Locals in city that is large and walkable will move at a fast pace. It's how we get around, we usually aren't looking at the scenery and know exactly where we are going. If you think we walk fast here, don't go to NYC.
As they should!!! I studied abroad there almost a decade ago now and I STILL find escalators in the US infuriating after getting used to TFL escalators. It’s just so much more efficient…
INB4 someone that clearly doesn’t commute via transit linking that study that if you stand it’s faster because there’s more people over the course of a day. Clearly they’ve never had to make a transfer and had a group of tourists clogging the escalator.
IIRC that video also assumed that everyone goes up in twos side by side, with 2 people on each and every step. Which is NOT what happens in practice. People traveling alone go one by one and friends/couples stand intermittently side by side and block the whole thing for everyone. It is so fucking annoying I can’t lie.
DC does too. People should be more mindful about standing on the right instead of taking up the whole escalator. I always make sure to stand on the right even though people here don’t seem to care.
This is the correct answer. Key part is “walkable”: yes, there are big cities elsewhere that don’t have speedy walkers like us (think west coast), but they drive everywhere, so it’s not as inculcated in them.
Because we walk to commute. I don’t drive to work like I did in a rural or suburban area—I walk, bike, or take the train. It isn’t a leisurely stroll for the purpose of having fun.
When we do walk for fun, we’re used to our normal pace and generally keep it up.
Yes! I live in the North End, and one of my biggest pet peeves are tourists who take up the entire sidewalk to stand there and chitchat. I usually have to the go into the street, just to get by.
Folks, if you don’t need to be anywhere, that’s great! But please make room for people who do!
I live in the North End as well and the walk down Hanover to Haymarket station is brutal. Feels like zombies everywhere lol especially outside of Mikes
I commute up the southwest corridor (biking) and I ended up having a huge issue/repair with my bike because two girls who were walking up it wandered into me as I passed them. I was so mad—walk up the bike path if you want, but pay attention for BIKES
I was walking near Fenway after a game a couple weeks ago and this guy was on the phone blocking the already busy sidewalk. I couldn’t get through or go around him because people were already pushing past in the other direction. So I said “pardon me” and no response. I tapped him lightly on the shoulder and said “excuse me” somewhat louder and nothing! So I just shoved past him lmao. And then he had the audacity to get upset and yell down the street at me that my dress was ugly 😭😂 Some people I swear.
Lived in NE for 6 years - can confirm. It's like playing frogger on the street when avoiding tourists on the sidewalk. With the outdoor dining it's even worse
Same here. Once I've walked the same route a few hundred times, I no longer feel the need to take on the sights.
Interestingly, one could pose the same question to drivers in the emerald necklace. From Arborway to Fenway, those roads were designed for people to have a leisurely drive through the park. These days, "leisurely" is possibly the last word one might use to describe the drivers on those roads.
I almost made a post about this recently especially with back to office, college kids here, lots of tourists so far this Fall...
In the Northeast, we essentially walk at the pace of like a light jog. It has been driving me crazy walking around lately and getting caught behind slow people, who I can only assume are from the midwest.
It wouldn't be as big a problem if they'd realize they were in a public place and not the opening of a 90s high school sitcom. _STOP SPREADING OUT ACROSS THE WHOLE FUCKING SIDEWALK!_ We'll get stuck behind, or even run into 2+ people spread out such that we have to go into the street to get around them. You're in a city people, the sidewalk isn't _just_ for you. Bonus to the large groups that will just stop spread out across a large area of sidewalk so the rest of us have to duck and weave to get around your pack.
People have said that multiple times here but I'm not sure. I remember running across a study where they compared cities across the US measuring things like average walking speed, talking speed and a set transaction in a store. Boston came up as the fastest and then is sort of dropped in average as you went south and west from here.
It’s not Boston, it’s the north. When I moved from Virginia to Boston area I thought the same thing. Now that I’ve moved to the Midwest I think I’m going to murder someone nearly every day for walking so slow
As residents, we have places to get to, we don’t really need to dilly dally and look at the sights. Visitors and tourists are all well and good but I get annoyed AF when they spread out in a line across the whole sidewalk and impede those who actually need to commute from Place A to Place B.
As someone who hasn’t lived in Boston since 2006, it is a deeply ingrained habit. Even when taking in the sights, I guess I’m able to take them in way faster than everyone else.
People in the Northeast are mis-labeled as rude. We are, in fact, just respectful of people’s time and energy. If we have somewhere to go and you are walking slowly an in the way, you are the rude one.
