Do a lot of people in America talk to random people and start a conversation on Public Transportation?
It's a cliche, but I guess it's mostly region dependent
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Not so much anymore.
Cell phones have killed that kind of public interaction. I used to hear a lot of conversations going on when I traveled, now it's mostly silent.
Which to me is sad. You learn more by talking to others. Your view of the world expands. You see things in a different way. Random conversations give the opportunity to meet people and sometimes find people to date.
I don't really want to meet a third of the Americans or have my world expanded with homophobes, transphobes, idiots, etc. People suck and if there's not some sort of filter, it's extremely draining and disheartening to deal with them.
Between 9/11 and Covid, I was invited by a flight crew to ditch my Midwest destination and continue on to a party in Baltimore, guided by a stranger on a long bus trip and given his blanket so I could sleep leaning against him, shared food and gossip for hours with a large group of people I didn’t know, was offered a home-cooked meal and a night at a ranch in Texas with my family, exchanged numbers with new friends, etc.
Now traveling isn’t a holiday - it’s more of a hostile endurance test. We all just want to be left alone.
I'm confused did you enjoy you trip with those people? If you did why wouldn't you want that again?
I enjoyed all the experiences. But public transportation is significantly more stressful and uncomfortable now, with longer waits, more aggressive searches, overworked and aggravated staff, fewer amenities, bigger expenses, cramped seating, travelers who angrily seek political confrontation, and obnoxious delays. There’s really nothing pleasant about it anymore, hence “it’s more of a hostile endurance test”.
I guess I can see your point.