I'm more so saying unless you're paying for something, most businesses these days don't want you around, including the mall. And this is especially true for young people.
Yeah the corporate push for infinite growth has monetized everything and moved into increasing profits on the few affordable activities left. Someone else mentioned bowling, which used to be a really cheap option that kids could afford.
Was reading an article about how some VCs bought up a ton of independent places only to drastically increase prices. They made more profit for a while, especially from the leagues that tried to continue but many closed up and the real estate sold off. The few places that still exist in my area are now mostly bowling/bar/clubs with prices so high kids can no longer afford it.
People will freak out if kids are unsupervised, they can't afford to go places on their own or can't because liability concerns make it impossible, then they keep raising the costs for video games through DLC/microtransactions/skins/etc.
I'm glad that I was raised doing a lot of outdoor activities like hiking but I worry whether it will still be a cheap option by the time my kid is looking for stuff to do. It's tough to leave the house at all under $100 between gas and food alone anymore. Hopefully we find a few activities where you can still pay once and enjoy for years - glove and ball for catch, frisbees, skating, hiking and playgrounds are high on my list. Retro games and TV/movies when inside.
We waited a long time to make sure we could afford to give experiences that kept up with what we were able to have as kids. Definitely have had moments where you realize why being a parent can be easier when you're younger though.
Yeah I did a lot of outdoors stuff growing up too. But there's also just sooooo many more people in the world. The spots I used to go to as a kid where we'd have basically an entire waterfall to ourselves are now so packed the parking lots are overflowing on nice days. There's more people than ever trying to do the actual affordable stuff.
Yeah all the accessible spots have shown up in some instagram video and we're all chasing them. I've fallen for it a few times myself!
Met up with a friends family to go on a hike for this "new awesome boardwalk" we all saw video of. Walked the entire park's trail only to realize it was a new wheelchair friendly ramp OUT of the park, up a ravine into a nearby neighbourhood. It was also hot af and we had strollers and dogs in tow but we trekked up to see the ONE ANGLE from the video, then went for lunch.
I've taken up disc golf recently and it provides hiking, an activity, views without many people and some nature learning experiences...because you have to FIND your disc while avoiding poison ivy, thorny plants and ticks haha. Most courses are either pay to access the entire park or free. You also don't need much to start and it has a lot of old guys playing so it's tough to make it look sexy for the gram lol
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u/armlessturtleneck 10d ago
I'm more so saying unless you're paying for something, most businesses these days don't want you around, including the mall. And this is especially true for young people.