Digital Nomads

It looks old because it is old. Republicans. Waddaya gonna do?

The US is very good at building and maintaining structures, so they usually last hundreds of years and only need periodic major updates.

Other countries have buildings that they don’t maintain and are falling apart in 30 years. Not many of their buildings are over 100 years old and stuff like tile and such needs replaced sooner due to lack of building standards

Because it hasn’t because remodeling doesn’t create profits

trillion dollars spent on the wars in iraq and afghanistan instead of local infrastructure

I feel like US is spending too much on its military and foreign affairs. Imagine all those billions spent on infrastructure instead. I was kinda shocked when I moved here, like you said, highways, public transport (in Chciago for example) looks like it's collapsing. Ill never get why "America first" was considered racist in any way. It is exactly what this country needs.

I remember coming home to NYC from Kyiv and the drive from JFK to Manhattan was just as bleak as the outskirts of Kyiv. How is the biggest city in the US so dilapidated and awful? The subway system looks like the set of Saw V. Not sure where the money goes in local and federal gov but can safely say it isn't infrastructure.

I think you’d find Ray Dalio’s thoughts on the fall of the American Empire interesting

You are comparing the city center facade of shiny cities that barely even had electricity 30 years ago, to shitty parts of the US like Detroit.

If you were to actually live and integrate in the countries where you think everything is great and shiny, you would understand that that only applies to the tourist-friendly city center that you have explored and that outside of it, things are bad and third world.

It is like a Japanese tourist from the countryside going to Manhattan and never going out of it or seeing society’s problems, saying that buildings are so much taller in the US compared to Japan.

US hasn’t upgraded its infrastructure in decades and it’s expensive to do so meaning a small amount gets done when it actually is upgraded

The third world is catching up quickly, yes. And when building they have the advantages of green fields and generally cheaper labor. I just returned from Punta Cana and was really impressed by their new airport: wide floors covered with polished limestone, brightly lit, with plenty of art and seating and power outlets and conditioned air.

I returned to my home airport, which has also begun a multi-year refurbishment. It will be much nicer, eventually, but we’ll have to live with the dust during the refurbishment.

I think it has to do with the “surprise effect”. You go somewhere new, and see all these cool new places for the first time. Surprise! Then you come home to the boring things in which you’ve lived your whole life. It’s much more expensive to redevelop property in the US, but it does happen. Look at the new airport at LGA…stunning and innovative, and totally redeveloped in 6 years. Anything is possible with the right motivation and financial resources.

COVID and remote working have handed us a once-in-a-century chance to rebuild our downtown spaces and give them fresh, innovative updates. Make them spaces where people want to live and work and play. It will take time and hundreds of billions of dollars. But we have all the resources, we just need the ideas and the willpower.

It depends on what parts you go to. Some cities look very up-to-date, and some towns? Some towns look like they are still stuck in the 60s-80s. It's very sad to see.

Where in particular? It's a pretty big country. It doesn't "look" any one way.

Because our politicians launder our tax dollars in those other countries

US culture has swong even harder to the right, where taxes and public services are seen as a bad thing. It is "each for their own". That is reflected in the infrastructure and common areas.

So, it is either a bad thing, if you are used to a different kind of society, or a good thing if you prefer low taxes.

Bc it’s old

We’re just an inferior country. We will try harder to live up to your high standards.

Haha America is one messed up country lol. In the same city you can have state of the art buildings and services and also 3rd world country housing and bridges and shit

It’s hilarious and that’s why America is so great. Because it’s so messed up.

Dunno where you went in Panama but everything there looks old/grey to me. Nice parts of USA look 100x better. Perhaps you're in a not-so-nice part of USA?

Same in Canada....

Democrats give away all the to Ukraine

Funny you say that. Europe is way older than United States. Europeans like to joke our cities are young.

Because the US is a great place to be rich, not for everyone else.

Poor governance. The US lacks sensible leadership. Other countries invest in infrastructure and social programs that benefit their citizens.

However, this is also why taxes are so low in the US.

Kinda funny saying an ENTIRE country looks drabby or super clean?

Then again, i havent exactly seen all 50 states all at once.

We did everything that shitter countries are doing now 100 years ago (literally). China's train stations will look very dated in 50 years too

Coming back from Asia to certain parts of the US feels like I'm going back in time to a much poorer, undeveloped country.

It really depends on where you are. We’re visiting my great aunt who retired to a town near Austin for the holidays from NYC and EVERYTHING is new.

Granted, “everything” is just 6 Walmarts, a massive H‑E‑B, a Super Target and 31 gas stations…but still, it’s new!

We are well into our Decline and Fall, most just barely scraping by

Overworked

Infrastructure cost money. If it ain't broken.. don't fix it.

Have you been to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport it’s brand spanking new

Nyc is pretty awesome. New Orleans has charm too

If you want an area with an updated sleek look, go live in Dubai.

That's some shitty city I'll never visit because it looks like d-bag city with no character and have zero interest in any type of shitty culture they breed.

This whole thread is odd. Gas stations aren’t critical infrastructure. The fanciness of airports aren’t critical infrastructure. Focusing on the shine (or lack thereof) rather than the complexity of the underlying systems and overall functionality misses the point of what the infrastructure accomplishes.

Because here: short term profit > long term profit

Republicans. They've been blocking infrastructure spending for years. They even vote against infrastructure spending and then TAKE CREDIT for improvements in their districts/states. Republicans are why we can't have nice things.

Because the money is going to fund wars. Non-stop wars or funding foreign countries like Ukraine and Israel. For example, Israel receives at least 3 billions every single year. Imagine if this money is spent on infrastructure and the well-being of the taxpayers. who controls and runs the US?

You are going to trigger some U.S. nomads here.

Yes. Even when I lived in another state for 6 years, I came back to my home town and realized nothing had changed…..at all. No renovations, no new buildings, all the businesses were the same. Pretty sad, made me instantly depressed.

I don’t think US infrastructure looks “old” but I think the most dated things I notice in the US when travelling there are the hotels. I travel to the States about 4-6 times a year and always notice that mid-tier chain hotels like Marriotts or Hiltons in large cities look like they haven’t had their interiors updated since the mid-90s. And you pay $200-300 USD a night for that. Not a big deal but just surprising, I guess.

Kind of a first mover problem. A lot of infrastructure was built 30-50 years ago. It’s barely maintained and rarely upgraded.

Other places like Asia and Europe heavily invest in public infrastructure regularly.

An example of this is internet service. Like 10-15 years ago, Thailand had pretty terrible internet speeds. Now bare minimum speeds are like 500mbs and all cellular coverage is 5G and similarly as fast. This is like $20 a month for home internet and similar for your cell plan. In the US, we have stupid regulations that keep from real competition in internet services and cellular services so we’re stuck with much more expensive and much slower speeds