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This is probably one of my favorite activities in foreign cities - walk or take public transportation aimlessly for a few hours. Buy a snack that catches my eye
by Nihilartikel 4y ago
This is probably one of my favorite activities in foreign cities - walk or take public transportation aimlessly for a few hours. Buy a snack that catches my eye, or find a cafe or pub to linger at long enough to see the ebb and flow of foot traffic.
Directed tourism is fine, but seeing a few randomly sampled slices of a culture and place gives the experience 'roots' for me in some intangible way.
- FredPret 4y agoGreat idea... in a safe city
- gonzo41 4y agoThe same behaviors will get you mugged in safe cities and unsafe cities. Wonder like a local. Look casually disinterested just like you're walking home from work.
- maurits 4y agoOr get a blending in item, like a bag from a cheap local supermarket. Also doubles as my camera bag if I feel I wondered into the wrong place.
- FredPret 4y agoHilarious! You must have only been in the first world then. I moved from one of the most dangerous cities in the world to one of the safest. Wandering in the latter is fun, in the former - it's Russian roulette. You have to go from A to B, as fast and carefully as possible.
- bowsamic 4y agoIt’s implied that we’re only talking about the first world here
- quickthrower2 4y agoNot really. “Foreign cities” is the opener.
- downut 4y agoDitch the white shoes! Minimize staring at maps on sidewalks, and if you need a bit of time to regroup dive into a cafe or kebab/taco joint. If your random track gets you to a sketchy zone, increase your speed and outward sense of purpose. I have wandered all over a bunch of Mexican cities, and still have only ever been mugged on a hiking trail in the N. Georgia (US) mountains.
- Nihilartikel 4y agoI remember such a stroll Eddy St. in the Tenderloin one fine midnight. No muggings, but a number of fellow citizens were very curious about whether I would like to buy stuff from them.
- clairity 4y agofear is mostly irrational, as people are generally bad at perceiving risk objectively. statistics show that nearly all cities and neighborhoods are generally quite safe for casual visitors and residents alike. vehicular accidents are more likely than violent confrontation, for instance, yet no one bats an eye at getting into a car. even in the rare occasion of some type of confrontation, most people want to resolve it without violence, and certainly not death. people have varying strategies for such confrontations--congeniality, causticity, evasiveness, etc.--and it's worth developing yours through practice, rather than living in fear. as alluded, most of the sketchy characters in the tenderloin are druggies, not thugs, and really don't care about you at all.
- idlehand 4y agoI think you're right, but there is also the possibility that people avoiding places and situations which feel unsafe is a factor in the low number of incidents.
- clairity 4y agothat's marginal though, as people might be, at the margin, shifting the places they go, rather than not going anywhere (covid lockdowns excepted). so that might induce a marginal change in incident rates, but not anywhere near at a magnitude to warrant a change of behavior. the biggest threat in our urban walking lives is really cars[0], and even that isn't so large that we should remain in a state of constant fear. [0]: pollution is actually the biggest (external) threat, since it's estimated to be responsible for millions of lives lost annually worldwide, but that's regardless of urban walking, so it's beyond the scope of the argument here.
- smugma 4y ago
- papito 4y agoI really miss Virtual Tourist. The site had "Off the beaten path" and "places to avoid". I was so comfortable and prepared in an unknown city on day one that other visitors would come up to me and ask for directions. TripAvisor is the next closest thing, but it's not exactly the same.
- drewzero1 4y agoIs there really such a thing?
- allarm 4y agoSingapore for instance. Many European cities are very safe too.
- Etheryte 4y agoI can't help but ask where you're from when that's your initial reaction? My initial reaction was what city isn't safe for taking a walk?
- frogpelt 4y agoMaybe you took the comment the wrong way. It could mean there are dangers in every city. Thus, don't look for a safe one.
- wenc 4y agoEh. As a city person you’ll have developed certain instincts and as long as you follow those instincts while you wander, the probability of something happening is usually quite low.
- uoaei 4y agoSomething tells me you spend very little time in cities, period.
- FredPret 4y agoOn the contrary. I've never lived in a non-city, and have spent most of my life surrounded by 10m+ people. Check your biases.
- uoaei 4y agoAnd what of the bias that says "every city that I deem 'unsafe' is indeed unsafe"?