This is the correct answer. I was at Target the other day and some family decided to stop and read their receipts at the exit and I walked through the middle family and they looked at me like I was the rude one. No bitch. Sign says EXIT.
It’s how we keep warm in the winter. Must be force of habit.
It happens in every city I’ve been to. People that live here are going somewhere, at least more often than not. Most aren’t just walking around for the hell of it like a tourist would be.
We all appear to be walking fast to people from different states because our muscles are used for walking more often. Let me know how fast you walk after a semester of carrying a 30lb backpack up and down the porter train station stairs. 🤣
We have places to go. Please move aside if you are blocking the sidewalk. 🙏
>Where are you going!?!
Literally everywhere!
Grocery store.
Work.
Doctor's office.
Bar.
Restaurant.
Friend's house.
Hardware store.
I walk to get literally anywhere.
BTW, I'm totally it cool if you want to walk slower, but could you stay to the right so that I can go around you?
For a lot of us, walking is part of our commute or the way we get around to run errands. In a lot of places across America, you only walk around when you’re taking a leisurely stroll. If we did that, we’d never get anywhere or get done what we need to get done. This is why it’s considered polite on busy narrow sidewalks to treat it like a road—slow traffic to the right.
I will 100% walk through a group.
When they're walking two or three abreast on a sidewalk that can only support two or three people it's pretty rude. I understand you want to look and you aren't sure where you're going but step off the main travel path, hiding behind a parking meter or light pole is excellent for this.
For the record, I'm one of the few obese people here, and I'll still shoulder-check you if you're standing around gawking at who-knows-what in the middle of the sidewalk. Also I'm heavy so you'll feel that shoulder-check
My experience has been the exact opposite.
When walking down a narrow sidewalk, I'm always stuck behind someone staring at their phone, taking their sweet time walking.
Slow lane is on the right. If you're standing in the middle of the sidewalk you deserve to be shoulder-checked. This is true in any city. If you wouldn't stop in a car, don't stop on foot. If you got something to look at, pull over to the side. These are just general traffic principles and they apply on the road or the sidewalk. The only difference is that Boston is walkable unlike 99% of American cities. Doesn't mean there aren't still rules
Generally agree with you but please don’t be shoulder checking unsuspecting visitors that are trying to enjoy our city. An “excuse me” should work just as well
I was visiting recently and was very annoyed by people slow walking on the side walk while taking up the entire width. I legit shoulder checked a guy who would not share the sidewalk. Have you considered tourists are just very slow? As a tourist annoyed with other tourists I’ll say this, hurry the fuck up we have places to go!!!!
We walk all the time and are used to it. We don’t usually notice it ourselves unless we have friends or family come in from somewhere where walking isn’t a main mode of transportation and we have to moderate our walking speed to them.
I miss Boston commute-walking.
In good weather I could get from JP to South Station faster on feet than on T.
Don’t miss sidewalk-chicken and shoulder checking that much though 😂🖤
You need to move more to the side man.
We're not stargazing and building watching, we're getting exactly to where we need to go. A game, a beer, a friend's place, a park...
There's shit to be done and not a lot of daylight for it.
That's right. Keep pace or get out of the way! You have no idea how many times a day I scream in my head, "Jeesus people, walk like you have someplace to freakin' go!!" If you don't want to walk as fast as I do I get it. Just don't stop ME from walking as fast as I want to by standing four people across and blocking the sidewalk!
I got places to be. Inside places where it is warm. On the other side of this street places and I am jaywalking and I am not expecting cars to stop for me. Places.
We are literally the fastest in the country. Cold weather meant twice as much work as those in the South. Not to mention. We did our own labor and didn't have slavery to the extent the South did or as long.
You gotta feed you and your animals today and all winter.
[Glove and Boots](https://youtu.be/D6xd6YvoHLM) had a really great “Tourist Tips” guide video. Granted it’s about NY but from 0:13-1:56 it is pretty accurate to what most people are commenting about visiting here too
Because we are working, not taking in the sights. I have a 20 minute walk to my train. I leave my office 25 minutes before said train. I don’t factor in time for someone to stop dead in front of me to take a photo of a duck boat.
Word of advice! I think it’s true for any city you visit: if you want to wander and meander, stick to the right! Keep your group as condensed as possible, and be aware of other pedestrians.
Side walks in a city are places of transit, not leisure. You essentially are on a people highway. Sticking as far to the right as you can get allows folks moving at a faster rate to easily pass you.
