Can you tell easily who is a local and who is a tourist in your city at a glance?

[Cirrus]

Anybody wearing clothes like this or this is 100% a tourist.

But really the difference is geographic. The assumption is that all people in and near public areas of the National Mall are tourists, and anyone outside those areas is local. There are a few shared zones, like Union Station and Pentagon City, but really surprisingly few.

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by edale

Not really the question of this thread, but one thing I've noticed from taking public transit in LA is that people here genuinely have no clue about standing on the right side of the escalator to allow people to walk past on the left.

Everyone on BART Ive seen knows that

[photoLith]

Pittsburgh doesn't really have tourists per se, but the one place they are for sure to be seen is Mt. Washington, the overlook that looks over downtown, etc. If someone is taking the Duquesne Incline up the mountain they are most surely a tourist. The easy to spot people are the suburbanites that can be seen walking around town that look completely lost and or don't know how to drive worth a shit around the city.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by badrunner

In LA I can always tell someone's a tourist, not by the way they look or dress, but by the way they drive. It is SO obvious. Only locals will understand.

interesting. california drivers in general seem
pretty laud back.

[mrnyc]

Originally Posted by edale

Not really the question of this thread, but one thing I've noticed from taking public transit in LA is that people here genuinely have no clue about standing on the right side of the escalator to allow people to walk past on the left. If you did this in New York or DC, you would definitely get asked to move, and probably not very nicely. It's such a common thing here for people to either stand side by side on the escalator, or just a single person to stand on the left side that I've basically stopped trying to walk up. We really need a public awareness campaign for this, though it seems like common sense. An LA quirk perhaps.

funny because as you know, thats infamously exactly the way ohioans drive on the highway. side by side, including trolling along going the speed limit in the passing lane. looks like you couldn’t escape that!

[iheartthed]

New Yorkers know how to snake through crowds without getting stuck. Two NYers can snake through large crowds without losing one another. People who don't live in cities where large crowds happen everyday always look confused in crowds.

Also, turning right on a red light in NYC is a dead giveaway that you aren't from here.

[muppet]

In London it's people who stand on the left on the escalator, roam five abreast, spread out across all lanes while savouring the atmosphere, who decide a great place to stop and put your bags down and have a picnic with the fam/ meeting with the rest of the class on the importance of safety is at the bottom of the escalator, the end of the narrow tunnel route, the entrance to the platform and on anywhere that has stairs. Especially if you're Italian.

Also those poledancers on the train, who block the doors and refuse to move down the carriage as they're terrified they won't be able to get off in time, as they assume everyone will be like them - getting onto the train without politely waiting for the alighters to get off. The same people who try and snake their way towards the doors one stop before, or at any time before the actual stop (very upsetting to locals as you're pretty much pushing in front of a queue, whilst assuming they are the ones who'll be impolite) -in reality there's loads of dwelling time and no matter how jampacked and far off everyone moves out the way- even stepping off momentarily- at the last instant when the doors open. Plus at every stop a large chunk of the crowd will be getting off anyway (to be replaced as lots of newbies get on after).

The unsaid agreement is noone worries about or actions any kind of back-up plan until it actually happens - when the train stops and the doors open, then you can start fussing and you'll have ample time to do it.

Anyone ever with a London logo or union Jack insignia (unless they have a bulldog, which means they're a fascist) upon their person.

[Centropolis]

.

[Centropolis]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

New Yorkers know how to snake through crowds without getting stuck. Two NYers can snake through large crowds without losing one another. People who don't live in cities where large crowds happen everyday always look confused in crowds.

Also, turning right on a red light in NYC is a dead giveaway that you aren't from here.

is that illegal in new york state? in parts if the midwest you will get a horn if you dont turn on red with a blinker and its clear.

however, its always seemed very hazardous to pedestrians. ive been hit by a car and ended up riding the hood THREE times in st louis where traffic signals/signs are more of a suggestion from rights on red. fortunately ive become good at jumping high enough to avoid a collision with my legs.

[hauntedheadnc]

Originally Posted by initiald

Tourists. Or the homeless, or, late at night, the drunk. Weekdays everyone is speedwalking. If you don't get to that parking deck by 5:04 you are going to be stuck trying to get out. Every minute you are late getting to your car is 15 minutes you'll be later getting home

That's got to be a Raleigh thing... Which wouldn't surprise me. You people are savages down there. I went to visit my nephew at NC State a few months ago, and I can say that the drivers in Raleigh are the only ones who have ever truly frightened me, an Ashevillian who hails from the city that has the worst drivers on earth. And your pedestrians weren't any better.

