What is the deal with the metro card machines, it's not that complicated!
I think it's the same problem as with the elevators. People who don't frequently interact with interfaces (to anything) proceed to ignore extant information and proceed extremely slowly in their endeavors with such interfaces. It took me as long to buy a Charlie ticket or a DC Metro card as it does to buy a New York Metrocard or Metro North ticket. But, for someone who never buys any tickets, it takes forever for them to navigate through the actually simple options.
There's also the jargon factor. I'd wager almost noone outside of cities with mass transit actually knows what an "express" service really means, as opposed to a "local" one. From popular culture, they seem to at best believe that the "something something express" just means "the train to something something." They don't know what a "peak" fare is, versus an "off-peak" one. These things are clearly defined in the schedules, maps, and literature, but people unfamiliar with the terms tend to gloss over them rather than figure it out.
When I complain about a "tourist," it really has nothing to do with them being a visitor or not. My real complaint is with people who don't understand how to: 1. Let people off of an elevator before forcing your way on 2. Stand to the right to let people pass on an escalator or moving walkway 3. Not stop suddenly in the middle of a busy sidewalk 4. Move quickly and with purpose or stand aside 5. Not be drunk (and vocal about it) on the train at 7:00am
My thoughts exactly. #2 in particular is a big problem in my area (Seattle). I don't know if it's because the density here just isn't high enough, but it seems like no one here even knows that such a rule exists. Honestly, I didn't know such a rule existed until I went to London. But now that I do know it, I follow it. Problem is, here, the general rule is, "You can walk up the escalator if the path is clear, but once you run into someone who is just standing, you have to stop behind them." So even if I stay to the right to allow people to pass, a lot of times, the person behind me will walk up and just stand behind me. To the left. So no one can pass through.
But of that list, #3 is the one that bugs me the most. It's especially easy for me to run into people since they are often much shorter than I, and I don't see them stop.
Problem is, here, the general rule is, "You can walk up the escalator if the path is clear, but once you run into someone who is just standing, you have to stop behind them."
People here tend to ask the person to step aside.
This, of course, could not have helped me in the two situations where the person ahead of me was as wide as the escalator. I honestly commit to jumping onto the handrail and walking past the next time this happens. Gets me where I'm going and makes the statement without being cruel. (Cruel would be asking the person to step aside anyway).
It sounds like your problem is with stupid and/or ignorant people rather than tourists. Tourists have a greater tendency to be ignorant of the systems, which can lead to slower processing, but it is by no means a defining characteristic. My problem with using the term "tourist" is that it is both over- and under-inclusive. I'd much prefer the term "stupid mouthbreathers," because it is accurate.
As for the drunk problem on the trains... I don't think that's a tourist problem. Honestly, I have the most trouble with people being disrespectful to other passengers on the train on the Metro North, and they are almost always annoying, loud teenage girls. Ironically, they inevitably are making statements about how their boys/parents/teachers better respect them.
and they are almost always annoying, loud teenage girls. Ironically, they inevitably are making statements about how their boys/parents/teachers better respect them.
And these are the people wind up breeding more, funny how natural selection was once our greatest ally but now is that drunken idiot on the train.
Maybe cheap alcohol should be modified so that it is basically a chemical sterilization, it would do no wonder of good for our genetic future.
As someone who was born in NYC and lived there my entire life until I went to RIT, I wholeheartedly agree with most of this. However, there are plenty of places to get good donuts.
I seriously wish that Pittsburgh had a subway system. With how hilly the terrain is, it would make so much more sense than buses. Thank you Eisenhower for destroying the concept of public transit in this country.
This is the first episode that I listened to in months, if not longer. Living in a rural area, the subject matter really intrigued me.
If you are childless, there is little reason to live in the suburbs. Heck... IMHO you would be crazy to forego the city for the suburbs. The suburbs have a lot of benefit for children, but that comes at a cost to adults. Why would you want to be somewhere "sleepy"? Someone with no kids should want to be near all of the "action".
This does is not the same as a "rural vs. city debate". When I mention "suburb vs. city", I assume that you have to go into the city daily for work. Since you have to go in anyway, you might as well live there. Who cares how good the schools are or how many baseball fields there are?
I've decided that if you have money, cities are a fantastic place to live. There is just so darned much you can experience. If you don't have money, cities can be awful. Everything is more expensive, and there are plenty of terrible places you could be stuck living in.
