Agree. No matter how often I go there, I can't get over how people just walk out of stores and onto the crowded sidewalks without even looking. And when they bump into you, don't you dare expect an "Excuse me" from them.

Sad

If people in a lot of the cities (particularly Mnahattan) appologied every time they bumped into someone, it's never stop

Have you ever calculated the population density of Manhattan? It's insane, and then throw another 1+Million in there on a work day...

Based on 3 million people and 22.96 square mile size = 130,662 people per square mile (27,878,400 sq ft/sq mi). That gives each person about 213 square feet (14ft x 15ft); that's a ton of room.

The noise. Modern society is loud, sometimes deafening.

Apparently there doesn't appear to be a Zombie or Vampire threat emergency plan where I live or at very least the local council are keeping it very very quiet, after sporadic visual sighting reports;

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Dundee/...ty-council.html

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/tayside/2602...bie-apocalypse/

The specifics of the freedom of information request;

http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/emergency_situations#incoming-186933

Apparently the local Dundee City council doesn't have an emergency plan for an alien invasion either.

Cities are over crowded with people who expect too much from the lessening resources available to them. Examples: Split-up parents that have to have a buffer (police or some other family assisting agency) when their children have to be exchanged for court ordered custody (parents are usually adults, right?), people who can't/won't deal with the issue that they should be handling themselves in the first place, people who refuse to take responsibility for their own mistakes- just to name a few. My picture of the typical city person is this: someone walking through a crowd, either holding a phone or listening to an Ipod, not paying attention to anything around them, oblivious to the criminals already plotting their take. And then when the assault/theft happens, call the police and wait for CSI to show up and catch the culprits. THEN, assuming they're caught, the subpoena comes, they don't show up

You can find people like that in rural areas or small towns.

+1 It seems that it is as we live now, urban, suburban, rural.
It is vaguely frighting.

I love life in the city, except for two things: 1) traffic; 2) crime

I love life in DC, except for those two things plus one more: humidity.

The traffic problem is alleviated by living within walking distance of work, which I have for the past twenty years. No or nearly no commute subtracts 90% of the agony of traffic. The crime problem in my neighborhood is alleviated, significantly, by being cautious (home, personal and auto security strategies) and working with neighbors and police to report suspicious and criminal behavior. The balance of the crime risk is, I believe, less dangerous to my health than a long daily driving commute would be.

I have zero desire to live full-time in a rural area, exurb or suburb. I lived in all three growing up in California and Oregon. But I savor the opportunities to go camping in the mountains.

I love the social aspect of city life -- the convenience of having many friends nearby and especially the high concentration of interesting people (due in large part to the diversity of city populations).

My morning routine includes walking Gidget (my Samoyed) around the neighborhood and exchanging greetings or having conversations with several neighbors on my block and adjacent blocks who have become friends. And invariably pleasantries with several more strangers, typically after they admire Gidget and give her a nice petting. It's good to have a friendly dog in the city.

On weekends, we'll often walk with one or two neighbor-friends to the flea-farmers market. There we'll have coffee and maybe a crepe from a street vendor or a full-fledged breakfast sitting at a sidewalk table at the Latin American cafe. There we'll run into other friends who live in the zip code and meet more nice strangers who gravitate because the market is dog-friendly and pups are magnets for friendly people.

A couple neighbor-friends and I routinely pick up items for one another during our trips to supermarkets, Costco or Home Depot. We walk our pups together to the post office when we have things to mail.

My dream home is smack in the middle of a relatively safe inner-city neighborhood, surrounded by friendly neighbors and with a heliport on the roof to hop across the river and for easier getaways to the mountains.

There's no doubt about the conveniences of the city and what it provides. Not wanting to call the kettle black, but I'm still in it- for now. It's all good while the going is good and I'm grateful. But, I have ambivalent feelings for what I see and deal with on a day-to-day basis. I mean, there seems to be a great divide between people's thinking: reality based and "what-has-become" because of the dependance of what is available. If SHTF has come, who can you depend on? I know this is the age old argument, unless you've connected with like minded people, but in the cities, in my opinion, that ain't the case. Funny, so many people in close proximity, but they don't know each other.

Somewhat recently, an explosion occurred in my neighborhood, to the point that evacuation was imminent, at least in my opinion. I evacuated my family, but me and my brother stayed because of what was left behind (I had my family bug-out inside of 15 minutes). There was still a chance that the FD could contain the situation but the scanner already indicated looting. Using that time, I prepared to leave, pointing vehicles outward to prevent backing and to pack additional stuff. You should have seen the "gang banger" types flowing into the area, which was not common here. Fortunately, it worked out.

But I was also paying attention to my neighbors. They broke out the beers and watched the fire while the news vans came into the area. The looks I received while wildly packing my family's bug out vehicle told me all I needed to know about them. The only thanks I got afterwards was from an elderly couple next door who I contacted and asked if they needed any assistance. I can't wait to get out of here.

Ok, ranting done, but I still have faith.