Any time I go to a large city im exhausted by being charged for doing anything. How do people have fun if theyre poor(the neat part, you dont, probably). And to make it worse many of them probably have a 1 bedroom apartment so its not like you can sit in there all day long (at least i cant).
I realize im still spending money by being in my house out of town, but still, at least things I buy are owned by me, and im not paying someone else every time I want to do anything. If I want to stay at home all day I have tons of stuff to occupy my mind without going nuts.
I figure 98% of lemmy users live in big cities so id like to hear this perspective!
if you already own an apartment in a city, the chances are that you’d grow used to the space and you’d feel at home, and anything lacking is made up for with closer proximity and easier access to stores and public facilities.
i live in hong kong, one of the densest cities in the world, and i’m able to live comfortably. there’s very little noise where i live because it’s in a less urban area, i get a fantastic view of and immediate access to a riverside park, a mall full of great food and boba just a 15-minute walk away, a library and a big transit hub just a short bus ride away, and from that transit hub, very cheap access to all of hong kong for museum visits, sightseeing, hella hiking and biking trails, exhibitions, etc.
i’ve also lived in berlin for a bit. it was also in a less urban area, in a very tiny apartment, and i was still fine because i had very similar access to amenities. short walk for groceries and transit, access to museums and parks, loads of architecture to admire, and hella döner.
if you’ve only experienced cities in north america… i’m sorry.
The ducks in my local park are free
If you’re a musician, look for open mics / open jams and try to make friends in the scene. Musician-organized diy events are cheap and fun. Especially punk events are cheap.
If you’re interested in art, look for local diy group exhibitions and performances and ask if you can volunteer for support.
If you’re into hacking/diy look for local repair cafes and ask to volunteer.
If you’re into rpg go hang out in local game shops and find a group to play with.
It really depends on what you consider fun!Thrifting can cost money if you buy things, but walking around is free. Bigger city = more thrift stores.
Similarly, I love walking having access to ethnic grocery stores. Spices are cheaper, you have access to organ meats, etc… that are also cheaper. It’s fun to walk into a Filipino or Korean grocery store, do a little research and try to cook something with ingredients I’ve never tried before.
My tiny apartment is on a busy street so it’s also fun to do a little people watching. If I walk to the gas station to get a soda ( <10 minutes) I get to see a ton of activity any time of day.
Festivals are pretty frequent and fun to walk around even if I don’t spend anything. I live near a university as well so there’s always stuff going on.
I’ve lived in a rural area before and couldn’t stand it. Absolutely nothing to do other than go walk around Walmart.
When you live in a big city you learn where you can spend time on the cheap. Look for libraries, beaches, parks.
If you find the right Cafe/bar/tavern, be kind and tip well a couple times and they won’t get sore if you nurse a pint while grinding out the last hundred pages of Dune.
Crack. The trick is you forget you spent the money in the first place.
I spend a lot of time in my workshop. It’s not free but upcycling materials into something new is infinitely satisfying and often saves money.
I’m an Uber nerd andI learn to pirate content. Yes you still need an internet connection and a computer or phone but I can spend days trying to figure out how to install Graphene on my old phone or do something fun or crazy for my home assistant.
Btw, I’m not poor. I just enjoy doing these things.
The trick in cities is to know things and people.
Know the guy with the swimming pool.
Know the woman who runs yoga in the park every Thursday.
Know when the museums have free or discounted events for the locals.
Know where the buck-a-slice pizza joint is - the one two blocks from your apartment that’s almost tucked into an alley at the bottom of a brownstone’s side stairs, and that most people would just walk past without noticing.
Cities have lots of free and cheap things, you just need to be a local to find a lot of them.
Know when the museums have free or discounted events for the locals.
Know that the library probably has free passes to the museums, too!
And if you’re in a city with a decent sized college, there are lots of cheap or free interesting things to do related to it: public lectures, music performances, theater, sports…
Pretty much this :)
A while back I switched to using RSS feeds for news, and there are so many free and low cost events out there in my city. Free shows, food festivals, cultural days, free admission days at attractions, music in the park, etc
I’ve been posting some of them to !vancouver@lemmy.ca, but that’s only the events that I was interested enough to click on + think that people here would be interested in as well
For example:
[Science World will have free admission on Friday, Sept. 19, as a part of their ‘Tech-Up’ initiative]
There are also free activities you can do anywhere, with lots of good ideas in this thread. Some extras that I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
- Go mapping with StreetComplete (https://streetcomplete.app/) or similar apps where you contribute to public data sets
- Go geocaching! !geocaching@lemmy.world
Sometimes cities also have scavenger hunt type guides where you can explore an area
Don’t you have free museums???
In America, some are free, but many are not.
