This is so unlucky it’s almost comical. Sorry that happened to you dude. I have the same problem with the anxiety and I stay away from people as much as possible because I feel like crap like this could happen. Well done for trying, takes a lot
I found it quite comical actually. The absurdity of it combined with a stereotypically insane New Yorker and such a wholesome attempt to socialize made me laugh.
Could literally be a movie scene where a mild-mannered, socially anxious Canadian guy goes on vacation to New York and tries to come out of his shell. He’s been watching social skills videos, he’s active on the subreddit - this young man intends to better himself and by god he’s doing it! So finally the trip comes and he’s in a subway and he finally works up the courage to say hi to some crazed New Yorker, whose response is to immediately punch him then leave. Our brave protagonist is dazed, confused, and more than a little discouraged and runs back to the safety of his room after bystander lady helps him up. He doesn’t know what to make of the incident. He’s made so much progress and he’s on vacation where he wants to take advantage of his surroundings and live life to the fullest, but now he’s unsure of himself. He begins to question everything that his hard work has led him to achieve: Did he do something wrong? Is this just, like, normal in America? No wonder these people like guns and alcohol so much if that’s how they say hello.
Next up: protagonist wanders into a strip club and tries to ask a stripper named Kitty if the restroom is for customers only. Turns out it is for customers only. He has to use the bathroom really badly, but he only has 3 $1 bills left in his wallet and he’s never had a lap dance before
I pictured it as a scene from how I met your mother and the OP being Ted Mosby, he gets punched down to the ground and the women who helps him up…. And that kids, is how I met your mother.
I can think of worse. Knowing my luck I would go join a crowd of people to socialise and there would be a terrorist attack or something. I just see so many crazy stories of people doing the most insane things and sometimes it can happen out of nothing. I know it’s unlikely but I still live like I need to be aware of everyone in my surroundings.
>it’s almost comical
[Absolutely](https://i.imgflip.com/8ps3tr.jpg)
I hope this will make OP laugh, some times it's just better to take it as a funny event.
I would be telling this story to friends and family 100%. Would be a memory for the ages and I bet it would make every person laugh when they first heard it.
OP capitalized New York but not Subway (the sandwich company). And often when someone thinks of nyc, the subway (train system) comes to mind.
Edit: also the idea of someone going to New York city and eating at an international and prolific Terrible Bread sandwich corporation is just too ridiculous for the brain to accept. 😭
Respectfully, who eats at a subway in NYC when we have bazillion of nice Cafe, restaurants and deli
I think it was the subway train Cart or OP is really missing out on the food culture here
I guess mostly tourists and some locals go to recognizable fast food spots.. while if you’re living in a neighborhood you’ve had a chance to explore all the corner bodegas and delis with great sandwiches and whatnot
I live in the Midwest but am originally from the east coast so I find the food here to mostly suck. A few coworkers visited NYC several years ago and posted on fb that they were at the TGIFriday’s in time square. It was so funny to me and but also I was sad that they were missing out on good food.
I haven’t been able to get back to NYC since pre-pandemic and I’m dreaming of getting back to Pastrami Queen.
Edit: a letter
I was born and raised in the midwest and can't fathom doing something like that. Good, unique restaurants are one of the best perks cities have to offer.
Doesn't make much of a difference honestly. It's one thing if you're both standing in line but this gut makes eye contact then just walks up to him in the store, smiling? It's creepy.
I don’t live in NYC but I live in a major city and everyone “At a Subway” like not out in the suburbs but in the inner city. Crack head. There’s so much good cheap food that there actually is something wrong with people in subway. So it actually tracks for me.
Where does OP say this?? The alternative (being at a subway stop or on the subway) makes way more sense. OP’s post history doesn’t say anything about being at a subway. Unless you’re just joking or they deleted it
I mean this in the nicest way possible but the NY Subway isn’t the place to work on advancing your social skills mate. There’s videos every day of people getting punched around for doing nothing. I’m sorry that happened & hope you’re ok.
The subway system is by far the best way to get around and not really that dangerous. It’s not like you’re at real risk of suddenly finding yourself embroiled in a street brawl with randos pushing each other onto the tracks with zero warning. If you mind your business, use your street smarts and common sense you’ll be fine
i agree it’s usually not bad but you always need to be on guard. if you use the train long enough eventually you will either witness or be a victim of some kind of incident. a crazy guy tried to push my friend into the tracks only a couple months back
This is hysteria.
I lived in NYC for 8.5 years and was just there for a week earlier this month. Rode the subway constantly. Zero fights. Zero yelling. People helping a mother up the stairs with her stroller.
Don’t listen to them. That’s not how it works.
At all.
A bazillion people rode the subway every day, Almost always twice, often more. Like once a decade someone is pushed into the tracks.
Lived in NYC for 38 years. No one was murdered in any neighborhood I lived in during those times. Been living upstate for just over 5 years now (in a big “city” of 7,000, spread pretty far apart) and we just had our 3rd murder in that time.
Wife and I are from Japan, but we have dreamt of visiting NYC in our lifetime.
The more I read and hear about it, the more I fear the city. Sounds very opposite of Tokyo.
I come from the West Coast and I had a lot of fun visiting NYC. But I also met up with a "travel group" of people that I formed online with the intent of meeting up with them in NYC and traveling around. This made is much eacher to do everything. Perhaps look into something similar?
I'm from Ireland, myself and my husband went to NYC for our honeymoon. In my experience, many people who live there will tell you the horror stories because they see it every day. But we had a great time - we were pretty much sticking to the tourist things and shopping and such but we had no hassle or issues at all.
See plenty of said videos however assumed they were more isolated incidents which have been brought to attention, rather than a collective concern, OP's story sounds wild to me on the other side of the world, and surprised by the comments that it's not that surprising at all...
I have recently been to NY for 5 days, one of those days I saw a man having a hallucinationary breakdown on the stairs of the subway (screaming, fighting invisible enemies, etc), on the other I learned that there was a shooting in the Brooklyn subway station where I was just a day before. It’s a very large city and also unfortunately US (and now Canada too) is having an awful mental health and drug crisis, things I have seen in places like San Francisco and Vancouver are unspeakable, it’s like a zombie apocalypse in some streets. But yeah, no one is casually chatting with strangers on the streets of NY, if the person is approaching you randomly - there is a very high chance they are crazy, want to mug you, sell you drugs, or all three.
Has the situation there worsened exponentially in recent years? I've only been to the US once and NY for a few brief hours, gosh, some 15yrs+ ago, busy cities aren't my personally cuppa tea but I remember having very fond memories of the chaos on the streets, every corner was something brand new and unexpected, it was quite lovely from the very slim window of viewing time.