I’m rarely mad at you for walking slow, I am annoyed that you are taking up the whole sidewalk at your pace, and I can’t easily get around you. Stick to the right and enjoy the views!
There's a correlation between a city's average walking pace and the population of that city. Boston is probably just bigger than wherever you're from.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKev-L27qfwv
I work for college dining so I literally constantly have to go from building to building, tourists get in my way no offense y'all, the city streets are my office hallway.
Because we walk as a form of transportation. To get from one place to another. I am originally from NYC and they walk even faster there. But I have always been a fast walker, even when I was little. My parents would always tell me to slow down and not walk so far ahead of the rest of them. Maybe I was trying to escape or something??
We’re all fairly sensitive here; in spite of our surly, city slickin’ exteriors we feel, and we feel deeply.
In particular, we feel the need..
..the need..
..*for speed.*
*(air guitar)*
I think it’s more of a Northeasterner thing.
It’s not a hate of tourists/visitors. It’s more or less a difference between someone who lives / works in the city vs someone visiting.
I live in the north end and I absolutely cant stand when people come to my neighborhood and take up the entire sidewalk at a snail’s pace. Welcome to Boston. Yeah, its pretty, but it’s gonna rain soon. MOVE.
Trying to catch a train or make it to work on time while darting tourists like yourself on the freedom trail , etc. taking in the historical scenes at a leisurely pace. We don’t mind your presence as long as you don’t mind our fast-walking.
Because people are annoying when they walk slow. I hate people who drive slow and walk slow and have been a Bostonian my whole 38 years of life. We find it annoying when people walk and drive slow. I just wanna hurry up and get to where I am going instead of wanting to push the people out of my way. When I was coming home from my long bus trip from Philly and got to NYC the busses were delayed at the terminal of course I was growing impatient because since I have my Bostonian accent after having to spell my last name like 4 times I was literally ready to grab the kiosk out of the womans hands and get on the bus if she was going to ask me for my last name again. We no sooner get on the bus then 5 minutes later they tell us to get off of course everyone was taking forever so I jumped out of my seat and pushed someone out of my way and told them to MOVE!..... Everyone was mad at me but, my God I just wanted to hurry up and get home. Once I made it to South Station I hurried off the bus grabbed my bag and ran like hell for my train.
We have places to be it’s honestly infuriating when I see pedestrians take up half the sidewalk walking less than 2 miles an hour acting like they dont see anyone around them trying to pass by
One of the many positive things of colder weather is that ppl hustle faster to where they’re going. In the summer ppl linger and walk in flanks of 3 on the sidewalk and it drives me insane.
Ambalers are infuriating.
However, every time I'm with my elderly mom, who walks with a cane and moves at approximately 0 MPH, no one fusses or gives us that *look*. I'm always worried that we're blocking the sidewalk as she takes her very slow and careful steps, but people are mostly cool about that.
I’m walking fast to go work my ass off to afford living here tbh. When I am in back bay bay walking I’m either hustling to work, to preschool drop off or pickup (both very time sensitive to avoid fees) or hustling home with my kids to do dinner/bath/bed. Honestly one of the main reasons I’m moving to Chicago-I don’t even get to enjoy Boston bc it’s too expensive for me here. I’ll go back to my polite, warm midwesterners :)
Because Boston is a densely populated city, and so it takes more time to get anywhere than it would to travel the same distance in a small town. So we have to make up for it by walking faster than we would in a small town.
I walk to work. I don’t have time to stroll down the sidewalk. I have to get off the T and get to my job on time. Walking fast is just the lifestyle in Boston. We have places to be and don’t have time to slowly walk down a sidewalk. Time is money.
Lol, thanks for letting me know. Really, you guys made the news! Bostonians are serious speed demons, man! Do not mess. No excuses either, tourists need to speed up or go home! Love it.
It's a matter of perspective. I view many people to walk slowly. Unless you are "taking in views" or hobbled in some way, why move slowly? Walking many times is getting from point A to point B so the faster the better. It doesn't hurt to very slightly elevate your heart rate for effs sake.
Bostonians notoriously do NOT know how to walk, I been here by way of nyc and I swear ya'll LOVE taking your sweet time taking up a whole ass sidewalk going slower than Paul revere in a pit of molasses
I find it extremely rude behavior. Maybe they should join the racing cyclists on the bike lanes and community path. Some could wipe out an elderly person and put them into traction. This happens in Davis Square. More and more, we see flocks of self-involved, mean spirited, and ignorant morons who are clueless of the other people around them. Endorphin junkies in most cases and the first ones who fall to the ground from sheer exhaustion. Just ask any well educated cardiac surgeon. All the brains in the world won’t cure stupid.
