Tallulah

I think that the same can be said of much of Britain, it does all move too fast, particularly here in London, and I really wish we'd learn from the countries of the Med and other places.

My parents are Irish and have lived here for about 45 years, but say they could never go back and live in Ireland now because the pace is way too slow. You can't always win...

Incidentally, I'm betting that none of my fellow Brits are about to accuse me of being anti-British, mainly because as a nation we take pride in putting ourselves down, it's rather like a national pastime. (But heaven help anyone else who does it!!)

Please calm down people...!

DenverDice

Believe me, I love America. Every day on my trip, I was struck with how lucky I am to be a single woman with one income living in my own home. I could see that while Greece itself was very beautiful, the homes there are not as beautiful, particularly in Athens.

I just worry about our society. We recently surpassed Japan as the nation that works the most hours per week. Not a milestone I want to celebrate. There's a culture here of hard work to be sure, but is it necessary to beat ourselves up if we want to slow down? Leave work a little early? Take a nap in the middle of the day? Holy moley, you wouldn't believe the reactions I get when I tell people that Greeks leave work at 2:00 to go home and nap. People here just cannot fathom that.

What I witnessed on my trip was that (to be stereotypical, admittedly), Greek people seemed more relaxed, less worried about the details, unfazed if something was late, and generally happier. If a waiter in America didn't bring a bill for over an hour, there would be hell to pay. But not in Greece - they just don't care about hurrying as much as we do.

I would be willing to give up some materialism to gain a more relaxed pace of life.

I took three weeks off of work for my trip and you would not believe how many people said "must be nice" or "wow, did you have a job to go back to?" and stupid stuff like that. It's the guilt factor we all have to work, work, work and not take time for ourselves.

Eleni

OK, I'll bite on the original question.

I live in both Greece and the United States, and travel back and forth between the two. I always have an extremely hard adjustment when I return to the US. Part of this is just reorienting myself to a different routine, but a lot of it has to do with the pace of life DenverDice mentions.

And DD is not just imagining things. Paul Krugman recently wrote a very interesting column on exactly this point. I highly recommend reading it. Here is the link: http://www.dailybreeze.com/opinion/a...s/1756672.html

jules4je7

Dice -- I too get a lot of "must be nice" comments about our travels. My husband and I are middle class and while many of my friends have nicer homes/cars, etc., they choose not to travel in favor of having those things.

For those of us on a budget, there's only so much money to go around, and each has to decide for themselves what's best. We conciously choose travel.

I think that a person doesn't really appreciate where they're from until they've been somewhere else and have it to compare to. I remember seeing Denver through new eyes when we got back from our first trip in 2003, and after landing here from Istanbul, it felt "slower" and easier to be here than there.

Tellulah's got a good point too -- London has a faster pace to it (and dare I say we have a similar work ethic comparable to the British). I also found Rome to be edgier (sp?), and faster paced of any of the cities I visited. "It's a nice place to visit..." I thought, but I wouldn't live there. But that's just me.

The thing I really liked about Athens was that despite its big city pace, there was a leisurely feel to meals and a general "we'll get to it when we get to it" sort of feel. I also found it easy to talk with people in Greece, as many of the Greeks speak English, but there was also a general openness to talking politics, comparing cultures etc. with us, and I found that refreshing.

We were also there shortly before the 2004 Olympics, so they were especially excited about showing the world their city. It was a great time to be there.

I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. We did something similar when we went in 2003 -- an itinerary that would have been shredded by most Fodorites as too fast. But we did get to see enough of many cities to make a decision about what needed more time, so in September we're heading back to London and Paris.

Happy Travels.

Jules

LoveItaly

Hi DenverDice, I understand what you are saying.

Here is a thought. You can, to a point, take personal control of your lifestyle. I have a friend,a highly educated lady who pushed herself so much at work, further education, belonged to many community organizations (partially due to demands from her employer), making her house a "showpiece" etc. that she ended up very ill. She actually ended up living on broth and crackers for a few months. She was only in her late 40's.

We spent a lot of time talking about her situation and life in general. I suggested to her that of course she wanted to do a good job at work, to give to her community, to have a nice house to live in etc. but that her constant "go, go, go" had taken its toll on her and was actually ruining her health and consequently her life.

She took a few weeks off from work and did some quite soulsearching.