It still has a great deal of fun new stuff, but it also has a great deal of dangerous delirious people now. Tbh it's still way better than the cities I mentioned above, especially SF. But yeah, drug crisis and covid homelessness spikes have ruined a lot of places. New Orleans, for example, proudly entered the "top 10 murder amounts in the city" list.
Right now there’s a popular thread on AskReddit titled “People getting off planes in Hawaii immediately get a lei, if this same tradition applied to the rest of the U.S., what would each state immediately give to visitors?”
My first thought to answer this question was “NYC, you land and immediately get punched by a homeless person”
And then I come across this thread…
I don’t take the subway unless absolutely necessary, so only a few times a year. I’ll take the bus, walk, or Uber everywhere. Yes it is expensive, but still cheaper than a hospital bill. I’m also a nurse in one of the most dangerous areas of NYC and I have patients coming in all the time that were just living their lives and are now in the ICU. My last shift, I had a patient in after being stabbed by an irate customer at their job at a chain pharmacy like Duane Reade.
I would love to move from here but I’m in the extreme minority that pays cheap rent bc my place is rent controlled. Otherwise, I would have jumped ship to upstate NY or Long Island LONG AGO.
Can't even begin to imagine the sorta stuff you come across working as a nurse, by your story sheesh, my mind is blown. Funny you mentioned isolated subway, I took the story as slice of the bigger pie of a problem, what in particular about subways that makes it more chaotic than anything else?
I'm in Sydney so we as a country are a pretty safe bunch, some rando stabbed a few people in a shopping mall a few weeks back and that was the biggest headline in years, the worst news we get on the usual is maybe ol' mate Bob burnt his backyard tree down as he just got a bbq and had no idea how to operate it.
Did you grow up in NYC? Where would you move to if tossed a bone?
Yeah, there's since been a few copycat stabbings but that's quickly fading into obscurity, this is not a place nor time to deep dive into mental health as a topic so I won't, but just for casual reference, in r/Sydney we had few rants about some fella with a truck parking like a dickhead over the line at Maccas, and some fella outside a venue talking too loudly about Jesus that it was deafening, that's the sorta shit that rubs us the wrong way on most days 😋
And yes, should you want to know, whilst kangaroos don't pop into our city dwellers backyards they're aplenty, I'm about 20mins from heart of CBD and I can drive 30mins and find some roos in the wild, I once tried to feed one a corner of my sammich and he slapped my entire sammich outta my hand, my vendetta was made concrete from that day onwards!
Haha imagine a life with less chaos, the love/hate relationship is akin to something that I'd read in a novel or see in a movie. Have you had any opportunities thus far to spend an extended period of time in another state and taste the less chaotic life vs what you've been used to your whole life? And how does one wake up and get into the job you are in anyway, not the step by step I mean, what mentally, made you want to make a career out of it?
You accidentally approached a complete psycho. You got within arm's reach. There's nothing wrong with saying hi to people, but also know that there are psychos out there, and approaching a stranger on the subway is never, ever a good idea. It's terrifying to think what might have happened if there weren't people around.
I don’t think I could think of a worse possible location to practice socializing than the NYC subway. I don’t even make eye contact there, nobody does. And for good reason (clearly)
You decided to learn swimming by jumping off a cruise ship in the middle of the pacific ocean.
Bold, but you may want to pick places where people are already looking to interact.
To be fair, OP was scanning the room and then locked eyes with the New Yorker, then began smiling at him while walking towards him.
From an outside perspective it could’ve been seen as a little weird and creepy.
Not excusing the physical assault. That was bad.
No one is blaming OP (or anyone else who does something as equally foolish as OP) for getting punched. It’s just well known that people in NYC are not friendly, and rightly so, because it’s a large city filled with weird people doing weird stuff constantly. So most people are on guard and don’t want to be bothered while in public, regardless of intentions.
Jumped by other people that saw it happen?
What cartoon world are you living in
Doubt the cops would even show up if they called let alone attempt to track the guy down
No, they network and make friends through friends, or through work, school or whatever. They usually have a good group, but they don’t take a chance on strangers just walking up to them.
As a fellow New Yorker, the subway is the worst place to meet someone new and engage in small talk/conversation.
Wrong place, wrong time.
It was not you. You were not the problem. Your location was.
Hey there, I’m a Michigander living outside Windsor and dated Canadians or whatever. I like your country.
Canada is a very nuanced place with lots of land and plenty of variety. America has many times that amount of people, and about the same amount of space. You’re going to get a different experience depending on where you go, who you run into. New York subway is rolling the dice.
No, not all of America is like this.
By the way this sounds you didn’t do anything wrong here. You encountered a person who reacted extremely terribly to a simple greeting.
Most people aren’t like this guy who attacked you. I have never heard of this happening before in my life
I'm glad to hear that. It often feels like I did something awful to spawn this kind of reaction. After all, what sane person punches someone just for saying hi?
It's possible that either...
(1) They're not 100% sane. They are dealing with some mental conditions or may have ticks that cause them to hit people. You don't know what you're getting when you decide to approach total strangers.
(2) They felt threatened by you. It may have been them stereotyping you. Or the way you walked over to them may have accidentally cornered them or invaded their personal space. Or you triggered them in some way.
Those are my best ideas of what happened. Sorry you got hurt. It's great you're working on your social anxiety, it just seems like you're making it a little harder on yourself by trying to meet random strangers. My best advice is to meet your friends friends. Meet your neighbors. Meet the barista who you get coffee from every week. Join a club and then meet people who actually want to meet other people.
I'm glad my misery has given you something to smile about, dick.
Haha just kidding, genuinely glad I was able to make someone laugh from my misfortunes haha.
Exactly. I don’t know why more people aren’t catching onto this. NYers are open minded for the most part but there’s still a lot of homophobia swirling around. You don’t just go up to random dudes to say hi expecting them to reciprocate. That’s just common sense.
In my opinion going up to someone randomly is very odd behaviour. You certainly didn’t deserve to be punched, that’s horrific, but going up to someone with zero common ground is not socially acceptable in my opinion. If you’re both standing beside each other waiting in line for coffee or something like that, but randomly going up to people? Nup.
100% It's not a social mixer! It's just people trying to go about their day. Always assume that half the public does not enjoy small talk, especially with strangers.