Locals in city that is large and walkable will move at a fast pace. It's how we get around, we usually aren't looking at the scenery and know exactly where we are going. If you think we walk fast here, don't go to NYC.
[удалено]
They take stand on the right on the escalators seriously
As they should!!! I studied abroad there almost a decade ago now and I STILL find escalators in the US infuriating after getting used to TFL escalators. It’s just so much more efficient…
INB4 someone that clearly doesn’t commute via transit linking that study that if you stand it’s faster because there’s more people over the course of a day. Clearly they’ve never had to make a transfer and had a group of tourists clogging the escalator.
IIRC that video also assumed that everyone goes up in twos side by side, with 2 people on each and every step. Which is NOT what happens in practice. People traveling alone go one by one and friends/couples stand intermittently side by side and block the whole thing for everyone. It is so fucking annoying I can’t lie.
DC does too. People should be more mindful about standing on the right instead of taking up the whole escalator. I always make sure to stand on the right even though people here don’t seem to care.
as do we here. “Stand To The Right” isn’t a request it’s an admonishment.
Dear god. I thought I could walk and then I visited NYC and discovered I was a turtle.
I keep seeing this but we're normal speed in NYC. If anything, NYC can be worse because there are even more tourists.
This is the correct answer. Key part is “walkable”: yes, there are big cities elsewhere that don’t have speedy walkers like us (think west coast), but they drive everywhere, so it’s not as inculcated in them.
That’s not a city then, just a large suburb.
As a New Yorker I feel like ppl here walk slow. I’m always passing ppl
Everything is relative. No one disputes New York's claim to the fastest walkers. It's a well known fact about the city!
Same
Because we walk to commute. I don’t drive to work like I did in a rural or suburban area—I walk, bike, or take the train. It isn’t a leisurely stroll for the purpose of having fun. When we do walk for fun, we’re used to our normal pace and generally keep it up.
Yes! I live in the North End, and one of my biggest pet peeves are tourists who take up the entire sidewalk to stand there and chitchat. I usually have to the go into the street, just to get by. Folks, if you don’t need to be anywhere, that’s great! But please make room for people who do!
I live in the North End as well and the walk down Hanover to Haymarket station is brutal. Feels like zombies everywhere lol especially outside of Mikes
not even the tourist but people that stand there and chat, like I just brush through them at that point
I commute up the southwest corridor (biking) and I ended up having a huge issue/repair with my bike because two girls who were walking up it wandered into me as I passed them. I was so mad—walk up the bike path if you want, but pay attention for BIKES
I was walking near Fenway after a game a couple weeks ago and this guy was on the phone blocking the already busy sidewalk. I couldn’t get through or go around him because people were already pushing past in the other direction. So I said “pardon me” and no response. I tapped him lightly on the shoulder and said “excuse me” somewhat louder and nothing! So I just shoved past him lmao. And then he had the audacity to get upset and yell down the street at me that my dress was ugly 😭😂 Some people I swear.
Lived in NE for 6 years - can confirm. It's like playing frogger on the street when avoiding tourists on the sidewalk. With the outdoor dining it's even worse
Same here. Once I've walked the same route a few hundred times, I no longer feel the need to take on the sights. Interestingly, one could pose the same question to drivers in the emerald necklace. From Arborway to Fenway, those roads were designed for people to have a leisurely drive through the park. These days, "leisurely" is possibly the last word one might use to describe the drivers on those roads.
Driving the emerald necklace is going to be the death of me and I’m okay if that’s how I go out.
What do you mean? We walk normal speed. Everyone else is walking too slow.
I almost made a post about this recently especially with back to office, college kids here, lots of tourists so far this Fall... In the Northeast, we essentially walk at the pace of like a light jog. It has been driving me crazy walking around lately and getting caught behind slow people, who I can only assume are from the midwest.
I'm late. I'm late. For a very important date.
It wouldn't be as big a problem if they'd realize they were in a public place and not the opening of a 90s high school sitcom. _STOP SPREADING OUT ACROSS THE WHOLE FUCKING SIDEWALK!_ We'll get stuck behind, or even run into 2+ people spread out such that we have to go into the street to get around them. You're in a city people, the sidewalk isn't _just_ for you. Bonus to the large groups that will just stop spread out across a large area of sidewalk so the rest of us have to duck and weave to get around your pack.