My only gripe with the city, even if you have enough money to make it enjoyable, is the competition for everything. In my area, I never have trouble getting tickets to a movie or finding a nice place to eat out if I don't have a reservation. I can always park my car where desired, find an open treadmill at the gym, and don't have to share space on a train with smelly people. There is much less competition for resources and space in a rural area. Since space is cheap, businesses have enough space to serve their customers. On the downside, we don't have many cultural opportunities, and we lack a diverse entertainment base. But on a day-to-day basis there is much less to aggravate a person in a rural area. It is a great place to raise kids. My commute is 4 minutes. I see a lot more of my children as a result. They also have lots of opportunities for the sole reason that there is not as much competition. It's easier to make a sports team, be cast in a play, etc. To add some diversity, we take the kids into Boston every now and then. We make sure to eat at ethnic restaurants and to see cultural events that would never take place in our rural area.
On the other hand, cities promote more exercise. In a rural area, the car is king. You do much less walking on a daily basis. This is somewhat ironic, since we have so much open space where one could walk.
My one gripe with the suburbs is the size of the homes. Large families used to live quite happily in very small houses. Nobody needs a McMansion. I think people complain too much about having less living space in the city. Do you really need so much junk that you can fill a 3,500 square foot house? You don't, and can do fine with much less space.
Given the economy, though, why rent? Buy a place in the city. Now is the time.
Yeah, the "bad" economy hasn't really hit the real estate values of these areas of extremely high business and residential density. Home and rental properties in the DC/Arlington area are not really that "down." Plus, I've never been keen on the buying a house as an investment idea because it's about as non-liquid as it can be.
Plus, I've never been keen on the buying a house as an investment idea because it's about as non-liquid as it can be.
It depends on what you're trying to do with the property. As a pure investment, real estate sort of sucks, unless you're willing to put in a lot of effort to find very cheap homes and fix them up. Even then, that time could probably be better spent doing something else. Unless you're going to be a landlord, buying a house purely to make money on it is stupid.
However, if you want to run a home industry or some such thing, a house makes sense. If you own the property, you only have to consider zoning permits; you won't have a landlord with any sort of say in how your business is conducted. Then, you can basically invest in yourself, and the fact that the house appreciates in value is a bonus.
Also, living so close to DC I don't feel that urge to visit the monuments, museums, and other attractions that those from out of town seem to feel. In fact I only remember actually going to the Washington Monument once when I was a kid.
I lived in Long Island for a year and made it into the City a few times. I really enjoyed my time in the City, yes, NYC is amazing. It is expensive, expensive to get into, crowded etc, but I loved it and anything you want to do, you can.
I found New Yorkers to be really nice once they knew that I wasn't from New York and wasn't trying to scam or rip them off. Many times I had experiences with really fast aggressive people who then would slow down and be actually nice once they found out I wasn't from NY.
So heres my NYC story: I was on the LIRR with a bunch of Rangers fans, they were drinking heavily from brown paper bags and telling really funny but really off color jokes. They are literally sitting all around me (I had been sitting by myself before they got on). I couldn't help but laugh and made eye contact in a polite way.
We ended up stopping at a station for over an hour due to a police shooting at another station down the line. All the Rangers fans were off the train smoking except for one. He looked over and said something like "Where you from?" I said, Oregon. "Oregon, oh ok, thats cool, cuz I thought we was gonna have to kick your ass or something". He said this really nicely, and I was taken aback. I asked why and he said, "Well, you were looking..."
Long story short it was cool, he wanted to know if I rode a horse, wanted to talk about flying helicopters and the whole crew ended up sharing their booze with me on the rest of the trip in... who knew making eye contact was rude...
I've been on the subway and had people screaming at each other about who's directions were better..
New Yorkers.... yeah they are a whole breed apart.
Comments
There's also the jargon factor. I'd wager almost noone outside of cities with mass transit actually knows what an "express" service really means, as opposed to a "local" one. From popular culture, they seem to at best believe that the "something something express" just means "the train to something something." They don't know what a "peak" fare is, versus an "off-peak" one. These things are clearly defined in the schedules, maps, and literature, but people unfamiliar with the terms tend to gloss over them rather than figure it out.
But of that list, #3 is the one that bugs me the most. It's especially easy for me to run into people since they are often much shorter than I, and I don't see them stop.
