Myself being born in Romania and grown up in those grey concrete blocks. I aspire to be closer to nature as much as I can. While I lived in London, the weather was not great, but it has lots of green parks, that make city life much nicer.
Thanks, Andrea! This piece is biased towards nature, I know. :) But I do agree that many big cities like London have important green areas that one can enjoy, almost as much as being on a patch of forest.
Interesting enough I was born in Bucharest, moved to Los Angeles in 91 and grew up there. I recently went to Bucharest and found it amazingly green and walkable compared to Los Angeles which might be one of the ugliest places in the world.
Agreed, especially downtown LA is the ugliest place, one of the most disappointing experience when I visited California. Never been to Bucharest, great that it's greener :)
The sad thing about so many American cities not in the East Coast is that they are car based, basically concrete freeways and strip malls. Unwalkable. If the Soviet block apartments building defined the illness of 20th century Eastern Europe the freeway and lack of sidewalks defines the ills of the USA.
Never been to LA but I can imagine. True, most big cities in the US are car-dependent and it's such a different lifestyle to drive everywhere and not have actual city centers, in the European-city sense. One exception not on the east coast is Chicago, which was a pleasant surprise for me.
"If the Soviet block apartments building defined the illness of 20th century Eastern Europe the freeway and lack of sidewalks defines the ills of the USA." -- love this sentence, Alexandru!
Wow this is so striking! I see now what you mean about feeling no attachment or belonging to your home. How could you, to a place so sterile. Your metaphors and similes are fantastic, and the comparisons between the dead, grey old world and the vibrant, colorful new life is beautiful.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Angie. Yeah, rationally hard to attach to such a place like my hometown. But I keep thinking: my genes and my roots do come from there, so not being attached might be the reason I feel rootless? Or do I deny my attachment? Something to ponder on more. ;-)
That resonates, John. I moved to suburbia 2 years ago after living in big cities all my life. It really improved my well-being on all accounts. I can only imagine going one step further into the countryside! 🙏🏼
Both places sound great to explore! There is so much wilderness in this world, but humans are concentrated on patches of fabricated concrete. Enjoy SA! :)
I spent my childhood in a postcard perfect Belgian town with manicured everything, then lived in my hometown of Moscow and travelled all over Europe extensively for many years. In Moscow I lived in the historical center, and loved every minute there, it was beautiful, indescribably vibrant and crazy in its roaring twenties years circa 2000-2015. I completely understand what you mean by the industrialized, sterile, cemented into oblivion towns, of which our Eastern European lands have plenty. This sort of sterilization seems to be creeping up on most larger cities, unfortunately.
I then moved to NYC, which I hated, except the museums and the opera. I've found that the nature is truly astounding in the US, and there's vastness and variety like nowhere in Europe, but the cities are underwhelming to say the least compared to Europe. Aesthetic and functional urban spaces are non existent, and the suburban sprawl is just dysmal and utterly depressing. The city/town scape is generally very ugly. Here in the US, I'd prefer to live in nature. In Europe, historical city centers.
What an interesting life path! I think you were lucky to grow up in western Europe vs. Moscow, although I imagine there are everywhere pockets of a wonderful life and culture, and especially nature.
I think cities like NYC, Paris or London are great to visit but undesirable to live in. And the US cities without any soul but with lots of concrete and highways, it's just poor quality of life. Yes, the nature in the US is impressive! I lived for 2 years in a small college town in the Appalachian mountains and I can say that's where I truly lived properly for the first time, surrounded by hills and gardens.
Thanks again for reading my pieces and adding such beautiful nuances and expat life stories to them!
Lovely story Monica.
Myself being born in Romania and grown up in those grey concrete blocks. I aspire to be closer to nature as much as I can. While I lived in London, the weather was not great, but it has lots of green parks, that make city life much nicer.
Thanks, Andrea! This piece is biased towards nature, I know. :) But I do agree that many big cities like London have important green areas that one can enjoy, almost as much as being on a patch of forest.
Interesting enough I was born in Bucharest, moved to Los Angeles in 91 and grew up there. I recently went to Bucharest and found it amazingly green and walkable compared to Los Angeles which might be one of the ugliest places in the world.
Agreed, especially downtown LA is the ugliest place, one of the most disappointing experience when I visited California. Never been to Bucharest, great that it's greener :)
The sad thing about so many American cities not in the East Coast is that they are car based, basically concrete freeways and strip malls. Unwalkable. If the Soviet block apartments building defined the illness of 20th century Eastern Europe the freeway and lack of sidewalks defines the ills of the USA.
Never been to LA but I can imagine. True, most big cities in the US are car-dependent and it's such a different lifestyle to drive everywhere and not have actual city centers, in the European-city sense. One exception not on the east coast is Chicago, which was a pleasant surprise for me.
"If the Soviet block apartments building defined the illness of 20th century Eastern Europe the freeway and lack of sidewalks defines the ills of the USA." -- love this sentence, Alexandru!
Wow this is so striking! I see now what you mean about feeling no attachment or belonging to your home. How could you, to a place so sterile. Your metaphors and similes are fantastic, and the comparisons between the dead, grey old world and the vibrant, colorful new life is beautiful.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Angie. Yeah, rationally hard to attach to such a place like my hometown. But I keep thinking: my genes and my roots do come from there, so not being attached might be the reason I feel rootless? Or do I deny my attachment? Something to ponder on more. ;-)
I live in the country now, and would never go back even to suburbia
That resonates, John. I moved to suburbia 2 years ago after living in big cities all my life. It really improved my well-being on all accounts. I can only imagine going one step further into the countryside! 🙏🏼
❤❤❤❤
Im from the wilds of New Zealand... living deep up in the bush. Now Im in South AFrica on a farm.
Im so glad you got out :) !
Both places sound great to explore! There is so much wilderness in this world, but humans are concentrated on patches of fabricated concrete. Enjoy SA! :)
Thank you for a thought provoking post.
I spent my childhood in a postcard perfect Belgian town with manicured everything, then lived in my hometown of Moscow and travelled all over Europe extensively for many years. In Moscow I lived in the historical center, and loved every minute there, it was beautiful, indescribably vibrant and crazy in its roaring twenties years circa 2000-2015. I completely understand what you mean by the industrialized, sterile, cemented into oblivion towns, of which our Eastern European lands have plenty. This sort of sterilization seems to be creeping up on most larger cities, unfortunately.
I then moved to NYC, which I hated, except the museums and the opera. I've found that the nature is truly astounding in the US, and there's vastness and variety like nowhere in Europe, but the cities are underwhelming to say the least compared to Europe. Aesthetic and functional urban spaces are non existent, and the suburban sprawl is just dysmal and utterly depressing. The city/town scape is generally very ugly. Here in the US, I'd prefer to live in nature. In Europe, historical city centers.
What an interesting life path! I think you were lucky to grow up in western Europe vs. Moscow, although I imagine there are everywhere pockets of a wonderful life and culture, and especially nature.
I think cities like NYC, Paris or London are great to visit but undesirable to live in. And the US cities without any soul but with lots of concrete and highways, it's just poor quality of life. Yes, the nature in the US is impressive! I lived for 2 years in a small college town in the Appalachian mountains and I can say that's where I truly lived properly for the first time, surrounded by hills and gardens.
Thanks again for reading my pieces and adding such beautiful nuances and expat life stories to them!