Starting Over

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No, not the show. Real life. I hate everyone I know, I have no job and my life is a disaster. I'd kill myself, but I know that simply "starting over" is probably a better option. How's that done again?

I could move to New York, but is that really going to solve anything? Where are people nice? I've lived in Washington, DC and Philadelphia. DC isn't for me. Philadelphia is okay, but I've messed things up enough that I have to leave.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:10 (twenty years ago)

i recommend it. how do you do it? just do it.

― The Pinup Girls of YANK (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:14 (twenty years ago)

"it" being "move to NYC," i hope!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:17 (twenty years ago)

newness is nearly always goodness

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:17 (twenty years ago)

this idea appeals to me. i wish i could GO BACK IN TIME tho to do it.

― ryan (ryan), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:17 (twenty years ago)

but seriously: find a short-term sublet and bring enough money that if you don't find a job right away you'll still be able to pay ALL the rent on the sublet. and if it doesn't work out, make sure there's a couch for you to crash on back home.

― The Pinup Girls of YANK (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:17 (twenty years ago)

you should really do this and keep ILX updated on your progress. could be exciting and inspiring for all!

― ryan (ryan), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:19 (twenty years ago)

What about the West Coast? I've heard that advocados are cheap and they find easterners charmingly messed up. I haven't been since I was 10.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:20 (twenty years ago)

yeah try San Diego and take up surfing!

― ryan (ryan), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:21 (twenty years ago)

Get any job where you are. Then once you are stable make a move by having a job lined up in your city of choice BEFORE you move there.

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:21 (twenty years ago)

Get your ass to Asia where the world hasn't stopped happenin' yet!

― pilzapoppin, Friday, 3 June 2005 03:22 (twenty years ago)

Get any job where you are. Then once you are stable make a move by having a job lined up in your city of choice BEFORE you move there.

speaking from experience -- no one wants to hire (or even interview) people who haven't actually moved to their city of choice yet.

― to let - flats (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:24 (twenty years ago)

Asia. Hmm. Do you have to speak anything other than English? I have a friend who moved to Japan. She's half-Japanese though. Might make things easier.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:24 (twenty years ago)

I could move to New York, but is that really going to solve anything?

Might I suggest something cheaper?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:26 (twenty years ago)

I know many people who have gotten jobs in cities they didn't live in. That's from experience too.

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:28 (twenty years ago)

new york is a headfuck and a half if you've never lived there. start smaller.

― to let - flats (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:28 (twenty years ago)

Austin is a great town for meeting people and starting over i bet.

― ryan (ryan), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:29 (twenty years ago)

I think LA is the classic start-over city. Plenty of jobs, low income housing in bad neighborhoods, yeah!

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:31 (twenty years ago)

i'd go somewhere with a nice physical environment, somewhere beautiful. you'd be amazed how much that can effect your mood and life.

― ryan (ryan), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:32 (twenty years ago)

I already live in Philadelphia. If that's not New York, Jr, what is? And sure it's expensive, but I also lived in DC. I just wonder if, having lived in both DC and Philadelphia, I've already basically experienced New York.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:37 (twenty years ago)

*cough*

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:39 (twenty years ago)

Asia. Hmm. Do you have to speak anything other than English? I have a friend who moved to Japan. She's half-Japanese though. Might make things easier.
Not really... I get along just grunting a few words hear and there...
many opportunities to teach English in Thailand and Japan. You don't need to speak the host country language for these courses since the students already are advanced in the English language except for "speaking" correctly. Many just need practice conversing with a native English speaker.

― pilzapoppin, Friday, 3 June 2005 03:40 (twenty years ago)

http://www.jobsinjapan.com/
http://www.gaijinpot.com/
http://jobs.naukri.com/manager/createacc2.php?othersrcp=668
http://www.tokyoconnections.com/
http://www.escapeartist.com/Thailand/Thailand2.html
http://www.globalcrossroad.com/thailand/

― pilzapoppin, Friday, 3 June 2005 03:44 (twenty years ago)

http://www.geocities.com/~johni32/page2.html

― john john, Friday, 3 June 2005 03:48 (twenty years ago)

That sounds great! Will they think I'm interesting and exotic just cause I'm American? The ideal, obviously, is the english person in america experience.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:49 (twenty years ago)

I just wonder if, having lived in both DC and Philadelphia, I've already basically experienced New York.

um, noooooo.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:50 (twenty years ago)

I just wonder if, having lived in both DC and Philadelphia, I've already basically experienced New York.

