[cities & me]

[wispfox]

So, I'm attempting to explain why cities scare me as much as they do (and they do! Boston used to scare me. Now, I just mostly avoid driving in it and I'm fine), and thought it needed a wider audience than in the comment I made.

A major portion of my fear of cities is that they are so overwhelming that I cannot process well enough to figure out how to get where I want to go - no matter _how_ simple the instructions are. Combine with this my complete lack of direction sense, and the fact that I need at least 3 times navigating something, within a fairly small amount of time, before I have any hope of being able to repeat it again myself (detailed written instructions help), and I've got a pretty major handicap in larger cities. Smaller ones simply have fewer options, so are less overwhelming.

I can - now - generally manage to figure out unfamiliar public transportation, with a _lot_ of advance research, to the point where I know exactly where I need to go and all the steps to get there, before I have to do it. I cannot navigate things on the fly unless I'm already familiar enough with most of the necessary steps, or I have insanely detailed instructions. Public transportation (with the notable exception of busses in a city, which tend to have far more available options) tends to have a fairly limited selection of where it goes, and a fair number of the online sites for these places will tell you how to get from point A to point B. This makes it _much_ more managable for me than driving (or walking!) in a strange city.

I know that I'm bad at this kind of thing, which means that trying to do it _scares_ me. I'm more willing now to _try_, at least, but it's still terrifying. And I think that the amount of time that I spend in Greater Boston is _why_ I'm more willing to try. I've gotten used to it, once, with lots of help.

I doubt I'll ever _like_ a large city, but I can get better at navigating with sufficient help, time, and patience.

[edit: I have found, living near Boston, that I like being _near_ cities, because they give me lots of things I can do, at the same time as having a reasonable distance to and amount of natural settings. I did _not_ enjoy growing up in a place with nothing interesting (to me) to do...]

Comments

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

That's true of most things. The only way to really learn is to make a lot of mistakes...

[phaedra-lari.livejournal.com]

And sometimes wandering about at random can yield serendipities that a directed journey never could :)

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

Indeeed. I have to be in the right mood though, which typically involves being NOTLATE.

[phaedra-lari.livejournal.com]

LOL... yeah, I'm right with you there :)

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I so need a teleporter. Or a teleportation machine.

But that way, I'd also miss a lot of gorgeous days and neat people.

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

and good weather to wander around in.

[phaedra-lari.livejournal.com]

That too. Though my definition of good weather can be pretty broad... while sunny days fill me with delight, there's also something to be said for wandering about in light drizzle or under gray skies, and finding random coffeehouse or art galleries in which to burrow for a bit and re-emerge :)

This is all reminding me that I am well overdue for an extended urban wander! this weekend shall be spent in quiet-ish things like doing my laundry and making my cold go away, but soon soon soon I must find a neighborhood in Seattle to wander about in, and maybe get lost.

I really want to get a digital camera in the near future, and spend some weekends wandering about in an industrial area, taking pictures of stained and rusted things :)

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

I'm not a big fan of I detest cold rain. I rather like warm rain, but I'm typically carrying paper objects.

Whee wander!

*nods* I should pick up a digital camera, but then I think I might get too caught up in it. Plus there's a benefit to appreciating the view rather than focusing on "getting the best picture for the future".

Have you seen urban_decay?

Urban decay

[phaedra-lari.livejournal.com]

had not seen it... very very cool...

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Yes. Indeed. Having time helps with this. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

True. Which is why I like to wander in cities, with maps. I can get 'lost' in that I've never been a place before, but worst case I can take out my map and get _un_lost.

I've found nifty things that way. Like, while trying to follow my map to find a place to swim - I failed at the finding a decent place to swim (although I found a crappy one), but I found a nifty place to walk around in.

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

*nods* Maps are good, although some of the best places aren't on them. :)

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

wandering doesn't entail maps. Getting un-lost entails maps.

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

[wispfox.livejournal.com]

Not all those who wander are lost;

I know. :)

But if I wander, I'm almost certain to _get_ lost. Thus, maps.

(yay, quotes!)

[bridgetester.livejournal.com]

Well, they had an idea of where they were going, remember? And native guides, at points. :)

(Yayer, quotes!)