Today this dear friend is happy, healthy and relaxed. She as usual gives her employer their money worth. But she advised them that she would in the future be working the hours that were stipulated and would only be putting in overtime if there was an extreme emergency. She is no longer worried about climbing any higher on the corporate ladder as she finally realized that her salary plus benefits allow her to live very nicely.

She eliminated all but one organization, the one her heart was with.

She has quit fussing about every detail of her house (which is quite lovely).

She takes her hour lunchtime and because she lives so close to her job she goes home and eats a simple but healthy lunch (versus junk food at her desk) and walks her dogs.

She has simplied and "slowed down" her life. And I have never seen her so happy. She took a nice two week vacation with a friend and is now planning another one. A shock to her employer I am sure that this year and in future years she is going to take the vacation time she is entitled to.

And DenverDice, although when one goes on vacation it is easy to think that the residents of that country have a blissful life the truth is that all citizens of the world have their frustrations, worries, concerns etc.
I know my friends and family in Italy sure do. But at least they do get to sit in a wonderful outdoor cafe in a beautiful piazza while they complain about things, LOL.

Anyway, see if you can make changes regarding your day to day life so that you will enjoy your life more. Best wishes to you.

TexasAggie

What a beautiful and thought provoking post from LoveItaly. Very well said.

Barbara

Stellarossa,

Tony, are you OK? This is not like you.

DenverDice

Thanks LoveItaly -- very well said. This is why we travel - to gain insight into not only other cultures, but our own lives. I plan to bring as much of Greece home with me - to learn from their pace, to try to slow down, to savor and enjoy things more. I hope I can bring others along on this journey with me!

Now I totally have the travel bug - I've caught it big-time. Now that I know I can fly on a long plane ride and make my way around a foreign land, I'm ready for my next adventure!

Thanks to all who had insightful things to say in this discussion.

azure0327

I'm originally from the Mediterranean region so that lifestyle appeals to me. Life here in the U.S. is very fast paced compared to southern Europe. I don't think DenverDice's comments/observations were un-American. She merely reminds us that we need to slow down and enjoy life more. I agree with LoveItaly's suggestions. We can easily incorporate "la dolce far niente" into our daily lives no matter where we live.

Sharon

DD - anyone who has traveled to Europe knows exactly what you mean and it isn't un-American. There is just a different life style, more focus on family and food, enjoying it to the utmost, a lot of "manana" mentality which we can't abide, and I still think this is the greatest country in the world.

A good friend of mine just got back from a month in Greece and she is in culture shock, so we are going to a Greek restaurant tonight and relive her travels.

DenverDice

Opa Sharon!

JJ5

Some good thoughts above, but for people that are so well-traveled, it constantly amazes me that so many mostly just generalize American life in the big city and especially on the coastal big cities.

And I also do understand why Stellarossa is "not like himself"- I think. I'm not sure, but I think I understand.

He is sick of hearing American comparative put downs across these boards from the most lucky and probably wealthy Americans. Maybe he is a vet.

But yes, DenverDice, I hear you. You are correct, you do feel a culture shock. I felt it every time I returned home from AZ and taking care of an aunt there- upon return to Chicago.

Do you really want a pace similar to that in Greece? Do you REALLY? If you do, I can tell you how to get there.

You can move to most any town in most of the "inside" of America and get something that is not the same- but extremely similar in its people awareness and overall pace.

In my small town in MI, you can shut the whole street down for a HS game, or close your store or business every Thursday, or at 3 every afternoon. You are never open on Sunday.

They have theatre, music, books, and many other avenues for cultural fulfillment, just not at the same expertise. You also probably will know your postman, plumber, police, and all your kids' friends' parents by their first and last names. AND you talk with them in a complete conversation IN PERSON, and not on a phone- as you greet them in the street most every day. Some days you never take your car out at all.

The most workaholic person works about 40 hours at the most in my small town, either in a vineyard, sales, well-digging, Welch's factory or whatever.

You don't have to do the grind or live it, if you don't want to. Entire families join small town or mid town America every year. And each town or geographic area hasn't given up all their own "flavors" either.

