have his car infront of his flat/house, houses have basement garages but many turn them into renting apartments for living (for the poor non-situated families or couples)...

[@schreiber9864]

Get a fucking license them

[@PyroNexus22]

As someone who was born in Azerbaijan and grew up in Russia, the first time I visited Amsterdam I was blown away by just how comfy the streets are. I mean it was an amazing place in general, but the fact that just being out on the street felt almost like being home has left a lasting impression on me.

[@lakrids-pibe]

But don't walk on the bicycle paths!

[@PyroNexus22]

@@lakrids-pibe oh yeah, as a tourist I totally got in the way of several bikers before I got used to minding where I step lol

[@pravomirnemecky8127]

Even as a German with a hometown full of bike lanes my 1 month stay in Den Hague left an Impression on me. You could literally buy a 50€ bike and get around most of the country just with that. Never felt so free.

[@carbrained]

I felt the exact same way in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, and to some degree all across Europe. Russia seemed to have the worst urban planning in the world. But after moving to the US, I feel like any city in Russia is very walkable and has great potential, even new areas like Parnas or Devyatkino at least have everything you need in walking distance and good transit options compared to even NYC. The point is to ask just one question "Can you live a full life in this city without a car". Russia can pass that one at least, unlike the US.

[@PyroNexus22]

@@carbrained that's true. As unwelcoming as Russian streets feel, you can totally live there without a car. I did, and I still don't drive.

[@stevensensei]

Thank you for your video Adam Something. 
I recommend Japan too. I moved from Michigan, US, to Kansai area Japan between Osaka and Kyoto 25 years ago and enjoy life near mountains in a multi-zoned area with homes and 6-floor apt buildings, parks, restaurants, and shops and ride my bicycle everywhere. It’s 5 minutes to the nearest train station and 20 minutes to work. Japan is very livable for me and my family. It looks like we’d be happy in many places in Europe as well.

[@bleuemoone8710]

That sounds awesome I am also from MI and hate having to drive places. So much wasted money on insurance repairs tabs gas etc just to go to work and back

[@RealNick04]

Im an 18 yo hispanic guy who has lived in the suburbs for almost 3 years and while I do have great memories living there and meeting new people, I want to give my two cents here: Something that was left out of the video was that suburbs were built for WW2 veterans and families in the early 50s (hence the phrase white flight). Here in the US, redlining has been illegal since 1968 and I have seen a ton of non whites whenever I visit my friend. I mentioned white flight earlier and black flight also exists as well. The number of black people in Texas, Atlanta Georgia, New York state, Illinios, Ohio and Maryland are a few examples of black families moving into the suburbs. Other than that, this video is great and it demonstrates the flaws with US suburbs. Driving 30 to 60 minutes to wherever you want to go isnt good.

[@LCTesla]

the worst thing is this is a self-inflicted injury. they COULD build their cities in a denser space with ample alternatives to driving but decided that spacing things out and using cars (exclusively) to bridge the gap was preferable... the luxury of having the extra space tempts the mind into making the error of using it.

[@autoteleology]

I don't even understand why people want these big ass lawns and nothing around. Do my fellow Americans just like... hate being social and want to pretend to have a little fiefdom?

[@prokoptomasek7874]

Pesky bee

[@MajinMist603]

@@autoteleology I just don’t want to deal with people around me or HOA at my house …… I got to deal with people all day long ( good neighbors are good but it’s not worth the risk of bad neighbors come in or just annoying dogs barking all day and night long ).

[@jonarific8504]

Having learned about this over the past year out of professional curiosity (I'm a planner in the UK) it's amazing how almost everything that is wrong in the USA goes back to racism. The drive to suburbia based on single family homes was not even disguised - it just was segregation.

[@El_Jefe_Maestro]

@@jonarific8504 Yep, American here, it was initially all down to White flight from the cities post WW2 because they wanted to get away from minorities. Thats when you get the freeways being built by the feds to the detriment of local neighborhoods for the sake of racist suburbanites and sprawling hell scapes like LA

[@herrroin6867]

As an exchange student from Switzerland, it’s crazy to see how my dependence on my US-parents has increased. I can‘t go anywhere without asking them. The infrastructure here is so depressing…

[@LadyAyleene]

Tschau kolleg, missing the sbb much now? 😉 But jokes aside, I've only been to the us once for 5 weeks, but I was horrified by the lack of infrastructure for non-cars, like pedestrian or cyclists. We ended up taking the car for grocery shopping just fre hundred meters away which I would never ever do here. I always walk or take the bike. I really didn't like how heavily we depended on the car!

[@lights_utopia1130]

Ya Its shit crap bull crap and more because as someone who as been in America for all 20years of my life its crap you cant even go get abite to eat without needed a car you want to go to the park car want to go see a movie car want to buy a new tooth brush car its so annoying.

[@esuil]

@@celestialtree8602 is biking not an option either?

[@L-21]

My bruh you went from an area with the best possible public transports and all, to the exact opposite 🤣

[@balloe3466]

@@celestialtree8602 I couldn't imagine how it must've been if I were to live there when my parents divorced when I was 15... going out of the house brought me so much peace of mind. I hope your financial situation improves so that you can take better advantage of America's features.

[@keyboarddancers7751]

Someone once said "if you want to understand american foreign policy, you need to first understand its domestic policy" i.e. almost 100% individualised addiction/dependence on fossil fuels at virtually every level of daily living. By the way, that 'someone' is me!

[@johnsmith-cw3wo]

public transport is for broke boys, real alphas drive bigass Pickup Trucks. 💪💪

[@cathbelle5096]

Good ...😊

[@DavidNNoise]

I grew up in Italy and as a child I went pretty much everywhere in my city on my bycicle, or by walking. Growing up I went to school by train on a 10 minutes route, and now I can go to work on my bicycle in the summer. (Which in Italy is from April to october). If you live and work in a major city you don't even actually need a car. But smaller cities are well connected also. And in the northern Europe the situation is even better.

[@maryv.7227]

E negli USA devi farti i km per andare a comprare un paio di scarpe!

[@Star88833]

My dream is to move to Italy 💕

[@midnightflare9879]

"It's almost faster to walk now than to drive." If I were a mayor, I would take that as a compliment.

[@KD10Conqueror]

Same. ISN'T THAT WHAT WE WANT?

[@HighAdmiral]

​@@KD10Conqueror Not necessarily... if it is now faster to walk than to drive because you made it easier to walk, then yes! However, if you mean it's faster to walk than to drive because you made driving unbearably slow, then no.

[@sm6allegro]

@@HighAdmiral in a dense urban environment, you can't really make it easier to walk without making it harder to drive

[@ianhomerpura8937]

@@HighAdmiral the lowest speed limits in many residential areas, usually 20 kph (12.4 mph), is still faster than average walking speeds.

[@Haeruna]

@@HighAdmiral But thats what car-centric planning does on its own to a certain degree. If you compare travelling a certain distance on bike vs in a car between the Netherlands and Houston for example, its faster to take a bike to drive the same distance in Amsterdam as you would by car in Houston. Car-centric planning is self-defeating and just does not work, cars are only good one for thing and thats being able to travel long distances independently, but if you're willing to let go of the "independently" then Trains can do the same thing but faster and at larger volumes.

[@KrysDaStar]

I work in residential development in Florida and when I mention why all the engineering plans never include public transit access or any other way for people to get around either than their cars, I’m met with looks of confusion or demeaning remarks.. thanks for advocating for logic Adam!

[@shaukahodan2373]

mindset.

[@JmKrokY]

Bruhhhh

[@VladislavFomitchev]

Florida is literally one of the worst offenders in my mind. Never have I ever seen more stroads, strip malls, and empty suburban expanses. I live in Colorado now, and am amazed by the difference that just slightly less pedestrian hostile design makes.

[@501stBattalion]

Not taking a bus if I have to take the highway to work.

[@dbclass4075]

@@ExistenceUniversity Even if you still use cars, why exclude those other options for everyone else? Even if you don't ride it, it will benefit you for taking multiple drivers off the road.

[@cartertheicon]

As an american, I do agree that you do need a car to go most places and the public transportation is very underdeveloped as a whole. However, I also wanted to point out that the quality of public transportation does very greatly depending on what state you live in and even what town. I have lived in Iowa and Massachusetts and I have had very good experiences with being able to walk anywhere I need to be (more so in Massachusetts). Also I did not even know that there are states that dont require sidewalks to be built next to roads until I saw a video that talked about how bad Florida's walkability is. From my experience, sidewalks are everywhere in Iowa, Massachusetts, and a lot of the states surrounding Iowa. If you live in a very rural area you get the worst of it though because there may be crop fields separating your house from the nearest convenience store for several miles. I will also say, the major cities and areas near the east coast are very walkable and have good public transportation in general. DC and NYC are prime examples of America being able to have good public transportation.

[@albertmarti2718]

It's funny that I've been watching your channel for a while so I was well aware of these car-centric urban planning catastrophes. I've now moved to the US and been living here for 3 months and it is insane how much your mindset has to change... especially without owning a car. You're basically confined to a small 1-2 mile radius (because you won't just bike on the highway), or forced to take some of the most backwards public transport I've ever seen.

