What are the public places at which one can reasonably expect silence?

Cemeteries when there are not funerals taking place.

@elbanditoroso Yes, cemetries are quiet. Some are right by very busy streets. I hope there are other places.

A library, especially a meeting room or media listening room, where playing your recording won’t disturb anyone else.

Many outdoor public places that are remote enough in time (particularly, at night or early in the morning) or space from cars, machinery or activity.

Bottom floor of an underground parking lot.

Indoor phone booths, in places that still have some of those.

Currently-not-being-used-much parts of publically-accessible municipal buildings.

Currently-not-being-used-much parts of a college campus.

Currently-not-being-used-much parts of office buildings.

Currently-not-being-used-much parts of medical/hospital buildings.

Currently-not-being-used-much parts of shopping malls or department stores.

A beach that is behind a cliff in the direction of the urban area.

At the bottom of a ravine in a park. Or just far enough away from roads in the wooded part of a park.

Good ones. That’s a lot of options.

In a car parked on a quiet street, and using headphones.

Elevators.
Libraries
The men’s department at JC Penny.

A church sanctuary.

Anyplace that’s echoey or windy probably won’t suit your purposes.

@filmfann, where do you find silent elevators? Really silent? Even if they move quietly, they’re going to be stopping frequently, issuing bings, announcing floors, and opening and closing doors. Never mind taking on passengers that talk, sniff, cough, and play with their phones. You can be isolated in an elevator for a short while, but I don’t think it’s going to be quiet for long.

What’s with the men’s department? Did I miss a joke?

@Jeruba I think the joke is that the men’s department at JC Penny often falls under what I listed as “Currently-not-being-used-much parts of department stores.”

Of course, that just leaves more for the men who seize the opportunity.

I don’t think of libraries as silent places. The staff talks, the patrons talk. Not loudly but they do talk to request items, ask questions, and the staff talks to discuss work issues.

@jca2 Many libraries have media listening spots, and/or public meeting rooms that are often empty, and some have places you can wander to where no one is at the moment.

Yes many libraries now have rooms for that purpose.

Go to your local state park and wander into the woods. Leave your cell phone at home.

It’s not for me, not that it makes a difference. But cellphone could be what some people need to listen to whatever it is.

Was thinking about this, because it is not about seeking places that are absolutely silent, but where one can “go if they need to listen to something with the volume too low”. So I was thinking an art gallery or some art museums.

But the soluition to the problem is to wear headphones or ear buds.

@seawulf575 I guess you thought the question is about peace and quiet disconnecting from the world’s bad news.
My advice even to very muscled, with self defence related items, please take your cellphone with you at all times, you never know when you need to call 911, esp. if you’re planning wander into the woods.
@zenvelo But if the volume was recorded in volume that’s too low, with headphone or ear buds.

@chefl No, I thought the question was about where you could go to get silence. The middle of the woods is a great place and leaving your cell phone behind will ensure no one will be calling you to break the silence. If you are truly entering the wilderness, taking the cell phone may be a good idea. If it is truly wilderness, you will likely not have service. If it is the local state park needing a cell phone is not as vital. If you are worried about possibly hurting yourself in the local state park and needing assistance, take a whistle with you.

@seawulf575, but the (very brief) details are about finding a place “to listen to something with the volume too low to listen to outside”—i.e., a place quiet enough to be able to hear a soft, low-volume recording.

Anyway, I thought the woods were full of little noises, animal sounds and rustling leaves and bird calls and all the rest. Quiet, but not silent.

@Jeruba There is that. Birds, bugs, etc will be there so not silent. But most places will have some aspect of background noise. The only place you MIGHT get away from noise would be in a cave. There are some that are public places. But I’d hesitate to just go spelunking to get away from noise.

@seawulf575 Please ask people who want the best for you to read this post, and see what they say to you about your posts

@seawulf575 I’m talking about this thread only, and just the take a whistle to the woods, leave your cellphone at home.” parts esp. after my response to you, _you never know when you’ll need to call 911. And by the way there’s the vibrate mode and put it in your bag, right?

@seawulf575 And I wrote it could be that whatever they need to listen to is via the cellphone.
Do not go into the woods (alone esp.) it doesn’t matter if it’s in the park or not in the park,
A whistle is only good if someone happens to be within hearing distance and if it’s not a serila killer or less serious…
lt’s vital, always.

Huh. Well apparently one of my responses was pulled. Interesting. I’ll write it again.

@chefl What makes you think I don’t let people that love me read my posts? They don’t read into it as you seem to.

The question was What are public places at which one can reasonably expect silence? A public park meets that criteria. It is a public place and is generally silent. I suggested leaving your cell phone behind because that is a potential source of noise. In MOST parks, there are pretty good established paths and they aren’t all that big to begin with so getting lost is pretty difficult. Not all parks, but most. Yes, if you go to Denali in Alaska, you can easily get lost or hurt and there are plenty of warnings about that. But in Denali has sketchy, if any, cell service when you are out in it.

But your picture of a park or a wooded area are not what is available to many people. They just aren’t that big. I can think of half a dozen within a few miles from my home. Some are no more than a couple of acres, some might be as big as 50 acres. But you can go there, walk on the paths through the woods, sit on benches and expect reasonable silence. Yes, the occasional person might go by but they generally are not noisy…no more than sitting in church and having someone walk up the aisle.

@seawulf575 I didn’t mean you don’t let them read your posts. I was thinking of some people who say my wife my children…never listen to me (on the radio TV for example)
I’ll continue this later.

@seawulf575 So, let’s leave it at I hope from now on, you suggest, urge, everyone to take their cellphone with them no matter where they go, and that nothing that one wants/ needs to listen to is worth possibly risking their lives

@seawulf575 Your responses to me on this thread seem to all be there. What was pulled off?

@chefl After you posted the comment about having those that care about me read these posts, I posted a comment that asked the exact same question I posted after I stated something was missing. I posted a response that asked what made you think that those that love me don’t get to read my posts and that they don’t read things into them as you seem to be doing. Now I look and don’t see it at all.

Ok, I missed that post.