It’s like 90% drunk homeless people that talk to you on trains and buses though. It gets tiring.
If I want chance encounters with sober people, I’ll go to the bar. I mean eventually the people there get drunk too, but it’s a nice “5 hours and 10 beers” drunk not “what month and/or year is it” drunk.
It’s not that the trains are so full of drunk homeless people, but that trains are affordable and also conductors aren’t going to physically throw out a person that could get violent. Planes you don’t really get on without a ticket. An entire class of people are filtered off the plane because of that.
And anyway, said group are a minority, but they’re the only ones who randomly talk to strangers most of the time. Everyone else minds their own business in my experience.
It is great fun! That’s why I essentially lived at a bar for over a year and nearly always went alone. So many chance encounters and some people I still talk to. Plus even if you’re away for a year or 2, the regulars will remember you and come talk to you. Downside was spending 500 euros a month or more on beer.
But public transport? Nobody wants to be there. You’ve got a goal and it’s not socialising, it’s getting somewhere. Maybe you’re anxious about going to the doctor, maybe you’re anticipating a shitty workday. It’s annoying to have to talk to other people when you’re trying to think about things.
In our culture this is seen as normal: you keep to yourself in public unless at some place where socialising is the norm. And small talk is really hard for us. Other than the weather, wtf do you talk about even. That’s why you don’t surprise attack people with small talk.
It’s like 90% drunk homeless people that talk to you on trains and buses though. It gets tiring.
If I want chance encounters with sober people, I’ll go to the bar. I mean eventually the people there get drunk too, but it’s a nice “5 hours and 10 beers” drunk not “what month and/or year is it” drunk.
I’m the guy who takes a shot at a random conversation on the plane.
Doesn’t often turn into anything, but sometimes it’s a nice little glimpse into humanity.
Guess I don’t know what trains you’re on that are so full of the drunk and homeless, but that sounds like a problem in its own right.
It’s not that the trains are so full of drunk homeless people, but that trains are affordable and also conductors aren’t going to physically throw out a person that could get violent. Planes you don’t really get on without a ticket. An entire class of people are filtered off the plane because of that.
And anyway, said group are a minority, but they’re the only ones who randomly talk to strangers most of the time. Everyone else minds their own business in my experience.
I’m not going to question your experience too much, but it’s sad to me that this would be true.
A random conversation in a random interaction with somebody you could have easily not talked to can be great fun.
It is great fun! That’s why I essentially lived at a bar for over a year and nearly always went alone. So many chance encounters and some people I still talk to. Plus even if you’re away for a year or 2, the regulars will remember you and come talk to you. Downside was spending 500 euros a month or more on beer.
But public transport? Nobody wants to be there. You’ve got a goal and it’s not socialising, it’s getting somewhere. Maybe you’re anxious about going to the doctor, maybe you’re anticipating a shitty workday. It’s annoying to have to talk to other people when you’re trying to think about things.
In our culture this is seen as normal: you keep to yourself in public unless at some place where socialising is the norm. And small talk is really hard for us. Other than the weather, wtf do you talk about even. That’s why you don’t surprise attack people with small talk.