Yeah, because we all know the Wal-Marts, Starbucks, Gaps, Barnes & Nobles, Home Depots and Burger Kings are so different from state to state, not to mention the variety of SUVs and Mini-vans we can drive to them in.
Sadly, this is true of way too much of the world now. McDonalds on the Champs Elysee' is a disgrace in any language! And no, I'm not picking on McDonalds. It's just that all over Europe and the Caribbean, wher I have traveled, brand names and franchises are taking over. It is almost as hard to find uniquely local items in Prague as it is in DC.
I would love to live in Argentina, if only the system didn't make it so difficult for entrepeneurs to succeed. But I really enjoy living in the US. I found the US a great place and a challenge for somebody like me, who enjoys looking for opportunities to do business and to help people. If I was back in my twenties, and full of energy, I would consider going to China. Everything is growing there, and there are so many opportunities right now for people with ideas. (Both in business and working with people). On the other hand, the risks are great, because of the corruption. There is no real security when it comes to human rights and to protection of private property.
Switzerland, by a long way. Lucerne would be my first choice, but I could live in any of the major cities really. London, Vienna and Christchurch (NZ) would also be up there. NYC and Singapore would be great too. Tuscany or Provence would be my preference in terms of rural areas.
My vote is going to have to go to New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Finland, or Iceland...probably in that order. Whoever would let me play for their national team
My dream? I'd love to be able to live in many different places. If I was filthy rich and could maintain homes all over the world, I'd: 1) My current townhouse in Virginia, just because. 2) A cramped little condo in Manhattan, so I'd have a place to crash there. 3) A townhouse in San Francisco. 4) A little house in Ahtopol, Bulgaria, so I could write in solitude, and visit Istanbul from time to time. 5) An apartment in an older building in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria, so my wife and I have a place to stay when we visit. 6) A cabin somewhere in Western Nebraska, when I need to hide. And so forth. Once I learn my way around Western Europe, I'll probably have a couple of places to add. Seriously, I wouldn't mind living somewhere in Western Europe, maybe Scandinavia. Just for kicks. I once came close to moving to Istanbul. I regret not doing so--I loved that city.
And it's not tourists driving this trend, it's locals. Why? Maybe the same reason that they succeed in the US - fast, cheap food. You don't have to wait a half-hour for some slop, and you probably don't have to worry as much about a clean kitchen, you don't have to suffer some indifferent waiter. I've seen KFC in places in Thailand where few expats are and mom'n'pop fried chicken places abound with cheaper chicken. Yet KFC thrives. Maybe you don't get as many contaminants in the food there. You can lament the passing of these things all you want, but it's the customers who decide what gives them the best deal.
And when they're suffering from the same obesity-related health problems as are Americans, they'll have only themselves to blame.
I don't disagree with you, and I understand that they are successful in large part because of their lack of diversity (i.e. if you go into a McDonalds, you pretty much know what you are going to get). At the same time I do lament the loss of local and regional identity that this entails.
And there is a Hamburger Quick a few doors down from the McDonalds on the Champs Elysee -- is that are fault too (last I checked, Quick is a Belgian company)? And Pret a Manger, an English company is opening sandwhich shops in New York. Things and times change. What is so wrong with people deciding what they want. I prefer eating a hamburger at a local diner or a pub than at McDonalds. Some people, for economic reasons or taste or whatever, prefer McDonalds. No one is putting a gun to your head and saying "Get a Big Mac Now!" Well, maybe Halliburton is, but I doubt it.
Perhaps I should have put in a smiley. I seem to be getting a lot of grief for a joke. Anyway, I am commenting on the loss of cultural identity, which I see as sad, but also largely inevitable.
Sorry! Usually, I am the one making the statement that people misunderstand as serious. And I Agree with you. But I am sure that 16,000 years ago, Ugg was complaining that all the kids in the cave were starting to wear skins like the kids in the next cave. You cannot tell them apart anymore!
Switzerland. I have spent a lot of time in Lausanne with my company. Beautiful country. It could be 50 degrees in the town and you can still see the snow falling on the mountains in the distance. Also, quick access to France, Germany and to Milan to see Shevenko play.
I've travelled for most of my adult life, seen a lot of Asia in particular, and lived in England for almost six years and only last year went back to Holland. The quality of life in Holland is better than in any place I've been to. That said, if I win the lotto tomorrow I'll immediately buy a villa in the south of Spain and retire there. And overall, I much prefer the European way of life to anywhere else.