If you continue to confuse NYC with Philadelphia, you won't be welcome in NYC.

Seriously, Philly ain't shit and is nothing like NYC.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:53 (twenty years ago)

yer breaking my heart tonight, alex ...

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 3 June 2005 03:54 (twenty years ago)

That sounds great! Will they think I'm interesting and exotic just cause I'm American? The ideal, obviously, is the english person in america experience.
Some will and some won't...
The people are wonderful. I can't imagine what my life will be back in the States now... I have to go back soon after being here a few years.
I don't the doors to my house or car... almost everyone is a sweetheart...I wander around aimlessly at all hours of the night with no fear... the food is great

― pilzapoppin, Friday, 3 June 2005 03:56 (twenty years ago)

Seriously, Philly ain't shit and is nothing like NYC
and NYC ain't nothin' like Hong Kong

― pilzapoppin, Friday, 3 June 2005 03:57 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I mean, I've been to New York. It's really something. Very, I don't know, extreme or something. But to me it is an exaggerated version of DC and philly combined. On one hand, the extraordinary wealth and pretention. On the other, the decay and smoking weed on the streets. And I like New York a lot. But it's expensive, and I've heard not such a great place to find a job at the moment. On the other hand, I do have some friends there that I don't hate.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:01 (twenty years ago)

move to jersey city or hoboken -- get the NYC experience w/t the NYC bullshit!

(i'm 1/2 serious)

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:05 (twenty years ago)

Is NYC extreme? God, maybe I really am trapped here. Everything else might just be too fuckin' boring!

― ReNTBAPA: Resolute Not To Be A Prick Anymore (Unfortunate Prankster), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:06 (twenty years ago)

Seriously, Philly ain't shit and is nothing like NYC
and NYC ain't nothin' like Hong Kong

I don't doubt it.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:07 (twenty years ago)

seriously, if you must do NYC then you may want to move to either brooklyn or queens -- they're closer to a philly vibe than manhattan is.

i dunno anything about D.C. -- i've always imagined that it was like the wealthier parts of the upper east side, but WORSE. then again, i've been jaundiced against D.C. b/c of the TV political blabathons.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:09 (twenty years ago)

NYC is only -- the main part-- like 3 miles or something with more opportunities than most places on earth. It's not like California where you have drive everywhere to do anything! How extreme is that, really? NYC is easy once you just get used to less personal space and a bit of noise. You can get so comfortable with people you'll find yourself being more brave than you could possibly be anywhere else. The only thing, which I think goes for anywhere really, is it's pretty hard to get to know people starting from scratch. It's so easy to lose people people tend to blow each other off all the time and most people I know only have a handful of true friends.

― ReNTBAPA: Resolute Not To Be A Prick Anymore (Unfortunate Prankster), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:10 (twenty years ago)

I fleetingly toyed with the notion of moving to D.C. when I got out of college in `89, but found the city to be so small compared to NYC that it completely put me off the idea.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:12 (twenty years ago)

why do you hate philadelphia so much, alex?

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:12 (twenty years ago)

NYers are also used to fucked up people, so chances are if you were here already, you wouldn't have this issue of "having fucked up things so badly you have to leave" because a NYer gets used to seeing everday people make really bad choices.

― ReNTBAPA: Resolute Not To Be A Prick Anymore (Unfortunate Prankster), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:12 (twenty years ago)

New York is extremely extreme. But that can mean extremely drunk, extremely hot, extremely boring, etc. People like "only in New York" stories, well, only in New York would you ride on a sweltering, nauseatingly stinky subway for nearly an hour just because there's a bar that only charges $3.00 for Coors Light.

