[Turing_Machine]

It's not just Americans. The dream of having a place in the country that is your own personal property is about as close to a cross-cultural norm as you can find. English country houses, Roman villas, French royal hunting lodges... even the nomenklatura in the Soviet Union had their dachas.

Americans were just the first culture to make it practical for large numbers of people to actually do it.

[avn2109]

There's a big difference between having a country dacha as your second home and living in a gross tasteless suburb as your primary residence.

The presence of all the other people ruins the dacha vibe.

[taway_1212]

> gross tasteless suburb

Wow, what you describe as gross tasteless suburb is I imagine a dream come true for 90% of world population.

[Arizhel]

Only because they haven't actually lived in it yet. It's one of those things that looks great at first glance, but only after actually living it for a while do you realize what a dystopian hell it is.

[Turing_Machine]

"Only because they haven't actually lived in it yet."

There are multiple generations of people who have willingly lived in suburbs.

I repeat: their tastes are not the same as yours.

[Turing_Machine]

"living in a gross tasteless suburb as your primary residence"

People buy houses in those "gross, tasteless suburbs" by choice. No one is putting a gun to their head.

Their tastes are not yours.

[mirimir]

Actually, many dachas are at McMansion density or higher.