- FredPret 4y agoYou can look at the murder rate per 100k people and draw a conclusion, all without any bias.
- uoaei 4y agoThis assumes that the sample of murders over the population is uniformly distributed. But I think it's very obvious this is not the case! Would you please read up on the kinds and degrees of relationships between perpetrator and victim in the statistics? You will find that the vast majority of cases involve two people who already have a prior relationship, and typically a close relationship either in a social or business sense. Random murders happen so rarely, you can be confident in the assumption that your family is safe unless you get involved with some sketchy people. But then, it's your responsibility to avoid those people, not the city's job to do that work for you.
- downut 4y agoLooking at wikipedia's list, I have walked all over Ensenada and Guadalajara w/o problems. In fact, I really enjoyed them. But I know how to walk a city and read a barrio. Mexico City is really something, FWIW. I will say that I have felt more uncomfortable walking in certain parts of LA, NYC, Oakland, Chicago, and yes SF (I lived SOMA in early '90s, before the boom), than I have in Mexican cities. (Not minimizing the carnage, if you live outside of the nice parts, I'm sure it's hell.)
- com2kid 4y agoI've walked aimlessly around Boston, Chicago, Manhattan, London, Edinburgh, and probably a few others I'm forgetting. Nice neighborhoods are nice to walk around. Sure some cities are complete cesspools that shouldn't be walked around at all, but in general people aren't going to walk around those cities, so mentioning that doesn't add much to the conversation.
- kingkawn 4y agoparanoia isn’t a virtue
- spoonjim 4y agoYes, as an American living in a city (even a safe one by American standards) almost every city I travel to is safer than default (except for some travel to places of great natural beauty like Madagascar, where I did not wander the cities).
- Saint_Genet 4y agoIt must be exhausting being this afraid of the world around you
- lyricism 4y agoThere are a lot of dismissive replies to this comment but as a woman who has tried this in "safe" but unfamiliar cities, things can get scary very quickly. Catcalls are inevitable, and only the beginning. A catcall from a passing car that has slowed to swerve towards you is terrifying. Yes, self-defense and being aware of your surroundings help, but don't exactly lend themselves to the state of mind described in this article. I am not speaking from paranoia, but from experience.
- Saint_Genet 4y ago
- lyricism 4y agoThis is my first comment but I have read this site daily since I created the account in March. I felt that my experience would be a valuable addition to the thread and I am not attempting to speak for all women. I'm sorry if it came off that way and I am genuinely happy that you haven't had this experience. This site seems to be a bit of an echo chamber sometimes so I thought I'd offer a differing opinion.
- Tehnix 4y agoI hope you keep commenting! I think your experience brought a good balance to an otherwise one-sided viewpoint. I think a lot of people here haven't really been exposed to actual dangerous areas in the world, but even in seemingly safe areas, I know a lot of my female friends feel very unsafe walking there alone. All it takes is one drunk dude...
- lyricism 4y ago
- barbazoo 4y agoGenuinely curious what city you are thinking of that would make it not a great idea to walk around in?
- bigDinosaur 4y agoYou're being downvoted but you're completely correct. You can't 'aimlessly stroll' without being delusional in many places. Unsafe areas exact a massive psychological toll on residents.
- neodypsis 4y agoDone this, take random walks and find somewhere to eat/shop!
- lawkwok 4y agoWalking where locals walk, getting a feel of the buildings, finding your new favourite restaurant, and even visiting boring strip malls right outside the tourist zones makes for much better memories. It’s even better when you unknowingly walk to an attraction—-the discovery and brief disorientation is so satisfying. “Is that really the Sagrada Familia above those buildings? It looks a bit small. Hmm, let’s walk closer. It’s huge!”
- moltar 4y agoAfter nomading on/off for 12+ years, this is pretty much what it boils down for me. I don’t care about any tourist traps anymore. Just want to get lost in the city and have fun. No point. Just aimless wandering.
- rags2riches 4y agoI'd like to put a word in for the early morning walk. Before the streets are crowded and all business is happening. There will still be a interesting activity to observe as the city wakes up and begins preparation for the new day. Maybe you'll find out where the cabbies meet and what they do to pass the slower hours. Who buys the first bread when the bakeries open. In some cities, there may be animals about that would wouldn't see during the day!