On the other hand, only in New York (or at least not in Philly or DC) can you stay at that bar until the sun comes up.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:14 (twenty years ago)

Hey, Chris, that goes with what I was going to say:

But don't fool yourself because NY isn't all it's cracked up to be, either, unless you're just really into buying stuff, getting drunk and joining things (gyms, karate, yoga, falun dafa in the park). It's just convenient and about as fun as you need it to be when you need it. But first you've got to make and keep those friends to share it all with...

― ReNTBAPA: Resolute Not To Be A Prick Anymore (Unfortunate Prankster), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:17 (twenty years ago)

(people are way too fixated on getting drunk in the world these days, it seems, myself included. Alcoholism is totally acceptable!)

― ReNTBAPA: Resolute Not To Be A Prick Anymore (Unfortunate Prankster), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:18 (twenty years ago)

if yer from another large city, then once you get over the culture shock then you will begin to get annoyed w/ the "center of the universe" attitude of many NYCers. as in, "ok, big city X doesn't have bars that are open at all hours and you can't hop the subway to eat greasy chinese or listen to some wolf eyes-wannabe band at 3:16 AM. but city X has some pretty cool things about it, too, cool enough for people to actually ENJOY living there."

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:21 (twenty years ago)

On the other hand, only in New York (or at least not in Philly or DC) can you stay at that bar until the sun comes up.

Actually the norm in most places is that bars don't close until 7 or 8 in the morning to open up again a few hours later.
The Bridge Bar on Lockhart Street in Wanchai, HK is open 24 hours a day.

Lesser bars like Adelita's Bar are only open about 23 hours a day. 22 hours a day during the slow season.
But don't fool yourself because NY isn't all it's cracked up to be,
I agree with the guy who doesn't want to be a prick anymore. I lived in lower Manhattan for a few years. They way NYers talk about NY you'd think it was the only place to be... maybe it is if you fucking stuck there with no where else to go... I can't imagine living in that scrotum of a city anymore. If you listen to what NYers say makes there town the best, you'll realize how silly it seems to glorify a dump like that in the way that they do. Believe it or not, there are quite a few places in the world to get a bagel 24 hours a day that ain't half bad.

― pilzapoppin, Friday, 3 June 2005 04:22 (twenty years ago)

Asia. Hmm. Do you have to speak anything other than English?

Go and be an English teacher/teacher's aide in Asia! I've heard you really don't have to do much work. You'll be an expert in the field simply by growing up in America! There's a few sites online where you can get info. I think overseasjobs.com is one.

― oops (Oops), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:24 (twenty years ago)

If I move to New York, it will be a very pragmatic decision, as in I want friends, things to do, and a job. I'm not in love with the city itself. I've lived in cities, and I live them. But what have you done for me lately?

Also, DC is much smaller than New York, of course. But you sort of have to expand your idea about city limits. I'm from Arlington, which is a suburb, but it's part of the DC experience in a way that, I dunno, West Orange or whatever, is not part of the new york experience.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:25 (twenty years ago)

I think NYC also takes the fun out of subcultures and/or trends. Before I moved here 10 years ago, I thought of myself as kind of a punk-roots, jaded and worldly cool dude (ha, it's true!) and I wanted to be here because I thought people here were liberal and cool like me. I didn't have a mohawk or anything like that, just kind of a grungy indie look, I guess, but it was pretty immediate that I trashed that look. Youth culture trends are more interesting and unique in small towns-- in NYC it just makes you look like a mindless joiner looking to be loved.

― ReNTBAPA: Resolute Not To Be A Prick Anymore (Unfortunate Prankster), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:25 (twenty years ago)

Start over in Chapel Hill! Home of the dB's?

Youth culture trends are more interesting and unique in small towns

This was my view on the Replacements thread.

― youn, Friday, 3 June 2005 04:27 (twenty years ago)

argh, please let's not make this another "new york is for sellouts" thread.

― to let - flats (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:27 (twenty years ago)

many people (i.e., myself) end up in NYC precisely b/c of work and NOT b/c of an overwhelming love for the place. there are lotsa philly and DC transplants in NYC (which may ease yer transition if you do come over here).