[@qjtvaddict]

As in bus routes meandering everywhere? Low frequency? Or no express buses

[@throughcolouredglasses9300]

@qjtvaddict in my experience, all of the above. When I stayed in a suburb around Austin, TX, I had to call an Uber to drive me to the closest "central" bus station (already absurd, there was no way to leave the suburb without a car!!) with like 3 bus lines. My bus came once an hour, and it was the only one that would vaguely end up in a more walkable area of the city. The bus took over an hour to go anywhere near the city center, which could have been a 15-20 minute drive on a direct route. Also, I wasn't allowed to pay with my 20 dollar bill for the ride, only in coins?? Wild. As I was considering how to get back home from the dystopian "central station" (since I couldn't pay for the ride apparently) the driver was nice enough to just let me on the bus anyways.

[@marymccluer1630]

The way American communities are designed to pretty much require a car. Unless you live in downtown New York or Chicago, it is hard to live anywhere in American without a car unless you use Uber.

[@northeasturbanist]

The U.S. has a lot of older neighborhoods that look like European suburbs, but they are rare and extremely expensive

[@robertsantmann8580]

very true

[@northeasturbanist]

@@chemicalfrankie1030 and it shouldn’t be that way. Luckily the tide seems to be shifting, but not quickly enough.

[@cunningham-code]

This is on the east coast mostly and clustered near major cities (NJ, NY, PA, Virginia, Mass). All of these places have a higher cost of living but average incomes are also higher. My pro tip for affordability would be to look at housing where you could commute to a major city with a transfer. From the transit data I’ve looked at Americans are allergic to transferring.

[@6-4crusader55]

On the contrary, I’ve only ever seen the European style suburbs, no matter what city

[@OneEyeShadow]

@@chemicalfrankie1030 The implication is that they are expensive because they are rare and desirable.

[@eier5472]

Having lived both in Berlin and in rural Germany taught me: yes, a car is nice to have, especially when often travel outside. Even driving is fun for me, I love driving. But being forced to depend on it *sucks*. Berlin's public transport is much easier to deal with than finding an affordable parking spot, and that is not by coïncidence. For me, a car is now a luxury item.

[@eier5472]

Also, car ownership in Germany is expensive. (Although still cheaper than in other European countries.) Which makes the situation worse for poor people living in rural areas. You have to pay taxes and an insurance, to at least partially cover for road maintenance costs. Car maintenance itself is no joke when something important breaks. And fuel isn't cheap anymore, either, the equivalent of about $8 to $10 per gallon. With energy prices soaring in general, an electric vehicle isn't cheaper than a used fuel-driven car for the first few years of ownership.

[@LordofExoria]

Problem in Germany is, public transport anywhere but in big cities is pretty bad and getting worse. They continuously reduce the amount of bus and train transit, from 15min to 20min to 30min to 1h intervals. When you need to get somewhere it can take hours. And that is if it's not past 10pm, then you can be lucky if anything runs at all.

[@baronvonjo1929]

A car in the USA is just seen as a need like food, clothing, shelter. And unless your the type to look at videos like this most don't realize there is any other way and really just don't care. You might agree with better options but most probably won't actually do anything.

[@spaghettiisyummy.3623]

Why did you spell Coincidence with that Double dotted "i"?

[@thomasfisher4833]

@@LordofExoria Which is why everyone who knows about good urban planning should spread the word!

[@coldblooded568]

I've been considering moving to Europe for a while now. I think I will probably choose the Netherlands because I love so much about it.

[@surthum]

Great choice

[@AtomicAlchemist]

Its a great place but from what ive heard it gets pretty expensive so hopefully you can get a good job, otherwise it might get tough

[@meganizonda]

I've lived most of my life in southern California (no, not the urban area with all the people, but instead a desert area with many thousands of people) and there is no public transit here except a very broken, loose bus network. The suburbs here are endless and there are enormous vacant areas of desert where there is no development. If you want to go anywhere in the area, driving is the only option. Additionally, drivers here are often quite dangerous. Biking and walking anywhere (almost no roads have sidewalks, so you either use the edge of the road or the dirt off to the side if any) practical takes hours, so any task outside your home requires a car trip. Having to drive to school means that about 45 minutes of my day is spent behind the wheel, which could be put to much more productive time if there was public transport or shorter distances. America is generally not a friendly place to the person without four wheels and a motor.

[@mrvespuccia.k.ameganite1747]

It’s also why housing is so expensive in places like LA and San Francisco bc it uses literally the most ineffective style of housing in places where suburban sprawl is unfeasible. It’s one of the reasons why the greater Tokyo metropolitan area has a greater population than the entire state

[@NotJustBikes]

I grew up in suburbia and I _hated_ the suburbs. For me, the suburbs meant cookie cutter houses, car dependency, and crappy big-box stores. Imagine my surprise the first time I went to an European suburb and ... it was really nice! Nice houses, big sidewalks, town centres with lots of cool shops within walking distance, and a tram line with frequent service into the city. It turns out there's nothing fundamentally wrong with "suburbs", the US and Canada just build them wrong.

[@falocoen4484]

I personally like how theres a lot more trees in european suburbs.

[@Nomadith]

Not to mention other great works on positive and negative urbanist works!

[@ShroomsInLocker]

US & Canada didn't "build them wrong", North America & Europe are both vastly different for a reason. Why can't people just accept that America can't be exactly like Europe?

[@ttt5205]

@@ShroomsInLocker You can certainly call them 'wrong' when they're worse in basically every conceivable metric.

[@Nomadith]

@@ShroomsInLocker we can and will call them wrong because without a car (and very often with) they're bland, boring, painfully dull and annoyingly hard to move around.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

This channel made me realise that widening roads only leads to nightmare scenarios.

[@ayowdf]

Yes

[@c0r3s4v3]

cosmic 🍀

[@eier5472]

It doesn't even work in Cities: Skylines with its very basic traffic A.I. Or at least it stops working if too many lanes merge into one.

[@thewhitewolf58]

Also we got alot of people who think they are in the next fast and furious movies.

[@anabolic8097]

The solution is to remove roads

[@marcuspaul0815]

Things get a bit mixed up here. That German „suburb“ you are showing still belongs to an older, urban part of the city. We also have areas with lots of newly built detached houses („Einfamilienhäuser“) with much less infrastructure, even around smaller cities - however, they are much smaller than in the US.

[@cropathfinder]

To be fair its not just conservatives , the left , the right and conservatives have a mix of people with different approaches and its not just one political group pushing for or against cars. For example the previous mayor of Zagreb was a leftist and he was pushing for more and more parking lots and parking spaces in the inner parts of Zagreb to allow greater traffic all while depriving the town run electric tram company of funds leading to reduction in trams per line and reduction of bus lines as well and what of those were left were often were pretty bad schedule wise of groups like students who would otherwise frequently use em.

[@mdavid2822]

Just wanted to share some fun history about my local community here in the US. I live in Canton, Ohio (a small/medium-sized Industrial-era city). During the white flight eras, the white middle class moved out of Canton and into the suburbs around it. One of these suburbs in particular, North Canton (formerly New Berlin, but WWI anti-German hysteria forced the name change), has grown so much in recent decades that it is officially a city now. North Canton is built on a population that is strictly opposed to any taxes, but now that the city is larger they find that they need taxes to support a larger school system, public safety system, municipal water and sewer systems, and (of course) more roads. On top of that, they've developed into low-lying areas that are prone to flash flooding (our ancestors were smart enough not to develop these areas). Now every year there are North Canton residents moving to even more distant suburbs because they don't want to pay for public services or for flood recovery programs. It is truly a Ponzi scheme, nobody sees it because it happens over the span of decades.

[@ThunderTheBlackShadowKitty]

Canton sounds like the perfect storm of a town whose white, racist, conservative Christian base moved out to stay away from the colored people. Subsequently, they kill the city they moved out of for a couple decades, then slowly kill the suburbs they move into because they won't let go of their old conservative (Republican) values that just don't work. Seems to be a recurring phenomenon all around Ohio, Appalachia, the Great Plains, parts of the Rust Belt and parts of the South. They will continue to fail over and over while walkable cities continue to grow.

[@derunfassbarebielecki]

The fun part about this is that no American suburb can actually afford basic maintenence. Every ghetto brings more revenue, but the money these underdeveloped areas are generating goes to the suburbs instead of reinvesting in the underdeveloped districts, because the governments care more about rich white vultures than the working class.

[@deo8624]

ohio moment

[@scottrussell360]

@@asgdhgsfhrfgfd1170 this is well explained, thank you.

[@neco9590]

This once I am really glad about anti-German sentiment. As a citizen of, well, *old* Berlin, this doesn't sound like a place I'd like to see our name on.

[@fireline4765]

While I was in Finland last year, I noticed how easy it was to get around. Whether it was in city or to another city, I deeply appreciate European transit systems.

[@Sabeximus]

And it's only barely good in the Helsinki area. But go 30 kilometers from the city center, and the public transit starts to be very cumbersome. Let alone the rural areas and towns, where the public transit is basically non-existent. Though even the smaller cities are still bike- and walk-friendly, so if you happen to live close to a shop and your workplace, you might get by without a car.

