i have only spent a day or so in manhattan but i have lived more than a year in some US suburbs and i don't have the same experience. i have also lived in china for more than a decade, so i believe i am qualified to make that comparison. when i said you have to go out of your way to avoid meeting people i was speaking from personal experience. something i have actually done as i was seeking new routes for my daily walk in a chinese city.

and as european i can also tell you that i am most certainly more likely to talk to someone in manhattan than i would in a european city for example.