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Friday, 3 June 2005 04:28 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 39 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Last I heard, Libarian 12 year olds with AK-47s were making buildings from human bones. And they wore women's clothes for immunity against bullets.

― Chris H. (chrisherbert), Sunday, 10 July 2005 08:00 (twenty years ago)

(at least, I *think* that was Liberia)

― Forest Pines (ForestPines), Sunday, 10 July 2005 08:02 (twenty years ago)

what if your town isn't even big enough to have public transportation jody? :-(

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 10 July 2005 08:38 (twenty years ago)

then you kill yourself. or start a band. in either order.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 10 July 2005 08:42 (twenty years ago)

If you need a motorized vehicle to go 2 miles I'm not sure the problem lies with what city you live in. Will I be totally shamed from this thread if I suggest we all read some American transcendental philosophy?

― carbon (carbon), Sunday, 10 July 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

If you need a motorized vehicle to go 2 miles I'm not sure the problem lies with what city you live in.

so i'm supposed to walk two miles by myself at 3 fucking a.m. in a high-crime city with junkies and creeps on the street? i think the problem lies with you, asshole.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 10 July 2005 19:23 (twenty years ago)

You could bike? It just doesn't seem like you're taking the city on its own terms. Surely you knew before you moved that these things would be problems. It almost seems like your purpose in moving was to confirm an already pre-ordained truth that everything about New York is superior.

My own feeling is that you should live in the city you have musical affinities with. If you don't have one then you should forge one. But not a single post on this thread has offered a "nice people" city. I'd think Portland but almost to a fault.

― carbon (carbon), Monday, 11 July 2005 12:53 (twenty years ago)

...NY isn't all it's cracked up to be, either, unless you're just really into buying stuff, getting drunk and joining things (gyms, karate, yoga, falun dafa in the park). It's just convenient...

And this is one of the pithiest things I've read about New York.

― carbon (carbon), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:10 (twenty years ago)

get a fucking bike.

i think i may have to leave nyc soon. and start over.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:19 (twenty years ago)

i think its not a lot to ask for a city to have a reasonable public transport system

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:22 (twenty years ago)

this is america, gareth.

i don't think it's a lot to ask for a person to ride a bike or walk, myself. it's good for you!

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:23 (twenty years ago)

...NY isn't all it's cracked up to be, either, unless you're just really into buying stuff, getting drunk and joining things (gyms, karate, yoga, falun dafa in the park). It's just convenient...

That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've ever read about New York.

― Candicissima (candicissima), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:25 (twenty years ago)

i dont think its a lot to ask for a person to walk or ride a bike either.

its a lot to ask them to only have that option
its a lot to ask them to have to do that through potentially sketchy areas
its a lot to ask old and infirm people to do that
its a lot to ask people with young children to do that

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

i mean, my work and my home are 19 miles apart, in different areas of london. without public transport, that would really suck

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:30 (twenty years ago)

dude i biked thru bed-stuy last night! don't be a wuss.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:30 (twenty years ago)

You could bike?

i don't like bicycles. i don't like bicyclists either.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:31 (twenty years ago)

also, people who are recommending walking, remember: you're men. i'm a woman. women walking alone at night = asking for trouble.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:32 (twenty years ago)

well there you have it. in most of america, you either have to drive, or do something else if you're not willing to drive.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:32 (twenty years ago)

heck, i got harrassed by creepy men twice yesterday walking around in broad daylight!

