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I've noticed that many people who live outside very touristy or famous cities actually are unfamiliar with the downtown area and/or rarely actually go there. For example, Washington DC and Las Vegas are two places where it seems where most locals live and work in the suburbs and never really venture downtown. I remember on my roadtrip we saw a friend who lived outside Las Vegas and she could not find her way around the Strip area because she said she only goes there when friends or relative are visiting or when there is a major event going on. Its the same with DC, and here in Baltimore also unless people have a job downtown though now across America more and more jobs are in suburban areas too to the extent that people don't really have to go downtown. Detroit is another city where people live AND work in the suburbs and in that case rather than touristy, downtown Detroit is an abandoned ghetto.
So where do you live and how often do you visit downtown? If you rarely go there, why? Is it because of crime, parking issues, crowding, prices?
Originally, I only went to LA maybe once every few months. My parents had no reason to go there and hesitated because there was "oh-so-much traffic".
Now that I'm old enough and can actually drive myself, I find myself going there at least a couple times a month to go clubbing or bar-hopping.
I actually avoid going there as much as I can. I only go there if I need to or for work since there are barely any jobs in my suburb. Even then, I try to find a job in Boca rather than going to Fort Lauderdale. And Miami? I never ever ever go there. The only time I went to Miami was when I went to Ultra Music Festival with my wife since she really wanted to go.
I can't believe you're using DC as an example of this. Suburbanites quite often come into DC for night life. Especially those suburbanites who live near a metro station, which is actually a decent proportion.
And as far as work, the "business" district in DC is the nation's third-largest in terms of office space. Inbound trains and inbound roads are awfully packed in the morning! Definitely more so than the outbound.
My experience there was almost the opposite of what you have observed.
Many suburbanites are afraid of cities, often because of minorities. Also due to being stuck in traffic most of their life they dont have time to visit a city, even if they wanted to. Of course their are a few exceptions.
Cairo really isn't built along New World dense-core, sprawling-doughnut lines, but given I have to travel through some country to get home to work, I do fall into the suburban / exurban category.
I work downtown every day, but really, I only tend to go downtown every third weekend or so, if I averaged it out. Downtown Cairo has a lot more to do, but my suburb is a city in itself with enough options for food and day-time outings ( nature-spots, movies, good restaurants ) that I tend to mostly go downtown only to tourist ( all the history is downtown, or over by the pyramids in Giza ) or for speciality stores.
I was surprised even in NYC there are many in the outer boroughs who do not leave their 1 mile radius. Obviously many do but even NYC has many who avoid going to The City.
I was surprised even in NYC there are many in the outer boroughs who do not leave their 1 mile radius. Obviously many do but even NYC has many who avoid going to The City.
This is true. I grew up in NJ, 30 miles from NYC, and rarely went there except on the occasional school field trip to the UN or a museum. We weren't "city people" ,and my parents, who also grew up in the same town, were wary of the city and considered it a dangerous place.
I ended up working there and have for more than 30 years, but I still encounter people from my hometown (and family) who don't understand how I could go there every day.
When I was 31 years old, I went to the Statue of Liberty for the first time because someone from Wisconsin was visiting and wanted to see it, lol.
I actually avoid going there as much as I can. I only go there if I need to or for work since there are barely any jobs in my suburb. Even then, I try to find a job in Boca rather than going to Fort Lauderdale. And Miami? I never ever ever go there. The only time I went to Miami was when I went to Ultra Music Festival with my wife since she really wanted to go.
Isn't this the truth?! All my family is from south Florida and we never go to Miami.
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