[@fireline4765]

@@Sabeximus I was in Oulu, and two years before that I was in Jyväskylä. But yes, Helsinki is not the best for commuting.

[@nob2243]

@Fire Line Yeah, well, that's nice to hear. If only we could get our international rail lines in order...

[@morzh1978]

You better never wade even 5km away from the nearest rail backbone, tram line at least. Get close to the brink of town's public transport area - and you may wait up to one hour to swap one bus to another after taking a 15 minutes stroll on the sidewalk in between of two "connecting" bus stops. Like in a large Russian village, basically.

[@slevinchannel7589]

The 'Whitewashing of MLK' is just 1 of 1000000 epic History-Videos of "Some More News". Guy is a Must-Watch for all History-Nerds.

[@jackl.1759]

Evironmentally, US urban planning is terrible for the environment. Compact urban planning is better for land usage management as well as has been shown to decrease carbon emissions. An experiment was done with Volusia county, Florida and showed this exact fact.

[@seejayfrujay]

5:20 "For those accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression."

[@lencox2x296]

Once in Florida we wanted to visit a mall with our 2 kids (6 and 8 years), which was so nearby , that we even could see it in the distance. We wanted to enjoy our lifes and just take an enjoyable walk there :) But after after a few hundred meters the sidewalk suddenly ended ! My wife and the kids were terrfiied from the idea of continue walking a few hundred meters on the stroad with the fast and huge vehicles. The end of the story is: we walked back to the motel and drove by car to the mall. :( Thats a very typical story for europeans visiting the USA I guess

[@lukasrojko5455]

Something simmilar happend to me. My first year in the US I tried riding a bike. But it was very difficult. Too many hills so most of the time I had to push the bike. My second year I was only driving but I don't mind it because I love driving.

[@nickw8071]

Pathetic, why won’t a square act like a circle….

[@jeffreyb2135]

You were terrified? Stay in Europe.

[@armandojose1342]

@@jeffreyb2135 why

[@Kanhow]

Tried to walk to a an arcade in Us with my kids, was 200m away, did it ones and never again. Was a sidewalk bit needed to cross a major road, it had no crosswalk.

[@ChrisBGSl]

As an American whose family had an opportunity to live and work in Europe, my kids definitely enjoy significantly more independence here than they would have in the US. For a good portion of the day, they can function on their own in the center of the city where we live, enjoying plenty of activities after school without ever having to get into a car.

[@climeaware4814]

What city if I may ask?

[@ChrisBGSl]

Well, the internet. So, I will say we are in what the OECD might describe as a small sized city of 100,000 in Eastern Europe

[@styled1281]

@Eri 1 Eurosmart, we don't waste 3+ hours in traffic every day.

[@MrTaxiRob]

even here in the US, kids who grew up in the 70s and 80s in the city had more independence than those in the suburbs. Kids rode public transit to school and everywhere else. Now they are all driven everywhere or their parents face a social backlash, except for the lucky ones who live very near schools and services.

[@alejo7625]

@Eri 1 americuck

[@fien4878]

I lived in the US for one year and it was such a struggle to do anything.. If you didn't have any friends who could come and pick you up and drive you around you had no way out of the house.. Sometimes me and another European girl would walk home from school.. the house where we lived was actually just across it maybe in a straight line you would be there in less than 15 min by walking but because of the highway splitting it it took us at least 40 min to 1 hour to get home.. I remeber telling an American I walked home and he called me crazy, he said it was dangerous..

[@simonjaz1279]

So live in a more walkable area in the usa? Thats really not hard to do....lmao

[@fien4878]

@@simonjaz1279 I did an exchange year, I couldn't choose where I lived.. And not to mention the fact that it is almost impossible to find anything to live in that is near the center.. Except in big cities where sucha house/appartement costs 2 million.

[@jakubkopec5654]

i think it’s important to understand that not all European cities are as well planned as German ones. For example: the UK, Norway, and Poland all have significant sprawl/car-dependent problems

[@Naku_Naku_]

There's a show thats been popular in Japan for ages but has recently gained popularity overseas called hajimete no otsukai. It's a show where young kids (like real young kids sometimes just 2 or 3 years old) are sent to do their first errand by themselves. Usually just buying something from the super market or something like that. It's kind of incredible watching that show and thinking about how it could ever be implemented in America, the kids would just get hit by a car instantly. The show does have people observing to make sure the kid is safe but 99% of the time it isn't necessary. Everything is so accessible and in walking distance there's not much concern. The kids also all know the way already because they're used to walking with their parents to go to the store and stuff. Considering how much time kids in America spend staring at the back of the front seats I imagine far fewer would be able to do the same. It's just such a shame that kids in America have had their freedom/independence significantly reduced for the past 70 years or so.

[@magnushultgrenhtc]

Very important point - the car-centric lifestyle can and does also reduce freedom.

[@Soff1859]

That show is quite funny and cute! Also very relatable. I live in switzerland and growing up in a suburb in the 90ies, we'd just go out and play in the neighbourhood and nearby fields and forest. Even as 5 year olds and younger. Our mum would just whistle really loud if we had to come home. The idea that many american kids could never go anywhere without their parents bringing them and picking them up again (and thus also knowing exactly where they are at all times) is horribly restricting.

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

You mean THIS show, right? (snicker, giggle) Old Enough! Longterm Boyfriends! - SNL kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJmqhaeNqLxsfJo

[@extazy9944]

in my suburb in germany no kid would ever be hit by a car or anything

[@TitaniumSurf]

Years ago I spent 3 months cycling around Japan. I started in Tokyo, headed South West, and cycled hundreds of miles. Every day was wonderful. One memory is cycling through quite a large city at about 9'o'clock at night. Not that many people around. I passed a bus stop, where just one person was waiting - a girl of about 10years with a violin case. All on her own, probably headed back home after a music lesson. I was amazed and very impressed. This, and many other things, helped me realise what a nice safe environment Japan is. I wish it could be like this everywhere around the world. I've often wondered if Heaven is simply a place where people are nice to each other, with no anger, negativity or ill intent.

[@tside1trick812]

I moved from the US to Germany 5 years ago and the topics in this video are spot-on and one of the reasons I love living in Germany. Suburbanism is so ingrained in the "American Dream" that the vast majority don't even consider that life could be any different. I'll never forget after I had been living here for a few years already my mom called and asked what I was doing that day and I said I was about to walk to the grocery store - for me a totally mundane errand 20 minutes total there and back. She reacted like I told her I was climbing Mount Everest that afternoon. Then it dawned on me that from our home in the U.S. they really would have to walk minimum 1 hour each way (down a busy highway with no sidewalk) to our nearest grocery store. I wish more people would start to see how we can make our cities work for people and not just cars. Great video!

[@rexx9496]

Yeah, there's just a lot of cultural momentum behind suburbs to the point that living in a big house with a huge lawn and having an SUV or truck to drive everywhere is just part of American identity. I feel like for many Americans this is all they know and they actually LIKE living like this. I spent the whole summer in Europe and frankly find it somewhat depressing being back in the US. The only places in America that could offer any kind of lifestyle even somewhat comparable to Europe are prohibitively expensive and require an income well into the six figures just to barely get by. Americans also can't seem to fathom the idea of raising a family in an apartment or condo. They feel this is something that can only be done in a far-flung suburb in a big 2,000 sqft house. To Americans raising a family within the city in an apartment is for poor people only.

[@RapticGaming]

you know my local grocery store is 3 minutes walk from my house in the American suburbs. Lol. I guess it just depends on location. My brother lived in Germany for almost 3 years and hated and never wants to return. I guess it’s all subjective. But at the end of the day, it’s you who picks your poison.

[@billbally4419]

@@rexx9496 nobody cares Rexx

[@Freebird1765]

Much of this has to do with European cities being designed before cars were in existence and many in America at the same time or mostly after.

[@susanboswell4117]

@@rexx9496 that is so true but I hate suburbs and suvs and everything you described I lived in Germany with my German husband until he died at age 48 and I thought life there was easier and more pleasant

[@indicadierof45]

The problem with Spain's ultra low emission zones is that thr government wants to enforce the purchase of hybrids and evs, and most people cannot afford to buy them, wich is getting harder with growing inflation, rising fuel prices and stuck wages

[@keyboarddancers7751]

This is similar to London's ever expanding ULEZ. 1. Only those with a relatively high disposable income can afford to bring their petrol/diesel vehicles into town on a regular basis. 2. The vehicular restrictions apply to motorcycles! 3. Public transport is not particularly cheap. 4. The carbon footprint of new electric/hybrid vehicle production is "off-shored" i.e. the extraction and processing of all the requisite raw materials (especially the exotic/rare earth minerals) and the complex manufacturing processes demand huge amounts of energy use and water use. On the plus side; if you're fit and healthy, much of central London is now a fantastic place to ride a bicycle..

[@snowfox7739]

As someone who supports policies that reduce environmental impact and such, I hate when governments implement policies that are nonsensical. Not to get into the whole liberal vs progressive debate but I feel like liberals are only concerned with the surface level where as progressives get into the meat and bones of things to make ACTUAL change. Case in point: I wonder if there are any policies that also address the disproportionate amount carbon produced by top corporations (who also happen to be taking in record profits 🤔).

