Boring

[Archetype]

Man, it sucks living in Saint Petersburg, Russia for almost four months only to come back to a stagnant town of 8,000. Kinda depressing. Planning my next overseas move now...

[Peartree12249]

Man, it sucks living in Saint Petersburg, Russia for almost four months only to come back to a stagnant town of 8,000. Kinda depressing. Planning my next overseas move now...

I've always wanted to visit St. Petersburg. It is a beautiful city. The architecture, the history of the city, and the treasures of the Hermitage are facinating. Peter the Great wanted a Capitol that would rival the great cities of Europe, so I know it's supposed to have a much more european vibe to it than Moscow. He even had the court speak only french not russsian. Russian was considered by the nobility as the language of the serfs. The russian revolution started there, Rasputin was shot there and his body thrown into the Neva. The germans conducted a siege of the city that lasted almost 3 years and over a million people died during WWII. It's hard to imagine what those people suffered during those traumatic events.


I'd be very interested to hear how you liked it. What were you doing there?

[Ehwmatt]

I'm sure there are plenty of great tourist spots right here in America that you haven't seen that could use your tourist dollars. I wish I were better-traveled; I have only seen a few things right here in America. This year, however, I got to see Mount Rushmore and The Badlands - absolutely beautiful.

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me. I get it, Europe has some cool places. But there's a lot for me to see in my own country and it typically will be cheaper for me to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I'll go to Europe someday to check it out.

[Peartree12249]

I'm sure there are plenty of great tourist spots right here in America that you haven't seen that could use your tourist dollars. I wish I were better-traveled; I have only seen a few things right here in America. This year, however, I got to see Mount Rushmore and The Badlands - absolutely beautiful.

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me. I get it, Europe has some cool places. But there's a lot for me to see in my own country and it typically will be cheaper for me to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I'll go to Europe someday to check it out.

I can't speak for others, but I've traveled extensively over the US both for work and pleasure. Now I'd like to expand my travels. Other than a trip to Ireland & Scotland I haven't had the opportunity to travel to europe. Too expensive. Especially now that the dollar is in the tank. Right now travel to South America is more affordable. Many of the major cities there have a real european vibe to them, great food & culture.

[Gideon]

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me.

We must be dating the same chick.

[parfait]

I'm sure there are plenty of great tourist spots right here in America that you haven't seen that could use your tourist dollars. I wish I were better-traveled; I have only seen a few things right here in America. This year, however, I got to see Mount Rushmore and The Badlands - absolutely beautiful.

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me. I get it, Europe has some cool places. But there's a lot for me to see in my own country and it typically will be cheaper for me to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I'll go to Europe someday to check it out.

I can't speak for others, but I've traveled extensively over the US both for work and pleasure. Now I'd like to expand my travels. Other than a trip to Ireland & Scotland I haven't had the opportunity to travel to europe. Too expensive. Especially now that the dollar is in the tank. Right now travel to South America is more affordable. Many of the major cities there have a real european vibe to them, great food & culture.

I recommend Seoul, South Korea. It's a really cool place.

[Ehwmatt]

I'm sure there are plenty of great tourist spots right here in America that you haven't seen that could use your tourist dollars. I wish I were better-traveled; I have only seen a few things right here in America. This year, however, I got to see Mount Rushmore and The Badlands - absolutely beautiful.

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me. I get it, Europe has some cool places. But there's a lot for me to see in my own country and it typically will be cheaper for me to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I'll go to Europe someday to check it out.

I can't speak for others, but I've traveled extensively over the US both for work and pleasure. Now I'd like to expand my travels. Other than a trip to Ireland & Scotland I haven't had the opportunity to travel to europe. Too expensive. Especially now that the dollar is in the tank. Right now travel to South America is more affordable. Many of the major cities there have a real european vibe to them, great food & culture.

I recommend Seoul, South Korea. It's a really cool place.

Do you play Starcraft?

[parfait]

I'm sure there are plenty of great tourist spots right here in America that you haven't seen that could use your tourist dollars. I wish I were better-traveled; I have only seen a few things right here in America. This year, however, I got to see Mount Rushmore and The Badlands - absolutely beautiful.

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me. I get it, Europe has some cool places. But there's a lot for me to see in my own country and it typically will be cheaper for me to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I'll go to Europe someday to check it out.

I can't speak for others, but I've traveled extensively over the US both for work and pleasure. Now I'd like to expand my travels. Other than a trip to Ireland & Scotland I haven't had the opportunity to travel to europe. Too expensive. Especially now that the dollar is in the tank. Right now travel to South America is more affordable. Many of the major cities there have a real european vibe to them, great food & culture.

I recommend Seoul, South Korea. It's a really cool place.

Do you play Starcraft?

No.

