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It's not that Americans or Canadians don't socialize or don't enjoy outdoor activities. They enjoy socializing with their personal circle of friends. Most of the close and long lasting friendships begin and prosper during adolescence/teen years. After that phase of life, usually, only surface level friendships exist.\n\nSo, immigrants, who usually come to the US/Canada for Post-graduate or PhD studies, may find it difficult to develop very close friendships with the locals.

This video seems to really capture the reality of a typical America and the narration really crystalizes it. Even though it depicts a less urban setting, the same stillness can be found in cities and suburbs. It’s not what you see on Netflix or in Hollywood where there’s a story to be told and you do see a lot of human interaction from scene to scene. In real life America so many lead an isolated life indoors except for when one has to go to work or school. One explanation for this, however, is that community in America and many societies is not geographically determined. It’s structured around work, school, church, one’s immediate family if there is anyone and other kinds of civic associations. Loneliness really comes in when one does not belong to any of these “communities”. One’s geographical community (in a society like America’s) simply does not or cannot provide a sense of belonging. It provides physical and material comforts but not emotional or social sustenance, which has to come from those other types of associations. And I sense this is not just a Western world phenomenon. I think it’s happening everywhere and simply a fact of life wherever the vast majority of people living in any space have no family ties with one another. In a village or neighborhood setting in a place like India or Africa, you’ll have such liveliness on the streets and among neighbors because a lot of the people there are simply relatives of each other.

Is it because of Covid ? I'm from India, Its very strange ,looks like its an abandoned area, absolutely no life , no dogs, birds even trees are depressed , India Is a heaven then . I don't need only money , I got to live a life ... forget USA.

Very spot on, I started drinking for the first time in my life after coming to America, I was 30 and the loneliness was depressing me, had dreams of being back home playing soccer with my friends and visiting people I knew. Here you see rich people killing themselves because all the money they have can't buy happiness.

It is a very insightful video about what aspects of lifestyle can be very depressing for people. Also, habits define your life. People are not the most highly social in the USA. I moved to Mexico. I missed the tropics and I missed a less planned social life. At the same time, I think the economic pressures that people live in Africa and Latin America need to be addressed. Stay home and work on improving economics for your African or Latin American nations. Trading in extended family and the love of the community for money and loneliness is not worth it. What is worth it is an effort put in to improve the finances of nations with strong communities. The best of both worlds. Excellent video from EBS scholars.

So basically in short immigration has caused the housing market to sky rocket so now your son who's worked and lived here his whole life cant afford a house. But don't worry 4 billion of your tax dollars will make sure immigrants have a roof over their heads

One of the secrets to long life is social life...talking to neighbors, chatting nonsense, sitting and having a drink by the street, laughing out loud with the barber or the fruit vendor. This is natural human interaction, if not there, not everyone will take the effort.

Trying to live a peaceful life can sometimes be lonely

FUCK CANADA immigrants friendly my ass. ?? for life!!!

I can agree with these comments if your not American, growing up we had all that interaction with family, friends and neighbors. Life n times have changed in America due to gun violence, especially in large cities. Socializing is different in every state in America and in every country. I can understand how if your not accustomed to our ways of life even today, that you would prefer your ways of living back in your hometown and your Country. If you live in a big City in America and moved there from a smaller town in America, you will be feeling some loneliness, that's normal to us in America. If your American then you adjust to making n meeting new people, that hasn't been so easy with the pandemic for anyone. To compare our homes in one community from another or even from another country, is just criticism. We don't have a specific way of living, as far as our homes are constructed. This is how as American's we have always lived, small homes, large homes, big cities, small towns. Since the pandemic we do find ourselves spending more time inside due to no fault of our own. We do have different ways of living but so do other countries which we do enjoy when we visit. If you want to learn more about America and our lifestyles and history, you should do that. Every Country has it's government rules n law's and we try to abide by them, that's what makes our Country n Our Nation Great, that's also why many people come here to visit or work and study. Loneliness can be anywhere, depending on the person you are and reaching out to make new friends or just acquaintances is important. Especially, if your away from friends n family from home or a different Country. ✌️

Wow, the lifestyle and infrastructure is designed to isolate you and give you mood disorders. Africans come back home, we're designed to be communal. That is not life. The video itself is depressing.

