• sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I don’t blame anyone for being scared of specifically american cities. They are genuinely a nightmare. That’s why I live in a town of about 15k people.

    • threadloose@midwest.social
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      1 year ago

      Meh. I live out in the country, and the only scary thing about cities to me is the traffic. Even NYC was fine outside of Times Square, and I took public transit. The only place I really hated was Orlando, but that was because of the exhausted Disney kids. It was overwhelming for everyone.

      • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        The traffic is the main problem to me. It is just so, so much worse than where I live. I was exagerrating which people didn’t seem to understand, but it makes it an unpleasant experience to visit most cities here.

        • threadloose@midwest.social
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          1 year ago

          Yeah, you should be aware of the way people talk about cities in frankly bigoted ways if you don’t want to be perceived as a bigot. Talking about cities being dangerous or scary is a coded way to denigrate Black people. Like, when people talk about Chicago being dangerous, they’re specifically referring to neighborhoods with Black majority populations and generalizing it to the entire city. That’s what this meme is about, not traffic.

          • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Oh sorry, I didn’t realize that was much of a thing. Most people I know just complain about traffic but I don’t talk to racists very much so I guess that makes sense.

        • protist@mander.xyz
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          1 year ago

          Like anywhere else, you get used to it. I’m from a smaller town, and there was a lot less traffic, but there was also a lot less to do. I live in a city now, and yes there’s some traffic, but there are also a ton of bars, restaurants, parks, theaters, museums, and interesting, diverse people. Where I came from was 90% white and conservative with a church on every corner, and our restaurant options were Taco Bell and Applebee’s. I can’t emphasize enough how happy I am to live in a city despite the traffic, which only takes up a small part of your day

          • sanpedropeddler@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            I know it seems like less of a problem to people in cities, I used to live in one when I was younger and I never noticed it. But now whenever I visit, its extremely jarring to go back to that. I do miss having more stuff to do, but to me its a good trade off. It really just depends on what your priorities are, but my point was that I wouldn’t blame someone for hating cities, not that they are objectively horrible places to live.

            • protist@mander.xyz
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              1 year ago

              My point was that I wouldn’t blame someone for hating cities, not that they are objectively horrible places to live.

              They are genuinely a nightmare.

              I think there’s a communication issue here

    • ChillPenguin@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Lived in downtown Minneapolis the last few years. Still never felt unsafe walking around. Even with the uptick of crime. Safety is dependent on where you go within the city.
      As long as you don’t do anything stupid, you’re pretty good.

      But I constantly hear from the burbs and rural areas how it’s sO dAnGeRoUs.

    • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Yeah my city went from being the third safest in the US to over 1,400 shooting incidents last year and they don’t even know how many murders, they’re still finding bodies.

      Also Trump got a hard-on for our town and decided to make it centerpoint of his campaign for like 2 years and he called us terrorists. Fun stuff.

    • Gamey@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      As a european I would be scared of America in general, I mean is a heavily armed Redneck neighbor really that much saver than a heavily armed street gang?

      • PersnickityPenguin@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        The murder rate in the countryside is often higher than in the city.

        However, this does not mean either is safe. But cities have the density of violence. Here’s Chicago from January through June 1st of this year:

        The 641 shootings recorded in 2023 so far is also the lowest total for this time period since 2020, according to CPD data.