I imagine that if you were forced to live in the
city for any great length of time, you would
eventually get used it. You'd conform and
adapt; you'd put up the intangible walls around
yourself that city dwellers commonly possess.
I do not think this would be a good thing.

It seems to me that the greater density a
population reaches, the less warm, friendly,
and hospitable it becomes. I'm speaking in
general of course; there are always
exceptions to the rule. This is certainly seen
on a community level and I think it can also be
seen, although perhaps not noticed as much,
on a regional level. People from states with
higher populations gain a reputation as being
less friendly than their fellow Americans who
live in other parts of the country.

My wife noticed and commented on this when
she tranplanted from New Engand
(specifically Massachusetts) to the Midwest
(specifically Ohio). She told me that she
noticed a marked difference in the way
strangers interacted with each other.
Compared to Midwesterners, New England
denizens seem cold and austere, and coming
here, she felt much more accepted by people
than I suppose I would have felt had I gone to
New England to live instead of vice versa.

I think it probably has something to do with
space issues, although that certainly wouldn't
be the only factor. When there are more
people around you, you feel a greater need to
protect your personal space. In big cities like
NYC or Boston, it's no small wonder that
people on the streets won't look each other in
the eye. When keeping your own physical
personal space becomes near impossible,
it's that much more important to keep a mental
distance between yourself and the strangers
around you.

I've been to New York, New York, and being in
the city didn't bother me as much as it seems
to have bothered you. I was only there for a
four day trip, but we were out and about in the
city most of that time. I think it probably
impacted you more because you're used to
rural life; I live in the Midwest, but in a fairly
large city. My hometown is almost laughably
small if you compare it to places like NYC,
Boston, Chicago, etc., but it's big enough to
get me used to the idea of city life, I guess.
Sure, I was in awe of the sheer *size* of New
York when I was there, but the emotional
distance of the people there didn't impact me
at all. It probably helped that I was with a pretty
large group (20-30 people) of "my own kind." I
don't know how many people you were
travelling with, but I think it's no wonder that
the big city affected you; there was such a
huge gap between what you're used to and
what you experienced there, it was as if you
were under a mental and emotional attack the
entire time you were there.

That's my theory, anyway.

Gri"hasn't written a post this long in ages"shny