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Re:The New Paris Métro Is Coming, and It's a Big Deal by rjzzleep on Saturday November 25, 2023 @10:07PM (#38418814)
I was told that there is a hotline for depressed Japanese when they come to Paris and find out that it's not like the stories they are told.

"Paris Syndrome is a psychological condition experienced almost exclusively by Japanese tourists who are disappointed when the city of lights does not live up to their romantic expectations."

The Japanese Embassy in Paris now has a 24-hour hotline for Japanese tourists suffering from the syndrome, whose symptoms can range from depression and anxiety to acute delusional states, dizziness, sweating, hallucinations and "feelings of persecution."[1]

[1] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/french-toilet-story_b_2422398

Re:The New Paris Métro Is Coming, and It's a Big Deal by defrost on Saturday November 25, 2023 @10:24PM (#38418895)
Is there a similar condition for visitors to Times Square in New York City disapointed at not being mugged or seeing a rat?
Re:The New Paris Métro Is Coming, and It's a Big Deal by filoleg on Sunday November 26, 2023 @12:11AM (#38419337)
I am not sure what one even has to do to get mugged in NYC. And I am saying that as someone who has walked across Manhattan through Times Square on multiple occasions after midnight, all while very properly inebriated.

However, there is imo no way to avoid seeing rats if you used NYC subway more than once and had your eyelids up.

Re:The New Paris Métro Is Coming, and It's a Big Deal by defrost on Sunday November 26, 2023 @12:23AM (#38419379)
I'll be the first to admit the city cleaned up a lot between my first vist there in the late 1970s and more recently a year or two ago ... that said, for whatever reason, a lot of non American first time visitors seem to still carry that '70s image of NYC as a crime hub.

Might be all those 'classic' NYC films exporting a vibe.

I still haven't seen an NYC rat chase a cat while carrying a pizza though, admittedly I'm an infrequent and short term visitor.

Re:The New Paris Métro Is Coming, and It's a Big Deal by qsi on Sunday November 26, 2023 @03:24AM (#38420067)
I was a frequent visitor to Manhattan in the 2000s, and I generally felt very safe at any time in midtown, and the upper east and west sides. My recent visit last year (the first in 10 years or so) was shocking in how much Manhattan had deteriorated in terms of safety. I don't know what it was like in the 70s so I can't compare.
Re:The New Paris Métro Is Coming, and It's a Big Deal by hbarka on Sunday November 26, 2023 @01:50AM (#38419699)
I’ve read there’s a cricket in Times Square.
Re:The New Paris Métro Is Coming, and It's a Big Deal by petesergeant on Sunday November 26, 2023 @03:01AM (#38419984)
I’ve heard of a reverse cultural phenomenon of people visiting rural villages in England and being surprised at the prettiness of them, where most English people would find them mundane.

Kidlington, which is remarkable in only its banality, for example: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-37820663.amp

Re:The New Paris Métro Is Coming, and It's a Big Deal by rchaud on Sunday November 26, 2023 @05:34PM (#38425738)
> "feelings of persecution."

This is almost certainly due to the rudeness of store and restaurant employees during tourist season.