15 Easy Ways To Stay Safer In The City

Personal and public safety is really top of mind right now, especially in big cities, and especially for women and those in the Asian community. So here are 15 easy tips to help yourself feel safer in the big city. I understand that we are not these people. However, we just wanted to take everything that we learned from doing our own research, consulting with a professional, and just living in the city ourselves, and we wanted to boil down that advice and make it relatable for you. So make sure you like, share this video with somebody who needs to see it. As much as everybody likes the metaverse right now, we're talking about real life. Number one, treat the city like an exotic rainforest, with awe and wonder at all of its splendor, but also caution and weariness at all of the unknown risks. If you think about it, big cities are just like the Amazon rainforest because there's an above ground level, at ground, and below ground. Let's just say that a regular city is like a regular forest. Yeah, you might watch out for some logs, rocks, maybe see a deer, watch out for a bear. A big city is going to be more like Pandora from Avatar, where the sights are even cooler, but the dangers are even more real. Just like the rainforest, if you want to think about all the rad stuff, you got to think about the bad stuff. Subway stations are actually just vertical city blocks because instead of going horizontally, they actually just go up and down. And the subway stations essentially become a public space because even though you're supposed to pay to get in, so many people do not. Some people have a tendency to only turn on their alert scanners when they're in certain neighborhoods in the city, but really, everywhere is a neighborhood, including the subway. Dude, look at this beautiful exotic plant. They don't have this in my hometown. Oh, it's poisonous! Point number two, awareness and preparedness is the number one phrase that you should keep in your mind. Here are the technical terms for the three types of awareness. Situational, who's in the area, what are they doing, and why am I here? Environmental, what's the energy in the room? Vibe check, temp check, are people angry or are they friendly and festive? And spatial, who's right next to me, where are the exits, and is anybody going to hear me if I yell? Preparedness just means that you took a minute in your mind to run through the possible bad case scenarios. That's not saying that you want the worst thing to happen, but it just means that you acknowledge that there is a probability that it could happen. And here's a chart that experts have come up with to rate your awareness one through six, and they say in general public spaces, level two is pretty good. All right, I think I'm at level two. My heartbeat is regular, but I'm a little bit more alert than I would be if I was at home with my cat. Number three, you want to have the ability to scan people like RoboCop, Iron Man, or Baymax. Now, I'm sure that I wish we could all calculate everybody's motives and intentions and endorphins immediately like we were some super advanced robot. But listen, guys, the human brain does a less advanced version of what the robots do every day. Now, some people turn off their scanner when they're in public and they're only saving it for their career, maybe on a hinge date for their friends. In 2022, I get it, a lot of people do not self-identify as warriors. They think that that's from a bygone era of primal human history. But remember, Baymax was super cute and fluffy, but he still had to switch on battle mode, whether to help himself or other people. I think a lot of times people think about the dichotomy of you're either a sheep or a wolf, but you could be a sheepdog. Live to confront the wolf. They are the sheepdog. You can feel bad for somebody, hope that they get the help they deserve while still understanding the volatility of the situation to you. Point number four, look up from your phone and use your soft eyes. No, not these soft eyes. I'm talking about the Native American hunting term. That means that even though you're staring and focused at one tree, you can actually see the rest of the forest. It's really similar to court vision in basketball. Let's say you're dribbling up the court, you see the defender in front of you, but you also see where everybody else is. According to the safest advice, it is best to not even use your phone at all while walking on the street or waiting in the subway. But I think it's a little unrealistic to tell people to never use their phone, so the next best thing is to have soft eyes while you use it. Maybe raise it up a little bit higher instead of low. Higher, you have more soft eyes on things. One thing that I suggest is getting a ring on the back of your phone so that you have control over it with one hand, leaving the other hand free. Yeah, I'm chill. I'm not obviously looking at anything, but I see everything. Number five, stand with your back against a wall, column, pillar, or rail. When your back is against the wall, you actually have an advantageous field of view. In the case where there are no pillars, try to stand in the middle because remember this military term, watch your six. I think sling backpacks are particularly useful for urban commutes because you can just switch it to the front really quick. Point number six, if you don't want to make eye contact with someone, but you want to pay attention to them, stare at the middle of their body. A lot of us have been in this situation where we see someone who's doing something questionable and we want to scan them, but I don't want to look in their eyes. Truth is, making long eye contact with someone can build a connection or escalate things to a point that you actually don't want. Nowadays, you can get indoor sunglasses that are made for light sensitivity, but they'll still cover up your eyes so nobody knows what you're looking at. Seven, be comfortable in the herd. Statistically, it has been shown that in public spaces, you are safer around other people because on a statistical level, most people are just like you. They're trying to live a happy life, go from A to B, and they don't necessarily have bad intentions. I have older people in my family that really have a lot of privacy concerns, so anytime they're in the crowd of people using their phone, they think somebody's going to steal their password or their identity, but I would caution them to not let that little fear create a bigger situation because if you don't feel comfortable around people, maybe you take the last train car with only a few people in it and the risk exposure right there is much higher than that of the privacy concerns. But nowadays, there are privacy screen protectors, and there are certain bags that have locks on them to prevent pickpocketing. Overall, guys, there are just little hacks to solve those smaller concerns. Worry about the larger concerns. I used to always try to find a subway car with the least amount of people because I'm kind of antisocial and I like to play my games, but I think I need to rethink that. Point number eight, our headphones can be a distraction or a deterrent. There's just pros and cons and two different ways to use them. So usually, wearing noise-canceling headphones or in-ear earbuds are actually not good for safety because you can't hear