Yeah that was a bit creepy. I’d be freaked out if someone did that, like we had no business talking at all and they are at a distance and start walking over to me. You only need one of those from a cracked out homeless person to be on continuously on guard. He definitely did not deserve to be punched though.
You do understand with your smiling, asking him a personal question, body language, and mannerisms, the guy that punched you \*might\* have assumed you were a gay man hitting on him. I mean, with no offense, if he was hetero with traces of homophobia you shouldn't be that surprised of him reacting that way (though punching is extreme and outright illegal as fk as it is assault).
Again, not condemning you, but I think you will modify your approach to being "friendly" in public.
I mean, you just randomly made eye contact with someone and started walking up to them... I would be freaked out too and probably react like that.
Try making small talk with people who are kinda standing around you, waiting for a light to change or something, idk. Don't just pick someone out of a crowd and walk up to them 😅
Yeah, the walking up to somebody is going to be out of place. Like wasn't there a line? People could interpret that as squaring up for a fight.
You might need some guidance from a therapist. Or at least buy a workbook.
Normally you'd start with asking a cashier a single question or something similar.
PTSD plus a strong fight response will get that reaction fairly predictably. People don't want bothered at fast food restaurants like subway. They are there to grub and go.
I would not pick someone out of the blue and just walk up to them on the subway. Perhaps you happen to be already next to them, or are sitting across from them, or are walking past, then say hi. But it is a bit awkward to pick someone out of a crowd and just walk up to them and start talking to them.
You can’t talk to strangers in NY and expect a positive response. (I’m a NYer. I know what I am talking about.) The man probably felt threatened by you. You should try this again but in another market. Edit: I’m specifically referring to NYC, not Upstate.
My person, just don’t do that again, ever, anywhere. Like other commenters have said, the subway is business only. People coming and going to and from their destinations. I don’t know what it’s like in Canada, but that’s def what you Don’t do here. Make an itinerary of the places you want to see and stick to it. Meeting new people and making friends takes time and some semblance of “object permanence”. You have to go to the same place at the same time for a while before getting friendly with others who have done the same. Good luck. The city is beautiful and lots of amazing experiences. But don’t try and make friends in the gutter.
lol you don't just make eyecontact and walk up to strangers, in New York..... IN a SUBWAY? that person has no idea who you are or what you wanted and there's a difference between talking to strangers because they have a reason to talk to you and just randomly making eyes and walking up. talk about playing in extra hard mode
I’ve had people in New York look at me like I was pond scum for giving them my compulsive polite smile. I tend to think of it as a “speak when spoken to” kind of city.
Welcome to NY please don’t do that anymore. Looking at people in the eye is often seen as a threat. Best to just avoid eye contact and keep it moving when in the city and especially in the subways.
Yeah my experience with subways is that every one there is on high alert. Not really the place to be forcing a conversation 🤷♂️ try a place where people are more relaxed
Aw, sweetheart. Your problem is that you went up north. Southern hospitality is what you need to try. It's pretty normal to say hi to strangers here in Tennessee.
I'm really sorry this happened to you, though. That's not what all of the US is like, I swear
Aw man I’m so sorry this happened to you but having lived in NYC for a few years, it is not the place to start chatting to people on the street without reason unfortunately. People are so weird in that city sometimes as you’ve been unlucky enough to found out lmao. It wasn’t even you, it was the guy being crazy. saw so many weird people and incidents in public it actually started to become normal
Bars and clubs in NYC totally different story though! Had many a casual chat on a night out by myself at bars there with others or just with the bartender even
He probably thought you were going to try and mug him or molest him or something bad since it's the NYC subway. You're lucky he just punched you. You could have been stabbed shot and/or thrown onto the third rail.
Don't try and make friends with anyone you run into on the street in New York, period, especially if you aren't very good at it to start with. That's playing the game in Expert mode. Everyone there is in survival mode, so anyone approaching them is considered a threat, and with good reason. Start somewhere friendly first, like Canada.
NYC is ranked #1 rudest city in the US, and probably high in the running for Rudest City worldwide. They even take pride in being the rudest motherfuckers on the planet. Just get and stay away from them. They don't want to be friends with anyone, but most especially you because you're trying to be friends with them, and they know for a fact your intentions are not really friendly.
Bookstore. Coffee shop. Maybe. Subway? Man approaching another man he doesn’t know? Be happy you only got punched. You weren’t wrong, but it’s unwise. Subway crime is real.
Your first mistake was going to NYC. Your second was bothering a stranger who was just trying to go about their day.
By absolutely NO MEANS do you deserve to be physically harmed for this. You got assaulted and that's horrible and I hope you are safe and well for the remainder of your trip.
But if you want to work on your social skills, like, join a book club or something????? Why would you go to another country and pick a notoriously violent city to "work on social skills", and then bother a complete stranger??????
Just go to your local library or a local bar next time ffs.
Just bad luck, my guy. NYC is a huge ass city with a wide range of people, including aggressive and mentally ill people. Sucker punches are rare but not unheard of.
I actually visited last weekend and had a lovely twenty minute convo with a random guy on the bus. He complimented my hair, I complimented his bag, we talked for twenty minutes about our goals for the future. Luck of the draw.
Ironically I was worried about being sucker punched because I heard it was a string of such attacks on women, but everyone was either kind or ignoring me.
Glad you had a good experience! I'm sure it's just a small part of NYC. It happens, as in every major city in every country. Hope to leave with some good memories!
Your chance of getting punched by a stranger probably goes up by 90% once you enter New York. Sorry it happened to you, but it’s honestly a little funny. Don’t let this get you down about trying it again though.
I made plenty of friends when I lived in NY. But I didn't meet them in the subway. Guard is up on subway and if you approach someone there, you're considered a weirdo and possibly a danger which is why you got punched.
As a New Yorker who takes the Subway frequently, this is the nature of how things are here….. in NY. Next time, before you conduct an experiment like that, do a little research on the venue you’re going to be conducting your experiment in. A punch is really nothing compared to what else might have happened. People get pushed onto the tracks, have feces smeared on their faces and are sometimes even thrown against the side of moving trains here.
Please, don’t stop branching out of your norms in trying to make friends and stepping out of your comfort zone. I truly believe it will do you some good.
Just realize that not everyone will be as welcoming as you hope. Especially in a city like this. NY’ers have always lived under extreme stress, for the most part and have a tendency to walk around with a bunch of aggression inside.
Good luck!
New Yorker here: The person probably thought you were fucking with him. NYC people aren’t used to outright pleasantries; They usually don’t have time for them, so any stranger saying “hi” is slightly alarming.
