If I am in a city (sf, ny) I am putting in my AirPods and booking it.
Why?
The only people that try to interact with you are either homeless, trying to sell you something, or trying to rob you. Or all 3.
It’s a shame as it really changes the experience of a city and makes everyone wary of everyone else.
If someone could actually enforce laws and clean up these cities, people might consider taking their AirPods out.
Until then, I’ll have my AirPods in, sadly.
The most common things homeless people ask me are if the train or bus goes to x or y or if I have a lighter. Sometimes I get someone asking for a dollar for the train, literally just a dollar and often right at the turnstyle. Actual pan handlers I don’t see very often. They are more common to see driving on freeway offramps than on foot. This is in LA county maybe its different in SF.
When I moved to a larger metro I would see people walk their dog and say, "Hey nice dog!" and get completely ignored. I get why after a couple years. they assume I'm going to sell them something or ask them for money.
In my experience, this does very by neighborhood. Midtown and the financial district? Absolutely. Up in Washington Heights? A significantly less touristy area, and one that feels more like a neighborhood, where I don't automatically assume someone wants something from me if they initiate a conversation.
It's called the "tragedy of the commons". You can aggressively police, you can have a high trust society with social norms, you can make things private property, or things can go to shit.
Those are the choices as I understand them, am I leaving any out?
People have always “booked it” in NY. Lived here for 30 years and talking to random people on the street has never been the norm. Slow walkers have also been a source of frustration.