Places outside the U.S. that most resemble the U.S.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

remember though part which makes these areas special is the age and character of the homes.

It's not 'random suburban street', but rather, old homes with character, grid, big trees.

basically, the domicile of the educated american upper-middle class.

I realize that in order for them to get built, there was a specific moment in time, with a specific type of people.

I've still seen that in some southern Ontario cities, and perhaps even in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Maybe a bit in Vancouver as well.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I realize that in order for them to get built, there was a specific moment in time, with a specific type of people.

I've still seen that in some southern Ontario cities, and perhaps even in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Maybe a bit in Vancouver as well.

Exactly! Those look like a mirror image of lots of neighbourhoods in all of major Canadian cities. Nothing that unique really.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Suburban Christchurch could be mistaken for suburban California:

https://www.google.com/maps/@-43.575...7i16384!8i8192

Most Definitely. That looks like the Burbank hills lol

[edale]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

remember though part which makes these areas special is the age and character of the homes.

It's not 'random suburban street', but rather, old homes with character, grid, big trees.

basically, the domicile of the educated american upper-middle class.

This neighborhood in Montreal looks like what you're talking about:

https://www.google.com/maps/@45.5190...7i13312!8i6656

[SIGSEGV]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

Christchurch always seemed to me more English than American, though (I lived there for 3 months). Maybe it was because I got trapped in a department store once when they unexpectedly (to me) closed at 4 PM for tea time. But also it was because so many middle aged men wore shorts (and knee socks), "race day" was a thing and central heating largely wasn't (learned to love New Zealand wool sweaters). Also, nowhere is America has so many sheep. Nowhere in the world, in fact.

Yes, certainly more sheep!



And yeah, there are very English things about Christchurch, but the built form feels more American than English, in my mind. In this one picture I took in December that has both sheep and the city, I would say that city looks American. No doubt this may have been different before the earthquakes (the half parking lot downtown adds to the Americanness).

[Yuri]

Outside North America, Johannesburg is definitely the most similar. Durban to a lesser extent. Pretoria and Cape Town have their own flavour.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Yes, certainly more sheep!

And yeah, there are very English things about Christchurch, but the built form feels more American than English, in my mind. In this one picture I took in December that has both sheep and the city, I would say that city looks American. No doubt this may have been different before the earthquakes (the half parking lot downtown adds to the Americanness).

Before the earthquake, Christchurch was about the cathedral on the town square and punting on the Avon:


https://www.ccwg.org.nz


https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...0&category=101

Regarding the sheep--I've seen entire hillsides covered with them. This was well out of town.

[10023]

Originally Posted by JManc

Besides Canada, northern Mexico and Australia, I found parts of Germany similar to US cities; bigger houses, neighborhoods, etc.

Product of being bombed to smithereens in the mid 1940s and then being rebuilt in the horrible 1950s, unfortunately.

[giallo]

Large swathes of residential neighborhoods in Amsterdam look like Brooklyn. The comparison in reverse is probably more apt.

[Obadno]

I always thought Rotterdam looked like a typical North American City;





But so do many of the office/financial districts of several European cities probably because they were all built post WW2. You just need pictures that eliminate the traditional European low rise density.









And I think the modern offices in Moscow have a very Asian vibe to them:

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

Does anywhere outside the US look like this?


the heavy tree cover, 75-150 year old victorian / craftsman , midwestern homes on a grid with 1/4 acre lots...

seems uniquely american, a function of the homebuilding trends of the time, wealth, and space to build.

What is a "midwestern" home?

[LA21st]

Australia resembles California in some ways.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Australia resembles California in some ways.

Australia building patters pretty closely resemble american building patterns which of course makes perfect sense.

[LA21st]

Their desert areas look the American Southwest too lol.

Melbourne's core on google street view looked like Philly or something though. I was surprised.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Their desert areas look the American Southwest too lol.

Melbourne's core on google street view looked like Philly or something though. I was surprised.

The older parts of Melbourne, Sydney and other cities are quite old.

But like Gold Coast and Perth are very new like the western US and/or Southern Florida

[Acajack]

The suburbs of Toulouse, France from the sky look like nicer suburbs of the US SW with swimming pools, terra cotta roofs and Mediterranean greenery.

[BG918]

I flew over the Argentinian pampas from Buenos Aires to Mendoza and looking out the window it looked like I was flying over Texas. The little towns even looked similar with street grids, grain silos, small town centers surrounded by low density homes.

[Commentariat]

Originally Posted by dc_denizen

remember though part which makes these areas special is the age and character of the homes.

It's not 'random suburban street', but rather, old homes with character, grid, big trees.

basically, the domicile of the educated american upper-middle class.

There are definitely similar areas in Australia, although they are not identical. The houses will typically be built of brick (except in Queensland). They will usually be single story (because upstairs rooms got excessively hot in the Australian summer pre-air conditioning). And they will not necessarily be on a strict grid. The scale is different too, Australia only had about 3 million people in 1900 and about 8 million in 1950.

Here are some examples:

Burwood, Sydney - https://goo.gl/maps/rJGyNsF8u4haNLfC9

Mount Lawley, Perth - https://goo.gl/maps/yMwRC4E5s9ceciq56

Unley, Adelaide - https://goo.gl/maps/mCm3c9x6PruYR2qo9

Hawthorn, Melbourne - https://goo.gl/maps/t3iW728EXxU7ARrZ6

These were the homes of the affluent middle class. The working class tended to live in terrace (row) homes or small cottages, more like this (Fitzroy, Melbourne) - https://goo.gl/maps/kh7ta58ZmZE9JtK3A.

[Commentariat]

Originally Posted by Obadno

The older parts of Melbourne, Sydney and other cities are quite old.

But like Gold Coast and Perth are very new like the western US and/or Southern Florida

As a resident of Perth, I feel obliged to point out that the city was founded in 1829, six years before Melbourne. Although Melbourne obviously grew into a big city much earlier than Perth. Nevertheless, there are some historic parts of Perth, eg:

High Street, Fremantle, leading up to the Roundhouse (built in 1830): https://goo.gl/maps/2Wq3pWzVdPfqa5JL6. In fact I can't really think of anywhere in the US that looks exactly like this, but I'm sure there must be?

King Street, Perth: https://goo.gl/maps/bmaQmjPvfm45Exbq9

The Rose and Crown pub, Guildford, operating since 1841: https://goo.gl/maps/TsJshgg3jhxAEZDh9

[Commentariat]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Australia resembles California in some ways.

I remember getting a weird sense of deja vu driving around near La Jolla, it was like I was back home in Australia. I think it was because of all the eucalyptus trees. This could be any random road in Australia: https://goo.gl/maps/QiCX4kWWyTHSEZ5N8