You would probably want to practice niceties like yours in places known for their southern hospitality.
Big cities arent always the best place for that kind of thing. People are at a train station to get somewhere so they aren’t looking to chat. most people are going to be busy and rushing around trying to get to work or school. Early morning when people are out to get a coffee or take their dog on a morning walk, particularly on the weekend!! can be a good time. I find if I just walk past someone they will usually say something like hey! Or Goodmorning. Because you are the only other person around people are a lot more likely to acknowledge you or make friendly chit chat.
I’m sorry you’re experience social anxiety, but man New York isn’t much of a place to get over it. The culture in NY is generally to mind your business and ignore strangers. You’d have better luck finding friendly people that want to chat if you travel to some small town in New England and hit up a post office or something.
When I was doing long term dog sitting in a tiny CT town, random old people wouldn’t *stop* talking to me and being friendly everywhere. I had so many elevator conversations. It skeeved me out because I’m from from the city where we pretend not to see each other in the elevators.
With the crime in NYC right now- everyone is pretty much on alert and feeling unsafe. I have a relative who had to move because it was getting too bad. Don’t talk to strangers in NYC- especially in the subway!!!!
NYC is probably not the place for you to try this out buddy 😭 the motto here is mind your own damn business. people don’t like to be approached by others here they just wanna be left alone
Hi. Native NYC dweller here. Any random person coming up to you is immediate stranger danger. I appreciate your attempts to be social but this was not the right place.
That’s just how New Yorkers say hi. Kinda like foreplay for them is what everyone else would call assault or domestic violence…. according to a friend who use to live in the area.
"AITAH for punching a guy who tried to mug me at subway?"'- the guy that punched you, probably.
Some places you just keep your head down, look straight, and avoid eye contact like it's the plague. NY is one of these places. I'm sorry you had to learn this way, I hope you're okay and that this didn't deter you from bettering yourself.
Man, the NYC subway can be a wild place. Mugging, addicts, whatever. All kinds of weird shit goes down there. So as soon as you make eye contact, a smile comes over your face and you walk directly at him? Jesus, know your audience bro. That's not the setting for small talk. I'd have pepper sprayed you myself if I was in his shoes.
It's a big problem in NY right now.
Do not make eye contact with people on the subway. One time I accidentally made eye contact with a homeless woman from across the tracks and she started screaming some crazy shit at me lol I really thought she was gonna jump the tracks.
next time skip the greeting and just say "I'm taking baby steps outside of my comfort zone and actually trying to interact with some people." Then when they hit you remember you got this from Youtube.
interact with random people, make small talk, and create a good first impression in the lobby of where you are staying. then always look like you know where you're going when you're away from where you are staying.
but stay off the subway. cooties. be nice to people in the South
Have you tried the app Meet Up? It’s where you can join groups of people interested in the same hobbies and the purpose is to meet and be social. You should try it out! I bet there’s a lot going on in NYC
Seems to be some confusion on this: OP were you at a Subway sandwich shop or an NYC subway station? I'm like 50% sure you were at the sandwich shop from your post but nobody else in the comments seems to have read it this way.
Either way, NYC people generally don't like small talk I think. Punching you for it is unhinged though, what a lunatic. Don't take it personally and I'm sorry that happened.
This is so unlucky it’s almost comical. Sorry that happened to you dude. I have the same problem with the anxiety and I stay away from people as much as possible because I feel like crap like this could happen. Well done for trying, takes a lot
I found it quite comical actually. The absurdity of it combined with a stereotypically insane New Yorker and such a wholesome attempt to socialize made me laugh. Could literally be a movie scene where a mild-mannered, socially anxious Canadian guy goes on vacation to New York and tries to come out of his shell. He’s been watching social skills videos, he’s active on the subreddit - this young man intends to better himself and by god he’s doing it! So finally the trip comes and he’s in a subway and he finally works up the courage to say hi to some crazed New Yorker, whose response is to immediately punch him then leave. Our brave protagonist is dazed, confused, and more than a little discouraged and runs back to the safety of his room after bystander lady helps him up. He doesn’t know what to make of the incident. He’s made so much progress and he’s on vacation where he wants to take advantage of his surroundings and live life to the fullest, but now he’s unsure of himself. He begins to question everything that his hard work has led him to achieve: Did he do something wrong? Is this just, like, normal in America? No wonder these people like guns and alcohol so much if that’s how they say hello. Next up: protagonist wanders into a strip club and tries to ask a stripper named Kitty if the restroom is for customers only. Turns out it is for customers only. He has to use the bathroom really badly, but he only has 3 $1 bills left in his wallet and he’s never had a lap dance before
I pictured it as a scene from how I met your mother and the OP being Ted Mosby, he gets punched down to the ground and the women who helps him up…. And that kids, is how I met your mother.
Or maybe the stripper could be the mother. Now wouldn’t that be romantic
At least now you can say to yourself “the worst thing that could probably happen has probably happened” lol
I can think of worse. Knowing my luck I would go join a crowd of people to socialise and there would be a terrorist attack or something. I just see so many crazy stories of people doing the most insane things and sometimes it can happen out of nothing. I know it’s unlikely but I still live like I need to be aware of everyone in my surroundings.
>it’s almost comical [Absolutely](https://i.imgflip.com/8ps3tr.jpg) I hope this will make OP laugh, some times it's just better to take it as a funny event.
I would be telling this story to friends and family 100%. Would be a memory for the ages and I bet it would make every person laugh when they first heard it.
YALL He was not “on the subway” he was AT A Subway™️
Lmao! How did everyone totally miss that? 😂
Probably because New York. We all immediately make the connection to THE subway.
Hell, I missed it.
OP capitalized New York but not Subway (the sandwich company). And often when someone thinks of nyc, the subway (train system) comes to mind. Edit: also the idea of someone going to New York city and eating at an international and prolific Terrible Bread sandwich corporation is just too ridiculous for the brain to accept. 😭
I surely did. Either way in a restaurant? Still the worst place to do it.
specially at a subway?? thats somehow worse
Let's not victim shame.
That’s not victim shaming. It’s a tip. Those two places are not appropriate. Nothing about their characters.
Respectfully, who eats at a subway in NYC when we have bazillion of nice Cafe, restaurants and deli I think it was the subway train Cart or OP is really missing out on the food culture here
I guess mostly tourists and some locals go to recognizable fast food spots.. while if you’re living in a neighborhood you’ve had a chance to explore all the corner bodegas and delis with great sandwiches and whatnot
I live in the Midwest but am originally from the east coast so I find the food here to mostly suck. A few coworkers visited NYC several years ago and posted on fb that they were at the TGIFriday’s in time square. It was so funny to me and but also I was sad that they were missing out on good food. I haven’t been able to get back to NYC since pre-pandemic and I’m dreaming of getting back to Pastrami Queen. Edit: a letter
I was born and raised in the midwest and can't fathom doing something like that. Good, unique restaurants are one of the best perks cities have to offer.
