I come from a country where there are always people outside socializing and enjoying life. I am not talking about partying hard, but about going out for a walk in the evening and seeing people walking around, getting food and drinks, walking the dog, or just chatting until 10-11pm any day of the week, even in small towns. Here in the bay area millions of people live but every town becomes basically a ghost town after 8pm. What's wrong with the people? why don't they enjoy life? are they all weirdos who only enjoy playing videogames?
Go live in New York
They have families
Bay Area has its ups and downs. I’m glad I was never single in Bay Area.
I totally agree with you. I’ll give you an anecdote too. My friend and I visit the movie theater every now and then and we noticed the crowd in the less expensive place was more lively while everyone was reserved and kept to themselves in the Cupertino one. I think the people here just work hard and can’t really play hard because they grew up as that quiet kid in class and now have the financial means to make it in the Bay
No it's because of competition in everything. From having good paying jobs, to eating healthy, to going to gym and being in shape, remain updated on all world events, maintain the expensive house, maintain the expensive car, cook and eat fancy meals, take expensive vacations, peer pressure to do hikes/bike on weekends, not let the weekend just go by. Everyone is so busy in trying to perfectly utilize each and every moment and perfect each area of the life,that there is no time to be relaxed and have fun.
That difference shows up in most countries. The very wealthy parts of society tend to be more reserved, at least amongst strangers.
Where do you live..? Not my experience in the bay
Tell me how Bay Area is different than any other US suburbs. Don’t compare it with some European or Asian city. Here people buy houses so their kids can go to good schools not for social life. But still there are cities in Bay Area where you can have good night life. Los Gatos, Cambell downtowns are good ones.
A good portion of its residents work in the same industry. Most randoms are within 3 degrees of connection if you work in tech. The lack of socioeconomic diversity. Those are 3 things that make it different than most other US areas.
it's not, the answer to the OP is that organic socialization and walkable places have been systematically destroyed in 99% of the US by zoning
Let me make this example. I am currently living in a gated community with hundreds of young families. It's safe and the common areas are very enjoyable. You would expect to see people walking outside and kids playing in the evening, at least on the weekends. Nope, nobody after 6pm. They are locked inside their homes, enjoying their 100" TVs and being antisocial.
Oh gated community. Aka you don't live in the bay area and pretend you so even though you are 2 hours away. Yes middle America is not out and stays at home.
> They are locked inside their homes, enjoying their 100" TVs and being antisocial. So they should become a hippie and stray like a vagabond at 2 am? You still haven't figured out how the US is different from India (yes the OP didn't have to hide this, the language verbs and adjectives used in his post gave it away, alas). Having a bustling crowded street does not make it lively. The Bay area mostly comprise working individuals in their late thirties and forties having families, so what do you expect, they would leave everything behind and go on a booze trip with you? If you want to reside in more enjoyable cities, choose the university (mostly non stem) towns and they are usually not the main cities but in the suburbs; the demographics of university towns are different with mostly young kids and so will fit your definition of "lively". NY is the only exception. Cities are expensive to live and so not all young people can afford there. Also, the people in the US respect privacy which I find more comforting than annoying neighbors barging into your homes. nothing is more pathetic in life than fake social relationships. I'd prefer the former a 1000 times more any day.
Everything pales in comparison to SF, Oakland and even San Jose.
I lived in one of those cities and I was totally unimpressed. Aside from the unenjoyable level of crime, degrade and filth, they are ghost towns if compared to an equally sized city in Europe or Asia.
I do think some of this was better before COVID. But sure, it's a tech hub, it's lost some diversity over the years, housing is too expensive. This is all going to have an effect. I do still find people at parks near me at 10pm, there is plenty of stuff to do on occasions, picking up a hobby might actually be easier than other cities that don't have as many people.
Same in Seattle
I was out all weekend having a blast. The weather is great! Yesterday we did 3 social events: eastside brunch, mid day get together, and 420 movies in u district. There’s tons of stuff to do all over the city and tons of lively social people about. Maybe you live on eastside or perhaps you are depressed. Dont use computers outside of work or game / social media and it will help
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