re: Youths complaining about a lack of "third places" lately

I've never heard this phrase uttered in my life.

In the US; "Third Places", especially free "third places", tend to attract a certain element that make them "Bad Places" in short order.

Europe and Asia have less of those elements.

“Third places” have become incredibly dangerous places these days, mainly because of………….well BooBoo, you know.

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The neighborhood country club seems like a good idea

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Yep, just wished we lived closer to ours. It's about a mile away, one of my bigger financial regrets is not buying into the neighborhood while interest rates were low.

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It seems like in the last couple years everyone under the age of 30 discovered the term "third place" which refers to a location that's not work or home where people socialize. It's the button Gen Z pushes to sound sophisticated. Parks, libraries, bowling alley, church coffee shops, social clubs, et al. Young people lament that society is collapsing because they don't have another place to gather in anymore.

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IF we are talking about teenagers, I think this is legit complaint. Most malls are gone. Parks are mostly trashed and many closed at night. No teen clubs cause they turned ghetto. The few bowling alleys are full of weird old people. Most skating rinks have closed.

Most of the places I hung out as a teenager are no longer around and were not replaced.

Now if you are taking 20-somethings, they have more options... but they are generally limited to a bar or a bar-type environment.

The daiquiri shop nearby is always full. Donuts in the parking lot too. What's the problem?

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Now if you are taking 20-somethings, they have more options... but they are generally limited to a bar or a bar-type environment.

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20 somethings. The ones who refuse to actually socialize with strangers.

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In the Southeast, the flashier the communal space, the more likely it'll be on the nightly news. People from other parts of the country don't understand this at all.

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I probably just live in a bubble, but I very rarely find myself somewhere with a large population of undesirables. All of the bars or restaurants that I go to are frequented by people who appear to be in a similar station of life.

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IF we are talking about teenagers, I think this is legit complaint. Most malls are gone. Parks are mostly trashed and many closed at night. No teen clubs cause they turned ghetto. The few bowling alleys are full of weird old people. Most skating rinks have closed.

Most of the places I hung out as a teenager are no longer around and were not replaced.

Now if you are taking 20-somethings, they have more options... but they are generally limited to a bar or a bar-type environment.

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Yeah, for teens it definitely seems to be a problem in small towns and smaller cities as well.

It's actually been happening in small towns since probably the 1980s.

I grew up in a small town north of Pensacola. When I was in middle school in the mid-80s there was a roller skating rink, theater, arcade, bowling alley and a couple of independent ice cream/burger places open 'til 10pm that were kind of social hubs for 13-18yo kids.

By the time I was in HS in the late 80s, every single one of these places was out of business--and certainly not due to crime-- and HS kids just hung out in parking lots which was a whole lot more "dangerous".

Now, there doesn't even seem to be many of those kind of places that are good for teenagers to hang out with friends even in a larger place like Pensacola.

It’s not that these places don’t exist. It’s that they’re expensive places to frequent. Which is also the fault of the consumer, because every little thing has to be a boujee luxury before anyone wants to patronize any place.