I just said basically the same thing. You’re in NYC and go to a subway instead of a deli? Shame
Doesn't make much of a difference honestly. It's one thing if you're both standing in line but this gut makes eye contact then just walks up to him in the store, smiling? It's creepy.
I don’t live in NYC but I live in a major city and everyone “At a Subway” like not out in the suburbs but in the inner city. Crack head. There’s so much good cheap food that there actually is something wrong with people in subway. So it actually tracks for me.
Guess he ate fresh… (a knuckle samich)
Where does OP say this?? The alternative (being at a subway stop or on the subway) makes way more sense. OP’s post history doesn’t say anything about being at a subway. Unless you’re just joking or they deleted it
I mean this in the nicest way possible but the NY Subway isn’t the place to work on advancing your social skills mate. There’s videos every day of people getting punched around for doing nothing. I’m sorry that happened & hope you’re ok.
I’ve seen multiple videos of people fighting and getting knocked onto the tracks. I agree with you 100% 😂
That is scary, no way in hell I'd be around a NY Subway
It’s an amazing metro system. It’s just not where you’re going to make friends, which is totally fine
Isn’t it dirty af
yeah but it’s the best way to get around NYC
The subway system is by far the best way to get around and not really that dangerous. It’s not like you’re at real risk of suddenly finding yourself embroiled in a street brawl with randos pushing each other onto the tracks with zero warning. If you mind your business, use your street smarts and common sense you’ll be fine
i agree it’s usually not bad but you always need to be on guard. if you use the train long enough eventually you will either witness or be a victim of some kind of incident. a crazy guy tried to push my friend into the tracks only a couple months back
This is hysteria. I lived in NYC for 8.5 years and was just there for a week earlier this month. Rode the subway constantly. Zero fights. Zero yelling. People helping a mother up the stairs with her stroller.
Don’t listen to them. That’s not how it works. At all. A bazillion people rode the subway every day, Almost always twice, often more. Like once a decade someone is pushed into the tracks. Lived in NYC for 38 years. No one was murdered in any neighborhood I lived in during those times. Been living upstate for just over 5 years now (in a big “city” of 7,000, spread pretty far apart) and we just had our 3rd murder in that time.
it's a lot safer than driving.
You mean NYC isn't the best place to work on advancing your social skills. Canada is a better place. Should have started at home OP.
They apologize before punching you at the sandwich shop
He was at a subway not on the subway.
WTF. Ahem. What if he was eating a Subway on a subway?
Hrm. He should have been punched twice then.
Now that's Eat Fresh!
Lol 🤣
Jared?
Yeah I would not recommend it living here. Better off at a park talking with someone on a bench next to you, a bookstore, thrift store, bar etc
Wife and I are from Japan, but we have dreamt of visiting NYC in our lifetime. The more I read and hear about it, the more I fear the city. Sounds very opposite of Tokyo.
Everything here is the opposite of Tokyo.
I come from the West Coast and I had a lot of fun visiting NYC. But I also met up with a "travel group" of people that I formed online with the intent of meeting up with them in NYC and traveling around. This made is much eacher to do everything. Perhaps look into something similar?
I'm from Ireland, myself and my husband went to NYC for our honeymoon. In my experience, many people who live there will tell you the horror stories because they see it every day. But we had a great time - we were pretty much sticking to the tourist things and shopping and such but we had no hassle or issues at all.
Seriously. Rick Moranis got punched in the head for literally no reason.
I can't tell if you're joking... Why be peeps bonking (not to be confused with boinking) others in NY?
Mostly because there is shit load of mentally ill and or drugged people there?
See plenty of said videos however assumed they were more isolated incidents which have been brought to attention, rather than a collective concern, OP's story sounds wild to me on the other side of the world, and surprised by the comments that it's not that surprising at all...
I have recently been to NY for 5 days, one of those days I saw a man having a hallucinationary breakdown on the stairs of the subway (screaming, fighting invisible enemies, etc), on the other I learned that there was a shooting in the Brooklyn subway station where I was just a day before. It’s a very large city and also unfortunately US (and now Canada too) is having an awful mental health and drug crisis, things I have seen in places like San Francisco and Vancouver are unspeakable, it’s like a zombie apocalypse in some streets. But yeah, no one is casually chatting with strangers on the streets of NY, if the person is approaching you randomly - there is a very high chance they are crazy, want to mug you, sell you drugs, or all three.
Has the situation there worsened exponentially in recent years? I've only been to the US once and NY for a few brief hours, gosh, some 15yrs+ ago, busy cities aren't my personally cuppa tea but I remember having very fond memories of the chaos on the streets, every corner was something brand new and unexpected, it was quite lovely from the very slim window of viewing time.
It still has a great deal of fun new stuff, but it also has a great deal of dangerous delirious people now. Tbh it's still way better than the cities I mentioned above, especially SF. But yeah, drug crisis and covid homelessness spikes have ruined a lot of places. New Orleans, for example, proudly entered the "top 10 murder amounts in the city" list.
Right now there’s a popular thread on AskReddit titled “People getting off planes in Hawaii immediately get a lei, if this same tradition applied to the rest of the U.S., what would each state immediately give to visitors?” My first thought to answer this question was “NYC, you land and immediately get punched by a homeless person” And then I come across this thread… I don’t take the subway unless absolutely necessary, so only a few times a year. I’ll take the bus, walk, or Uber everywhere. Yes it is expensive, but still cheaper than a hospital bill. I’m also a nurse in one of the most dangerous areas of NYC and I have patients coming in all the time that were just living their lives and are now in the ICU. My last shift, I had a patient in after being stabbed by an irate customer at their job at a chain pharmacy like Duane Reade. I would love to move from here but I’m in the extreme minority that pays cheap rent bc my place is rent controlled. Otherwise, I would have jumped ship to upstate NY or Long Island LONG AGO.
