NYC Aspies, how the hell do you do it?

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I spent the weekend in New York City, and I have no idea how someone like me could live there permanently. I almost threw up because of all the people, there were so many bright lights, sharp smells, and loud noises(not improved by the fact I saw Stomp)

If you have hypersensitivity, how on earth can you live somewhere like that?

1) Not all aspies have sensitivity issues in the same way you do or they have adapted.

2) The NYC most tourists see is not the full of the city. Get into some of the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, or Staten Island or go to some of the suburbs on Long Island or Westchester County and you will see that there is not all the assaults on the senses as much as say at Time Square or the 9/11 Memorial or Wall Street.

Less is more.

I usually don't have sensory issues, I've lived in a city a long time, but never have I experienced something like that.

I was on a field trip through a few different parts of the city, and Times Square was probably the worst. A large problem for me was the food trucks everywhere. The smells were so overwhelming I couldn't handle them.

I don't know, but every city I've been to I couldn't wait to get out. Cities are pure chaos to me.

I work in midtown and have some sensory issues.

I avoid traveling in rush hour
I avoid Times Square.

If I have to go through, I do it as fast as possible.

I keep a mental map of known calm spaces I can duck into for relief. These could be parks or public open spaces or vey quiet shops.

Sometimes when I can't avoid it, I shut down for a few hours this happened to me once just before I had to be on a conference call. Not a good situation.

Last edited by Adamantium on 25 Feb 2014, 10:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

I don't mind big cities themselves so much, but the crowds everywhere I went in Toronto and Montreal for example were just plain overwhelming to deal with. I'm actually surprised I felt reasonably comfortable in my last visit to Toronto. I can't even imagine how anyone could enjoy driving in those cities with the constant traffic jams I saw, not to mention the insane price of parking!

I have been to large cities like London and there are quiet areas in the city but it's more neighborhoods that are quiet. Even my city gets quiet to when there isn't lot of traffic going by me when I go for my walks. At night it's definitely quiet because of less traffic. But I hate it when traffic is bad, it makes me anxious and I get crabby. I prefer to stay off the roads for that and avoid rush hour. I will not go far on my work days because of this. To me it's risky unless it's early in the morning and I leave in early noon.

I don't live in NYC, but I've spent some time there, and I love it. I really like big cities in general. I do have sensory issues, but somehow the typical big city atmosphere doesn't bother me. I tend to freak out in large, open spaces like fields and large parking lots, rather than in crowds and congested cities. In some ways, I've always like the anonymity afforded by crowded cities. It's much easier to not be noticed.

I love the smells of the food trucks. I do hate the smokers.

I love the fact that regardless of the fact that there are crowds, they don't pay attention to me as a person. They're not trying to interact. They don't want me to greet them. They don't want me to show manners or pretend to be someone else. They just want to get past me as quickly as possible.

I wear headphones that play music, and they dampen the sound enough that it sounds like indistinguishable white noise in the background.

I walk faster than they do. If you move fast, people will get out of your way. And if there's something causing unpleasant sensory input, you can run away.

I either know exactly where I'm going before I embark or I have it pulled up on my phone, so I can know exactly where to go.

And I wear sunglasses. But the tall buildings usually darken the sun so that it's not as bright as areas without tall buildings.

I live near NYC and visit often. My support groups are there. I completely agree with the above. I would add no matter how odd or weird I act there are plenty of people acting weirder then me. I feel much more conspicuous outside of NYC then in it.

Being used to it important also. It has always been part of my life. I recently realized it is the same thing with florescent lighting. My computer and TV have been in a space with florescent lighting for decades. I never realized I was supposed to be sensitive to them. This is not to say everybody can just "get used to it" . Some can't. And it is possible they are effecting me in ways not obvious to me.