This, of course, could not have helped me in the two situations where the person ahead of me was as wide as the escalator. I honestly commit to jumping onto the handrail and walking past the next time this happens. Gets me where I'm going and makes the statement without being cruel. (Cruel would be asking the person to step aside anyway).
As for the drunk problem on the trains... I don't think that's a tourist problem. Honestly, I have the most trouble with people being disrespectful to other passengers on the train on the Metro North, and they are almost always annoying, loud teenage girls. Ironically, they inevitably are making statements about how their boys/parents/teachers better respect them.
Maybe cheap alcohol should be modified so that it is basically a chemical sterilization, it would do no wonder of good for our genetic future.
I seriously wish that Pittsburgh had a subway system. With how hilly the terrain is, it would make so much more sense than buses. Thank you Eisenhower for destroying the concept of public transit in this country.
If you are childless, there is little reason to live in the suburbs. Heck... IMHO you would be crazy to forego the city for the suburbs. The suburbs have a lot of benefit for children, but that comes at a cost to adults. Why would you want to be somewhere "sleepy"? Someone with no kids should want to be near all of the "action".
This does is not the same as a "rural vs. city debate". When I mention "suburb vs. city", I assume that you have to go into the city daily for work. Since you have to go in anyway, you might as well live there. Who cares how good the schools are or how many baseball fields there are?
I've decided that if you have money, cities are a fantastic place to live. There is just so darned much you can experience. If you don't have money, cities can be awful. Everything is more expensive, and there are plenty of terrible places you could be stuck living in.
My only gripe with the city, even if you have enough money to make it enjoyable, is the competition for everything. In my area, I never have trouble getting tickets to a movie or finding a nice place to eat out if I don't have a reservation. I can always park my car where desired, find an open treadmill at the gym, and don't have to share space on a train with smelly people. There is much less competition for resources and space in a rural area. Since space is cheap, businesses have enough space to serve their customers. On the downside, we don't have many cultural opportunities, and we lack a diverse entertainment base. But on a day-to-day basis there is much less to aggravate a person in a rural area. It is a great place to raise kids. My commute is 4 minutes. I see a lot more of my children as a result. They also have lots of opportunities for the sole reason that there is not as much competition. It's easier to make a sports team, be cast in a play, etc. To add some diversity, we take the kids into Boston every now and then. We make sure to eat at ethnic restaurants and to see cultural events that would never take place in our rural area.
On the other hand, cities promote more exercise. In a rural area, the car is king. You do much less walking on a daily basis. This is somewhat ironic, since we have so much open space where one could walk.
My one gripe with the suburbs is the size of the homes. Large families used to live quite happily in very small houses. Nobody needs a McMansion. I think people complain too much about having less living space in the city. Do you really need so much junk that you can fill a 3,500 square foot house? You don't, and can do fine with much less space.
Given the economy, though, why rent? Buy a place in the city. Now is the time.
However, if you want to run a home industry or some such thing, a house makes sense. If you own the property, you only have to consider zoning permits; you won't have a landlord with any sort of say in how your business is conducted. Then, you can basically invest in yourself, and the fact that the house appreciates in value is a bonus.
I found New Yorkers to be really nice once they knew that I wasn't from New York and wasn't trying to scam or rip them off. Many times I had experiences with really fast aggressive people who then would slow down and be actually nice once they found out I wasn't from NY.
So heres my NYC story: I was on the LIRR with a bunch of Rangers fans, they were drinking heavily from brown paper bags and telling really funny but really off color jokes. They are literally sitting all around me (I had been sitting by myself before they got on). I couldn't help but laugh and made eye contact in a polite way.
We ended up stopping at a station for over an hour due to a police shooting at another station down the line. All the Rangers fans were off the train smoking except for one. He looked over and said something like "Where you from?" I said, Oregon. "Oregon, oh ok, thats cool, cuz I thought we was gonna have to kick your ass or something". He said this really nicely, and I was taken aback. I asked why and he said, "Well, you were looking..."
Long story short it was cool, he wanted to know if I rode a horse, wanted to talk about flying helicopters and the whole crew ended up sharing their booze with me on the rest of the trip in... who knew making eye contact was rude...
I've been on the subway and had people screaming at each other about who's directions were better..
New Yorkers.... yeah they are a whole breed apart.