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:32 (twenty years ago)

a good public transport system also means less cars on the roads of a city, and people not being in their own little bubbles all day of home/car/work

plus, biking 10 miles to work in the pouring rain is no fun

― charltonlido (gareth), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:33 (twenty years ago)

cars are so fucking overrated. they were groovy in the fiftiessixtiesseventies but times are very very different now and cars are contributing to a blight on the national landscape.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:35 (twenty years ago)

cultivate invulnerability xpost

― carbon (carbon), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

they were contributing to a blight on the national landscape then, too.

anyway, i don't hate bicyclists. i just hate the jews and the negros.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

it's unreasonable to think that everyone over the age of sixteen HAS TO own a car. or can afford one, no matter how long they spend paying it off.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:37 (twenty years ago)

dnftt dnftt dnftt dnftt dnftt

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:37 (twenty years ago)

oh right, i'm a troll, whereas you're a well-adjusted person who loves people. sure.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:38 (twenty years ago)

they were contributing to a blight on the national landscape then, too.

yes they were, but back then they misguidedly called it "progress."

xpost i was talking about carbon and his "develop invulnerability" bullshit.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

ah, my bad. i just get irked when people slag off entire groups, even if it's not race or ethnicity-based. sure, there are lots of lame bicyclists but not every single one is.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

it's like listening to my doctor brother complain about all lawyers when i know there's gonna be some point in his life where a lawyer is gonna save his ass.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:40 (twenty years ago)

i just wish bike safety laws would be enforced more earnestly.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:42 (twenty years ago)

i wish car safety laws were!

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

Ha, when you disagree with someone just call them a troll.

Full disclosure: I probably resent that you can actually choose to "bring as much money as you'll need" and then still curse your lot.

― carbon (carbon), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:44 (twenty years ago)

i mean people go on and on about how dangerous suvs are but no one cares about the maniacs who zoom through busy city streets at 40 miles an hour on a hunk of metal and rubber that can't be more than four inches wide.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:46 (twenty years ago)

i'm not feeding you, troll.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:46 (twenty years ago)

jbr, suvs are more dangerous. cars are more dangerous. that hunk of metal and rubber is nothing compared to something that weighs a ton or more. and as someone who almost got hit by a near-sighted hasid in a minivan yesterday (ha! is there any other kind?), i think it's sort of silly to complain about bikes. way more people are injured and die because of cars in the us.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:48 (twenty years ago)

all bicyclists say that. fucking smug self-righteous bicyclists. they don't care who they hit and send to the hospital, because "cars are bigger."

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:49 (twenty years ago)

i think you're being more smug and self-righteous, as well as irrational. there's no way that bikes cause more accidents than cars, period. arguing otherwise is completely silly.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

i'm going back to bed.

― president carter loves repetition (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:51 (twenty years ago)

People might suffer more damage being hit by cars, but I've noticed whenever I've been minding my business standing/walking where I'm supposed to be, the only thing barrelling down the street/sidewalk just missing me is a bike.

― Candicissima (candicissima), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:51 (twenty years ago)

http://www.zzapp.org/rileygea/itsa/bkfatch/image001.gif

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

there are more pedestrian fatalities than bike fatalities per year in the us!

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 11 July 2005 13:55 (twenty years ago)

I'm thinking of starting over again.

― marianna lcl (marianna lcl), Monday, 11 July 2005 14:03 (twenty years ago)

-- president carter loves repetition (theundergroundhom...), July 11th, 2005.

OK, NO BICYCLIST IS GOING 40mph (tops in NYC, MID-20's AND THATS PRETTY RARE)...YOU ARE WRONG. IM SURE THE NUMBER OF CAR/BIKE ACCIDENTS IS FAR GREATER THAN BIKE/PED ACCIDENTS.

AS A BICYCLIST IN NYC...I CAN SAY THAT ANY BIKE/PED ACCIDENTS ARE A RESULTT OF IDIOTIC PEDS...JAYWALKING/CROSSING AGAINST LIGHTS/NOT EVEN LOOKING/TALKING ON CELL PHONES.

PEDS ARE STUPID. WHEN ONE PED CROSSES AGAINST THE LIGHT, THE SHEEP JUST BLINDLY FOLLOW. I SEE THIS HAPPEN EVERYDAY.

