topic Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled. in Community Chat

Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

JBKO — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 18:49:13 GMT

Hi everyone. I remember going to Toronto and finding it to be very nice but not that many people on the street. It was a little strange being in a major city and wondering where all the people were lol? This was 20 years ago so I'm sure that things have changed. What cities have you traveled to that were like this? Have you traveled to cities that were severely overcrowded? TIA

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

fitfuninformed — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 18:52:39 GMT

Just to be clear, you're preference is to be in a major city that is crowded/overcrowded?

To each his own, but why on earth would you?

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

JBKO — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 19:00:52 GMT

I do not prefer cities to be overcrowded but I expect them to be populated.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

DukeBlueNan — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 19:11:38 GMT

@JBKO wrote:
I do not prefer cities to be overcrowded but I expect them to be populated.

Cities ARE populated. Towns are smaller but still populated.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

dex — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 19:14:46 GMT

There are a lot of people in Toronto...metro area 6miliion people and almost 3 million in Toronto itself...that’s no shortage of people for the streets.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

fitfuninformed — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 19:22:14 GMT

@JBKO You're still being unclear. Manhattan is your basic nightmare as far as overcrowding/overpopulated goes; however, you claim to be 'spoiled' by it. Which is it?

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

Laura14 — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 19:22:32 GMT

It honestly depends on the season if you are in a tourist destination like NYC and time of day.

Obviously people are going to be out and about during rush hour trying to get to work. If I'm visiting, I'm the lone person who really will not ride the subway during peak hours.

I went to Chicago several years ago and I just had a sixth sense not to be on the streets after the workers went home even though I was in a really good area. My city girl vibe was on high alert. I just didn't like the feel of that city at all.

On the flip side, I love to walk all over NYC late into the night with lots of people around. Altough I steer clear in June, July, and August because you just can't move around the Times Square and other tourist areas with everyone in town on summer breaks.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

millieshops — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 19:32:45 GMT

@JBKOEven though I've lived near NYC for lots of years and I think I've been in all the cities in the top 10 in population, but even NYC crowds most often don't compare to the crowds I've been in when I've been some places in Europe or in Russia. I've never been to China or anywhere on the African continent, so I can't compare them.

I like living near a big population center but I'm not so sure I'd want to live right in its midst.

I grew up in a small town (under 5000 with nothing much bigger close) and I've chosen not to return to that kind of area because I do like the amenties more prevalent in bigger population areas and am willing to live with the inconveniences of the extra people and traffic. I don't consider that being spoiled though - it's what I'm interested in at this stage of my life.

It's been nearly 50 years since my ex and I drove cross-country several times, but in those years what did surprise me was that even close to the big cities we toured, we could drive just a few miles out and be in the country. That hasn't been true in the NYC area for decades - and I've also seen lots of growth happening close to other Eastern big cities so I assume the same thing is happening in the rest of the country.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

chickenbutt — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 20:02:16 GMT

I live in a small city (pop around 250,000 last I knew) and I'm fine with that. I have traveled around the country and to numerous other countries and wherever I am I am not particularly fond of crowds. I like having space.

Also, being from LA, not fond of major traffic! At least up here that's seldom any concern at all. Only time traffic is aggravating is when they are working on the freeway, or any main thoroughfare, and have lanes closed off.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

ValuSkr — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 20:14:13 GMT

I was in Dallas for work, 30+ years ago. We were working outside the city but went into the city after work or on weekends. It was very dead, as if the sidewalks had been rolled-up and everyone had gone home to the suburbs. I remember seeing the Neiman Marcus store and there wasn't a soul around. Of course, it may be very different now. But that's the impression that stuck.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

kaydee50 — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 20:46:05 GMT

We were in Toronto in May and it was crowded-just like NYC! Montreal and Quebec City were much more peaceful. We were also in Copenhagen recently and while not as bad as Toronto and NYC it was very busy.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

SilleeMee — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 20:51:23 GMT

What city isn't crowded?? Isn't that part of what makes it a city? Otherwise you'd be in a ghost town and there are a few of those if that's more of your thing.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

ALRATIBA — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 21:03:19 GMT

I live in NYC ... so just about everywhere is not so crowded.

In Italy - Palermo (Sicily), Rome, Milan, Naples - I recall those cities having a lot of people on the streets. Palermo traffic is horrible. Actually worse than Manhattan!

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

reiki604 — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 21:38:31 GMT

@JBKOHaving lived in NYC my entire life, I think we need to realize that at least half the people who clog the streets in Manhattan are tourists.Unless you're trying to get somewhere 8-9am, 12-2pm and 5-7pm.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

bonnielu — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 21:45:46 GMT

Love my rural setting. Don't like crowds. Will not even consider moving anywhere where there is overpopulation.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

Mominohio — Thu, 04 Oct 2018 22:05:01 GMT

@chickenbutt wrote:
I live in a small city (pop around 250,000 last I knew) and I'm fine with that. I have traveled around the country and to numerous other countries and wherever I am I am not particularly fond of crowds. I like having space.

Also, being from LA, not fond of major traffic! At least up here that's seldom any concern at all. Only time traffic is aggravating is when they are working on the freeway, or any main thoroughfare, and have lanes closed off.

I find other's perspective on this subject fascinating.

To me, a city with 250,000 people is not small. It is a mid sized city. We live near a city that has a population of 50,000 and that is closer to what I call a small city. And I consider a city to be different than a 'town'. Small city, to me would be 50,000 people, Small town would be something like 10,000 or less.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

ALRATIBA — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 00:14:12 GMT

The latest population figures for Manhattan (2017) is 1.66 million people. The island of Manhattan is 33.58 square miles.

The 2018 forecast for the entire city (5 boroughs) is 20.04 million.

Do you remember the TV Series "The Naked City"? Their tag line was "there are 8 million stories in the naked city ...." Lot more stories today than there were in late 50s/early 60s.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

patbz — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 00:25:48 GMT

If you like crowded go to China; every city we went to was between 20-33 million people.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

hellie jo — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 00:33:21 GMT

If you don"t like crowds go to Rhyolite Nevada.

Re: Major City but not that many People? NYC has me Spoiled.

stevieb — Fri, 05 Oct 2018 00:47:27 GMT

Different strokes... If the OP finds the crowds of NYC energizing or otherwise appealing, so be it... I get that... I might not want it all the time, but when there, it can be delightful or dreadful, depending on lots of things, including one's mood... @JBKO The difference you note likely has to do with land area... Manhattan is about 25-30 squre miles while Toronto is about 242 square miles... Lots more room for all those people to spread out...