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Are Europeans jealous of American wealth?

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Made in the USA
This is going to shock you and I know you will disagree with me, but Greece could very well lead the world in non-violent crime. There hasn't been one single day I have spent in that country where I haven't witnessed a law being violated. Not small things, but major transgressions


The type of crime that is completely our of control in Athens is non-violent crimes like simple theft, pick-pocketing, and especially fraud. The institutional corruption and fraud is so widespread at every level of the society, especially government, that it would be very hard to measure accurately.


Anecdotal evidence which you repeat over and over again. I can find x1000 tourists who will say otherwise.

And the answer to the first and highly stupid notion that Greece is the Queen of Non-Violent Crime is very simple: statistics.
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/gr-greece/cri-crime

Well if you believe the UN, Uni of Cal/Berkeley, the CIA and etc, Greece is extremely safe in any respect, violent or non-violent, to a degree that it's a joke to compare it with America. Non-violent crime such as fraud and theft per capita are ridicilously low. Using CIA statistics btw :rofl: Violent crime is even lower.

And yes Greece's corruption is off the charts. How do you go from there to "societal" crime is beyond me.

I won't quote the rest with the taxi drivers and etc because as I said, anecdotal evidence is not debateable as people simply disagree. Do you have any facts?

Oh I forgot to say, yes, piracy too is widespread in Greece.
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 141
Avatar for Ripper
Ripper
6
Why do some Americans seem to think that European culture is all the same thing regardless of country
Original post by No Man
Frankly, I don't understand why American roads like this have a speed limit.


The chances of anyone seeing you in the middle of the desert are so slim, no one really pays attention to speed limits. Here is a video someone did in their Corvette doing damn near 200 mph in eastern Nevada desert.

Original post by tehFrance
Not uncommon to see 80mph speed limits... oh how up to date you are :rolleyes:


I love it how people who have never been here think they know more about a country than the people who live here. :rolleyes:

Reply 144
Avatar for KCosmo
KCosmo
14
Original post by janco
I've only lived in Europe for a year due to my mother's stupid job, but on a recent trip to Monaco, I noticed how desperate people were to display their 'wealth'. All of the women were wearing fur coats, and the men thought they were all it because they wore Rolex watches. I was in the mood for a burger and bought one from a street vendor, and he proceeded to get a plate with a knife and fork and serve it under a sun-umbrella. I was enjoying it until I saw the bill and it was 15 euros for the burger and a bit of salad. It just struck me as so pretensious and ostentatious. To me, as an American, I've always been used to being surrounded by wealth but not having to brag about it like Europeans do. I suppose this is the reason that Monte Carlans were desperate to show off; to kid themselves that they have life as we do in the States. Do you agree?


The average standard of living in Monte Carlo is far greater than that of the average American. It's all fancy in Monte Carlo because they are super rich, they're not showing off it's just what's normal for them. I think that far from trying to show off their wealth, it was you who was slightly dumbstruck by being surrounded by such wealth as you have never seen. Also I can't see how you can extrapolate your experience of one place as evidence of an entire continents attitude!

P.S. I've been to monte carlo aswell, it's awesome!!! Very expensive though :tongue:

Edit: When I went there, I too was totally dumbstruck by their massive wealth! :tongue: They pretty much have no taxes. To buy a small flat/apartment over there costs exponentially higher than the average of Europe or America.
(edited 13 years ago)
Oh the ignorance in these pages :s-smilie:
You can't judge an entire continent (with 50 different countries, and even more different cultures) based on a visit to one (or even a few) places.
The level of personal wealth is incredibly similar between the USA and Western Europe (especially with Great Britain), but that's on average.
The UK's average personal disposable income is almost as much as the average in the USA... except we also have things like free healthcare (and some other better systems).
Of course, which places are "better" is actually down to personal interpretation, so I'm not going to say anywhere is "way better" than the USA. I personally prefer living in my country (but I HAVE lived in the USA before, so I can actually compare), and I prefer travelling in places like Europe because there's a lot more to see.
Reply 146
Avatar for No Man
No Man
15
Original post by Made in the USA
I love it how people who have never been here think they know more about a country than the people who live here. :rolleyes:


Ironically, Americans are the same about the rest of the world.
Original post by Made in the USA
I love it how people who have never been here think they know more about a country than the people who live here. :rolleyes:


I have been to the US, Los Angeles :biggrin:

But the fact that you have to point out you have 80mph is quite sad as don't all countries in the Western world have 70-80mph on highways?
(edited 13 years ago)
Reply 148
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Partisan
For some reason Europeans enjoy mocking Americans have this unwarranted sense of superiority/condescending attitude. We don't mind :smile:
Original post by Partisan
For some reason Europeans enjoy mocking Americans have this unwarranted sense of superiority/condescending attitude. We don't mind :smile:


Actually, you'll find this in both direcetions, quite a lot. But mostly in the ignorant portions of both of our societies, where people just believe stereotypes and make assumptions.
Not relating to exactly what you are saying, but...

It seems that over here in the UK (maybe the rest of Europe), it is seen as a bad thing to be rich or successful. People look down (or should I say 'up') to richer people with disgust. I think it is a form of jealousy. I'm not saying people dislike others who act 'posh' or middle/upper class, but like I said, the dislike is based simply on economic status and wealth. It seems money isn't allowed to be celebrated.