YOUR ATTITUDE IS JUST STUPID. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW BAD DRIVERS ARE...NOT A FUCKING CLUE. MY GIRLFRIEND WAS JUST HIT BY A CAR LAST WEEK!!!!!!! WHEN SOME IDIOTIC FUCK DECIDED TO MAKE AN ILLEGAL U-TURN ON A BUSY AND FREQ. BIKE TRAVELED STREET. THE CAR DRIVER LIED ON THE POLICE REPORT AND POLICE DIDNT EVEN TAKE HER STATMENT. POLICE NEVER SIDE WITH CYCLISTS,(SEE CRITICAL MASS NONESENSE).

SO SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT PEOPLE THAT USE SELF-POWERED ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION IS FUCKING LAME.

― ddb (ddb), Monday, 11 July 2005 14:08 (twenty years ago)

i think in a lot of cars hitting bikes accidents, it takes two to tangle.

car drivers obviously have to be careful and look out for bikes, but bikers have a responsibility to their own safety too to be seen (e.g. not zooming in and out of people's blind spots), and not to jump traffic lights!!! (i dunno if this is a common thing in new york, in london it certainly is). but often car drivers are given the sole blame for these kinds of accidents when actually both parties are to blame (the bike riders obv pay the higher price, in most cases)

― ken c (ken c), Monday, 11 July 2005 14:12 (twenty years ago)

EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF

― TOMBOT, Monday, 11 July 2005 14:19 (twenty years ago)

there are new postings, so i don't know if i'm repeating anything but....there is no way bikes are going to go 40 mph on city streets. 25 mph would be pushing it (although not surprising). just need to clarify that exaggeration.
there are good & bad versions of everybody...cyclists, drivers, pedestrians. i wanted to point out though, often the ped/cyclist collisions are because one or both of them is simply not paying attention. example: b/c a cyclist isn't a car & can squeeze into smaller spaces between cars, pedestrians aren't always looking out for a moving vehicle. but pedestrians also jay walk ALL THE TIME & this has been why i've nearly hit a couple. the same way that they aren't looking for me, i'm certainly not expecting certain movements from pedestrians. i think pedestrians assume that because i'm a bike, i can (and will) stop immediately just because they want to cross the road in the middle of the road. and stuff like last night happens all the time . . . i was riding, car traffic was slowing down for a red light, but not entirely stopped. this kid & his dad (who were holding hands) are crossing inbetween two cars (jaywalking) & i spot them & assume they're going to wait for me to go (because the timing is such that it's very close...i'm likely to pass them before they even finish crossing the width of the car). but then the kid let's go of his dad's hand & RUNS out in front of me. i'm swerving to avoid him & my boyfriend who's behind me nearly falls off his bike trying to avoid this kid. his dad does nothing. it's not just kids, either. adults act just like that kid ALL THE TIME.
i'm a really careful cyclist. i wear lights. i use hand signals. i anticipate what's going on around me. i don't ride fast. but things just happen & it's not fair to get pissed at cyclists just because they're biking. yes, i know there are crappy cyclists out there. they piss off the more careful bunch of us with their carelessness & put us in danger as well. but honestly, many pedestrians aren't much better. i think that often times, whomever is using the road has this ownership mindset that just isn't justified. not to sound like a drippy sing-along chorus, but we really all just need to be aware of each other at all times. sorry for going on, but i just hate it this "all cyclists suck" attitude.

― kelsey (kelstarry), Monday, 11 July 2005 14:21 (twenty years ago)

I've been cut off/ threatened by more police cars than regular drivers. They're pre-exonerated so why should they care if they kill you?

xpost

― carbon (carbon), Monday, 11 July 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

Did you start over or what?

― words, Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:15 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

this thread got off track!

anyway. i still fantasize about this. i suppose you don't have to MOVE to do this, but it probably helps, and being in a new environment probably buys you some time in terms of feeling lonely, etc...maybe even makes it easier to meet new people and stuff like that.

― ryan, Thursday, 28 June 2007 20:19 (eighteen years ago)

...SWEEPING GENERALIZATIONS ABOUT PEOPLE THAT USE SELF-POWERED ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION IS FUCKING LAME

see also: the term "self-powered alternative transportation"

what else are we talking about here? banana boarders? fart-powered segways?

― Will M., Thursday, 28 June 2007 20:30 (eighteen years ago)

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