ouroborosUK wrote:
I believe it has more to do with the people in the city (their culture) than with the city itself. I think some cultures are more acceptant and friendly to autistic people than others. About the city itself (its layout and the way it "works") I think it depends much on your specific perceptual issues and varies even across autistic people.
For example, the two cities where I have spent most of my life are Paris and London. If I compare the cultures of both cities, I would say London is much more aspie-friendly. The people are more pragmatic, less overtly emotional and yet caring, and the social rituals are more formalized and are easier to understand and to follow. In comparison, the people in Paris often seem loud, stressed, snobbish and judgemental. Also London is a very multicultural city with a pleasant "live and let live" feeling ; people have prejudices like everywhere else but globally don't blame each other for merely being different.
About the city itself, London is overall less crowded and noisy than Paris, which would make it more aspie-friendly if you care about that kind of things. On the other hand, for example, Paris is small and you usually don't have to walk much to go anywhere ; it can be good if you don't like spending time commuting or in the street. And London's emergency vehicle have insanely loud sirens, if you have some audition hypersensitivity you may not stand it. It really depends on what is important to you.
See, the thing that kills ME at least in ANT city I have lived in (and it seems far more common as the years go by, and not jsut in any certain neighbor hood but all of them) is loud jerks. People with loud cars, loud music, people screaming in the street, playing stereos in cars with windows down - just too much noise period.
I was happiest when I could afford the quiet of a very small town, simply can't afford it now.
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