I lived in Manhattan (Chelsea) and took the subway to work and most other outings (when I could not walk) in the few years before Covid.

It was fine. You would get some people trying to sell stuff or in some kind of distress, but it was not all the time and it was easy to manage.

Americans who don't live in dense cities (and use transit) seem to be obsessed with the idea that these are some intolerable dystopias that must be dismantled.

It was the best place I have ever lived, except for the weather...

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FuriouslyAdrift 6 days ago | parent [-]

I found the density of Manhattan oppressive and stifling. Coming from Wrigleyville, in Chicago, it felt very impersonal and alienating.

I ended up buying a house in an internal suburb (a former suburb from the 1930s that had been swallowed by the city) that is also a historic neighborhood (so it's character cannot be destroyed by developers).

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lokar 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

It’s fine that not everyone likes the same things.

What bother me is a loud minority of anti-urbanists complaining about cities they don’t live in and pushing for policies that hurt them. All while economic data clearly shows cities are more productive and subsidize they rest of society.

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goosejuice 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Funny, I find Wrigleyville oppressive. I lived by that red line for a few years. It takes a lot of patience to live there.

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FuriouslyAdrift 6 days ago | parent [-]

When I lived there it was middle class Polish and gay (since Boystown is right next to it).

Pierogis, coffee, and cute little shops. That and great music.

	▲	goosejuice 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		I was right by Halsted and Addison. By oppressive I mean brutal in a sense. The drunks falling into the street. People shitting in my alley. Trying to get on and off the red line during a game. The huge crowds. Fights on the El platform. Cat calling. Harassment. People sleeping in my stairwell. It was rather eventful let's say. I just didn't really know what I was getting into being new to the city. It's pretty amazing what you grow accustom to.