Yay, capitalistic society!
people
Paying your landlord rent and your other bills every month isn’t enough human interaction for you? I know its more then enough for me.
I go for walks in a nearby park, it’s a great way to spend an hour
I’m not poor but most of my fun stuff is free, hanging out at parks (picnics with friends or just relaxing with a book or something), walking/cycling trails, free or pay as you feel shows and weekly food not bombs community dinners.
Nothing wrong with a 1 bedroom apartment tbh, and I don’t understand why not living in a house means you can’t buy and own things lol. I’ve got loads of stuff I can do here if I don’t want to go out, I’ve even got plenty of private outdoor space. If I didn’t have so much stuff keeping me busy I could very easily stay in my apartment for weeks at a time, only really leaving to get groceries, I’ve never gone mad from it.
Tbh I find this life is significantly cheaper given I don’t have as much maintenance as a house, and I don’t need to pay the absurdly high costs associated with a car.
Edit: looks like jerboa broke for me so I’ve got no clue if this posted or what anyone else is saying lol
Regarding your edit: you’re good! Hi!
I’m getting replies in my inbox but I can’t view post comments lol, thankyou!
Honestly I’ve found there’s way more to do for fun that’s free in cities compared to when I lived in a small town. The libraries, museums, parks, etc. are all much larger, more exciting, and easier to access - I don’t even need to own a car to have fun anymore. There’s also more social groups for more niche interinterests. Back when I lived in a town, the options for free(ish) fun were: go to a house, go to a mountain, go to the beach, and all were places you had to drive, god forbid you want to take a bus or walk somewhere, and then the people you would hang out with at those places were just co-workers or people you met in school, because there was no other way to meet people.
I completely agree here. I found city entertainment to be cheaper and more fun for children. Sure my house cost me twice as much but at least there’s a cultural weekend almost once a month at my local market.
I’m not here to argue with anyone about their preferred lifestyle, but I’ve never been so lonely as when I moved near a city. In case anyone thinks that will solve their loneliness.
Fun is a Leftist conspiracy to distract you from producing more for your bosses at work
And around here a lot of leftist spaces enable you to have fun while spending little to nothing. Dirty punk concerts for a low cover charge and beer almost as cheap as in the store. And most of not all of those prices are “pay less if you can’t afford it”.
Other than that if agree with other commenters. Knowing spaces/people to hang at/with. I’m perfectly fine spending time in my one bedroom if I’m not alone all the time there so having some friends over, even if it might be crammed, and just shooting the shit is a simple and affordable way to have a good time
Where I live, there’s not nearly as many dirty punk shows as there used to be
The issues is that you are GOING to the city. One you live there, you have all your stuff and do your normal thing. You cook at home and play videos games, then read books before walking your dog to the park by your friend’s house. Basically: don’t extrapolate from the perspective of a tourist.
Yep you nailed it! This has given me good insight.
I still couldn’t handle living in one, but for extroverts or college kids I see the appeal. I need wide-open spaces and lots of trees myself.
Don’t worry about being an introvert in a big city; I’ve lived here for three years and have never seen my next door neighbor, let alone spoken to them. You don’t get this kind of privacy in a village.
I still couldn’t handle living in one, but for extroverts
What ? I am an introvert. Cities are the best place for that. I lived in a mud brick cabin off grid in the forest and had more people visiting then I ever did when i lived for 3 years in the city. I put that down to rural exrtroverts would get bored and need other people.
In the city, I used to cycle to the beach, swin in the ocean, have a couple boiled eggs and a banana on a chair near the beach, catch up on some doom scrolling and cycle home etc i lived car free and saved a fortune, got exercise and was able to see the ciry instead of just sitting in trafdic. I used to cycke over to a set of mountain bike tracks and ride in the bush, then ride home.
Now live in a small rural village with my parter and fuck me, people always coming over.
Shitty air, no nature and constant noise are the downsides of city living.
I’m a strong introvert. People stop being people once their number goes past 10 or so. Then you are just looking at an amorphous fluid that you pass through just like air or water. Honestly you don’t notice the people, you notice the buildings, subways, etc.
There is anonymity in a crowd. But the noise and odors are a constant intrusion. The sounds of the crowd, the traffic, and sirens is a 24/7/365 thing and it never stops. Nor is there any escape from it as long as you remain there.
My nearest neighbor lives several miles away and people don’t really bother each other here. There is nothing but trees between us. Visits are always preceded by a phone call or text.
The silence here would be painful for city dwellers.
It honestly sounds like you’ve only briefly entered cities in traffic but stayed in one. All that stuff you mentioned really isn’t a thing. My condo is very quiet and I have lovely trees filled with birds just outside my window. And I live right in one of the densest parts of the city.
