Dislike of the city at night

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I have this uncomfortable feeling whenever I happen to be walking downtown late in the evening or at night. Usually this happens when I return home from a day out, and I need to go to or from the train station. When I pass streets with lots of cafés or dance clubs, I don't quite like the vibe. It seems that it makes people louder, less inhibited and more obnoxious. They are more likely to yell things at you or infringe upon your private space. I was never big on going out, drinking, dancing, and dating, so this has always been an uncharted zone of society for me. And whenever I happen to cross that zone, I. just feel alien.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Yes, I don't like to be out in the streets after dark, even though I never let it stop me. I have done plenty of being out in the city at night, but it's not my favorite time and I relate to what you're saying. Everyone and everything feels just that tiny bit more threatening or unpredictable, often because it really is.

I love daytime, daylight, and these days I tuck myself up cosy at home by dusk. I've done my share of night outings but my preference these days is not to.

Absolutely.

In college, I lived off-campus in an apartment with roommates who loved to throw a party. I'd be the one in my bedroom with earplugs on, miserable. I do not like loud music, lights irritate me, and a large crowd of people make me very nervous. I used to go into panic attacks in a theme park as it was too much. I now prepare for the trip and can be in a large crowd if it is on my terms. What I now find interesting is my son, who is Aspergers Syndrome/Level 1 Autism dislikes any loud music and avoids the bars, nightclubs, or concerts. I guess we're in the same group?

I can handle night or day in a big city. The rural areas at night? That makes me uncomfortable.

If I am driving? I cannot drive over a bridge that is high. No way...

I live in a relatively safe part of the US, so I have no real problems (e.g. crime) with cities at night; however, crowds can sometimes be a real bother to me, especially if there's a big occasion at that particular time.

Would love to live in a city like New York, one that never sleeps! So long as you stay in the lighter, more crowded and less shadier parts of town, you'd be fine. New York sounds amazing at night from descriptions I've heard of people who live there.

For me, I can't go out at night at all, even with friends/family it's very risky. I live in a small, boring town with no nightlife. Everything is closed and dead at night. All there is, is one strip club, nightclub and the pubs.

But mine's a small yet dangerous city filled with trouble at night, everywhere, and full of shady areas, alleyways and corners that can get you killed...

I'm a night thing.
I have a love / hate relationship with night but being naturally nocturnal I suppose it's unsurprising that I'm your opposite. I actually feel safer at night - less people around to hurt me, less traffic, less noise / heat / light which also hurts me, easier to hide if there is a threat and less exposure, easier to move around unseen. Everything seems much softer, cooler, gentler at night. Freer. I used to work nights and time seemed to flow more smoothly, it seemed a different world than during the day and the daylight world actually became much less bearable, a roar of garish, invasive hyper exposure and rush and noise and people and cars and light.
If I'm not functioning well I will sometimes actually wait until dark fall to come out. I live in a big city and even here, I can still see the stars.

C2V you sound like my brother!

When he would visit and plan a roadtrip with the family, he always preferred to plan to drive overnight, starting out near midnight, because he preferred the decreased traffic, the more peaceful roadtrip driving.

There have been several things about him that have made me wonder, looking back, if he was on the spectrum even though he's lived a full life. He has many sensitivities, preferences, rigidities that seem like spectrum-like issues.

I like walking around the city at night. Everyone is just going out and having a nice time, as opposed to being stressed and thinking about work. It's just a completely different atmosphere that allows me to relax.

Thanks for the input, you guys. Tonight and tomorrow happen to be Carnival where I live, so it's a bit more crowded and noisy around town now.

C2V and selflessness, while I have always been someone who prefers daylight, for a short time when I lived in Amsterdam I grew fond of taking evening strolls in the quieter parts of the city; this was when I was in a more contemplative, melancholic period in my life. However, this ended when one evening after dusk I got mugged near the Rijksmuseum, and I avoided going outside at nighttime for a while (except with public transport).