[@indicadierof45]

@@snowfox7739 if there are, they are way smaller than those imposed to average citizens, even when scaled up considering their profits

[@snowfox7739]

@@indicadierof45 agreed. Over here in the states we have to put up with paper straws (as a small example) where as multi billion dollar corporations either skirt around the rules themselves or opt to pay fines because they’re effectively a slap on the wrist. Not only that, these corporations have been claiming to be “green” while making their products unrepairable (Apple) or straight up throwing product out to drive up prices (Amazon). The reason I brought up liberals and progressives is because I notice that liberals will get mad at you for putting one singular can in the wrong bin while progressives will point out what I mentioned. At least from my first hand experience. Furthermore, I’m of the belief that mild hybrids and full on hybrids should be the focus over EVs due to a reduction of price at scale (especially on the mild hybrid side of things) while allowing battery tech to evolve without the pollution, much higher costs, and other factors I may be forgetting. If anything the corporations should be penalized, not the everyday person struggling because of these same people’s economic policies.

[@MBunn-uf1we]

not to mention to lack of supply for key environmentally damaging to extract resources like lithium and conflict minerals like nickel

[@davidperry4013]

In Japan, even little kids take public transportation or walk to school.

[@liberalideas8224]

I had a friend recently show off his brand new house to me and it was quite a beautiful house to be sure. However, the first thing I asked was where the street lights and side walks were as I knew they had a kid and this was supposed to be a "prestigious" neighborhood. They admitted that they hadn't thought to look at something that basic when they were buying the house and are now kind of stuck with it. In addition to that, there isn't anything anywhere close that the kid can go to other than some pretty basic playgrounds, not even woods to go explore like I did as a kid. I am happy for them if they are happy with those trade offs. I just hate that in America, that isolated, desolate situation is the standard being forced on the vast majority of people rather than it being just a choice. I spent a whole month when I first arrived at this base trying to find a walk-able neighborhood of any description to live in, other than base housing as the waiting list favors families. The best I found was an apartment complex across the street from a typical American strip mall with a grocery store. So the parking lot is twice the size of the strip mall, and the street has 8 lanes not counting turn lanes, no cross walks, and no public transit. I haven't worked up the nerve to try and cross it yet, but wish me luck for when I do because my car had broken down. I miss Pordenone.

[@cathjj840]

Good luck!!! Maybe carry a white flag?

[@gabrielebursi5509]

Well man to miss Pordenone actually says it all :)

[@paulwaltersheherfeministvl521]

I was a boi. They were two girls. Can I make IT any more obvious? I am KZbin's ALPHA MALE. Acknowledge IT, dear lib

[@eddiejc1]

If somebody were to propose building a sidewalk in that neighborhood, you can bet that at least one, or more likely, several of the neighbors would oppose it. They'd rather have people walk in the road and risk get running over than to ruin their nice lawn.

[@HVAC_Sean]

I would like to note that in a U.S. suburb, the school runs school buses to get children to school. One big difference I noticed were the lack of sidewalks in the American suburb you showed. It's pretty hostile to pedestrians and the disabled.

[@zymosan99]

yup

[@6-4crusader55]

His video isn’t indicative of most us suburbs, most of them look very similar to the European suburbs, and they definitely have sidewalks

[@jonarific8504]

I always find that a bit nuts when you see the amount of dedicated school bus infrastructure to make that work. Meanwhile in most of the rest of the world kids just walk or cycle to school.

[@charliet8833]

I had to catch the bus at like 6:30AM because I was the on the first stop for school which started around 7:50AM. Everything is such a disaster and any attempt to change anything is labeled as communism. Going to seriously consider moving abroad when I have saved up enough

[@InfiniteDeckhand]

@@6-4crusader55 That's complete BS and you know it.

[@ikesgarage05]

As a person that lives in a rural part of the United States, I couldn’t imagine living in any suburb, American or European.

[@ceooflonelinessinc.267]

This video is over dramatized, and the comments prove the stereotype of the arrogant European. I am saying this as a European, who has lived is whole life in Europe, but experienced living in the suburbs due to an exchange program. Living in the suburbs as an average earn in Europe, results mostly living in a tiny and small apartment which is surrounded by streets and commercial facilities. Unless you have a newly built apartment, it is mostly noisy. The view outside your window is mostly another façade. If you want to get around, you have no other choice, than using an overprized and overcrowded public transportation system. It may will get your through the city, but if you want to get outside of it, you need to own a car like in the US. And other than in the US, cars in a lot of European countries are for an average earner affordable due to the continuing anti motorized vehicle lobbyism. Living in the US for a few months was a positive culture shock. The family I lived were settled in the suburbs outside of a big city. The community was filled with beautiful houses in a comfortable size. Every house had owned a backyard where we would eat and drink in the evenings. The neighborhood was quiet so that I loved to make walks outside of it. And contrary to the video, a five minute drive would take me to a plaza or mall, where you would find all amenities. But what I liked the most about their lifestyle, was the easy accessibility to get around outside of your town. On the weekends we would make round trips to national and state parks. Where I need to take two busses and two different trains and double amount of money to do a similar trip. I would if I could IMMEDIATELY prefer living in an American Suburb rather than in a west European suburb.

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

@@ceooflonelinessinc.267 That's just your opinion. There's Americans who said they disliked and felt stuck in suburbs too. There's a American movie called Stuck in the Suburbs.

[@tobiasdenhollander3210]

@@ceooflonelinessinc.267 Sorry, but you have to go to the US if you want arrogance. The whole idea of "America is the greatest nation on earth" is debunked in thousands of videos, and yet Americans are looking down on foreigners or foreign countries.

[@ceooflonelinessinc.267]

@@tobiasdenhollander3210 Firstly: There are only videos on KZbin, where the US is critized for their city planing. There are no vidoes the other way around. So if anyone is thinking talking bad about another nation, it is the europeans - not the americans. Secondly, I never said the US is the greatest nation on earth. I said, that living in an typical US suburb is much more livable than living in an european suburb in my personal experience.

[@tobiasdenhollander3210]

@@ceooflonelinessinc.267 Not my experience. Simply: Europeans can actually admit the faults of their nation and structure, never heard a average American doing that. It's always the other party, but not the nation itself. And if you point out some faults in the US, they always blame that you should shut up and should look at your "own socialist" country. And maybe there are no real videos on it because many people don't see the reasons to do it compared to the standards of the US.

[@bflocket]

I live in a tiny town in Kentucky that has sidewalks on the main road. I think it's very different now, but I was shocked about how hard it was to get around without a car when I lived in "the city" (Louisville) in the early-2000's. There was somewhere I had to get to a couple miles straight down the road. Despite the route having several schools, businesses, restaurants and a (now-closed) mall - there weren't sidewalks the entire way (it's a main 4-lane road) and you'd have to ride 2 different buses to get there.

[@osborne9255]

When I migrated to the US, I went out for a walk. I was intercepted by an astonished 4 year old child whose dad came after her, she was shouting "Why are you walking? Are you poor too?" Very embarrassing for everyone, but it did make me ask a question as everyone I ever came across walking was an immigrant. We had a car. But we wanted to walk. This was an irregular thing for folks, but back in Europe I walked everywhere and sometimes cycled. Very difficult here to get around without a car.

[@themartinandersson]

hahahaha bro, do what I did and move back! 👍

[@MustraOrdo]

What decades of brainwashing by oil and auto lobbyists does to several generations.

[@InfernosReaper]

What nightmare land did you go to? People walk in most places and no one says anything about it.

[@andrewdiaz3529]

@@InfernosReaper the majority of the country

[@MrTaxiRob]

@@andrewdiaz3529 only a nobody walks in LA

[@kaiserberserk3622]

I'm Spanish and one thing I love about towns and cities here is that pretty much you don't need to use the car every day. You can just walk, or take public transport (works really well in cities) and you don't have to spend a lot of time driving. I love driving, it's relaxing for me, but less necessary driving means less money to spend on fuel and less pollution you're pumping to the atmosphere

[@unlimon6382]

And most importantly, we have bars

[@AlexiAtlante]

all those apartment blocks that everyone loves like a cockroaches, lissen all neighbours , if they re in a discussion, having sex or showering , it’s gross , I live in Europe too and I hate live in a flat.

[@InfiniteDeckhand]

@@AlexiAtlante That's a you-problem.

[@arandom35yearold]

@@AlexiAtlante Consider not living in a shit flat with walls of paper

[@DoritoBot9000]

@@AlexiAtlante only if the building is poor quality as is often the case in North America.