[Ehwmatt]

I'm sure there are plenty of great tourist spots right here in America that you haven't seen that could use your tourist dollars. I wish I were better-traveled; I have only seen a few things right here in America. This year, however, I got to see Mount Rushmore and The Badlands - absolutely beautiful.

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me. I get it, Europe has some cool places. But there's a lot for me to see in my own country and it typically will be cheaper for me to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I'll go to Europe someday to check it out.

I can't speak for others, but I've traveled extensively over the US both for work and pleasure. Now I'd like to expand my travels. Other than a trip to Ireland & Scotland I haven't had the opportunity to travel to europe. Too expensive. Especially now that the dollar is in the tank. Right now travel to South America is more affordable. Many of the major cities there have a real european vibe to them, great food & culture.

I recommend Seoul, South Korea. It's a really cool place.

Do you play Starcraft?

No.

It's HUGE in Seoul

[Don]

For me personally, there's something awe inspiring when you are looking at a Roman aqueduct in England or France. Here you had an empire advanced enough to build things like this yet a few centuries later totally removed to the point where even written records stopped being kept. And all that history happening before White Settlers even thought about populating America.

It's hard to explain but the antiquity of it all and the feeling of getting lost in time is something you just won't find in here in the States.

Growing up on the East Coast, I always enjoyed going to Valley Forge or checking out relics from the battles at Brandywine but as an adult, being able to visit places that have works going back ten times further is just so cool.

[Ehwmatt]

For me personally, there's something awe inspiring when you are looking at a Roman aqueduct in England or France. Here you had an empire advanced enough to build things like this yet a few centuries later totally removed to the point where even written records stopped being kept. And all that history happening before White Settlers even thought about populating America.

It's hard to explain but the antiquity of it all and the feeling of getting lost in time is something you just won't find in here in the States.

I get that and I certainly want to get to Europe someday.

But a lot of places in America could use an influx of tourism dollars. And there are plenty of very cool things to see here. I just get annoyed at people who ONLY look to overseas and far away for tourism/seeing cool shit.

[parfait]

For me personally, there's something awe inspiring when you are looking at a Roman aqueduct in England or France. Here you had an empire advanced enough to build things like this yet a few centuries later totally removed to the point where even written records stopped being kept. And all that history happening before White Settlers even thought about populating America.

It's hard to explain but the antiquity of it all and the feeling of getting lost in time is something you just won't find in here in the States.

Growing up on the East Coast, I always enjoyed going to Valley Forge or checking out relics from the battles at Brandywine but as an adult, being able to visit places that have works going back ten times further is just so cool.

It's just too bad that most of those kinds of places are crowded with noisy tourists and gypsies that'll steal your money.

[Peartree12249]

For me personally, there's something awe inspiring when you are looking at a Roman aqueduct in England or France. Here you had an empire advanced enough to build things like this yet a few centuries later totally removed to the point where even written records stopped being kept. And all that history happening before White Settlers even thought about populating America.

It's hard to explain but the antiquity of it all and the feeling of getting lost in time is something you just won't find in here in the States.

Growing up on the East Coast, I always enjoyed going to Valley Forge or checking out relics from the battles at Brandywine but as an adult, being able to visit places that have works going back ten times further is just so cool.

It's just too bad that most of those kinds of places are crowded with noisy tourists and gypsies that'll steal your money.

Well those noisy tourists are bringing in the money my friend. Traveling during the off season can reduce the cost and help to avoid the crowds of tourists.

[Archetype]

Man, it sucks living in Saint Petersburg, Russia for almost four months only to come back to a stagnant town of 8,000. Kinda depressing. Planning my next overseas move now...

I've always wanted to visit St. Petersburg. It is a beautiful city. The architecture, the history of the city, and the treasures of the Hermitage are facinating. Peter the Great wanted a Capitol that would rival the great cities of Europe, so I know it's supposed to have a much more european vibe to it than Moscow. He even had the court speak only french not russsian. Russian was considered by the nobility as the language of the serfs. The russian revolution started there, Rasputin was shot there and his body thrown into the Neva. The germans conducted a siege of the city that lasted almost 3 years and over a million people died during WWII. It's hard to imagine what those people suffered during those traumatic events.


I'd be very interested to hear how you liked it. What were you doing there?

As you've pointed out, the city has an incredibly interesting history. I absolutely loved it there. The sights are gorgeous and the people are wonderful. The people living there truly know how to live and enjoy their lives despite some of the hardships that many Russian citizens face. They're some of the best people in the world, no doubt. I saw all of the palaces and historically significant areas and took literally thousands of pictures. I also saw the non ritzy parts of the town (I lived in the Grazhdansky Prospect area) and it had a charm about it that was just amazing. I will definitely return to Saint Petersburg someday. I was studying Russian language at Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University and teaching English language at a private language institute. I also visited London, Moscow, Dubai, Novgorod, Helsinki and Tallinn on this trip.