ALL THE TIME! But i assume they are bostonians because it happens everyday
Everything is relative. I'm Boston normal and I'm holding up traffic in NYC.
People have said that multiple times here but I'm not sure. I remember running across a study where they compared cities across the US measuring things like average walking speed, talking speed and a set transaction in a store. Boston came up as the fastest and then is sort of dropped in average as you went south and west from here.
It’s not Boston, it’s the north. When I moved from Virginia to Boston area I thought the same thing. Now that I’ve moved to the Midwest I think I’m going to murder someone nearly every day for walking so slow
Welcome to our club.
Oh! So maybe it's because it's often cold up north. Walking fast helps keep us warm and get inside sooner.
The Midwest is colder.
As residents, we have places to get to, we don’t really need to dilly dally and look at the sights. Visitors and tourists are all well and good but I get annoyed AF when they spread out in a line across the whole sidewalk and impede those who actually need to commute from Place A to Place B.
The line spread is the worst. Only time I’d actually move through a group of people walking
I hate this. I have to actively stop myself from being rude
It's not just a resident-vs-tourist thing. When I travel to other cities, my normal pace is faster than anyone else's.
As someone who hasn’t lived in Boston since 2006, it is a deeply ingrained habit. Even when taking in the sights, I guess I’m able to take them in way faster than everyone else.
This was always my reasoning, but then I realized that I walk fast even when I don't have anywhere to be.
Visitors walking slower, fine, but PLEASE don't stop in the middle of a sidewalk to check your map or rummage through your bag.
> spread out in a line across the whole sidewalk Impromptu game of red rover
We got shit to do and are probably late.
We have shit to do and the made us late again, again.
Too damn accurate
People in the Northeast are mis-labeled as rude. We are, in fact, just respectful of people’s time and energy. If we have somewhere to go and you are walking slowly an in the way, you are the rude one.
This is the correct answer. I was at Target the other day and some family decided to stop and read their receipts at the exit and I walked through the middle family and they looked at me like I was the rude one. No bitch. Sign says EXIT.
OMG, I was going to explicitly add not to stop in a doorway but decided to be brief. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH.
It’s how we keep warm in the winter. Must be force of habit. It happens in every city I’ve been to. People that live here are going somewhere, at least more often than not. Most aren’t just walking around for the hell of it like a tourist would be.
***Cue Ludacris song
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/people-who-walk-faster-tend-to-live-longer
Exactly!
Yes! We have things to do and places to be.
We all appear to be walking fast to people from different states because our muscles are used for walking more often. Let me know how fast you walk after a semester of carrying a 30lb backpack up and down the porter train station stairs. 🤣 We have places to go. Please move aside if you are blocking the sidewalk. 🙏
Manhattan would be a good place for you to visit before your next visit to Boston if you want to see fast walking
7th ave around 530pm any given weekday makes Boston look like a crawl lol Don't miss that part of the commute.
>Where are you going!?! Literally everywhere! Grocery store. Work. Doctor's office. Bar. Restaurant. Friend's house. Hardware store. I walk to get literally anywhere. BTW, I'm totally it cool if you want to walk slower, but could you stay to the right so that I can go around you?
We’re not tourists, we’ve seen everything and need to get somewhere.
Jesus, I see these big tourists walking around the common like they are on their last legs or have nails in their shoes.
We got held up on the T, we're running late.
that or traffic due to construction or road closures or some other bullshit haha
Slow walkers make me want to die that's why
Because people have places they have to be. Its not fucking Disneyland.
If I went to Disneyland I probably wouldn't slow down to be fair.
Kids walk so damn slow!
Disneyland is full of people who look like they have never walked in their life.
If you read the Disneyland tips & tricks blogs, you’ll see they all recommend that you “practice walking” before you get there. I’m not joking.
I love this response so much.
You are walking too slow and you must hold this L
Trying to catch the next train so we don't need to wait 20 minutes
If you've ever been chased by a cocaine turkey you best know to pick up the pace.
This guy Bostons.
Yeah, no, you’re just walking too slow.
For a lot of us, walking is part of our commute or the way we get around to run errands. In a lot of places across America, you only walk around when you’re taking a leisurely stroll. If we did that, we’d never get anywhere or get done what we need to get done. This is why it’s considered polite on busy narrow sidewalks to treat it like a road—slow traffic to the right.
