I was born and raised in a city that's several hundred years older than I am, though I think the part I actually grew up in dates back to somewhere in the 30s at the earliest.
Being in an entire city that barely reaches back to the mid-1800s weirds me out in some fundamental way. Back in LA, a "lovely old building" probably dates to the 1940s in most cases. I think most of central New Orleans dates to the mid 1600s, and the city's sonewhat older than that IIRC.
Visiting Europe would be... I don't know, really. I know being in a city significantly younger than New Orleans is strange. Being in one much, much older might be weird, too, or it might be even more welcomingly decrepid. I'm used to more casual decay than the West Coast can usually provide.
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Date: 2005-07-13 02:18 pm (UTC)Being in an entire city that barely reaches back to the mid-1800s weirds me out in some fundamental way. Back in LA, a "lovely old building" probably dates to the 1940s in most cases. I think most of central New Orleans dates to the mid 1600s, and the city's sonewhat older than that IIRC.
Visiting Europe would be... I don't know, really. I know being in a city significantly younger than New Orleans is strange. Being in one much, much older might be weird, too, or it might be even more welcomingly decrepid. I'm used to more casual decay than the West Coast can usually provide.