Travel advice sometimes makes ordinary cities sound like obstacle courses: never look at your phone, never speak to strangers, never go out after dark. I take basic precautions and avoid wandering into unfamiliar areas when exhausted, but I also travel alone because I enjoy exploring. How do you keep useful safety habits from becoming constant suspicion? I'd particularly like practical routines that become automatic and leave you free to enjoy the rest of the day.
Balancing safety habits with not becoming afraid of normal city life
- solo-travel
- balancing
- safety
- habits
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I also try to separate ‘be aware’ from ‘be afraid.’ If I’m on a busy street or in a station, I’m just paying attention like I would at home,...
I also try to separate ‘be aware’ from ‘be afraid.’ If I’m on a busy street or in a station, I’m just paying attention like I would at home, not assuming everyone is a problem.
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I do a few things automatically so I’m not thinking about safety all day: keep one phone pocket, keep my map glanceable before I leave a pla...
I do a few things automatically so I’m not thinking about safety all day: keep one phone pocket, keep my map glanceable before I leave a place, and decide my return route before I’m tired. That leaves the rest of the time for normal city stuff.
That’s the right shape of it, I think. A habit becomes useful when it’s brief and repeatable, not when it turns into constant scanning.
Exactly. If the routine takes a lot of mental energy, it’s too much routine.