[@bibekdas7449]

Fun fact: When I used to live in my previous town, Malda (West Bengal), they had this American system. Foot path, no separate track for cycle and blank sub urb. Schools, Collages and Universities, resturants, bakeries and even bus stand and rainway station were far away! Later I moved on to Alipurduar (2017), (also in West Bengal) and guess what? Life was way easier! Schools, resturants, Bakery, everything is on the road side and they are easy to access. There are five schools on the same road (12 if you include the nurseries and primary schools) and collages and University (there's only one University in our town) are not much far away either. There are different roads motor vehicles and different track for motorcycle, Bicycle, scooter and more. Also there is a road along side the river and beautiful bridges on point of beauty where we can enjoy the glamorous sunset. But again Malda is a populous town with growing economy and mass immigration of outer people (the original natives of Malda are pushed to the other side of the railway line where they live in slums and decent kids are not allowed to go there or talk with them. They work mostly as paid labourers and house maids) while Alipurduar is way less populous, means there is more space for these projects and there is no discrimination against the natives in here. Both the community lives in peace and harmony. You would be surprised to know the population density of Alipurduar is 6-8 times less than that of Malda. But again, where would you live? A place where there are many people, decent oppertunity and loads of money with no peace of mind and polluted enviornment or a place with less but friendly people, make money not as much as rich people but enough to let you live comfortably and in a peaceful and calm enviornment? You decide! Edit: I forgot to mention it but in Malda you had no access to playground for free. Most of them were bought by big companies and turned into factory, manufacturing plants or parks and others were capitalised by the owners, means you need atleast 20 rs to enter the field and 60 rs to play in it. We used to play in the local club temple. While in Alipurduar there is plenty of unclaimed lands and fields literally after every 10-20 houses. Aka Everybody have a playground very near to them which they can reach within one minute of walk!

[@yuukiyoshizawa7007]

As a Brazilian, I live in the downtown, I moved here cause of the location, everything is so close, our work, study and we don't even have to use cars, my dad sold his car and we don't miss it. We can go to anywhere we want just by walking, and if it's too far, we call a Uber (using bikes are not safe at all in this country). It was very economic for us since cars in Brazil are very expensive and each month are becoming a luxury/rich thing. The only main problems here, is the danger of the streets, either being a lot of cars, might cause a accident and as a pedestrian is not something good, or either being getting armed robbed, lack of road for bicycles (they have to use bikes on the sidewalk, it's annoying as hell not gonna lie), even if I live in one of the safest cities in the country (which is not close to a country in Europe), we still have to deal with those things. Living in this place is not easy, even in one of the best cities in the state, we're still in a third world country.

[@KeljuIvan]

I was visiting the USA and walking to the local supermarket in Michigan when suddenly the walkway just ended. I would've had to walk the side of the road. My mother-in-law said she did it once (on a different trip) and was stopped several times to ask if she was okay. Such an incredible difference.

[@luluah1198]

😂 I can’t believe what I’m hearing

[@simonjaz1279]

Usually people buy a weeks worth of groceries so they don't need to go to the supermarket everyday.

[@user-ql9yb9cy1t]

@@simonjaz1279 yea and that tells me that there is something wrong if you need to buy a weeks worth of groceries i mean you can to that in europe to but you always have the option to just walk to your supermarket buy some stuff and go home but in the usa many people just cant do that because they need a car for it

[@simonjaz1279]

@@user-ql9yb9cy1t something wrong? Absolutely not. Its how you can have more time to be with people u want to be with or have fun. If you Europeans like wasting time going to the store, fine. But most Americans buy a good amount of groceries and cook at home. It's easier and allows us to do other things. Sorry but nothing wrong with EITHER lifestyle. Thats just you being like Adam and not understanding different cultures and how a majority want to live. I think walking to the store all the time is stupid imo. Oh, and let me add, MOST in the usa CAN just walk somewhere if they want milk or something because MOST dont live in the suburbs. In urban areas, you are like a 2 minute walk from a CVS or train station or SOMETHING that gives you access. So this statement you made isn't even true unless you live in like Houston texas.

[@user-ql9yb9cy1t]

@@simonjaz1279 I think you didn't get my point i wrote European ALSO can buy a weeks worth of groceries i mean it is so obvious so all the thing you just wrote there applies to everyone in Europe to not only that they also have the OPTION to just go to the store and buy things on there own without a car so yea i don't see why USA is better in this regard if you literally have fewer options and pls i am not a USA hater i just say what it is like to life here and there that's it.

[@Qreamey]

As an American, seeing a regular European Suburb is like seeing the lost city of Atlantis.

[@pollitorsiones]

As a european, seeing a regular US Suburb is like seeing a nightmare to be honest

[@fighterwho]

@@pollitorsiones Nah US suburbs look beautiful imo. More space. More greenery.

[@anonymerdackel8513]

​@@fighterwho more greenery? If you think that a lawn with 1 cm high grass has something to do with greenery then yes

[@fighterwho]

@@anonymerdackel8513 I'm from EU and it's a hellscape in most of it. US suburbs are my dream

[@Samdui01]

​@@fighterwho exactly am from central europe and all of streets are just packed way too much for car to pass through US roads r dream

[@ssfc117]

I'm going to send this to my family. I know you have to generalize but seriously everything from Europe applied to my hometown in Washington. A paved bike path goes directly into Seattle to east connecting other suburbs, with a transit center and multiple express buses to light rail that take only about 15-25 minutes longer than driving to the same destination. Downtown was quant and walkable and there are tons of new 6/7 story apartments going up with restaurants and services on the bottom. Sidewalks connect the entirety of major thoroughfares. The largest improvements could be made in public transit, but even then it's really good for the country. It was nothing special when my folks bought my child house home over two decades ago but really fascinating to learn just how unusual it was in America I'm actually even about to take a bus home today from my university. I even was able to walk to school from elementary to junior high to high school. Odd

[@voldlifilm]

It's strange how the "land of the free" usually offers very few options to the people living there. I can't imagine getting into a car just to head downtown, unless you live in the country where there is one buss a day you don't need a car where I live.

[@simonjaz1279]

Uhhh yeah you never lived near the city I guess. Lmao

[@voldlifilm]

@@simonjaz1279 I live in Oslo, it's not much by American standards but I promise you it's a city.

[@simonjaz1279]

@@voldlifilm sooo then its not a city lmao

[@voldlifilm]

@@simonjaz1279 It's a European capital city, buddy.

[@simonjaz1279]

@@voldlifilm lol ik. Maybe I should have specified "american" city in my comment but I assumed you read into that. So, with that assumption I thought u meant a random town named Oslo (which exists in the United States btw buddy) lmao Basically, we don't NEED to drive a car in certain cities.

[@Soonjai]

As a European, the lack of any sidewalks in the first few US Suburb Clips you showed is really disturbing and weird to me.

[@paulknoll4261]

@Ostia Hermes dude posted cringe

[@Alex13501]

@Ostia Hermes We dont, but the alternative is WW3 so ye...

[@Alex13501]

@Ostia Hermes back at ya

[@patrickshell2813]

As an American, it was disturbing to me too

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

​@Ostia Hermes As an American it disturbs me that anyone would think the USA or UK or a monarchy is a good idea. If anti-globalists are allowed to be Separatists, then anti-nationalists & anti-monarchists are allowed to be Separatists. But rightards VIOLENTLY SUPPRESS and ARREST antimonarchists/separatists in the UK for speaking out against their worthless unnecessary childish freeloading monarchy.

[@shibolinemress8913]

My mother used to live in the little town of Springboro Ohio. The town was incorporated in 1815, long before zoning codes. While her area is in between stroads, it is still very walkable. There are schools, shops, restaurants, churches, a public library, an urgent care centre and a public park, all within easy walking distance and with no need to cross the stroads. It's so sad that newer suburbs can't be built like that anymore.

[@switch12345678]

The comparison here is actually nonsense. A suburb in the USA is compared with a district of Leipzig. But these suburbs with single-family houses on the green field can also be found in every suburb in Europe. There are few options for using public transport as well. The properties are just smaller and the distances shorter, but everyone drives by car.

[@boris2743]

cant have shit in ohio bruh

[@spectilia3566]

So glad someone mentioned this. I appreciate what he is saying, but what he is showing is not all US suburbs. Not even most around where I live. The only time you see the stuff he is showing is in Allotments (which I agree suck and need to fall in a hole), which have to be built in the middle of no where in order to get that yard space. He needs to compare a US suburb that is actually within or immediately adjacent to a city. It looks a heck of a lot more like the European one.

[@colechapman6976]

@@spectilia3566 I agree. My town is a 32 minute Amtrak train ride to NYC and it's wonderful. It has trees, sidewalks, interesting buildings that all vary, the roads are small, the downtown is quite nice, and everything is pretty walkable and it has ample park space. The only downside really is having to drive to the nearest Trader Joe's since it's 5 minutes away from my apartment and on a busy highway. Other than that, everything I could want I could just walk. A lot of towns in the northeast are like this, especially old suburbs

[@shibolinemress8913]

@@spectilia3566 Not necessarily; when I was young, my family lived in Centerville, Ohio, a suburb within the greater Dayton area and a few miles from Springboro, but newer. There were literally only single-family houses with cookie-cutter lawns, in blocks surrounded by ugly stroads. Going anywhere required a car. Springboro and Centerville, two neighbourhoods so close to each other, were in many ways worlds apart. The sad thing is that even in my mom's area of Springboro that is so walkable, few people actually walked. Everyone hopped in their cars even to go just a block or two. Nice for me because I could walk everywhere in peace and quiet, but sad that so few took advantage of the lovely neighbourhood they lived in.