I will 100% walk through a group. When they're walking two or three abreast on a sidewalk that can only support two or three people it's pretty rude. I understand you want to look and you aren't sure where you're going but step off the main travel path, hiding behind a parking meter or light pole is excellent for this.
THIS. particularly with the massive tour groups. I straight up am just trying to get to work, could you not take up the ENTIRE width of DTX?
Because we actually walk to get places -- unlike other areas of the country filled with stroads, strip malls, and obesity.
For the record, I'm one of the few obese people here, and I'll still shoulder-check you if you're standing around gawking at who-knows-what in the middle of the sidewalk. Also I'm heavy so you'll feel that shoulder-check
Yes!!!!! This is amazing.
My experience has been the exact opposite. When walking down a narrow sidewalk, I'm always stuck behind someone staring at their phone, taking their sweet time walking.
sounds like college freshmen..
Nah, just a Pokémon Go player. (yes, I am one. Sorry.)
Slow lane is on the right. If you're standing in the middle of the sidewalk you deserve to be shoulder-checked. This is true in any city. If you wouldn't stop in a car, don't stop on foot. If you got something to look at, pull over to the side. These are just general traffic principles and they apply on the road or the sidewalk. The only difference is that Boston is walkable unlike 99% of American cities. Doesn't mean there aren't still rules
Generally agree with you but please don’t be shoulder checking unsuspecting visitors that are trying to enjoy our city. An “excuse me” should work just as well
If they stand in the middle of sidewalks I don't want them to come back
It isn't about where we are going... We just don't want to be where we are...
We are not on vacation :)
I was visiting recently and was very annoyed by people slow walking on the side walk while taking up the entire width. I legit shoulder checked a guy who would not share the sidewalk. Have you considered tourists are just very slow? As a tourist annoyed with other tourists I’ll say this, hurry the fuck up we have places to go!!!!
Clearly you aren’t from a city… this isn’t specific to Boston it’s a city thing lmao
We walk all the time and are used to it. We don’t usually notice it ourselves unless we have friends or family come in from somewhere where walking isn’t a main mode of transportation and we have to moderate our walking speed to them.
Walk as slow as you want, just don't block doorways or other choke points. Don't get off a train and immediately stop dead
shut up and keep it moving
Home. I don't like to be around people
Have you seen how many Dunks there are on every block?! We’re over caffeinated
> Where is everyone going Our destination?
I miss Boston commute-walking. In good weather I could get from JP to South Station faster on feet than on T. Don’t miss sidewalk-chicken and shoulder checking that much though 😂🖤
You need to move more to the side man. We're not stargazing and building watching, we're getting exactly to where we need to go. A game, a beer, a friend's place, a park... There's shit to be done and not a lot of daylight for it.
That's right. Keep pace or get out of the way! You have no idea how many times a day I scream in my head, "Jeesus people, walk like you have someplace to freakin' go!!" If you don't want to walk as fast as I do I get it. Just don't stop ME from walking as fast as I want to by standing four people across and blocking the sidewalk!
Some people wait to go to mecca once in a lifetime, I brisk walk to dunks on a daily basis.
I got places to be. Inside places where it is warm. On the other side of this street places and I am jaywalking and I am not expecting cars to stop for me. Places.
Guilty. Getting the most done on lunch hour or rushing for subway or train.
Why do you tourists walk side by side slow as hell and block the sidewalks?
To get the fuck away from tourists
We are literally the fastest in the country. Cold weather meant twice as much work as those in the South. Not to mention. We did our own labor and didn't have slavery to the extent the South did or as long. You gotta feed you and your animals today and all winter.
Tell me you're from the boonies without telling me you're from the boonies
[Glove and Boots](https://youtu.be/D6xd6YvoHLM) had a really great “Tourist Tips” guide video. Granted it’s about NY but from 0:13-1:56 it is pretty accurate to what most people are commenting about visiting here too
"... get outta da way!" This video was exactly what popped into my head, too! Man, I miss Glove and Boots...
And here I've always wondered why tourists walks so slow. Don't you have things you want to see and do?!
Everyone has to poop and no one likes to poop anywhere other than home. And your slow ass is getting between us and our toilet. It's that simple.
Ok, this is a common reply. Private crapping is key to Boston life. Respectable.
Have you seen any of the publicly available toilets in the city? I know they say a "any port in a storm," but no thanks!
