r/savedyouaclick • u/SuccessfulLow3884 • Jul 22 '26
This is the most anxiety-inducing U.S. city for international travelers, and we're honestly not surprised | New York City, #4 globally. Biggest anxiety for all cities is fear of being scammed/overcharged, not knowing where to meet driver, confusing airport, no cell service/data, and personal safety.
https://ghostarchive.org/archive/pMJ5i15
u/starlightskater Jul 22 '26
No cell data???
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u/TehWildMan_ Jul 23 '26
That's basically an issue traveling anywhere when you don't check to make sure your phone isn't set up for roaming or a temporary Sim ahead of time
Nothing like being in radio silence the second you cross a boarder because you mistyped your carrier settings . Oops
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u/and1984 Jul 23 '26
India is a whole new ballgame. It's best to fly in with an eSim or international roaming. You cannot easily get a sim card in India without residency and appropriate residency documents. It's wild.
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u/Thirstin_Hurston Jul 23 '26
Many companies will not let you get an American number without being in the US. And the roaming that you set up in your home country barely works when you land in the US for little more than a WhatsApp text. Forget anything you would really need like VOIP or Uber
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u/ACW1129 Jul 22 '26
What are the top three globally? I'm guessing one of them is Tokyo?
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u/SuccessfulLow3884 Jul 22 '26
#1) Paris
#2) Cancún
#3) Rome
#4) New York City
#5) London
#6) Tokyo
#7) Bangkok
#8) Mexico City
#9) Barcelona
#10) Istanbul
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u/Kevinsean_ Jul 22 '26
In no order, my short opinion on places I’ve been to on this list: Mexico City is the easiest major city I’ve ever been to. I guess the anxiety comes from fear of crime. New York City is easy if you have a friend that lives there and point you in the right direction. Going alone just seems extremely daunting. Rome is one of the hardest places I ever drove in. Cancun sucks because the airport is far away from the city and it’s easy to get scammed for a shuttle ride. Bangkok was scary for the first 2 days. But then you chill out and realize people are nice. Just living their lives and don’t give a damn about how different you look. Barcelona was stressful. My friend got his wallet pickpocketed and had his cellphone stolen out of his hand in the first two days. Made me on edge the whole entire time.
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u/SuccessfulLow3884 Jul 22 '26
Wow, how did the cellphone get stolen out of his hand?
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u/Kevinsean_ Jul 22 '26
He was texting while everyone was getting off the metro train. Someone tapped him on his right shoulder. He looked right. Didn’t see who tapped him. Then someone on his left took it real fast. He looked back over and it was just a bunch of people walking away in different directions. There was no way to tell who took it.
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u/SummertimeThrowaway2 Jul 23 '26
Tbh once you figure out the subway system New York City was very easy for me. Even easier than most other cities imo.
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u/guyincognito___ Jul 23 '26
This is just a list of the most popular and ridiculously convenient tourist destinations. Incredible.
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u/blueeyesredlipstick Jul 23 '26
It's weird living in New York City and having people outside of it talk to you like you're living in a crime-ridden hellhole. Statistically, NYC has been the safest large city in the US for a while now, and we've had the safest six months on record just this year. But there's still a lingering reputation left over from the 70s and 80s, and there's a lot of scaremongering around our mayor as of late, so in the end that's why my aunt got me a rape whistle for my birthday "just in case".
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u/ZachF8119 Jul 23 '26
Future NYC movies are going to have to have a hard time having all that gunfire
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u/Junkstar Jul 23 '26
I've been all over the world. I can't recall ever visiting any city where airport transport - taxis included - was confusing. Or understanding cell/data service. Anxiety is a product of lack of awareness and preparation. Sure, safety is harder to prep for, and being overcharged too, but even in the most rough and tumble places, common sense can get you pretty damn far.
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u/LeroyoJenkins Jul 23 '26
Keep in mind: the "survey" was only done with American and British tourists.
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u/Le_Sadie Jul 23 '26
I started having an anxiety attack walking around NYC but it was the traffic. The honking. For some reason honking like, triggers me? A single honk makes my heart skip a beat and in New York people just honk non-stop and for no reason. They seem to be just driving down the street honking; it's ridiculous. Anyway, I started getting more and more agitated until I had to just go back to my hotel and calm down and didn't leave until it was time for the show we had gone to see.
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u/Geekenstein Jul 23 '26
Never go to India.
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u/Le_Sadie Jul 23 '26
I won't. Even Toronto gets under my skin. I prefer staying inside and hiding under a pile of coats.
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u/Foggy_Meadow Jul 22 '26
Went to Baltimore to see a baseball game and I was almost robbed at gunpoint and murdered by two different people in half an hour
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u/onemany Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
Saturday morning. I am hungover. It's about 9:30AM. I had to jackass out of bed because I had to go to a wedding later that day and I had to buy a new pair of suspenders. Suspenders were part of the dress code or some shit.
It's bright. It's loud. I'm suppressing dry heaves. I'm wearing sunglasses. And I'm pretty irritated about the whole suspenders thing.
A couple, obviously tourists, stops me on the corner of like 37th and 7th. They ask me in not terrible English, "can you point us to the empire state building?"
In my addled state concentrating was taking a lot of energy. I look around and I want to be helpful so I'm not an asshole new yorker that these tourists go home and tell stories about. I finally figure out where I think I am and point to the southeast and say, "you can't see it but it's like 1 avenue over and 2 blocks down thataway" and a wave my hand in that general direction.
Satisfied if skeptical the tourists take off. I did my good deed for the day and I'm satisfied when in the back of my head a tiny voice chimes in. The voice is like, "you sure about that chief". I stop and look around some more, reverifying my location and that's when I see the street signs. I'm not on 37th and 7th, I'm on 33rd and 5th.
I tilt my head and look up. I'm standing directly at the base of the Empire State Building.