[@ikonographics]

I live in a suburb of Athens in Greece and I have 3 supermarkets, 3 pharmacies, cafes, restaurants butcher, petshop, bus stations and train station and most other things you could need within 5 minute walking distance.

[@aassassin]

Space and Privacy >>> Traffic and Community

[@viinisaari]

Make no mistake, there are a lot of nonfunctional suburbs in Europe too. I've lived in both Sweden and Finland, and some suburbs here are _theoretically_ reachable by transit, but built so far away from all relevant centers that you are basically stuck there if you don't have a car. It does not help if you have a metro/commuter rail line within a 15 minute walk if the metro ride to the city takes 40 minutes on top of that.

[@Rockstone1969]

I think I have been to one of those in Stockholm. The problem is that the city has far too much land for the number of people. So they built their suburbs a 10 minute train ride away from the center. These suburbs have basic groceries but for anything you need to go to Stockholm center. Here (in NL) a 10 minute train ride would be a different city, with its own centers, shopping malls ect. E.g. Arnhem to Nijmegen (150k and 175k people cities) is a 12 minute Intercity ride and there is a village in between (Elst, approx. 20k people).

[@lob5645]

The UK has a lot of car-centric suburbs and even cities as well, especially as you get further away from London.

[@boshkostanisic7205]

Lol I live in Tallahassee, Florida, and that's the time it takes me to get to university everyday with the bus. I feel like most Americans would not be shocked at all by a 40min or 1hr commuting time or so, car or not.

[@PAcifisti]

Don't forget one important factor - population density. We have quite a lot less people here and sadly it's impossible to make proper public transport for a tiny suburb. At that point it's more environmental that people living there use cars instead of empty busses driving through the suburbs

[@ArchieStiglitz]

That's just plain wrong what you are saying about Stockholm. I live here and nowhere in Stockholm or it's suburbs are you stuck without a car like in the U.S. and nowhere are you 40 min away by train to a "relevant center". Of course there sometimes are distances to travel like in any major city but you make it sound like there's a problem that I really do not think exist the way you put it.

[@otohikoamv]

I still remember when me and my (Canadian) friend were visiting another friend who lived in a Florida suburb. While he was at work one day, we decided to go for a walk and look for some food. Well that was a mistake. Walking in 36 degree heat for like 1 hours, all we finally managed to find was a gas station. It was honestly pretty horrible!

[@nunya___]

Never go to Florida in summer, go in February. I visit family in key Largo in winter. Even they leave by summer. :)

[@tonywalters7298]

That temperature is miserable either in Celsius or Fahrenheit

[@FernandoHernandez-jw4yy]

My father (white European) got stoped by a police patrol once while he was visiting the US. He got stopped simply because he was walking trough a Suburb. When they realised he was European they immeately changed their behaviour because they apparently think that there are only two reasons why people would walk in such an area: They're either poor (and this more likely to be in conflict with the law, e.g. suspects) or from some country of crazy people who like to walk everywhere (Canadaians, Europeans, Asians, Californians etc.).

[@nunya___]

@@FernandoHernandez-jw4yy This is normal. If someone sees "a strange man" wandering around their home, they report it and police are _required_ to respond. My friend has a shooting range on his rural 15 acres and every time he's _legally_ shooting, the neighbors call and deputies come, hang out, chat a bit, then leave. It has nothing to do with walking. Also Recently, I was teaching a friend to drive stick in an empty carpark. The police questioned us, then just watched us for 30 minutes. Maybe thought we were there to rob the place. ?

[@georgygeorgiev8882]

@@nunya___ Nothing "normal" in that lol

[@ellainastorms]

American suburbs are not created on a grid because they are created to be protective and not easy to pass through. It's a safety feature.

[@gabrielrcortina]

Northern Chicago suburbs are actually incredibly nice! It honestly depends on the town, but plenty of them give your privacy at the same time as having everything close by.

[@Driga_]

European suburbs are much better for the environment too

[@horstheinemann2132]

@@aturchomicz821 Which is not possible in central Europe because space does not grow on trees.

[@Simplicitywins]

If you believe this person's biased propaganda, then it would seem that way. If you consider reality, personal freedoms & privacy, & other vast differences between the US & Europe, then you'd see it's inaccurate & more complex.

[@flow185]

@@Simplicitywins i live in europe. We have as much if not even more freesom than the us without having surburbs that look like gm_construct

[@Simplicitywins]

​@@flow185 What's your frame of reference on what the ACTUAL standard suburb looks like in the US, the advantages, or the cultural differences that cause many to prefer one vs the other? If it's this video, then it's too inaccurate to form a realistic perspective. As for freedoms, what freedoms do you believe Europe has upheld better? I have seen zero evidence of that being true, but I'm open to the knowledge & experience of others. I fully recognize & appreciate that Europe has done plenty of things better than the US, but both lead the way in plenty of ways. I believe Europe & the US can learn a lot from each other. That would be more clear if there were less propaganda.

[@thomasfisher4833]

@@Simplicitywins My frame of reference isn't just *this* video, it's lots of similiar videos as well. Now, you were the first person to mention freedoms and cultural differences and whatnot, so really I think the onus is one you to provide some examples. Anyway, here's a few off the top of my head. Freedom to select from whatever means of transport you prefer. (Freedom to spend your hard earned cash on things besides a car). Freedom to get some regular exercise (Americans could do with some more of that). Freedom to get to places quickly. Freedom to afford a house (denser housing -> more housing -> cheaper housing)(generally speaking)(Considering how much land the US has, it's a minor miracle they've managed to have less available housing than Europe.) As for privacy: generally, our houses aren't made of glass (or I wouldn't be throwing stones) so you can do whatever you want inside your own property. Perhaps you can't play a private game of baseball on your massive lawn, although I doubt that you do that frequently enough to require one. Probably you could just rent a pitch somewhere. That being said, big lawns do exist in Europe, but they're expensive. This goes back to my "freedom to own a house" statement earlier. You can 100% get what you get in American suburbs, in Europe. You just have to be rich enough. (And if you aren't rich enough, shoulda used a little bit more elbow grease eh? Lazy freeloader wants the government to subsidise his lawn.) Thinking about it, if you want the American suburb experience, you could probably just live somewhere rural in Europe. Big lawns and privacy etc., but it still takes about as long to get to the city centre. (Because there's way less traffic). Finally, cultural differences. I don't give two hoots about culture. What's good is good, no matter where you're from.

[@natt7758]

I've lived in southern Poland my whole life and the idea of American suburbs literally scares me. I mean, it all looks like some kind of a creepy backrooms space! In Europe, when you walk through the suburbs, you see life; the houses are varied and I'd say more "lively". In the US there's so much empty space... I could never live there!

[@tomhoedt6467]

It depends in what metropolitan area the suburb is for example NYC suburbs in NEw Jersey are very diverse and you have everything close by

[@natt7758]

​@@tomhoedt6467 yes I agree, sorry if I overgeneralized the American suburbs. I've never actually been to the US

[@TheLatinoExplorer]

Scary😂😂😂😂 you guys are literally going to get invaded by Russia and soon. Wtf are you talking about lol scary 😂😂😂😂 bro you better wake up and fast!!! If Russia would be that close to a U.S suburb like they are to your country the world would have ended already we don’t play those pretend games here.

[@tomhoedt6467]

@@TheLatinoExplorer I don’t think so Poland is part of EU and NATO

[@nickw8071]

Scares you…. What a drip

[@getsecond4005]

Bro picked one suburban area from each country and called it a day 😂😂😂

[@mtbrocket]

It is also to do with when the neighborhood was made. When I was a kid I lived in Chevy Chase MD. The street I lived on was so narrow cars going in opposite directions had to take turns. The streets also had giant oak shade trees. I rode my bike to middle school and the public bus and train for high school. We visited Rock Creek park every day to walk the dog. Now I live in Chandler AZ and we have to drive my kids to school which is two and a half miles from my house. We spend so little time out side we don’t even use our back yard. It is near impossible to do anything without a car. Everything is so spread out that if you even choose to walk or use a bike you have to go on a loud, busy road with no shade in 115 degree heat. The sidewalks are all zigzagging and the bike lane is only a few feet wide and full of bacteria filled excess grass-yard water…in the desert.

[@zxcvzxcvzxvzcvzxcv]

in Switzerland, little pre-school kids go to kindergarten on their own, or in small groups. it's organized and parents and teachers stay in close contact over the phone but it was still unbelievable for me to see that in the beginning. kids are trained how to cross the street at a pedestrian crossing, also there are underground passages around schools. it's sometimes really amusing to watch the little people walking slowly through the street, stopping for a minute because they see a cat, or having to pick up every pretty leave fallen from a tree. or standing at a crossing until some car arrives and gives them the way, the driver laughing and cheering the little one. I once saw a little man walking alone and crying and the teacher was standing at the door of the kindergarten supporting him from a distance, come on you can do it. incredible

[@bogdan1213]

keep in mind that Switzerland is a white supremacist country. a few slashed throat-s as cultural enrichment and you can forget about all that.

[@tanja26.11.]

