Seattle thoughts...
May. 23rd, 2011 02:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranWell, that was fun. Of all the US cities I've been to, Seattle is the one that seems most like Australia, and where I could most easily imagine myself living. Previously, I've observed that Vancouver is the Canadian city most like Australia too, so maybe it's something about the North-west in general.
It probably didn't hurt that, combined with Redmond and Bellevue, this is real Nerd Country. I found myself overhearing techie conversations everywhere. It seems like just about everyone on the buses has at least a smart phone and there are lots of ebook readers to be seen around the cafés (although that might be just my ignorance showing if there's been some kind of flashover in the last six months).
The people I met were also all very polite (almost Canadian, in fact) - I even had drivers stop for me when it appeared I was on the verge of committing jaywalking. I'm pretty sure that would never happen in Sydney. Then again, in the interests of full disclosure, I also saw a near accident on the viaduct and the driver of the yellow Prius taxi that got cut off when ballistic on the horn for the next five minutes.
On the other hand, I also have to acknowledge that the areas I passed through were mainly well-to-do and mainly white (or non-threatening Asian). Which gives me the nagging feeling that maybe the bits of the US that I like the most are just the bits without all the poor people. Not such a comforting thought...
It probably didn't hurt that, combined with Redmond and Bellevue, this is real Nerd Country. I found myself overhearing techie conversations everywhere. It seems like just about everyone on the buses has at least a smart phone and there are lots of ebook readers to be seen around the cafés (although that might be just my ignorance showing if there's been some kind of flashover in the last six months).
The people I met were also all very polite (almost Canadian, in fact) - I even had drivers stop for me when it appeared I was on the verge of committing jaywalking. I'm pretty sure that would never happen in Sydney. Then again, in the interests of full disclosure, I also saw a near accident on the viaduct and the driver of the yellow Prius taxi that got cut off when ballistic on the horn for the next five minutes.
On the other hand, I also have to acknowledge that the areas I passed through were mainly well-to-do and mainly white (or non-threatening Asian). Which gives me the nagging feeling that maybe the bits of the US that I like the most are just the bits without all the poor people. Not such a comforting thought...
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no subject
Date: 2011-05-23 08:19 am (UTC)The poor people probably don't like the poor parts of the USA either - so your reactions are reasonable.
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Date: 2011-05-23 08:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-05-23 08:57 pm (UTC)If you feel bad, donate to an urban renewal project, or get involved in mentoring.