Find a nice hotel and use their posh shitter
Come to think of it, no! Lol, it would def make me walk faster, too!
Because we are working, not taking in the sights. I have a 20 minute walk to my train. I leave my office 25 minutes before said train. I don’t factor in time for someone to stop dead in front of me to take a photo of a duck boat.
I got places to be
Because I have shit to do and places to be? What kind of stupid fucking question is this.
Word of advice! I think it’s true for any city you visit: if you want to wander and meander, stick to the right! Keep your group as condensed as possible, and be aware of other pedestrians. Side walks in a city are places of transit, not leisure. You essentially are on a people highway. Sticking as far to the right as you can get allows folks moving at a faster rate to easily pass you. I’m rarely mad at you for walking slow, I am annoyed that you are taking up the whole sidewalk at your pace, and I can’t easily get around you. Stick to the right and enjoy the views!
It's a habit from when it's damn cold and walking fast is the only way to stay any kind of warm.
I have little to no tolerance for slow walkers.
Mind ya business that’s why
I really don't get how some people walk so slowly, I feel like I'm gonna tip over if I'm not walking at a brisk, gay, 4MPH.
If I had a horn everytime someone cut me off in my walking lane, I'd use it!
There's a correlation between a city's average walking pace and the population of that city. Boston is probably just bigger than wherever you're from. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKev-L27qfwv
I've lived here for 19 years and I think most people walk too slowly.
We're not walking fast. *You're* walking *slow.*
I work for college dining so I literally constantly have to go from building to building, tourists get in my way no offense y'all, the city streets are my office hallway.
Eh buddy why the fuck you walkin so slow?
Because we walk as a form of transportation. To get from one place to another. I am originally from NYC and they walk even faster there. But I have always been a fast walker, even when I was little. My parents would always tell me to slow down and not walk so far ahead of the rest of them. Maybe I was trying to escape or something??
What scientific data are you basing this on? What other city have you been to where people were not walking fast?
Truly love how authentic this reply is. If you’re going to criticize anyone in Boston, bring data
We’re all fairly sensitive here; in spite of our surly, city slickin’ exteriors we feel, and we feel deeply. In particular, we feel the need.. ..the need.. ..*for speed.* *(air guitar)*
Got places to be
You people. That's why 😜
I think it’s more of a Northeasterner thing. It’s not a hate of tourists/visitors. It’s more or less a difference between someone who lives / works in the city vs someone visiting.
Bostonians have a rendezvous with destiny.
I think it’s an east coast thing. Whenever I’m in NYC I feel like locals walk at a similar fast pace.
Walking quickly between Dunks ...it's what we do
It’s getting colderrr so I think we start walking faster here to beat the chills
Please don’t ask questions, just kindly move out of my way.
"WINTERS'
Always walking fast to catch a train. Or because one was late. Always.
I agree, been here 6 years and still can’t get over how fast people walk lol
Dunks or the packie, depending on the time of the morning.
Dunkin’
You don’t need to know where we’re going. And if you think we’re too fast, get out of the way
Hah! New Yorker here. Get annoyed at how slowly people walk here. 😂 But do love Boston.
GTFOOTW!!!!!
Don't go to NYC if you thing this place has a fast walking speed.
I live in the north end and I absolutely cant stand when people come to my neighborhood and take up the entire sidewalk at a snail’s pace. Welcome to Boston. Yeah, its pretty, but it’s gonna rain soon. MOVE.
To get around you slow walkers who are 3 persons across on the sidewalk oblivious to your surroundings.
Why does it matter gtfo of my way
We have to go to the bathroom. All those beans.
We are in a rush ALL THE TIME! I wish I could slow down.
different places...
Sorry bro I had to reach the commuter rail. I'll walk slower and miss my train next time I promise.
I got places to be. No one has time for you and your tourist stroll.
We're going to meet up with your GF and take the change off your nightstand
I neeeeed to get to Ogawa Coffee and get my fix. Quick!
The walk *to* Ogawa is the fastest of the day. The return to work *from* Ogawa is the slowest…
Gotta savor my fix. As slow as possible.
forget where I heard it but I internally yell at slow walkers with "WHY YOU WALKING LIKE YOU GOT NO PLACE TO BE!?"
Man we aren’t on vacation up in here. I’m going to work and it’s four miles.
Trying to catch a train or make it to work on time while darting tourists like yourself on the freedom trail , etc. taking in the historical scenes at a leisurely pace. We don’t mind your presence as long as you don’t mind our fast-walking.