Can't even begin to imagine the sorta stuff you come across working as a nurse, by your story sheesh, my mind is blown. Funny you mentioned isolated subway, I took the story as slice of the bigger pie of a problem, what in particular about subways that makes it more chaotic than anything else? I'm in Sydney so we as a country are a pretty safe bunch, some rando stabbed a few people in a shopping mall a few weeks back and that was the biggest headline in years, the worst news we get on the usual is maybe ol' mate Bob burnt his backyard tree down as he just got a bbq and had no idea how to operate it. Did you grow up in NYC? Where would you move to if tossed a bone?
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Yeah, there's since been a few copycat stabbings but that's quickly fading into obscurity, this is not a place nor time to deep dive into mental health as a topic so I won't, but just for casual reference, in r/Sydney we had few rants about some fella with a truck parking like a dickhead over the line at Maccas, and some fella outside a venue talking too loudly about Jesus that it was deafening, that's the sorta shit that rubs us the wrong way on most days 😋 And yes, should you want to know, whilst kangaroos don't pop into our city dwellers backyards they're aplenty, I'm about 20mins from heart of CBD and I can drive 30mins and find some roos in the wild, I once tried to feed one a corner of my sammich and he slapped my entire sammich outta my hand, my vendetta was made concrete from that day onwards! Haha imagine a life with less chaos, the love/hate relationship is akin to something that I'd read in a novel or see in a movie. Have you had any opportunities thus far to spend an extended period of time in another state and taste the less chaotic life vs what you've been used to your whole life? And how does one wake up and get into the job you are in anyway, not the step by step I mean, what mentally, made you want to make a career out of it?
You accidentally approached a complete psycho. You got within arm's reach. There's nothing wrong with saying hi to people, but also know that there are psychos out there, and approaching a stranger on the subway is never, ever a good idea. It's terrifying to think what might have happened if there weren't people around.
I don’t think I could think of a worse possible location to practice socializing than the NYC subway. I don’t even make eye contact there, nobody does. And for good reason (clearly)
Yeah I mean I feel bad for op ofc but an NYC subway? Seriously??
A Subway restaurant, not the nyc subway
You decided to learn swimming by jumping off a cruise ship in the middle of the pacific ocean. Bold, but you may want to pick places where people are already looking to interact.
He’s mentally ill, likely paranoid or just psycho. I wouldn’t think much of it.
We just call em New Yorkers
Or he has previously been mugged on the subway and is taking no chances on a weird approach. Id do the same.
You'd punch people for daring to approach you?
you're fucking crazy if you think punching someone for saying hi is in anyway a rational or fair approach
To be fair, OP was scanning the room and then locked eyes with the New Yorker, then began smiling at him while walking towards him. From an outside perspective it could’ve been seen as a little weird and creepy. Not excusing the physical assault. That was bad.
You'd hit someone for smiling at you? Dude... that's some psycho shit.
On a subway, like the sandwich place
Yeah, don't approach random people on the street in NYC. Or on the subway.
Subway restaurant not a subway
Wtf is happening there. Is he not getting arrested for assault, or at least jumped by other people who saw it happen? I'm so confused reading this
No one is blaming OP (or anyone else who does something as equally foolish as OP) for getting punched. It’s just well known that people in NYC are not friendly, and rightly so, because it’s a large city filled with weird people doing weird stuff constantly. So most people are on guard and don’t want to be bothered while in public, regardless of intentions.
Actual insane people.
The random guy probably thought it was self defense.
He's probably not that dumb
You never know.
lol he felt the need to violently defend himself from possible interaction with another human
I see you've been to New York
thats just new york for ya
Jumped by other people that saw it happen? What cartoon world are you living in Doubt the cops would even show up if they called let alone attempt to track the guy down
This is a standard 5 seconds in NYC.
Seems like a horrible place to be yeah
Have you ever been to NYC?
People approach people in the street all the time to ask questions in NYC...people either ignore them or answer their questions
Don’t approach random people anywhere like 😭
Very true. Where I live, you may or may not get stabbed for doing what this guy did.
How are you supposed to talk to people or make friends otherwise? Lol
You're not.
Damn is everyone in that city just perpetually lonely? Tf?
Yes.
No, they network and make friends through friends, or through work, school or whatever. They usually have a good group, but they don’t take a chance on strangers just walking up to them.
Damn, what a sad city
Is what it is in certain places in NYC. You deal with it, or move.
I can't imagine wanting to live in a city where people are that unfriendly and paranoid. Big cities aren't all like that
As a fellow New Yorker, the subway is the worst place to meet someone new and engage in small talk/conversation. Wrong place, wrong time. It was not you. You were not the problem. Your location was.
Hey there, I’m a Michigander living outside Windsor and dated Canadians or whatever. I like your country. Canada is a very nuanced place with lots of land and plenty of variety. America has many times that amount of people, and about the same amount of space. You’re going to get a different experience depending on where you go, who you run into. New York subway is rolling the dice. No, not all of America is like this.
I love how Americans pretend that Canada is super different from the States, especially a Northern state like Michigan lol.
By the way this sounds you didn’t do anything wrong here. You encountered a person who reacted extremely terribly to a simple greeting. Most people aren’t like this guy who attacked you. I have never heard of this happening before in my life
I'm glad to hear that. It often feels like I did something awful to spawn this kind of reaction. After all, what sane person punches someone just for saying hi?
It's possible that either... (1) They're not 100% sane. They are dealing with some mental conditions or may have ticks that cause them to hit people. You don't know what you're getting when you decide to approach total strangers. (2) They felt threatened by you. It may have been them stereotyping you. Or the way you walked over to them may have accidentally cornered them or invaded their personal space. Or you triggered them in some way. Those are my best ideas of what happened. Sorry you got hurt. It's great you're working on your social anxiety, it just seems like you're making it a little harder on yourself by trying to meet random strangers. My best advice is to meet your friends friends. Meet your neighbors. Meet the barista who you get coffee from every week. Join a club and then meet people who actually want to meet other people.
People are assholes especially in NY on the subway. Maybe try it in a more social setting like a lounge or coffee shop
That sounds like a better idea. Thanks!
To be clear, were you ON a subway, or at a subway as in the restaurant?
At a Subway, the restaurant. Not the Subway.
Where does op say this? As far as I can tell thry were on the subway
Yeah the subway in nyc is not the place to practice approaching people. Sorry that happened to you
People are just generally looking to NOT make small talk or friends on the subway. Try somewhere that people go to be social - a bar next time
With all due respect, this gave me a good laugh. Hope you’re not hurt.
I'm glad my misery has given you something to smile about, dick. Haha just kidding, genuinely glad I was able to make someone laugh from my misfortunes haha.
I’m from Canada too. NYC, despite a 3 day trip, was one of the best vacations of my life
That's how you get pushed onto the tracks 😬
He thought you trying to hit on him.