However, the impression I get of the US is that economic success is seen as good thing. Something worth celebrating. It seems that people with success are looked up to with respect, and no one hates them or is jealous of them because of the success. The money simply shows that they are a hard working person, opposed to the UK where it shows you are a bad person.

I'm not trying to promote one country over another, or promoting one political ideology over another, but this is just how I see it.

Does anyone agree? Or see where I am coming from? I am sure it is not just me.
Reply 151
Avatar for Jørgen
Jørgen
Original post by emilymay
(...) Mathematics mostly seems to date back to the greeks, Pythagoras, the founder of Pythagoras's Theorem was a greek genius, and so many engineering and mechanical calculations rely on his method. Archimedes, greek mathematician, Aristotle, greek philosopher, Plato, greek philosopher and mathematician, Alexander the Great, one of the greatest military geniusus of all time, and Homer, an epic poet who is still published today. (...)


Just to clarify (completely off-topic here), Pythagoras was not the first person to come up with "Pythagoras's Theorem", but it has indeed been named after him because he was a great mathematician. :wink:
You're not going to find any one place, least of all Monte Carlo, that's representative of all of Europe because it's not actually one homogeneous area :erm:
Reply 153
Avatar for bcottle
bcottle
Original post by Samwest1992
Not relating to exactly what you are saying, but...

It seems that over here in the UK (maybe the rest of Europe), it is seen as a bad thing to be rich or successful. People look down (or should I say 'up') to richer people with disgust. I think it is a form of jealousy. I'm not saying people dislike others who act 'posh' or middle/upper class, but like I said, the dislike is based simply on economic status and wealth. It seems money isn't allowed to be celebrated.

However, the impression I get of the US is that economic success is seen as good thing. Something worth celebrating. It seems that people with success are looked up to with respect, and no one hates them or is jealous of them because of the success. The money simply shows that they are a hard working person, opposed to the UK where it shows you are a bad person.

I'm not trying to promote one country over another, or promoting one political ideology over another, but this is just how I see it.

Does anyone agree? Or see where I am coming from? I am sure it is not just me.



I agree, I get the impression that in the USA success is appreciated. It is all about the American dream and people are more willing to strive to reach the dream and are not disrespectful to those who have made it.

In the UK people seem to give up on being successful so early and become bitter towards anyone successful, anyone with money is seen as a crook who should be beaten down to their level.
Original post by tehFrance
I have been to the US, Los Angeles :biggrin:

But the fact that you have to point out you have 80mph is quite sad as don't all countries in the Western world have 70-80mph on highways?


14 states have 80 MPH, it's hardly uncommon to see that. Some rural areas are so sparcely populated that it's almost impossible to enforce any kind of limit. That's why youtube is full of people driving their corvettes 200 mph in the nevada desert and there is not a cop in sight for miles and miles.

Some western countries have very low speed limits like Norway or New Zealand
Original post by Made in the USA
14 states have 80 MPH, it's hardly uncommon to see that. Some rural areas are so sparcely populated that it's almost impossible to enforce any kind of limit. That's why youtube is full of people driving their corvettes 200 mph in the nevada desert and there is not a cop in sight for miles and miles.

Some western countries have very low speed limits like Norway or New Zealand

I was following you until you said a corvette could do 200mph. :giggle: Don't kid yourself.
Reply 156
Avatar for Jørgen
Jørgen
Original post by Made in the USA
14 states have 80 MPH, it's hardly uncommon to see that. Some rural areas are so sparcely populated that it's almost impossible to enforce any kind of limit. That's why youtube is full of people driving their corvettes 200 mph in the nevada desert and there is not a cop in sight for miles and miles.

Some western countries have very low speed limits like Norway or New Zealand


Indeed, and with the relatively poor quality of the roads, the amount of curves in the landscape and the rather harsh weather during winter, you wouldn't want anyone driving around at too high speed (in Norway) :wink:

Doesn't really bother me too much!
Your wealth of idiots? Maybe. :holmes:
Original post by Made in the USA


Some western countries have very low speed limits like Norway or New Zealand


New Zealand is not in the west... it's about as far east as you can get.
But yeah... there are lost of differnet speed limits in differnet countries.
Original post by alexs2602
I was following you until you said a corvette could do 200mph. :giggle: Don't kid yourself.


It depends on what model. A base model corvette we can buy for 24,500 GBP will do 190 MPH. A corvette Z06 tops out at 198 MPH and a ZR1 Corvette 205 mph and that's stock and no one has a stock corvette.

What is so great about a US V8 is a very cheap and simple modifications will boost power quite significantly. My last Corvette was a base car but I put headers, high flow catalytic converters, an x-pipe, and had the ECU reprogrammed. With near as makes no difference, 500 hp, I'm quite certain those modifications are good for at least another 10 mph on the top end.

I really miss that car quite a bit, sold it and got a 6 year old Carrera S Porsche 911. The Porsche's engine is completely gutless compared to the US V8 and is also less reliable, more expensive to maintain, and far less economical. How did those brilliant german engineers manage that one?

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