Not sure how I came upon this video but I'm American that's lived here all my life. It's so incredibly lonely, even as an American. I wish I could find people that want to have friendships and community. People like me are out there looking for friends and would gladly welcome immigrants!

Life in North America is boring and depressing and the people are mean - I can't wait to return to the Caribbean.

The biggest curse in a man’s life to leave his country behind to chase empty dreams \nWhat shines isn’t most of the times gold \nGuys dont do it I wasn’t listening when I was young \nIt’s kind of irreversible the longer you stay abroad away from your country the harder it gets to ever return back\nYou get inevitably homesick to the bone and loneliness prevails \nOn top of that and mostly important is that having a family in western societies is like jumping from a roof top excepting to come out in one piece, there’s always a chance but the odds are against you by far \nExcellent content

you are so true, I was born in the US and lived here my whole life and people are very selfish here and it is very lonely and now days it's so expensive the a verage worker can not even afford to rent a basic apartment in a city

This clown has not got a clue, nor does he care. Be born with a silver spoon just allows this guy a lack of real life. Just look at his record. He will never fix anything in Canada.

Basically it's a pathetic standard of life in the US.

ahsante sana kaka , hakuna , ujamaa huko kila mtu kivyake.....? i will not trade my life in Africa for anything

God doesn't blessed everything if you have money you don't have social life.

I am an Irish man that moved to the U.S.S.A twenty years ago. And my ass and all my other bits and pieces are now ( Thanks Christ be to Jesus) back in Ireland. America is not a country its a business. The most God dam cold vacuous depressing soulless place on this planet. Land of the fee and home of the slave. An open air prison with so many God dam rules and regulations it will make your head spin. Thank feck I have traveled . I have been all around Europe and South America, and a little to Africa. And I can say hands down. You don't live when you are in that God forsaken country Amerika. You exist. Nobody has any time. Nobody talks to or trusts anyone. The only time someone talks to you is if they want to sell you something. It's the land of fake smiles and fake personalities. They are void of any sense of humor, and please don't get me started on the woman. They are co co co colder than a witches tit. The cost of living is ridiculous. The cost of housing a joke. Most people working two jobs, just for basics. The food in the grocery stores is utter shite. You are taxed up the gill and you get nothing for it. I could go on and on and on for days about this. On a positive note however, it does have a lot of airports if you want to get the feck out of there. Oh and the elections are fixed. I voted with my feet and left. Life is to short to live in a shit country!

Trudeau has never bought any thing in his life. This clown is so out of touch with average Canadians. I find it hard to believe any one can support this goof. The most incompetent corrupt government in Canadian history. Thanks gta and ottawa for voting these clowns in. Budget will balance itself......

I've been to many cities across indias length and breadth for job and education. Every place I went, first thing I did was to befriend the neighbourhood tea stall/tobacconist (used to smoke back then) there's one at every corner. You visit that place regularly you share a laugh and a nod with other regulars. To the point they ask abt u if they don't see u for a couple of days. Then u add them on Facebook and see th living their lives for the rest of the life. \n\nWe talk to random people everywhere and in India atleast, a stranger is truly a friend you're yet to know. And that is what I love the most abt my country. And can't imagine living anywhere else.