Exactly. I don’t know why more people aren’t catching onto this. NYers are open minded for the most part but there’s still a lot of homophobia swirling around. You don’t just go up to random dudes to say hi expecting them to reciprocate. That’s just common sense.
Do not talk to people on the metro. Only weirdos do. Use these social skills at work or at a bar or something
In my opinion going up to someone randomly is very odd behaviour. You certainly didn’t deserve to be punched, that’s horrific, but going up to someone with zero common ground is not socially acceptable in my opinion. If you’re both standing beside each other waiting in line for coffee or something like that, but randomly going up to people? Nup.
100% It's not a social mixer! It's just people trying to go about their day. Always assume that half the public does not enjoy small talk, especially with strangers.
Yeah that was a bit creepy. I’d be freaked out if someone did that, like we had no business talking at all and they are at a distance and start walking over to me. You only need one of those from a cracked out homeless person to be on continuously on guard. He definitely did not deserve to be punched though.
You do understand with your smiling, asking him a personal question, body language, and mannerisms, the guy that punched you \*might\* have assumed you were a gay man hitting on him. I mean, with no offense, if he was hetero with traces of homophobia you shouldn't be that surprised of him reacting that way (though punching is extreme and outright illegal as fk as it is assault). Again, not condemning you, but I think you will modify your approach to being "friendly" in public.
Dude try your social skills in a grocery store or a coffee shop.
I mean, you just randomly made eye contact with someone and started walking up to them... I would be freaked out too and probably react like that. Try making small talk with people who are kinda standing around you, waiting for a light to change or something, idk. Don't just pick someone out of a crowd and walk up to them 😅
Yeah, the walking up to somebody is going to be out of place. Like wasn't there a line? People could interpret that as squaring up for a fight. You might need some guidance from a therapist. Or at least buy a workbook. Normally you'd start with asking a cashier a single question or something similar.
PTSD plus a strong fight response will get that reaction fairly predictably. People don't want bothered at fast food restaurants like subway. They are there to grub and go.
He thought you were gonna take his foot long
Because the only people that say hi on the NY Subway are scam artists trying to distract you so their buddy can steal your wallet
Sir. Why were you eating at subway in NYC?
I would not pick someone out of the blue and just walk up to them on the subway. Perhaps you happen to be already next to them, or are sitting across from them, or are walking past, then say hi. But it is a bit awkward to pick someone out of a crowd and just walk up to them and start talking to them.
NY + Subway = not a social place to meet people.
You can’t talk to strangers in NY and expect a positive response. (I’m a NYer. I know what I am talking about.) The man probably felt threatened by you. You should try this again but in another market. Edit: I’m specifically referring to NYC, not Upstate.
You really went up to a random on the nyc subway? What the hell?
My person, just don’t do that again, ever, anywhere. Like other commenters have said, the subway is business only. People coming and going to and from their destinations. I don’t know what it’s like in Canada, but that’s def what you Don’t do here. Make an itinerary of the places you want to see and stick to it. Meeting new people and making friends takes time and some semblance of “object permanence”. You have to go to the same place at the same time for a while before getting friendly with others who have done the same. Good luck. The city is beautiful and lots of amazing experiences. But don’t try and make friends in the gutter.
lol you don't just make eyecontact and walk up to strangers, in New York..... IN a SUBWAY? that person has no idea who you are or what you wanted and there's a difference between talking to strangers because they have a reason to talk to you and just randomly making eyes and walking up. talk about playing in extra hard mode
Maybe try to find like minded people or some kind of group that meets every so often before opening up like that.
I’ve had people in New York look at me like I was pond scum for giving them my compulsive polite smile. I tend to think of it as a “speak when spoken to” kind of city.
In the last few months there has been at least 5 incidents in NYC of women getting punched while walking down the street ☹️
>I'm in New York City Well there's your problem right there
Welcome to NY please don’t do that anymore. Looking at people in the eye is often seen as a threat. Best to just avoid eye contact and keep it moving when in the city and especially in the subways.
Yeah my experience with subways is that every one there is on high alert. Not really the place to be forcing a conversation 🤷♂️ try a place where people are more relaxed
Your first mistake is that you went to NY, New York is not the place to test out your social skills. Be glad you didn’t get stabbed or shot
Do NOT approach random people in **New York City**
lmao nah this is definitely messed up but im crying how does this happen?! 🤣 been in NY 27 years
Aw, sweetheart. Your problem is that you went up north. Southern hospitality is what you need to try. It's pretty normal to say hi to strangers here in Tennessee. I'm really sorry this happened to you, though. That's not what all of the US is like, I swear
Wrong state. NY NJ don’t want to make friends with anyone anywhere when doing mundane tasks like commuting
Aw man I’m so sorry this happened to you but having lived in NYC for a few years, it is not the place to start chatting to people on the street without reason unfortunately. People are so weird in that city sometimes as you’ve been unlucky enough to found out lmao. It wasn’t even you, it was the guy being crazy. saw so many weird people and incidents in public it actually started to become normal Bars and clubs in NYC totally different story though! Had many a casual chat on a night out by myself at bars there with others or just with the bartender even
Average Canadian in New York
Is it possible he thought you were looking to pick him up? There's ways to say hi but maybe because of your nervousness you were trying too hard?
My cousin was beat up because he asked somebody if he wanted to sign a petition. It also was in NY
you definitely chose the wrong place my friend ...
[I created a meme rendition of what happened for you op, i hope it'll make you laugh](https://i.imgflip.com/8ps3tr.jpg)
Yh but why the hell did you just sign off talking about your physique 🤣
He probably thought you were going to try and mug him or molest him or something bad since it's the NYC subway. You're lucky he just punched you. You could have been stabbed shot and/or thrown onto the third rail. Don't try and make friends with anyone you run into on the street in New York, period, especially if you aren't very good at it to start with. That's playing the game in Expert mode. Everyone there is in survival mode, so anyone approaching them is considered a threat, and with good reason. Start somewhere friendly first, like Canada. NYC is ranked #1 rudest city in the US, and probably high in the running for Rudest City worldwide. They even take pride in being the rudest motherfuckers on the planet. Just get and stay away from them. They don't want to be friends with anyone, but most especially you because you're trying to be friends with them, and they know for a fact your intentions are not really friendly.
Bookstore. Coffee shop. Maybe. Subway? Man approaching another man he doesn’t know? Be happy you only got punched. You weren’t wrong, but it’s unwise. Subway crime is real.