(And that's not just me saying that: I'll never remember the title, but there is a travel guide out there whose author states that Naples, Italy is the only city in the world whose drivers are as bad as those in Asheville.)

[JManc]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

New Yorkers know how to snake through crowds without getting stuck. Two NYers can snake through large crowds without losing one another. People who don't live in cities where large crowds happen everyday always look confused in crowds.

Also, turning right on a red light in NYC is a dead giveaway that you aren't from here.

I am pretty at ease in big crowds, my wife isn't. When we go to place like NY, i lead and clear a path for both of us.

The not turning on red throws me because it's legal in the rest of the state and that's where I learned to drive. Driving around NYC is pretty straightforward even though but roads are horrible.

[Kenmore]

not really, our tourists are just families from naperville or iowa

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

is that illegal in new york state? in parts if the midwest you will get a horn if you dont turn on red with a blinker and its clear.
.

Unless there is a sign at the intersection prohibiting it, I am pretty sure right turn on red (after a full stop and yielding to pedestrians) is legal all across the U.S. and Canada, except for two places where a blanket ban is in effect:

- New York City

- the island of Montreal

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Centropolis

is that illegal in new york state? in parts if the midwest you will get a horn if you dont turn on red with a blinker and its clear.

however, its always seemed very hazardous to pedestrians. ive been hit by a car and ended up riding the hood THREE times in st louis where traffic signals/signs are more of a suggestion from rights on red. fortunately ive become good at jumping high enough to avoid a collision with my legs.

Yeah, banning turns on red lights makes it safer to be a pedestrian in NYC. It keeps cars from blocking the cross walk when drivers are trying to judge on-coming traffic during a right turn. It also makes it easier for pedestrians crossing the street on the green light to do so when the traffic clears, without waiting on the crossing signal.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Unless there is a sign at the intersection prohibiting it, I am pretty sure right turn on red (after a full stop and yielding to pedestrians) is legal all across the U.S. and Canada, except for two places where a blanket ban is in effect:

- New York City

- the island of Montreal

kudos to new york and montreal for creating safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists!

i wish my city would institute a blanket ban on right on red turns. A LOT of intersections around town are already marked "no right on red", but a blanket ban would negate any confusion.

[EastSideHBG]

Tons of tourists here in Philly and it's easy to spot them:

-Running up the "Rocky Steps" and posing at the top.
-Taking pics at the Rocky statue.
-Walking around confused.
-Walking into the rougher blocks and not realizing it, the looks on their faces is priceless (in spots the change is dramatic and can come without warning because the block LOOKS better now but isn't actually better).
-Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell

One of my favorite parts about Philly is that in the summer months the place would empty out on the weekends with all of the people going "down the shore." But in the last few years tourists replace the locals that leave 1:1 if not 2:1 now so it stays pretty crowded. Good for the city, bad for me

[edale]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

funny because as you know, thats infamously exactly the way ohioans drive on the highway. side by side, including trolling along going the speed limit in the passing lane. looks like you couldn’t escape that!

OMG so true. The drive from Cincy to Columbus is SO brutal thanks, in part, to this shit.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by mrnyc

funny because as you know, thats infamously exactly the way ohioans drive on the highway. side by side, including trolling along going the speed limit in the passing lane. looks like you couldn’t escape that!

Speaking of this, Californians have a terrible habit of driving in the left lane. That's probably how they know I'm a tourist.

[Obadno]

People in T-shirts and shorts when its January

Yeah I know its 68 outside but anything below 70 requires long sleeves and pants.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by edale

Not really the question of this thread, but one thing I've noticed from taking public transit in LA is that people here genuinely have no clue about standing on the right side of the escalator to allow people to walk past on the left. If you did this in New York or DC, you would definitely get asked to move, and probably not very nicely. It's such a common thing here for people to either stand side by side on the escalator, or just a single person to stand on the left side that I've basically stopped trying to walk up. We really need a public awareness campaign for this, though it seems like common sense. An LA quirk perhaps.

I don't know about that.. As someone who races up the escalator, its about as common to me here as it was in Chicago or DC. DC people do get more upset about than the other two cities though.
It's only a few people per se who don't know to not stand on the left. And who knows? Maybe they're all tourists anyway.