Some cities are just too much to handle for most people — let alone someone who has ADD. From noisy casinos to bustling streets that never sleep, if you are trying to avoid stimulation overload, you may want to avoid visiting or moving to one of these places.
Image: X-Ray Delta One (Flickr)
Bright lights, 24-hour attractions, crazy traffic and endless diversions. Whether you actually thrive on non-stop action or you are trying to avoid it, here are the top five U.S. cities with the most distractions:
The distractions in this town are enough to paralyze the most laid back visitors. Nothing is off-limits in Sin City. If you spend any time on the strip, you will be intoxicated by the many incessant sounds of computer generated chimes, whizzes, blips and buzzes from the street. Many attention deficit visitors get easily sucked into games and can spend hours at a time hyper-focused at one table. If you are one of these people, you are inviting trouble by even thinking about Vegas. Need to stay on schedule? Well, you better keep your own time because clubs, hotels and casinos in Vegas rarely show the time. They want you to lose track of time so you’ll stay and spend more money.
Living or visiting the city of New York is like shopping in a busy mall two days before Christmas – only all year round. The wide variety of delicious smells (and some not so delicious) make it hard to choose a place to eat. It can be hard to sleep at night with the never-ending noises, including ambulances, honking horns, subway trains, neon signs and pedestrians in the street. As far as entertainment goes, it is a 4 a.m. town with 66 strip clubs across the five boroughs. If you are one of those ADD suffers that gets anxious in tight spaces, New York is not the place to be. Personal space is premium real estate in grocery stores and on the streets. If you need much stimulation however, you will not be at a lack for things to do or places to see.
The market-driven nightlife in Miami means that bars close whenever, dancing and smoking are accepted and happy hour is a lifestyle. The strip on South Beach is chock full of brightly colored trinkets, bars and other distractions. Some of the most beautiful people live in Miami where the culture is based on going out, seeing and being seen. Attention deficit sufferers may be overwhelmed with the glamorous, narcotic party world. If you rely on prescription medication to control your attention deficit disorder you may need to double your dose before venturing out into the Miami nightlife.
Bars close at 2 a.m. in Los Angles but there is always a party after the party. If you know many people in this tinsel town, the distractions can easily add up in way of private parties and events. Even if you don’t know anyone, there are plenty of museums, art shows and attractions that make deciding what to do a hard choice. If you like to shop, L.A. is the largest retail sales market in the country. It is also the largest international trade center in the United States. Avid shoppers with ADD in Los Angeles may be asking for trouble as high end retail temptation lies around almost every corner.
Tampa has more strip clubs than Las Vegas and the night clubs stay open until 4 a.m. The Tampa Bay area is home to the University of South Florida, bringing lots of college parties, activities and sporting events to its residents. Tampa, the largest city in Florida, has over 54 golf courses, 650 tennis courts and the largest open water estuary in Florida. If you are the type of person with an attention span that requires you to stay active, good luck choosing your outdoor activity. The city is known in the Guinness Book of World Records that has the most days of sunshine.
April Lentini writes for Apartment Guide in Philadelphia.
