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Just a quick question to fellow CDers, What is the reaction of people when you tell them about your fascination with cities? My girlfriend for example told me, that she thinks its stupid and pointless. Has anyone else gotten that "huh, who cares" reaction?
Last edited by dtownboogie; 01-06-2011 at 02:36 AM..
Reason: wrong punctuation
In fact I'm not even sure there is a term for this or even a concept...its sort of an undefined subculture or interest or dare I say hobby. Sure, for people who are doing this for a living (say, architects or urban planners or academics like geographers and sociologists)...thats's there job.
But for people outside of these fields to be "into cities"? No. In fact I didn't know there was this whole "urbanist" intrest subculture until I got on the internet.
Just a quick question to fellow CDers, What is the reaction of people when you tell them about your fascination with cities? My girlfriend for example told me, that she thinks its stupid and pointless. Has anyone else gotten that "huh, who cares" reaction?
No offense, but that's a b*tchy thing to say if she's supposedly in love with you and supports you. There's nothing wrong with having a hobby/interest, and cities are no different. I recognize that this makes me a little different and perhaps weird, but it's also what distinguishes you from the next person and it could turn into your "life calling" if you pursue a career with it -- like I'm looking into! Don't let someboody else tell you how to feel about loving cities -- it's likely your "gift" and you should expose it, not hide it!
I generally don't share, sometimes I will interject some "data" into a conversation then they are like how the hell do you know that.
Totally! And sometimes somebody will say X, Y, or Z about a city and I'll be like, "that's not correct at all, it's actually...." Then of course they don't believe me because it's just my opinion, but in fact people like ourselves know these things because we spend hours a day looking at facts and opinions.
This particular sub-forum, along with similar sites, is a haven for city geeks like us. Virtually no one outside of these forums cares about density, skylines, what is or isn't considered the South, etc.
As for myself, I came upon the forums while doing travel research. I found the forums rich in entertainment value, and henceforth I stayed. It's fun to watch e-thugs go at it!
When I share a little bit, people are typically interested. Then when it becomes apparent as to how much time I spend researching, reading, etc., they can't relate and are surprised. It then becomes even more difficult when a city/urban planning topic comes up in general conversation (say with family), and I have so much to say. Then people become confused as to why I know so much about populations, infrastructure (e.g. different types of rail), trends, etc.
My wife and close friends are cool with it and like that I have so much info (especially when we travel), but they certainly cannot relate. I do have one friend who completed a degree in urban planning, so when we hang-out, we get consumed in talking about it....to be honest, we don't talk about much else...haha.
I generally don't share, sometimes I will interject some "data" into a conversation then they are like how the hell do you know that.
Yea I've definitely done that a couple times. My good friends and a couple coworkers know I'm a nut when it comes to cities, but I don't really like to announce it.
Yea I've definitely done that a couple times. My good friends and a couple coworkers know I'm a nut when it comes to cities, but I don't really like to announce it.
Haha same... my gf says... "on that blue site again" I am a pretty big travel enthusiast so a lot of it is actually relevant.
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