Canada system is what makes its country safe they have a very strong view in their ways of life

Great video. I am a Canadian that works with newcomers. I have lived abroad and back again. We recently did a trip to the U.S. A great trip overall but I agree with a lot of your comments about the suburbs. We saw some beautiful neighbourhoods in the US (and here in Canada) but there are almost no signs of life. I grew up in the suburbs and it was nice as a kid because we were always outside but as soon as I finished school, I couldn't wait to get out. My old neighbourhood is now a bedroom community built for the car. Now, I live downtown in a major Canadian city. My house is very small and old but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I always see people, rain or shine, snow or hail. I see families, dogs, dogwalkers, children, seniors with canes. I love it because I see life. Living in a neighbourhood like the one in this video would indeed feel lonely and isolating.

I am from Kenya living in the US and what you say holds true. In addition to loneliness (which was made worse during the pandemic) you have to consider the incredible cost of housing compared to wages, incredible cost of health care, and prejudice. Some people work 6 or even 7 days a week, sometimes on more than one job per day. However, I don't think I could live in Nairobi anymore. The life there has become extremely hectic and competitive.

When we were living in the USA for 20years ,my husband and I argued way much because of stress.Last year we moved back to Africa,we are different people now.We are stress free,we can spend 3months with no arguments,life is enjoyable now ,while in the USA I never knew that or realized that I had a great husband when we were living there. This is so true

Drama teacher never worked for a thing in its life…?

If you want a social life there, go to a club to play some sport, people are social according to their interests, and they dont want to be bothered at home where they may want to be on the internet or watch netflix

i am so thankful my parents held onto our townhouse in vancouver;\n\nfor anyone that isnt familiar with it, my dad bought a townhouse in the 1990's on west 7th avenue (practically downtown vancouver) for around 500k. even when we moved away, he kept it as a rental property just for some extra cash (back in the early 00's they probably went for 2300ish)\nhe past away recently, and gave me and my fiance the townhouse (it was worth roughly 1m when he died, and this was with minimal reno's/fixes) we just did an entire renovation top to bottom, we got it appraised at 3.5-3.75, maybe even 4 million if we wanted.\n\nof course we won't sell, it has incredible views & is close to everything. but i am so thankful we don't have to worry about if we can ever afford to live in a city i've called home for my entire life

Western lifestyle is a trap. Work, loneliness and racism. There is no work life balance lifestyle.

The stress and the pressure we live under is what weighs us down. We do not want to deal with other peoples problems. \n We have compassion fatigue. \nI can totally relate to the person who commented that it was not always this way- especially when we had more people who loved God and less fear about everything.\n When I was a child all the kids played together in groups- until dark and dinner time. People looked out for each other.\n Now, everyone is afraid to be taken advantage of because it happens so much. \n This is very sad. \nLord, have mercy on us. We lost our way.\n The best thing to do is find a community of people to pray with and share your life with.\n Thank you for this video. We needed to hear this. \n Yes, where are the children? No one can afford them anymore.

JT hasn't bought anything in his life. He doesn't know the struggles that middle class face.

I am 40 years old and lived all my life in Los Angeles, too many people here too much traffic, that neighborhood your walking through looks beautiful quiet peaceful, also the houses are far apart there which is nice because here in Los Los Angeles most houses are right next to eachother which sucks because your neighbors live right next to you

Vancouver, one of the most soulless life force sucking cities on earth. The people are so lonely there. So its not just the desolate suburbs tat are like this.

This is not how life is in Virginia, where I'm from.

I came to America when I was 22 .. student life was fun because you have lot of friends I studied in Pennsylvania and in California.. but right after college I lived in a state called Delaware for almost 4 months.. some of the most depressing times of my life .. I experienced everything you said in your video.. at 24 I didn't have a job yet because 2008 happened and so I didn't have a car .. most of the time I am stuck in the apartment studying.. I was so desperate to even see people .. the only place I used to become happy by seeing people is when I go to the mall .. 6 o clock in the evening you don't see anyone in the apartments .. it used to be like ghost town .. I ran away from that place the first opportunity I got ..no matter how much money someone offers I am never going back to Wilmington Delaware

It’s a dogs life! ?

