You guys are giving me an inferiority complex. I live in NJ. Sure, I don't go prancing naked around Newark or Camden, but there's a lot of places in between that are nice and safe.

What, you mean to tell me The Sopranos doesn't depict the life of the average Jersey resident?

Bada Bing

That Acronym For Survival is just silly sounding I much prefer the Stop Acronym.

Street skills are learnable Not teachable,However there are Two crash courses,Joe Smalltown or Backwoods Bob could take that would Definitely put them in the "Know"!Starting with #1-Get yourself put in Jail for awhile(a week will suffice)You will be tutored by the highest authorities regarding survival on the streets,& When you gradiate(day of release)You will know a Happiness/Relief you've never felt before,& Most of all,you will have attained much knowledge of the streets,including the many variable speech patterns that are a Must have when confronting the other friends or family members of your cell mates.-note(this schooling is not available in Arizona,just ask Sheriff Joe Arpayo)Stick with the Big Cities!#2 Find yourself a Nice shopping cart & decorate it with plastic bags,then live out of it for a month or two,note-(Run over dog poop with your cart,it will keep the predators at bay) & Just observe life All around you,when you've had enough,you will come to the conclusion of knowing the streets,rather well for a Pilgrim!Best of All, These 2 crash courses wont cost you a dime,only time!:)

You contradicted yourself. The older gangster in prison, the taxicab driver, the bum on the corner, they're all teachers of urban survival skills. Traditional learning facilities don't have a monopoly on being able to teach.

I've found this to be pretty universal whether in the woods or the city. In a dicey situation it helps to look calm even when you're panicking inside. Its even more important if others in your group are freaking out.

ireckon,you say Contradiction? stop & think for a moment,the old gangster in prison, 1. the old gangster in prison means you are in prison,A Totally different ballgame all together,you won't be seeing the streets anytime soon,prison vs.jail,two very different animals!,2.-Taxicab driver,If you can even understand him through his accent,he won't have very much to offer you as,most street people can't afford to ride in his cab,he doesn't stick around the mean streets long enough to gain survival knowledge,if anything he only knows where,Not to be!,3.The bum on the corner,he is on the corner because he is bumming money for a fix or alcohol,otherwise he doesn't want the attention of Mr.Policeman,most bums do not like Jail! All the 3 you've mentioned will cost you some money,possibly your Manhood/Life,You won't get any useable info as you won't be trusted,you don't speak street!Spend $1.25 on Bus fare & ride the bus allday long,If the driver is interested in your devulged research,he may allow you to ride allday long,& he might even throw you some tips/advice,as well,The city buses/subway trains are Xlnt sources of info,If you go about it correctly!Git Ohhnnn,Dog!

Settle down, Rich. You got yourself caught inside an impossible vortex. You made the statement above that urban survival skills cannot be taught. I am simply saying that's an incorrect statement and explained why. You're entitled to disagree. You'd be incorrect though. By the way, it's OK to admit you misspoke.

Rich, a request. Type like a normal person and not a haxxor.

Your posts are hard to read with the random caps, lack of spacing and incorrect/random punctuation. I seldom read any of your posts for this reason.

Thanks

Well, let's bring our discussion a little closer to the original post. My nature vs. city question could perhaps be broadened to US vs. some other country. Is it possible to acquire the street smarts for surviving in, say, Mogadishu? If so, how?

Here's another question. Are bad guys all the same across culture, or are the bad guy clues culturally dependent? In other words, when it comes down to surviving a hostile human environment, will your instinct for detecting predators be enough, or are predators from different cultures so different that you'll need a specific predator-o-meter for each place?

Let's take a poll: who has been mugged in two different countries? Do all muggers give off the same vibe?

Da Bing