User blog comment:Madman97/You know what really grinds my Wabbajack's? S3E7: Lack of focus on differing races./@comment-13446185-20140124013633

If anything I'd say that Skyrim didn't have enough Nordic Culture. The Pocket Guide to the Empire really describes Skyrim as a harsh rugged and dangerous land filled with badass viking dudes who have lived in these conditions their entire lives.

"The Reach could be mistaken for one of the petty kingdoms of High Rock; it is full of Bretons, Redguards, Cyrodiils, Elves of all stripes, and even a few misplaced khajiit. The northern and western Holds -- Winterhold Hold, Eastmarch, The Rift, and the Pale, known collectively as the Old Holds -- remain more isolated, by geography and choice, and the Nords there still hold true to the old ways."

According to this the Reach was really the only place with a variety of cultures in it but we all know the state the Reach is in during TES V.

I guess it could be argued that Nordic way of life has changed over the many years since the first pocket guides were released but I'm still rather disapointed in Skyrim's lack of danger and severity within it's terrain and inhabitants.