Sometimes all you need to do to immediately be catapulted into flight or fight mode is simply step outside your door onto the New York City sidewalk. Between constantly rising rents, the sweet, sweet smell of garbage wafting through the air, and the constant need to be weary of rats lurking around every corner, it’s pretty much a given that if you live in New York, you’re likely to experience at least some anxiety.
And a recent study from Radical Storage proves this, naming New York City one of the world’s most anxiety-inducing cities–though we must say, we’re surprised we didn’t land higher than we did!
Radical Storage looked at 31 indicators of anxiety–from overcrowded tourist hotspots to confusing public transport–and analyzed 97,409 reviews of tourist attractions in the 100 most traveled to cities. By doing so they were able to uncover the most and least anxiety-inducing holiday destinations, and New York City came in at number eight.
We have a feeling that, on top of what we mentioned above, New Yorkers’ work ethic definitely comes into play; we’re constantly feeling like we have to go, go, go, and a study conducted earlier this year found that New Yorkers struggle the most to relax after a work day. Hell, even commuting around the city gives us anxiety!
As for the most anxiety-inducing city in the world, that title went to Tokyo, Japan, with one in four reviews relating to the city’s top attractions including words related to anxiety. In fact, Japan appears to anxiety’s worst victim–Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto are the top three world’s most anxiety-inducing cities.
So sure, we may not be at the tippy top of the list, which is certainly a relief, but we’d prefer, like, not to be on there at all. But when everything’s said and done, if you ask us, what we all really need is a guilt-free day of R&R at the spa.
The top ten world’s most anxiety-inducing cities is as follows:
1. Tokyo
2. Osaka
3. Kyoto
4. London
5. Shanghai
6. Beijing
7. Phuket
8. New York
9. Prague
10. Paris