4 ms·

I'm on the spectrum, and airports, subways, ferrys and train stations have always been fun for me. Part of it is that there are some clear, actionable goals an

I'm on the spectrum, and airports, subways, ferrys and train stations have always been fun for me. Part of it is that there are some clear, actionable goals and direction when you use them (get to platform/ terminal X by 3pm, then get on, then transfer at X). It's a nice break from the open-endedness of everyday stuff. There's no way to make anything happen faster or slower, and there is very little decision-making except what to do while sitting, or what food to grab. The machines themselves and the logistics of the overall transit systems also seem very impressive and elegant.

creep 8y ago
I'm on the spectrum and live in a large city in Canada. I very much dislike taking the train. For me, it's due to the crowding of people, although I admit it's very nice when there are only a few people on board and I can stare at the city behind a window at night as it rolls by. Otherwise it's a very stressful experience for me that I've never been able to attenuate. I simply do not cope well with sitting and standing so close to other people, and the noises and smells are intolerable. I take the train to university. After the ride I usually need an hour or more to calm the fuck down before getting to work/going to class. Mind you, I'm female and there have been proposed some significant differences between males and females on the spectrum, never mind the differences between any two people.
- Fnoord 8y ago
  I'm on the spectrum, and I love taking the bus/tram/metro/train as long as it isn't crowded. I want to travel without getting distracting, nervous, nauseous, hot/humid, seeing people eat things I find disgusting or smelling certain things such as perfume. I want to sit alone, in white noise or silence, so I can read a book instead of having to hear to music to negate the noise and zone out. The common denominator in that one is the place being crowded, and it turns out these places are crowded on workdays from 6-9 and 16-19. Driving instead is even worse on these times. Amsterdam traffic is crowded everywhere around these times. If there are too little people around (such as at night) that also doesn't feel safe though. However if I don't have anything with me I'm good on that one.
- freeflight 8y ago
  Get a good pair of in-ear headphones to drown out the noise. Depending on mood and situation you can listen to music for calming down or podcasts for distraction. Books can also be a good distraction, but depending on how crowded the bus/trains are, sometimes not of much use.
scoggs 8y ago
I was, at first, assuming you may have liked those places because of the size, busyness, and grandeur of it all but then I realized you actually enjoy the release from "normal" daily tasks. You enjoy the freedom someone else setting the schedule brings. You enjoy not being able to control the speed at which any given thing takes place at. You revel in the lack of control -- which I'm not taken aback by but I'll admit it did catch me slightly by surprise -- but everyone is different so I won't go as far as saying I was floored at the prospect of someone feeling the way you do. Now, the real reason I'm here to comment: Do you enjoy being inside casinos? They can be very daunting in terms of the amount of sounds and light indicators flashing everywhere around you at all times. I'm sure the sheer amount of people and the realization that there are more cameras there than many other significant places on the world combined doesn't exactly endear somebody to casinos, either. That said, I was curious how somebody on the spectrum sees, thinks, and feels about such spaces since they are very unique and you can't exactly find them everywhere around the world, either.
anotheryou 8y ago
I've recently been to a city with loud subways doing long trips. It's quite soothing that nobody can even bothers to try to communicate over the noise. (I guess I'm not autistic, I just have to deliberately phase out of the action for a few minutes every now and than)

creep 8y ago

I'm on the spectrum and live in a large city in Canada. I very much dislike taking the train. For me, it's due to the crowding of people, although I admit it's very nice when there are only a few people on board and I can stare at the city behind a window at night as it rolls by. Otherwise it's a very stressful experience for me that I've never been able to attenuate. I simply do not cope well with sitting and standing so close to other people, and the noises and smells are intolerable. I take the train to university. After the ride I usually need an hour or more to calm the fuck down before getting to work/going to class. Mind you, I'm female and there have been proposed some significant differences between males and females on the spectrum, never mind the differences between any two people.

Fnoord 8y ago
I'm on the spectrum, and I love taking the bus/tram/metro/train as long as it isn't crowded. I want to travel without getting distracting, nervous, nauseous, hot/humid, seeing people eat things I find disgusting or smelling certain things such as perfume. I want to sit alone, in white noise or silence, so I can read a book instead of having to hear to music to negate the noise and zone out. The common denominator in that one is the place being crowded, and it turns out these places are crowded on workdays from 6-9 and 16-19. Driving instead is even worse on these times. Amsterdam traffic is crowded everywhere around these times. If there are too little people around (such as at night) that also doesn't feel safe though. However if I don't have anything with me I'm good on that one.
freeflight 8y ago
Get a good pair of in-ear headphones to drown out the noise. Depending on mood and situation you can listen to music for calming down or podcasts for distraction. Books can also be a good distraction, but depending on how crowded the bus/trains are, sometimes not of much use.

scoggs 8y ago

I was, at first, assuming you may have liked those places because of the size, busyness, and grandeur of it all but then I realized you actually enjoy the release from "normal" daily tasks. You enjoy the freedom someone else setting the schedule brings. You enjoy not being able to control the speed at which any given thing takes place at. You revel in the lack of control -- which I'm not taken aback by but I'll admit it did catch me slightly by surprise -- but everyone is different so I won't go as far as saying I was floored at the prospect of someone feeling the way you do. Now, the real reason I'm here to comment: Do you enjoy being inside casinos? They can be very daunting in terms of the amount of sounds and light indicators flashing everywhere around you at all times. I'm sure the sheer amount of people and the realization that there are more cameras there than many other significant places on the world combined doesn't exactly endear somebody to casinos, either. That said, I was curious how somebody on the spectrum sees, thinks, and feels about such spaces since they are very unique and you can't exactly find them everywhere around the world, either.

anotheryou 8y ago

I've recently been to a city with loud subways doing long trips. It's quite soothing that nobody can even bothers to try to communicate over the noise. (I guess I'm not autistic, I just have to deliberately phase out of the action for a few minutes every now and than)