what's going on around you, you can't hear if someone's trying to warn you, and you can't hear if someone's like coming after you. On the flip side, headphones can also deter people from talking to you because it makes you look busy and you're just like locked in your own world. Everybody's going to use them differently, but my recommendation is you either get the open ear headphones or you only put it in one ear or you turn off noise cancellation. And through my research, I found that most people feel like the wired ones are a little bit more obvious. Hey, buddy, I need to talk to you, buddy. Number nine, legal self-defense weapons like these are nice to have, practice with, keep on you, even if you likely will never have to use them. By the way, guys, if you use legal defense tools, you should practice with them prior to make sure you know how to use them properly. When I'm wearing really expensive sneakers, I'm so mindful of where I need to walk because I'm cautious of the elements. I have a female friend who always keeps pepper spray in her pocket and constantly touches it, just a reminder to be safe. Dude, sometimes you got to prepare for war for there to be peace. Marcus Aurelius. Number 10, just as you are scanning for crazy creeps, those crazy creeps might be scanning you too. There's a reason why people who look like The Rock don't get bothered on the subway usually. It's because they've been scanned. While not everybody is in full control about how our power levels are scanned, there are some things that we can do, which I found in our research. Even me growing up as a skinny Asian kid with no facial hair, I can tell you a lot of people said some crazy stuff to me thinking that I was a very easy target. The harsh reality is if you're wearing a big black mask, wearing a hoodie, looking mysterious and unapproachable, less people are going to engage. Listen, I hate that it's this way and nobody likes that it's this way, but when you hear stories about Asians getting robbed for the Rolexes, unfortunately, I'm not surprised. Number 11, there are times where you have to eat the cost of being safe. You just have to analyze your situation sometimes. For example, if it's getting late at night and the trains are running a lot slower, you might just want to pay the $40 because the risk exposure levels are too high. If you don't want to get caught in those situations, you might just have to organize it with your friends ahead of time. Dude, I'm headed home on the train, bro. Dude, it's 3 a.m. You're tipsy. Just call a car. Yeah, but it's going to cost too much money. But you didn't even buy any drinks tonight. Oh, yeah. I guess that's just the cost of going out. Point number 12, do your own due diligence on the type of transportation that you take because I guarantee you there is a lot of information out there. Whether you take the bus, subway, taxi, or you ride a bike or a scooter, trust me, there are smart people who have analyzed the safety of it all. For example, specifically on the subway, if you want a little bit more security, you can always ride in the conductor's car. Also, there's eight to 11 cars of each train, and I would avoid sitting in the very, very last one. And there's also a specific app for each type of transportation in each major city that probably has more up-to-date info than Apple or Google. For example, I do take the train sometimes, but I mostly scooter around the city. So for that, I looked up a lot of scooter safety tips. Personally, I do not think it's corny to share safety tips with your friends. Dude, I just had a realization that the internet is so much more than just Mimos, Pinos, Weaboos, and Degen Investments on Weibo. It actually just also translates to IRL. Number 13, there are cheap gadgets that can help you along your safety journey. There's a ton of different things for different use cases, but I personally think that the most underrated gadget is the battery case. That is the one that I always make sure my parents have. I think for older people, the battery case and the wired headphones are essential because these are very simple gadgets that solve a lot of big problems. Another thing is the smart touch gloves that allow you to use your smartphone while staying warm. These are just gadgets that are inexpensive that help make your life a little bit more convenient and give you more brainpower to focus on other things. It also makes you look like you know what you're doing. Dude, I'm all covered. Plus, I know my mom's gonna be able to contact me back because she's got battery. Point number 14, if you catch yourself walking the streets late at night by yourself, which is not fully recommended, you can still use the city to your advantage. You can FaceTime a friend to keep you awake and attentive, and also so they know where you're at. And sometimes talking loud will just deter people away from you. Just don't have any mental barriers for your safety. Remember, you can break societal norms for your safety. And if you need to run into the nearest store or bodega just because you feel like someone's kind of following you, then that's okay too. There's a difference between being a Karen and caring about yourself. Just get away first, be safe, and then feel embarrassed later. And finally, number 15, talk to your friends and your family about safety and getting prepared. I get it. In a lot of families, especially Asian families, people do not like to talk about negative outcomes. But there are ways to talk about how to navigate something because you're going to do it, like live in the city. A lot of Asian parents would probably just tell you to move out of the city. But the truth is you're gonna stay because you like it and you want to navigate. I think that every type of person responds to different messaging and different types of language. Some people might like tactical gear and tactical terms. Other people might just want to make it fun like a game. There are even instances where you just have to replace their item with the item you want them to use and not even explain it. Some people think that talking about it increases fear, but if you do preparation the right way, it actually will decrease fear. The concept of awareness and preparedness is actually taken from the natural disaster world, such as an earthquake. But like we said earlier, the concrete jungle nature of big cities is very much like the Amazon rainforest. It might feel like a lot at first, but over time, it'll just feel like second nature. Thank you everybody for watching the 15 easy safety tips for living in the big city. I understand that it can go a lot more deeper in detail than that, but I think this was a good start. If you guys noticed, everything was focused on awareness and preparedness and there wasn't a lot of self-defense tips like using your legs to create the space. I think that there are other channels that we will link below that are much better for that. The point of this list was to increase your awareness and preparedness so that you can actually avoid those situations. And in the comments down below, let us know if you have any other safety tips of your own that we might've missed. And I just remind you, please keep it constructive and instructive. Remember guys, it is not about being paranoid and in fear, but being prepared and aware. All right, everybody. And until next time, we out. Peace.