Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The locals don't know

quarter--mile.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 182 posts

Re: The locals don't know

#71

Post by randycupertino »

mncaudill wrote: post #51
kstrauser wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m routinely surprised by native San Franciscans who’ve never been to Alcatraz, seen Pier 39, or gone whale watching. Yes, they’re touristy things to do. They’re also very interesting and lots of fun!

Agreed! I routinely cycle around the city and one of my favorite loops is along the Embarcadero and up through Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. We live in a beautiful city that people come from all over to see and there are good reasons for that. I’ll also offer to take pictures of families taking their photos with the sea lions (which I also always stop to watch) and chat them up a bit. Fun times.

Have you seen Chonkers yet? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chonkers-the-massi...

He is a Stellers Sea lion (2,500 lbs and 11 feet) while generally the other sea lions are Caldiornia Sea Lions (850 lbs and 7 feet).

Re: The locals don't know

#72

Post by B1FF_PSUVM »

ashley95 wrote: post #36

The title is a non sequitur from the argument. The point is not to ask for a "bring a non-local to work day" where you tag along to a rando doing their normal routine. The thing that locals do know a lot of the time, is the spots that are actually great but not hyped up by influencers/social media, the cool spots that are often good by virtue of not being well known, etc. And no one is arguing that the locals know al…

> spots that are actually great but not hyped up

One phenomenon I noticed is that unpaid things (even if they're world class museums) often get left in the shadow of others that sell tickets - these get packaged in "city pass" cards, etc. and get more exposure from their selling.

Re: The locals don't know

#73

Post by thenthenthen »

zarzavat wrote: post #7

The corollary of this is that if you are a local you should do some more touristy things. I don't mean to go to a tourist trap and get scammed, but just enjoy your city a little more and do some things that usually only tourists do. For example, despite living most of my life in London, I've never been to the Tower of London. Why would I? It's for tourists. Except it's probably quite fascinating, especially for a loc…

They have been fracking oil like 15 minutes walk from my previous house since 1986… I just found out after seeing a curious sign on a fence around a pretty secluded terrain when taking a stroll. It only became public knowledge a year or so ago when the government announced publicly that they would continue operations for another x years. Protests are still ongoing. Take more local strolls!

Re: The locals don't know

#74

Post by raddan »

thenthenthen wrote: post #73
zarzavat wrote: post #7

The corollary of this is that if you are a local you should do some more touristy things. I don't mean to go to a tourist trap and get scammed, but just enjoy your city a little more and do some things that usually only tourists do. For example, despite living most of my life in London, I've never been to the Tower of London. Why would I? It's for tourists. Except it's probably quite fascinating, especially for a loc…

They have been fracking oil like 15 minutes walk from my previous house since 1986… I just found out after seeing a curious sign on a fence around a pretty secluded terrain when taking a stroll. It only became public knowledge a year or so ago when the government announced publicly that they would continue operations for another x years. Protests are still ongoing. Take more local strolls!

More importantly: future tourist trap! You should set up a lemonade stand.

Re: The locals don't know

#75

Post by raddan »

sebmellen wrote: post #70
eltados wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This comment resonnate with me and in the last few months that is why I have been working on a side project to "be a tourist" in your own town. https://www.izeria.com/en Where you can discover places near you and connect to their history, I have also added some check-in mechanics and quiz to gaming the experience and for to actually go see the place in person. Think Pokemon go but for Wikipedia places.

Absolutely love this! Are you live pulling from Wikipedia for each search? Also worth checking out Atlas Obscura. Kind of similar, kind of different.

Yes, this is amazing. I would love to know where the data is coming from.

Re: The locals don't know

#76

Post by socalgal2 »

exmadscientist wrote: post #60

My best travel advice (for urban areas) is simple: get lost. If you don't know exactly where you are or what's around the corner, you've got to take it as it comes, and that makes it all the more interesting. No FOMO or opportunity cost struggles, just what's in front of you right now. This is both easier and harder with smartphones and GPS. Harder because, well, you know exactly where you are and have to actively ig…

What are some of your experiences with this?

I can say I've had good and bad - I've wondered through cities with no direction and found -- nothing, two that come to mind are Paris and Barcelona. I'm sure there is interesting stuff to be found here and there but mostly, outside of the main attractions, I found the rest not much more interesting than American suburbia. Yes, I'm glad I saw it to basically see that "life is life". There's the interesting coast, or the restaurant row that's already on the tourist map, then there's the living areas where every block or two there's a convenience store, another non-descript cafe, a hair salon, etc... Maybe once in a while something sticks out but mostly not.

To be clear, I found both cities amazing. But, the "this city is amazing" parts are the parts listed as must visit. The "get lost parts" less so, with a few exceptions.

I've had more luck doing things further down the list. On 3rd or 4th visit, I'm not doing the top 10 most popular things. I'm down on 40th or 50th or 100th.

Re: The locals don't know

#77

Post by robot-wrangler »

gopperl wrote: post #69
robot-wrangler wrote: post #62

Locals trend conservative, always giving the advice "don't do that, you'll definitely die" because they remember one bad incident 10 or 20 years ago and never clock how circumstances have changed. My favorite is the time I was warned over and over by several different people about not going somewhere because I would surely be killed by foreigners or wolves. Dude, what? If there was a major problem with one, it would…

[flagged]

> Insane naivety.

At the beginning, absolutely. At some point though if it keeps working.. a traveler that takes many risks might be better at evaluating them than a random person they could consult. And/or part of getting there is learning to evaluate which random persons to listen to ;)

Re: The locals don't know

#79

Post by sampullman »

tptacek wrote: post #48
myself248 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what I did on my last vacation, and it was lovely. Except that I was in a cabin, on an island, in a foreign country. And the reason I was absolutely undistracted from my book, is that I'd turned my phone off before crossing the border. And I left it off, all week. The isolation and quiet surroundings made the "week off" truly off . Nobody could reach me if they tried. Whatever calamity befell my boss, he'd jus…

Right, it's a weird thing to travel for though.

Why? I don't have a porch at home, and it's too hot to sit outside and read.

Re: The locals don't know

#80

Post by nchmy »

exmadscientist wrote: post #60

My best travel advice (for urban areas) is simple: get lost. If you don't know exactly where you are or what's around the corner, you've got to take it as it comes, and that makes it all the more interesting. No FOMO or opportunity cost struggles, just what's in front of you right now. This is both easier and harder with smartphones and GPS. Harder because, well, you know exactly where you are and have to actively ig…

This is one of the only sensible comments in this entire thread. Just go wander, talk to and observe people, etc... I've traveled extensively and all of my best experiences are from this sort of thing.
Post reply on HN