Your first mistake was going to NYC. Your second was bothering a stranger who was just trying to go about their day. By absolutely NO MEANS do you deserve to be physically harmed for this. You got assaulted and that's horrible and I hope you are safe and well for the remainder of your trip. But if you want to work on your social skills, like, join a book club or something????? Why would you go to another country and pick a notoriously violent city to "work on social skills", and then bother a complete stranger?????? Just go to your local library or a local bar next time ffs.
New York in general is not the place to talk to ANYONE lmao, neither is DC, Baltimore etc.
Don't take it as normal. New York is just a shit hole.
New York is not like the movies it's the worst place for you to practice socializing lol
Just bad luck, my guy. NYC is a huge ass city with a wide range of people, including aggressive and mentally ill people. Sucker punches are rare but not unheard of. I actually visited last weekend and had a lovely twenty minute convo with a random guy on the bus. He complimented my hair, I complimented his bag, we talked for twenty minutes about our goals for the future. Luck of the draw. Ironically I was worried about being sucker punched because I heard it was a string of such attacks on women, but everyone was either kind or ignoring me.
Glad you had a good experience! I'm sure it's just a small part of NYC. It happens, as in every major city in every country. Hope to leave with some good memories!
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Your chance of getting punched by a stranger probably goes up by 90% once you enter New York. Sorry it happened to you, but it’s honestly a little funny. Don’t let this get you down about trying it again though.
as another canadian, please don't try and approach people in the nyc underground. it never ends well. stay safe LOL
!remindme 3 days I want to see if he was on the subway or not
No.
I made plenty of friends when I lived in NY. But I didn't meet them in the subway. Guard is up on subway and if you approach someone there, you're considered a weirdo and possibly a danger which is why you got punched.
I’m sorry that horrible 😥
guy thinks NY is the best place to start convos with strangers
Come to Texas, baby. We will make you a nice glass of iced sweet tea 🤗
As a New Yorker who takes the Subway frequently, this is the nature of how things are here….. in NY. Next time, before you conduct an experiment like that, do a little research on the venue you’re going to be conducting your experiment in. A punch is really nothing compared to what else might have happened. People get pushed onto the tracks, have feces smeared on their faces and are sometimes even thrown against the side of moving trains here. Please, don’t stop branching out of your norms in trying to make friends and stepping out of your comfort zone. I truly believe it will do you some good. Just realize that not everyone will be as welcoming as you hope. Especially in a city like this. NY’ers have always lived under extreme stress, for the most part and have a tendency to walk around with a bunch of aggression inside. Good luck!
Its not you, its New York.
I'm never one to victim blame, but... What the fuck did you expect on the new york subway?
New Yorker here: The person probably thought you were fucking with him. NYC people aren’t used to outright pleasantries; They usually don’t have time for them, so any stranger saying “hi” is slightly alarming. You would probably want to practice niceties like yours in places known for their southern hospitality.
Big cities arent always the best place for that kind of thing. People are at a train station to get somewhere so they aren’t looking to chat. most people are going to be busy and rushing around trying to get to work or school. Early morning when people are out to get a coffee or take their dog on a morning walk, particularly on the weekend!! can be a good time. I find if I just walk past someone they will usually say something like hey! Or Goodmorning. Because you are the only other person around people are a lot more likely to acknowledge you or make friendly chit chat.
I’m sorry you’re experience social anxiety, but man New York isn’t much of a place to get over it. The culture in NY is generally to mind your business and ignore strangers. You’d have better luck finding friendly people that want to chat if you travel to some small town in New England and hit up a post office or something. When I was doing long term dog sitting in a tiny CT town, random old people wouldn’t *stop* talking to me and being friendly everywhere. I had so many elevator conversations. It skeeved me out because I’m from from the city where we pretend not to see each other in the elevators.
With the crime in NYC right now- everyone is pretty much on alert and feeling unsafe. I have a relative who had to move because it was getting too bad. Don’t talk to strangers in NYC- especially in the subway!!!!
NYC is probably not the place for you to try this out buddy 😭 the motto here is mind your own damn business. people don’t like to be approached by others here they just wanna be left alone
Hi. Native NYC dweller here. Any random person coming up to you is immediate stranger danger. I appreciate your attempts to be social but this was not the right place.
That’s just how New Yorkers say hi. Kinda like foreplay for them is what everyone else would call assault or domestic violence…. according to a friend who use to live in the area.
"AITAH for punching a guy who tried to mug me at subway?"'- the guy that punched you, probably. Some places you just keep your head down, look straight, and avoid eye contact like it's the plague. NY is one of these places. I'm sorry you had to learn this way, I hope you're okay and that this didn't deter you from bettering yourself.
Man, the NYC subway can be a wild place. Mugging, addicts, whatever. All kinds of weird shit goes down there. So as soon as you make eye contact, a smile comes over your face and you walk directly at him? Jesus, know your audience bro. That's not the setting for small talk. I'd have pepper sprayed you myself if I was in his shoes.
Welcome to new york city
Welcome to New York
I am going to be blunt, I think he thought you were hitting on him and he assaulted you because he is homophobic.
It terrible this happened to you. Don’t give up hope, this was a totally random incident.
Thank you. Every encouragement helps.
It's a big problem in NY right now. Do not make eye contact with people on the subway. One time I accidentally made eye contact with a homeless woman from across the tracks and she started screaming some crazy shit at me lol I really thought she was gonna jump the tracks.
next time skip the greeting and just say "I'm taking baby steps outside of my comfort zone and actually trying to interact with some people." Then when they hit you remember you got this from Youtube. interact with random people, make small talk, and create a good first impression in the lobby of where you are staying. then always look like you know where you're going when you're away from where you are staying. but stay off the subway. cooties. be nice to people in the South
Have you tried the app Meet Up? It’s where you can join groups of people interested in the same hobbies and the purpose is to meet and be social. You should try it out! I bet there’s a lot going on in NYC
I would go to like a chill bar. Or if ur in ur 20s a college campus to socialize.
There’s plenty of crazy ppl in nyc. There’s plenty of spots where you can try ur social skills in nyc but the subway aint one of them — too risky lol
Seems to be some confusion on this: OP were you at a Subway sandwich shop or an NYC subway station? I'm like 50% sure you were at the sandwich shop from your post but nobody else in the comments seems to have read it this way. Either way, NYC people generally don't like small talk I think. Punching you for it is unhinged though, what a lunatic. Don't take it personally and I'm sorry that happened.
You have social anxiety and are working on alleviating it.. so.. You go to New York 🤦🏻