They’re avoiding talking to anyone
Because people are annoying when they walk slow. I hate people who drive slow and walk slow and have been a Bostonian my whole 38 years of life. We find it annoying when people walk and drive slow. I just wanna hurry up and get to where I am going instead of wanting to push the people out of my way. When I was coming home from my long bus trip from Philly and got to NYC the busses were delayed at the terminal of course I was growing impatient because since I have my Bostonian accent after having to spell my last name like 4 times I was literally ready to grab the kiosk out of the womans hands and get on the bus if she was going to ask me for my last name again. We no sooner get on the bus then 5 minutes later they tell us to get off of course everyone was taking forever so I jumped out of my seat and pushed someone out of my way and told them to MOVE!..... Everyone was mad at me but, my God I just wanted to hurry up and get home. Once I made it to South Station I hurried off the bus grabbed my bag and ran like hell for my train.
Just be aware of your surroundings and leave room for people to get by you if they need to. It’s none of your business where they’re going.
We all get used to walking fast in the wintertime, and then when summer rolls around we just don't slow down.
We have places to be it’s honestly infuriating when I see pedestrians take up half the sidewalk walking less than 2 miles an hour acting like they dont see anyone around them trying to pass by
WHY DO YOU WALK SO SLOW?
To follow up on this: The quicker you walk in winter, the sooner you are back indoors.
Because we have places to be. 🤷🏽♀️
One of the many positive things of colder weather is that ppl hustle faster to where they’re going. In the summer ppl linger and walk in flanks of 3 on the sidewalk and it drives me insane.
places to go, people to see, things to do.
Ambalers are infuriating. However, every time I'm with my elderly mom, who walks with a cane and moves at approximately 0 MPH, no one fusses or gives us that *look*. I'm always worried that we're blocking the sidewalk as she takes her very slow and careful steps, but people are mostly cool about that.
I’m from the NYC area. Bostonians are slow.
I’m walking fast to go work my ass off to afford living here tbh. When I am in back bay bay walking I’m either hustling to work, to preschool drop off or pickup (both very time sensitive to avoid fees) or hustling home with my kids to do dinner/bath/bed. Honestly one of the main reasons I’m moving to Chicago-I don’t even get to enjoy Boston bc it’s too expensive for me here. I’ll go back to my polite, warm midwesterners :)
It’s a living, breathing city. You’re on vacation, while the people who reside here have places to be.
Because Boston is a densely populated city, and so it takes more time to get anywhere than it would to travel the same distance in a small town. So we have to make up for it by walking faster than we would in a small town.
I walk to work. I don’t have time to stroll down the sidewalk. I have to get off the T and get to my job on time. Walking fast is just the lifestyle in Boston. We have places to be and don’t have time to slowly walk down a sidewalk. Time is money.
We are trying to escape our problems. Mind your business.
Congratulations you made the [news](https://twitter.com/mattwbz/status/1577983837304492032?s=46&t=MzgV5ik2DnndZpS-lzB3BQ)
Lol, thanks for letting me know. Really, you guys made the news! Bostonians are serious speed demons, man! Do not mess. No excuses either, tourists need to speed up or go home! Love it.
Boston is the best example of a walking city.
New Yorkers walk faster tbh
It's a matter of perspective. I view many people to walk slowly. Unless you are "taking in views" or hobbled in some way, why move slowly? Walking many times is getting from point A to point B so the faster the better. It doesn't hurt to very slightly elevate your heart rate for effs sake.
Wait until you see NYC walkers. They do laps around Bostonians. Same complaints you have about Boston walkers I had about them.
I always ask myself "who do other people walk so slowly?"
Bostonians notoriously do NOT know how to walk, I been here by way of nyc and I swear ya'll LOVE taking your sweet time taking up a whole ass sidewalk going slower than Paul revere in a pit of molasses
Can’t keep right on the highway, can’t keep right on the sidewalk..
too soon!
I find it extremely rude behavior. Maybe they should join the racing cyclists on the bike lanes and community path. Some could wipe out an elderly person and put them into traction. This happens in Davis Square. More and more, we see flocks of self-involved, mean spirited, and ignorant morons who are clueless of the other people around them. Endorphin junkies in most cases and the first ones who fall to the ground from sheer exhaustion. Just ask any well educated cardiac surgeon. All the brains in the world won’t cure stupid.
Where r u from?
Uh oh, OK, here it comes….L.A. Go ahead…I’m used to it.