I go to a big metro infrequently enough that riding the subway or at least grade-separated regional trains still seem like an experience in itself. Heck, I’ve been to Disney dozens of times and the Monorail is still fun when they don’t pack you in just as bad as rush hour on the a subway like they do most of the time.
I did that when I’d visit my brother in chicago. Back then a day pass on the CTA was only $5.75, which got you all the bus and train rides you wanted. I’d check out downtown, the ethnic neighborhoods, cultural areas.
Which was nice, but I don’t know if that justified the downsides of living in Chicago (higher cost of living, terrible traffic, really bad neighborhoods, etc)
If you’re visiting (different) major cities regularly - check your local museum or art gallery. Often they have reciprocal agreements with museums and/or art galleries in other cities - allowing you a free visit if you buy a membership at your “local” museum.
[quote=“Wesley_Clark, post:10, topic:912767, full:true”]
I get that cities have parks. But in your OP, you were talking about people “going to” somewhere to enjoy nature. If you’re looking for nature, you don’t go towards a city. You turn the opposite direction and go away from the city.
Telling somebody they should go to Chicago in order to enjoy nature is like telling somebody in Chicago they should go to Bloomington in order to enjoy the nightlife.
New York City has Central Park and the New York Botanical Gardens. I like to joke that for a modest annual fee, the NYBG let’s New Yorkers experience what it’s like to have a wooded back yard in the sort of places they would rather not live.
So some of the stuff we like to do with the family (living in Hoboken, NJ an 8 minute ferry ride from Midtown Manhattan). The aforementioned NYBG and Central Park, including the Central Park Zoo. The Bronx Zoo. Museums - MOMA, The Met, The Guggenheim, The Whitney. The Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. My wife’s company throws a big Holiday thing at the Big Apple Circus.
Lots of restaurants and bars obviously. I like being able to walk out of my place and hang out in one of my regular local bars without having to drive 20 minutes to get there (when I could do that stuff).
Plus, there’s just a “vibe” living so close to New York.
I generally dislike going out to the suburbs. To me they always feel very pleasant, but isolating. Like there’s never really anyplace to go or do besides a handful of local chain restaurants at a strip mall or shopping plaza off the nearest highway 20 minutes away.
[quote=“Little_Nemo, post:25, topic:912767, full:true”]
I guess I was mostly thinking about coastal areas and beaches. I’ve been to the beaches of san diego and really enjoyed them, but small towns in south carolina has beaches too. I’m sure other smaller, cheaper coastal cities in California have nice beaches as well. In a lot of places you can’t just go to the beach at the ocean, but in large western coastal cities you can.
For the first 15 years we pretty much needed to be in a big metropolitan area because Ms. P and I were both librarians and needed to be employed. We liked NY until we had a kid, and have pretty much liked living inside the DC Beltway. I love the convenience of walking to the grocery store, and being able to go places without driving. Now I think we’ll both be ready to move somewhere smaller and slower after my pension kicks in five years from now. Chances are both kids will be in a city, so we’ll have places to visit.
And many NYC and London museums are “free” all the time - i.e. there is a “suggested donation” amount - which makes you feel guilty if you don’t pay it.
Yeah, many of the museums on the list I linked to are actually free all the time.
I’m not a city person, but when I do go, I try to just see what’s there, in that have a destination in mind, but it’s not the destination, but the journey, where it takes me, that counts. FWIW my destination may be a train station which ends my city trip by taking me back out of the city, it’s up to me to get there, chose my route, and can explore as I see fit. I can also use whatever transport method I find, and I do like to try different ones out. So far I have used foot extensively, but also train/subway, car, lightrail, tram, taxi/uber/lyft, venicular, elevator, e-scooter, bike, bus, ferry, monorail, gondola (ski lift type, not boat), and I’m sure there are others. Also I try to chose my route I want, even if some sections are sketchy, I like to see if I can connect in ways that seem like it can’t be done.
Not so much any more. I think you have to be a New York resident now to get the “free” museum privilege - though they still like donations.
When I worked for AT&T we got in free with our badge, since AT&T donated to a lot of museums in New York. And my local library system lets you print free passes to a bunch of San Francisco museums.