Thank you for speaking about this topic!!! After staying there for 25 years, I can totally relate to it. Your life is in auto-pilot and you don’t even think. Life is good, you keep watching even the awful movies from your country, connect with the friends back home and read every news bit longing and comparing the life at home…that is the life we lived\n\nSuddenly, after my husband’s death, the light bulb finally turned on and moved to India to raise my son 6 years back. The impromptu play dates, relatives and friends dropping in, the casual conversations with the milkman, newspaper guy, the screaming noise when the kids are getting out of school, friends volunteering to take your kids for a weekend getaway… these little people connections are so important. \n\nWestern countries economically developed. But hungry for love and connection..

I lived in America for more than 20 years. The loneliness, boredom, emptiness as well as racism was too much to handle. I retired early and moved back home in Africa. Am the happiest I’ve ever been. Family everywhere, organic good food, never Lonely, sunshine overall mentality much much better. You couldn’t pay me enough to go back. What a boring life in western counties.

This life sucks, i have exprrienced this in china.\nCome visit pakistan and you will see what life actually means.

Beautiful video!! Very impressive and informative about the American Way of Life. I'm Brazilian from Rio de Janeiro, so and I can understand your perspective about loneliness, so far away from the african way of living and dealing with each other.

I think weather does have a massive impact. Westerners generally dont like cold wet weather. Stay indoors alot during winter months. When summer starts you will see more people outside having barbecues, going to the beach, the lakes and having a more outdoor life. In parts of Europe that is warm all year, south Spain, canary islands, people are outdoors all year round.

I worked with a guy from Ghana in Newark NJ. He had married an American woman who bossed him around and didn't really care for him. He lost a lot of money in a church pyramid scheme and I think the American diet contributed to him having a heart attack and later a stroke that killed him. I saw a video on Ghana and I really thought he would have been so much better staying in Ghana and probably would have had a much better and longer life.

My brother I really and sincerely appreciate your work in enlightening people back in Africa about life in the west.

Remember that the main trunk of the Indo-European peoples is the Cro-Magnon man, he evolved in times of glaciation, where living locked up in caves was a large part of his life, they went hunting, he lived in extremely difficult conditions and for that reason his creativity was He developed quite a bit, his brain grew larger, and his hunting and war skills became a way of life. That is why later, when Europe thawed man, the evolution of that man converted into the Indo-European people expanded out of Europe, began the conquest of peoples from warm climates, and became lord and master of the world, conquering every place where he lived. arrived, they established themselves as a warrior and royal caste, that is how civilization began at the hands of the white man. He still has that instinct to live hidden in caves, since he enjoys his solitude, that allows him to develop ideas and create new things, he is happy to go hunting, then return home and winter.

We are condemning their life but just look at ourselves we are becoming the same. You come to Indian cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru nobody cares if you died in the adjacent flat, everyone is living isolated life.

To make a story short, there is nothing special in Western countries. The quality of life in Canada has changed for the worst. The country claims Canada needs more immigrants but all the companies have been working on implementing new technologies to replace workers or transfer jobs to cheaper markets. Exception IT jobs.. Some companies suggest we should prepare ourselves to share our job with another worker, this would mean less working days and less pay..

I am Ugandan, student in the US. It is isolated, and lonely definitely. When am done I might just stay for at most 5 years and head back. This side is good to visit, but if u stay your life just washes away in door. I don’t judge their lifestyle though, I see it as different, something I have to bear with for now.

How about living in Europe? Does anyone have the experience to share? This video makes me contemplate my plan to study and live in Europe ?. I'm from Asia and no doubt life in Asia is full of color.

All he is saying is not true. Sorry, I don’t know where he lives but I was born and raised in the southern part of the USA. My experiences are so opposite of what this man is saying. You must know that foreigners from other countries will not have the same experience as born/raised Americans. I am very travelled, yes there are various differences from countries to countries but it’s up to an individual to find meaning in life no matter where they are.