Ugh, THAT is the worst feeling, like you're just a background extra in someone else's feed. My hard rule now is to avoid any place with a neon sign that says "Instagram famous" or a queue full of people just filming. Skip the main square and dive into the alley two streets over where the cart only has a handwritten menu. If a guide even MENTIONS the "best lighting," I'm out. I once found the most incredible grilled squid from a vendor who only took cash and had zero signage, and that beat any "aesthetic" taco shot by a mile.

In a 2018 behavioral study, participants who exchanged daily greetings reported a 30% increase in perceived community trust. That's where mirror neurons get fascinating, they're not just copying smiles, they're building a neural map for expected social reciprocity. Your morning walkers are essentially conducting a low-key empathy bootcamp, reinforcing positive feedback loops every single day. Over time, that shapes the entire neighborhood's social fabric, making brief interactions feel genuinely supportive. It's this ANTICIPATION of friendly contact that can literally rewire how we experience shared spaces.