I lived in or around NYC for 25 years, and I always went to museums and concerts. I had season tickets to the NY Philharmonic and the Met Opera for several years. I wasn’t the only one.
(These days, since I’m no longer living there, and the Met has canceled its season, I’m watching their online opera stream every evening.)
People watching. Many people in densely populated areas have a tendency to try to stand out in a crowd. It never gets boring when the pool of weirdos is in the thousands.
I’ll add to the same pile on. In Chicago, late fall through spring is culture time. I’m a member of the Art Institute, it’s about $100 a year so I visit often. When I worked 3 pm-midnight, I’d often stop in for an hour or so before work. There’s a bunch of apps and websites for reduced prices for theatre and music.
Summer, when the tourists are hitting the museums, I’m attending about one street festival a week or other outdoors activities. Winters suck!
I’m definitely a city person and a suburb or a rural area would drive me nuts
I’ve always lived in largish cities, including London for 20 years. Don’t live there anymore - now live in what feels like a small city (<500k people), and while I love it here, the things you don’t get which you get all the time in London:
Every major artist of any description - if they’re doing something, they’re doing it in London. Tutankhamen touring exhibition? It will be in London. Madonna trying her hands at acting? She’s doing on stage in London. Sir Anthony Hopkins and Dame Judy Dench acting together in Anthony and Cleopatra? London (ok that was was 30 years ago, but you get my drift). Watching the Olympic opening ceremony live from my apartment balcony? Yep.
‘Stuff’ happens in major cities which just doesn’t happen elsewhere, and it is life enriching. I could never live in the suburbs. What do you DO?
Four years in Kansas City, never went anywhere except Royal games, and more often, I drove to St. Louis for games. Same for hockey in Montreal, and it was almot impossible to score a ticket. The only truly awesome thing I did was the opera in New Orleans, Domingo and Caballe. But I lived in the French Quarter, so more often, I WAS the attraction. Alll other things I’ve done in a city, I did as a visitor.
Consider my last business trip, which involves suburban northern Florida and San Francisco.
I really like food. In FL, I ended up settling for chain pizza (a Mellow Mushroom). I had to drive to it. In SF, I had hundreds of amazing restaurants within walking distance of my hotel. Cuisines I’d never even tried before.
Now I don’t go out to eat all that often when I’m home, because I like cooking. But I was (not now – thanks COVID) going out for dinner about once a week. And I like being able to go to new places. And to drink without worrying about driving.
Since I dislike driving in general, public transportation is pretty nice. I’ve previously lived places where I could take buses, but never to this extent.
I don’t have a ton of interest in shows or clubs, but I could see that being a draw.
I’ve walked to museums from work.
I understand. I live in a city of a million people and feel we have a lot of options to try things. We have professional and amateur sports. Lots of restaurants. We have art and entertainment, I like going to stand up comedy shows but we have endless other art too. Having spent time in both Chicago with has 8 million and a city of a million, the city of one million has most of the same options as Chicago.
But as I mentioned earlier, the truly big art and entertainment things bypass us in a city of one million. They usually go to chicago, and like you said chicago isn’t even a tier 1 city for art/entertainment the way NYC, LA & London are.
Plus I assume if you are involved in a niche subculture, it would be easier to meet like minded people in a truly large city.
My chosen career pretty much restricts me to living in or near a major city. And while I like London I do sometimes wish that I had the option of moving to the middle of nowhere where I could afford an actual house with a garden.
However it does look like my job is going to reduce the number of days we go to the office each week. I was already working one day a week from home and I’d expect that to change to 2 or 3 in future or even just “come in for important meetings” so they can save money on office space. The price is that my personal desk (and thusly my little store cupboard of stuff) will probably be lost and replaced by hot desking.
If that’s the case then I’d be much happier living in a more distant suburb. Commuting 5 days a week is a pain, but once or twice is a very different proposition. I think that lots of commercial properties will become empty over the next few years. Whether that affects the housing market remains to be seen but London housing prices have been insane for too many years now. At some point the bubble will (and must) surely burst.