I’m back in the states for holidays but this time it was such a shock to realize everything looks so old, like from the airport to the convenience stores, malls, gas stations, etc. Why does everything look like it hasn’t changed from the 90s? And I was out just for a couple of months but things look newer and shinier in Panama and El Salvador compared to here. I cannot even imagine what some of you coming back from east Asia must feel. Did our country peak in the 90s and other countries are going through their renaissance? I love the convenience of the US where everything is open 24 hrs and you can get things delivered to your door basically overnight if you pay the price but I feel like we’re stuck with very old and boring infrastructure, makes me feel almost the same way I felt when I went to eastern Europe
Generally: our cities are in bad shape and are in decline. Most expanded too big too fast due to subsidies and an abundance of land + wealth, and generations later can’t afford to maintain basic infrastructure. And if you’re in a part of town where you can visibly tell your government isn’t making the reinvestments to maintain basic stuff, you wouldn’t be incentivized to fork up lots of capital to maintain your own property/business.