It just surprises me that so many act and write, as if there is only one way to live and achieve in America. Actually none of my children work a fraction as much as my parents or I did.

logos999

@JJ5, agreed. This is what I am looking for when I come to the US, and it's even better than "Greece". There is nothing you can gain living in the big cities. It RAELLY is funny when people are taking about slow life in Europe, when all they need to do is going a few miles west. (or east) Spend a few days in La Junta, Colorado, no need to dream of Greece ;-)

Sharon

JJ5 - I must be bored today and I'm not trying to be argumentative, but you still miss DD's point. I, too, was born in small town America and went back in May. When I came home to where I now live, I actually was depressed because I missed just being enveloped by my extended family and that small town ambience. But, there is still some kind of innate difference with the Greeks and Europeans in their lifestyles. They seem to spend their evenings outside, having dinner, promenading, etc. and other things I am not eloquent enough to spell out, but believe me, it's there.

Opa, DD!!!

logos999

Rural america is a lot slower than Greece. That's why I love it. No need to go outside promenading, there's nobody out there anyway, nothing to see or do.

PurpleNeon

I really think this has been a very interesting conversation. I agree with many of you. After returning from our 3 weeks in Greece last summer I, too, felt the same way. Yes, anytime you are on vacation, obviously life is more relaxing, but I have to say that I felt differently about life after returning from Greece than I had, say, after spending a week doing nothing at a resort in Mexico.

I also agree with all the folks who have said that each of us does have the power to slow ourselves down. Prior to our trip I almost always was at my desk 20 minutes to an hour past my appointed leaving time ("just one more email" "I'll return just one more phone call&quot. After returning from our trip, I really tried harder to go home when I was supposed to and enjoy a bit of quiet time at home.

One of the things that I miss the most is the cafes. Cafe time was my favorite. I loved taking time out on most afternoons to sit in the cafe and have a glass of wine or OJ (I'm not a coffee drinker, but my husband certainly misses his "cappucino fredo"s) and just sit. I loved how you could sit for 20 minutes or 2 hours and you never felt rushed.

I do believe that we at home do have the power to make changes to try and recreate some of the wonderful things that you experience while travelling. We eat Greek Salad almost every night and have started eating outside much more (in the summer) trying to close our eyes and pretend we are back in some of our favorite places.

Thank you for a thought provoking discussion. For the record, I am Canadian.

logos999

What keeps you from living you life as you like? It has nothing to do with any other place on this planet, or Greek salad, right? It's only you. If you're looking for other people to share your "new lifestyle", they are all around you. Take you car and drive to Flin Flon now

LoveItaly

Hi JJ5, I live in a very relaxed and slow paced place of about 95,000 souls now. Am away from the hubbub of the SF Bay Area. And I have worked at slowing down, not to be busy just for the sake of being busy. So that part of my life has been worked out.

But I have to tell you, when I am "rushed" through a meal by a waitress because the restaurants wants to turn over the tables as fast as they can, when the whole downtown rolls up the sidewalks by 8:30pm even in summer and when it is still 95 degrees, when getting anywhere requires driving because there is no public transportation, than I miss Italy and some of the way things are there.

Italy perfect? Absolutely not! But I for one wish that some of their customs and lifestyles could be found where I live. But it isn't going to happen.

AntiAmerican? Not me!!! And I come from a family that has had men fight in every war we have had going back to the Revolution. I had a family member killed in Iraq last year, and another one who had the side of his face severely injured. It is a wonder his head wasn't blown off. The report is that it wasn't because he grabbed the Marine that did get killed. That action saved his life. BTW, this young man insisted in staying in Iraq and getting his medical attention there when he could have come home to the states.

No where is perfect, I believe most people understand that. At least I hope they do.

But even though it will never happen why not admit there are certain customs and again lifestyles that could be incorporated into our life in US, for those that desire it. Isn't that what America is all about anyway. Aren't we a big melting pot?
Isn't our country a "quilt" of customs, foods, lifestyles etc. from every country in the world?

Peace, and hope all of you that are able to can find a way to bring some small pleasures to your life that you have been desiring. And wishes for more travels for everyone that dreams about it.

Josh

My greek life consisted of drinking lots of draft with my brothers and hooking up with lots of sorority chicks.

Very different from my current (marrierd) American life.

j.

Sue_xx_yy

I must be the only one to go to Europe to speed up. And after watching the shadow of those fast cars on the outer lane of the autoroutes/autobahns, I'm not convinced that Europeans are necessarily slow or quaint! Which is a good thing, since I'm also not so sure slower is necessarily better. Many things, from tennis serves to cancer surgery, are better faster, than slower.

Meanwhile I don't think the pace of life is necessarily part of a culture, so much as a state of mind. And maybe the state of the weather. If you live in oh, Minnesota or Alberta, you're not gonna want to spend evenings outside most of the year!