💪

[@jamesbond-ew6ez]

I know, i spent 6 months in Lausanne and i was shocked to see kids so small go to school alone, but it's very safe, cars are driving 10 km per hour nearby, everyone respects the safety laws

[@SoniasWay]

As someone who doesn’t live in America or Europe, I find this really interesting

[@GustSergeant]

Do you call Australia home?

[@100cents5]

@@bababababababa6124 how is she lucky? She lives in India

[@miguelpadeiro762]

@@bababababababa6124 Dude praise India for everything you want, but public transport? Bro...

[@goosemann2389]

@n shut up ive seen your alts saying the same thing

[@plaguerim5608]

@@bababababababa6124 my brother in christ do you even know what you are talkin' about?

[@TheTrueVirus22]

I am from Germany and I have stayed in the US for vacations as well as for over half a year for studies and while I do like the US, i probably will never get over the structure of most cities and the high dependency on cars. To me it is just insanity.

[@nofakeanimals9297]

As an American, I'm 16 and until I get at least a level 2 learners permit I can't go anywhere without finding a parent or a friends parent to drive me and with North Carolina pushing retarded new driving laws that extend the the amount of time I need to " learn" it's going to be years before I can get my full licence, not to mention that the DMV is always under staffed and months behind it is pathetic

[@emilflarsen2]

Really makes me appreciate my home country Denmark. Even the smaller towns here that are part of bigger cities has great public transport so you can live almost anywhere and still have great access to stores, movie theaters, parks etc.

[@blankface5052]

I bet y’all also don’t have as many homeless people who defecate in the streets too. Sometimes there’s a good reason for not wanting certain people to be able to travel where you live, Bc it’s a two way street. You can get to the city, but they can get to the suburb.

[@emilflarsen2]

@@blankface5052 Oh yeah we don't deal with that at all. We have such a little percent of homelessness (5.800 out of a population of 5.800.000) and out of those, half of them actually lives in 'hostels' that we offer. And for the rest we offer them a lot of help. We have a homeless magazine called "Hus Forbi" which they can sell as a job and earn a a good amount of money and since health care is accessible to anyone, police will do regular check-ups on the homeless and if in need bring them for a check-up.

[@inertboi]

Is Denmark even real?

[@MrDanDant]

It's not only sun and roses here in Europe as well. In Czech Republic we have a phenomenon (somehow surviving from 1990s) called "satelite towns" which are basically american-style suburbs made somewhere "out of city centre" usually lacking any appropriate public transport options. They are usually private development projects where a firm buys parcels and builds a block of houses (one same as the other) and sells them afterwards. The "building phase" of satelite-towns died out after 2008 crissis, yet still significant portion of people live there. "Soccer mums" over there are called "green widows" and they are also mostly relegated to be mamataxi and dependent on their husbands (at least as far as the income goes) who spend most of their days out of satelite to support the family and pay-out the mortgage.

[@prosandcons-fl2cc]

That sucks but at least its not like the US where its everywhere

[@danielevans8910]

Europe is perfect stfu

[@laurie7689]

In the US suburbs, households typically have more than one vehicle. Husbands and wives both drive. I live in a suburb in the USA. This suburb was created in the 1950's also well outside of any city center. It started out first as a milling company built next to a cargo railroad track. There were originally dorms and small houses built for the employees. There was a company-owned store for the employees to shop at. The company was wiped out by a tornado about a decade later. However, the people stayed and other industries eventually came around. This place became a town. Eventually, it became a small city. It was never really planned for it to be a town or city, so there was never any design to it. There is no center to it at all. The closest things to a center that we have is the railroad (only for cargo trains) that runs through its center literally splitting the city into half. Suburbs were built into the hillsides for the people to live while the businesses, government, and farms took the flatlands in the valley. After all, they need more space for the larger buildings or, in the case of the farms, acreage. You'll find that a lot of towns and small cities started out under similar circumstances. They weren't planned. Most homes and small businesses are built around the larger industries. They are industry-centered, not government-centered.

[@tduforever5542]

Same situation in the northwest towards Kladno and Slaný

[@skitlus335]

@@RADZIO895try "satelitní město" if you don't mind the results being in Czech.. these are completely dead areas that only exist for people to sleep at night. I can't understand why anyone would think of such a dumb idea, or buy into it

[@thehornedserpent]

Some small Michigan and northern suburbs are actually very similar to European suburbs as most things are in walking distance. Definitely cool to see different suburbs across the world as an American though!

[@paulmieczkowski2043]

The land of free where you can't even go to park without a car. Being stuck at home/dependent on a car is not freedom to me hah.

[@Alex-pl3jp]

Living really close to neighbors doesn’t give off much freedom either, most people living in US suburbs are in walking distance of park / green spaces.

[@paulmieczkowski2043]

@@Alex-pl3jp I live at the moment in US. None of my suburbs friends live within walking distance of parks. It's generally like 10 mins drive to walk in a designated paths kinda park. Also, in their suburbs nobody walks, you only see some crazy looking junkie from time to time actually walking.

[@Alex-pl3jp]

@@paulmieczkowski2043 But there are fields and playgrounds within suburbs, they are generally no smaller than the ones you find within European Suburbs.

[@wimahlers]

@@Alex-pl3jp Can your 7/8 year old kid go the park independently? If not then it is just a glorified guarded backyard. Not freedom.

[@Alex-pl3jp]

@@wimahlers Would depend on safety of the neighborhood, but playgrounds are usually within walking distance, and besides, gardens are much bigger in American suburbs, many Suburban European homes don’t even have gardens.

[@MarkoVuckovic32]

I live in an European suburb and it is really amazing. You pretty much have everything from stores to schools, cafes to go out to, playgrounds for kids, walkable areas such as sidewalks and there is also a small park. US suburb looks more like a map in some video game than a place people actually live in. Also if I want to go to a bigger city, aside from car, I can also take a bus or even a train since most European suburbs also have a train and bus station.

[@larrybuchannan186]

The idea that American kid don't play with each other is such bs that you have to be really styoopi to believe Amerian kids play with each other and get together just fine. Nobody here gives a fak about or misses public transport I promise you.

[@MarkoVuckovic32]

@@larrybuchannan186 I didn't say that American kids don't play with each other, I just talked about stuff that you have in an European suburb. Also when it comes to public transport, you guys would appreciate it more if only it was done in a better and more efficient way.

[@simonjaz1279]

So this is not what alot of people like though. I live in a suburb...I dont want it to be a place for people to come hang out or go to school near my place. When you move closer to many us cities the suburbs seem more European in nature (especially in the older cities like boston). I promise there are places you can go that make it a copy paste of cluttered European suburbs. But there are many of us that strongly dislike that. Id rather it be a 10 minute drive instead. More relaxed and more fun tbh.

[@Narko_Marko]

which suburb?

[@miracleman8022]

Rather use my car lol busses or trains screw that

[@juulian1306]

Thanks for showing me that the European suburb I grew up in wasn't actually that bad. It was boring as a teen and I think it was a bad decision from an urban planning perspective but at least we have a decent bus connection there and the suburb itself is walkable aka escapable without a car. And it's not a mind numbing wasteland of copy paste houses.

[@julesy6922]

the united states is exactly like the suburb in this video and its literal hell on earth

[@general_electrics]

US urban development was generally driven (no pun intended) by social aims over practicality. Mistakes were made on purpose. The solutions to those mistakes are now more of a problem than the desired social outcome.

[@itsjohn-wv8en]

The European suburbs look very similar to the older/city suburbs that you will find inside or near major cities. We have a few of these in NJ

[@amadagoo8805]

I’m from Montreal and There’s a pretty big push for less car dependency in the city but also some suburbs like Laval who recently changed their zoning code to increase density and invest in public transit alongside smaller towns like Granby. We’re heading in the good direction and I hope places in the us outside of big cities will get a piece of that sweet sweet pie

[@That0neSkrub]

As someone who lives in Laval im ever so grateful for the fact they put a bus stop literally 3 minutes from my house, i live in the suburbs since that's what laval is mostly anyway, and gosh being able to walk somewhere instead of taking the car is amazing, We're headed in a good direction and im grateful, and as silly as it is, im happy they have parkings outside of Metros for some places, a car in Montreal is asking for 4 hours of parking search of 10 an hour private parking xD But i hope eventually those parkings outside of the metros arent needed since everyone can effeceintly take the bus. and we need the busses to have card readers, i never carry change anymore and it's a problem when taking the Bus anywhere

[@geographynerd7839]

As someone who lives in Montreal, I will be more than overjoyed when the REM opens up, as I always preferred PT over cars when I was little, as well as the crappy car dependent regions that are over reliant on cars that finally get connected to PT

[@amadagoo8805]

@@geographynerd7839 oh yeah same! The REM will change Mtl like the metro did Imo at least we can hope so

[@TheoEvian]

The Frenchies got it right! :D

[@geographynerd7839]

@@TheoEvian We actually have bike lanes that are not just gutters( unfortunately they are present in the suburbs)

[@h.a.9880]

As a German, seeing someone praising German city planning feels kinda weird... but then I look at the nightmarish hellscape of US cities and I know, things aren't so bad here after all. I give US suburbs this: The spacious lawns do look nice and tidy (if they are well kept) and I'd rather have a large garden than a small one if I could choose, but I get super uneasy when I look at aerial photos of dozens of square miles of near identical houses on near identical roads in a nearly limitless, fractal-like sprawl of suburban roads covering ground in an unnatural manner, integrated with this weird mosaic-like cubistic madness that is real-estate-planning in the US. Seriously, go to the online map of your choice and take a look at virtually any place in central US and you'll see that everything is one giant chessboard of squares. Squares of fields, squares of forests, squares of cities. It does not take the lay of the land into any account, it's literally just some guy with a ruler, pen, map and compass putting down a grid across an entire continent. I'm not into esoteric stuff, but if there is any merit to it, the US must be a snarl of broken ley-lines. Even when you're not into esoterics, looking at that kind of stuff does make you realize how terrible this all is. Then add an entirely car-centric planning for cities, industrial areas and so on and you end up with a total mess. This can't be good for mental health, even when you're part of the upper strata of society in a nice cozy suburban house in the middle of a giant metastasizing wasteland of identical homes.

