While I generally agree with the sentiment, the distinction is if there’s outside seating it’s either a park, or owned by a restaurant. It’s not like the blend of the street, sidewalk, businesses you see in Europe
The kind if mixed use, areas that are walkable, have seating, various kinds of shops… usually only in a few districts of a few fairly large towns or large cities.
There is seating, sometimes, in like… restaurants in basically a strip mall type set up… but they’re like islands, surrounded by acres of parking lots.
Most places where I am in California have outdoor seating options, but it’s more common to have it behind the restaurant in a little courtyard than in front right next to the street.
All the way up and down the West Coast, multiple times, over the course of more than 2 decades of being driving age… from Bellingham WA down to LA / San Diego… many, many places in between… also many places all the way out to South Dakota via I 90.
If I gave you a full list, I’d have to rewrite Johnny Cash’s “I’ve been everywhere”… I’ve actually been to a good number of places in the original lyrics.
Yeah, I’m in Jersey and it’s pretty easy to find places with outdoor seating. Got several in my small town.
I will say that the feel is not quite the same as sitting somewhere in Paris, or Nice, or Aix. They angle all the chairs to face outward, I’ve noticed, and the tables are so often just tables for two. I’m sure I’m misremembering a bit, but the sentiment still stands, to me. The outdoor seating is almost geared toward sit here and look out, not at your tablemate, and do some people watching. I love it.
Basically yes.
We don’t do that in the US anywhere near as much.
Maybe a park will have a table and bench, maybe some certain restaurants in certain parts of certain cities will have them.
But its much, much less common, as our society is designed to be unwalkable, designed for cars and parking lots and air conditioning.
While I generally agree with the sentiment, the distinction is if there’s outside seating it’s either a park, or owned by a restaurant. It’s not like the blend of the street, sidewalk, businesses you see in Europe
I agree with your specification.
The kind if mixed use, areas that are walkable, have seating, various kinds of shops… usually only in a few districts of a few fairly large towns or large cities.
There is seating, sometimes, in like… restaurants in basically a strip mall type set up… but they’re like islands, surrounded by acres of parking lots.
Most places where I am in California have outdoor seating options, but it’s more common to have it behind the restaurant in a little courtyard than in front right next to the street.
Where have you been in the US?
All the way up and down the West Coast, multiple times, over the course of more than 2 decades of being driving age… from Bellingham WA down to LA / San Diego… many, many places in between… also many places all the way out to South Dakota via I 90.
If I gave you a full list, I’d have to rewrite Johnny Cash’s “I’ve been everywhere”… I’ve actually been to a good number of places in the original lyrics.
The towns and cities around me in Massachusetts have quite a bit of restaurant outdoor seating on sections of sidewalk.
Yeah, I’m in Jersey and it’s pretty easy to find places with outdoor seating. Got several in my small town.
I will say that the feel is not quite the same as sitting somewhere in Paris, or Nice, or Aix. They angle all the chairs to face outward, I’ve noticed, and the tables are so often just tables for two. I’m sure I’m misremembering a bit, but the sentiment still stands, to me. The outdoor seating is almost geared toward sit here and look out, not at your tablemate, and do some people watching. I love it.
Anywhere in MA I can rent a studio apt for ~$700 a month?
Probably not lol, I’m on SSDI, but an actual proper city/town sounds great!
Not anywhere near here… Maybe western MA, but that’s a completely different vibe.