# dumb questions: avoid big cities?



## sandpaper cowboy

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## Flemmings

St. Louis is a scary city to be in if you are on foot, even if you are riding a bus, IMO. I passed through 4 separate times on a greyhound and felt like I was going to be robbed in plain site while I waited for my transfer.


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## Cirno9

Its all what you are into man, I personally do not avoid big cities and in fact go to them often but I have my reasons for doing so. Is it harder to find good sleeping spots? yes. impossible? no. You have your reasons for traveling and I have mine and mine just takes me to big cities but hitchin out of them can be hardish, which seems to be your concern and if thats the only one then yea id avoid them. Otherwise I dont see a point unless you dislike the hustle and bustle.


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## Deleted member 2626

I'm not a big city person either. Never have been never will. I've always been comfortable in more desolate areas and less people. My first train though was just outside east st. Louis. We had got dropped off by a trucker. There's a Dennys there and we hiked to tracks and hopped a quick moving siding the next day. I'd avoid them though because what city can top safe and semi comfortable woods sleep.


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## Kim Chee

Yeah, I'll agree with what @Cirno9 said. It really is more about what you want. 

But..Most importantly...It is what you make it. 

Do the best you can.


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## sandpaper cowboy

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## kaichulita

I agree with the other responses; it depends on what you want to do. I will tell you though, hitching out of cities can be more difficult.


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## sandpaper cowboy

[Deleted


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## kaichulita

sandpaper cowboy said:


> why do you think that is?



This is just my theory...
Town folk have a greater sense of community because they live within a small population. Hence, they're more likely to help each other out and will therefore, pick you up.
City folk tend to be less communal because of the greater population density of a city. I think people living in cities are more likely to experience a diffusion of responsibility... I speculate that they are less likely to pick you up for reasons such as: they think someone else will do it, they're too busy (their lifestyle is more fast paced), they don't like people who travel like we do, or they just don't care...

And of course, both city and town folk won't pick you up because they're scared and/or don't like people who hitchhike.
There are many more reasons as to why someone won't pick you up, but you get the idea...


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## Deleted member 20

I aim for big cities & have never avoided any. I think that if you are comfortable in yourself & your skills it wont matter where you are. Every day you need to find food to eat, every night you gotta find some place to sleep, coffee in the morning, shower at some point, place to charge your phone, earn money etc & these basic needs have to get fulfilled. There are always more resources for homeless to take advantage off but then the flipside is you must interact with homebums on occasion. I love the cultural benefits of big cities & networking with those on couchsurfing to crash & lining up craigslist rides. Megabus pretty much only goes to cities. Riding trains its hit or miss sometimes for cities whether theres a yard in the downtown area of a city or located outside of it.. But if I am in a suburb of some city on the bus/subway line most likely I will make my way to the city at times, while other times if in the country I will head towards parks & wooded areas. I think its natural to go everywhere that you are. I cant see avoiding cities for any reasons. Hitching can suck but again I utilize rideshares to get moving & or take whatever cheap public transportation is available or free shuttle bus. When in Texas I am always so happy to be in a city & feel that the rest of the state is a vast wasteland, I usually travel between them as if they are islands.


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## Kim Chee

sandpaper cowboy said:


> why do you think that is?



In short...numbness.


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## sandpaper cowboy

Deleted


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## Mankini

Much depends on the city. Some cities are cool and awesome; others suck.
Good ones are San Fran, Fort Collins, western Oregon, coastal Washington, anywhere in VT, NH, or ME. Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino, and Napa counties in CA.

Shitty ones: SoCal, the 'Sunbelt' cities.

Intermediate ones: NYC, DC. Why? Because while these two have tons of resources, lots of cool things...but also they're filthy dirty and just much harder to find a decent safe place to sleep.


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## Mikael Runefoot

If you happen to stop through Poplar Bluff, please blow up ABM ministries for me..... or at least kill all the staff members.


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## Hillbilly Castro

Voodochile's list of good cities is spot fuckin' on. Some cities suck, some are dope, if easy sleeping is what you want. I personally stay out of bigger cities myself, NYC, Seattle, and so on. Nothing there for me.


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## beentheredoneit

kaichulita said:


> This is just my theory...
> Town folk have a greater sense of community because they live within a small population. Hence, they're more likely to help each other out and will therefore, pick you up.
> City folk tend to be less communal because of the greater population density of a city. I think people living in cities are more likely to experience a diffusion of responsibility... I speculate that they are less likely to pick you up for reasons such as: they think someone else will do it, they're too busy (their lifestyle is more fast paced), they don't like people who travel like we do, or they just don't care...
> 
> And of course, both city and town folk won't pick you up because they're scared and/or don't like people who hitchhike.
> There are many more reasons as to why someone won't pick you up, but you get the idea...



I agree! Smaller town's have a greater sense of community. And they do help each other out more! And thus are willing to help you out more!


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## oldcoyote

Jeez, my attempt to leave St. Louis was probably the longest time I'd ever spent standing on the same roadside by myself - I think it was four solid hours or something at a fairly busy on-ramp. I realize that thinking of that as a long time is probably laughable to those of you who've spent days trying to leave a place, but from what I've experienced, hitching as a solo woman usually yields faster results. I'd imagine that trying to hitch out of a city like St. Louis could be downright horrendous if you're a dude / some kinda male-perceived entity.

That paired up with the gross security measures that bigger cities tend to implement (to carry on with St. Louis as an example, it took me days to find a library or a feed that didn't either turn me away because of my pack or ask to _search _my entire pack), I do like to stay away from bigger cities. 

San Fran is a wondrous exception.

Did you actually end up in St. Louis, or was that just a name you were throwing out for clarity of size? If you did end up spending time there or tryna hitch out, what was your experience?


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