[Andrew]

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me.

We must be dating the same chick.

Expand your horizons - become citizens of the world

I LOVE travelling...hard now with 3 kids, but love getting out of Tassie as often as possible. Lucky to have lived overseas for 18 months before kids and travelled a lot.

[Gideon]

I'm sure there are plenty of great tourist spots right here in America that you haven't seen that could use your tourist dollars. I wish I were better-traveled; I have only seen a few things right here in America. This year, however, I got to see Mount Rushmore and The Badlands - absolutely beautiful.

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me. I get it, Europe has some cool places. But there's a lot for me to see in my own country and it typically will be cheaper for me to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I'll go to Europe someday to check it out.

I can't speak for others, but I've traveled extensively over the US both for work and pleasure. Now I'd like to expand my travels. Other than a trip to Ireland & Scotland I haven't had the opportunity to travel to europe. Too expensive. Especially now that the dollar is in the tank. Right now travel to South America is more affordable. Many of the major cities there have a real european vibe to them, great food & culture.

I recommend Seoul, South Korea. It's a really cool place.

Do you play Starcraft?

No.

That's the hardest I've laughed all week.

[Gideon]

I don't understand the driving need to go overseas. My girlfriend always talks this way and it annoys me.

We must be dating the same chick.

Expand your horizons - become citizens of the world

I LOVE travelling...hard now with 3 kids, but love getting out of Tassie as often as possible. Lucky to have lived overseas for 18 months before kids and travelled a lot.

I'd eventually like to go to Europe or something, but I'm not possessed by the burning need to do it. My old lady is, though, and she more than makes up for my lack of enthusiasm.

[Peartree12249]

quote="Archetype"]

Man, it sucks living in Saint Petersburg, Russia for almost four months only to come back to a stagnant town of 8,000. Kinda depressing. Planning my next overseas move now...

I've always wanted to visit St. Petersburg. It is a beautiful city. The architecture, the history of the city, and the treasures of the Hermitage are facinating. Peter the Great wanted a Capitol that would rival the great cities of Europe, so I know it's supposed to have a much more european vibe to it than Moscow. He even had the court speak only french not russsian. Russian was considered by the nobility as the language of the serfs. The russian revolution started there, Rasputin was shot there and his body thrown into the Neva. The germans conducted a siege of the city that lasted almost 3 years and over a million people died during WWII. It's hard to imagine what those people suffered during those traumatic events.


I'd be very interested to hear how you liked it. What were you doing there?

As you've pointed out, the city has an incredibly interesting history. I absolutely loved it there. The sights are gorgeous and the people are wonderful. The people living there truly know how to live and enjoy their lives despite some of the hardships that many Russian citizens face. They're some of the best people in the world, no doubt. I saw all of the palaces and historically significant areas and took literally thousands of pictures. I also saw the non ritzy parts of the town (I lived in the Grazhdansky Prospect area) and it had a charm about it that was just amazing. I will definitely return to Saint Petersburg someday. I was studying Russian language at Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University and teaching English language at a private language institute. I also visited London, Moscow, Dubai, Novgorod, Helsinki and Tallinn on this trip.[/quote]

What a wonderful opportunity for you! To be able to live there and really explore the city, & meet the people. How would you compare London to Petersburg?

[Archetype]

I'm probably biased, but London really didn't do much for me. Saint Petersburg is so much nicer

[tammy]

I've been to Saint Petersburg twice - we adopted a girl 10 yrs ago. I wish I had a different view of it, like as a tourist rather than a nervous wreck new adoptive mom. We did get to visit the Hermitage, which was cool for me since I have my B.A. in Art History...all the art that some of us thought we'd never get to see in person when it was the Soviet Union. It was my first time out of this country (not counting Baja Ca) and only a few months after 9/11 so that added to my nervousness...at one point everybody left me in the "taxi" while they ran inside to get more papers signed or something...I heard a bunch of yelling and saw running men go in a building and one of them was carrying a machine gun! In between visits to the orphanage every day we did get to see the city by car (it was winter) and all the architecture (went to the other pastel palace, can't think of the name) and saw the poverty as well. One of the things I recall was the lack of great lighting (like light bulbs, overhead lighting) in the public buildings...it was so very dim and I wondered how the office workers could even see...it depressed me very much...I need lots of light. At one point the lights even went out and they all just took it in stride.
We also had to go to Moscow...um, that was a nightmare experience...it involved a sick baby, us not being able to reach the translator, me trying to look up the words in the dictionary ,yelling, the yelling Hotel personnel & a medical person pushing us to go into a dirty ambulance to the saddest, scariest looking children's hospital outside the city next to the scariest forest...I had visions of being lost in Russia & pretty darn close to a panic attack.