Texas Longhorns Americans are, in fact, rediscovering city centers. It's because the outer suburbs have gotten so far from downtown and traffic on our roads has gotten so bad, it's really difficult to commute. This is especially true in Houston. I've lived here for 7 years now, and my only real qualm about our city is its lack of commuter rail. Frankly, I won't buy a house outside Beltway 8 unless or until such rail is built. And for me to live outside 610 will require an extremely good deal on the house. I've lived in Europe - France. Several places: Caen, Dijon, Dunkerque, and Paris. I've lived in New York City and Houston Texas (among other places) in the US. And what slums they are! Line after line of soulless, heartless soviet style apartment block where the poor are warehoused so they don't sully the pricy, museified city center. Crime rates and unemployment rates in suburban Europe are sky-high. Gang activity would make even the worst parts of New York and Houston blush. We had something comparable in the US: the Robert Taylor Homes in Chicago. They were demolished specifically because the quality of life within them was so bad. The crime is different in Europe, but still a problem. My experience is that in the US, there is MUCH more gun crime. In Europe, every other kind of crime flourishes. Stabbings with knives are a problem, drunk driving is a HUGE problem, I have friends who've been beaten with sticks in Europe (these are French friends who were beaten in France, mind you, not obnoxious loud American tourists who were). It's at the point where, at least in France, there are neighborhoods you just don't go if you want to be safe. This isn't just in Paris, but in Dijon* and Caen* as well - though Dunkerque is small enough that I did not notice it. I've never experienced such a thing in the US. In New York City, I've taken the subway from Harlem to Long Island City Queens (down, then up) at 1 AM - wasn't worried. I've been to Sharpstown in Houston and the South Bronx in New York. I've been to parties near Navigation Blvd in Houston.
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