[@Alias_Anybody]

A big piece of land is nice if you do something with it. A huge private lawn is IMO a waste of space. That could have been a garden, or forest, or field, be it for crops or sports.

[@baronvonjo1929]

@@AwesomeHairo Most people don't water their yards. That's a rare thing.

[@scooterxiv3778]

Totally agree. I frequently look into Satellite image over USA for a few hours at a time and compare to other places but the US is something different. Totally dystopian.

[@electrosyzygy]

In most places in North America, having a garden on your front lawn ist verboten! And people generally don't use their frontage because there's no privacy. So it's completely useless and a waste of time (mowing on Saturday mornings suck) and money (to achieve that perfect lawn look one needs to spend on herbicides and sometimes fertilizer). Many of these pesticides are carcinogenic, teratogenic, allergenic, you name it and have been banned in Europe. Over here, they'll stick a little sign in the grass saying not to walk on the grass. It's all so unbelievably dumb.

[@jakeaurod]

It's not city planning because it's not usually the city's responsibility. Suburbs are often developed outside of the city limit and belong either to a separate city, the county, the township or unincorporated part of the county/state. In other words, don't blame Chicago for the sprawl in Barrington.

[@cosmokramer1987]

I’m not against cars at all, what I am against is car-centric planning. Streetcars used to be the standard in the United States before the 1950s. In particular if anyone isn’t familiar look up the Pacific Electric railway in Los Angeles. Until General Motors started buying up all the streetcar companies and dismantled them it was almost like Europe in terms of transit. Having a car is good, but given an option to drive into work on a congested highway as opposed to taking an efficient and well built/planned and frequent light rail or subway combined with busses that runs 24/7. I’d choose the latter. In a perfect world you should be able to drive your car, so I’m at the time and most of the time be able to use public transit. Also, America must invest into its main streets again. Front yard businesses also are something you don’t see anymore. So much has gone into facilities for shopping and recreation that are so car centric. They make it impossible for people that don’t have cars to go there almost as if they are. In my opinion, this is hostile urban planning at its core. It’s like everybody after the 50s took on the Robert Moses style of urban planning.

[@smincesmeat316]

In Australia there’s a noticeable difference between older suburbs with high streets and quiet backstreets and newer suburbs with winding, maze-like roads with estates separated by 6 lane roads and sound barriers. The older suburbs aren’t perfect; there’s a distinct lack of public transport in a lot of them, besides busses. However, the streets are overall quieter, and corner shops aren’t usually too far away (though many have closed in decades past). There’s an almost measurable evolution in how developments have been designed, from previous extensions on existing villages to the current trend of having simultaneously crowded and isolated dwelling clusters.

[@drakvaclav826]

As someone, who's lived in the Czech Republic my whole life, and just recently got to experience the US (visiting a friend in Indiana, then going for a roadtrip to New York, through Boston and a stop in Connecticut), I was absolutely SHOCKED by how unnecessarily sprawled out the suburbs are. When we went to visit Chicago and NYC, I imagined these cities to be extremely dense, as the ones in east Asia. I was really surprised, when I found out that the giant high-rises immediately turn into a barely-urban-looking wasteland, just as you leave the city core. The nearest groceries store my friend has to his home is a Kroger's at least 15 minutes far away by car. A lot of Europeans know and love to laugh at Americans about this, but it's a completely different story, when you actually get to experience it. Other than that, from a car enthusiast standpoint, and having driven near to 6000 kms in the states, the roads in Europe are SO MUCH SAFER. In the US, you have no reflective bollards on the side of the highways or roads, making late-night driving very difficult. The mergers are sudden and very dangerous, absolutely NO ONE has an IDEA how to drive on a roundabout, and except for Chicago and NYC, the PT is barely existent. Except for the School Buses, those are ever-present, as they pick up every single child from their homes, since the schools are so extremely far away, they coudn't possibly make it by foot or bike.

[@theultimatereductionist7592]

Having lived in American suburbs my entire life, including for 4 years on campus at college and 4 years on campus at graduate school, yes - American roads are dangerous as hell for pedestrians and cyclists. 2011 to 2015 I put my car on ice and rode an electric-assist tricycle. Dangerous as hell, since there were no bike paths. However, the roads in the USA ARE incredibly safe BECAUSE they are so spread out. Moreover, and this is EXTREMELY important, the huge positive of American non-dense housing is that you are spaced FAR AWAY from your neighbor. Millions of people, including my brother, have had nothing but horrible experiences with shitty evil neighbors, whether in next door apartment buildings, or in single-family units that are squeezed close together, like my brother suffers now in his single family unit with horrible neighbors on either side. So that is the ONE HUGE benefit of suburban low density: DECENTRALIZATION and BEING FAR from your neighbor.

[@drakvaclav826]

@@theultimatereductionist7592 Yup, isolation has it's own benefits. And yep, having driven through Napanee, IN, that being a huge place for the Amish, I was surprised how there were basically no bike paths, no sideroad lane, nothing. It's bikes driving next to 18-wheelers. Insane.

[@chad2522]

@@drakvaclav826 I mean Czech Republic and it’s culture is great, but it’s like 1/4 the size of an average state and population wise is close to a state. It’s really going to be a lot different since USA is huge

[@drakvaclav826]

@@chad2522 That's true, however - The style of building towns and cities is very different in the states. In Kazachstan, for example, their towns, though being thousands of kilometres apart, are still very congested within. The US towns don't have that, they cover an area 4 times the size of what an average town of the same population would cover in Europe/Asia. This makes walking around kinda difficult.

[@Jack-tk1is]

Did you noticed on thumbnail, Those US houses were Waterfront 🤩😍

[@flowerpotinc]

As someone who bikes to school every day, I'm incredibly jealous of communities with consistant bike lanes. It would be so nice to be able to bike to school without almost getting hit by a car every time lol

[@brabrabarabra5027]

It's really not a standard in germany at all yet. there are some pioneer cities like shown. But where I live, I would not let children younger than 14 ride anywhere through the city by bicycle. It's so dangerous.

[@ilikeonions1051]

Yea, as the person above said, many suburbs dont have bike lanes. As somebody who lives in polish suburb, while there are some bike lanes, they dont help that much as they cut out fairly quickly. Similiar thing in other towns i have been to, people here usually ride on bike either slowly on sidewalk (if not busy) or between main road and sidewalk. So yea, it would definitely be nice to be able to get around without making other participants in street life annoyed while doing it safely. ...And then, there is Netherlands, Lmao. If you will google map of Europe with bike pathes included, Whole country will get colored.

[@RTXpl]

@@ilikeonions1051 But Holland still has fewer bike paths than USA :)

[@ilikeonions1051]

@@RTXpl first of all, its Netherlands, Holand is just a small part of Netherlands but i suppose you are just American so i cant expect too much. Now, US is much much bigger, obviously they will have more bike lanes (duh), but if you will count by density of bike lanes (in which usually amount of streets, railways etc is measured in) Netherlands is unquestionable winner.

[@RTXpl]

@@ilikeonions1051 than, according to Cambridge dictionary “Holland” is acceptable name for Kingdom of Netherlands but by your nick I suppose you are Polak Biedak Cebulak so i expected that “Polak nie rozumie co się dookoła niego dzieje” Now, Netherlands are significantly smaller than average US State, But if you count by density of roads NL has much more kilometers of highways per 1000km2 then America so they had built big highways system and then they add Bike paths. Commuting in Netherlands focuses around cars and driving to neighbor city on wide roads just like in US,

[@CmdrShepardsPie]

Just read this headline and thought about sharing it here: "Gov. Polis’ housing proposal would allow duplexes, townhomes, ADUs across many cities in Colorado" "The Polis administration has laid out a sweeping plan that would explicitly allow more dense housing across Colorado’s increasingly expensive metropolitan areas and resort communities, even if residents and local elected officials object to it."

[@rexx9496]

I lived in a suburb in Los Angeles that was very much like the European suburb pictured here. It was pretty walkable in a city that often isn't very walkable.

[@teejaybee8222]

Streetcar suburb probably. The Red Cars back in the early 1900s spawned a lot of those places like Pasadena, Highland Park, Santa Monica where walk-ability was paramount before most people had personal cars.