A Blog About Making Culture
How To Visit New York: The Basics
July 9, 2007
I get asked by a lot of people for tips on what to do when visiting New York City, and though I'm hardly an expert on NYC tourism, I thought I'd take the time to write up a lot of the tips and information that I share with family and friends when they come to town. I'm also hoping that people who read this and are inspired or offended by my suggestions or opinions take the time to write up their own recommendations. To start off the series, I thought I'd over the basics, most of which have to do with mindset and expectations about coming to visit New York.
To get in the right mindset about visiting New York City, there are a few things you need to really take to heart, and once you've absorbed these lessons, the rest of your trip will be much less stressful and a lot more fun. (This first post is aimed mostly at people who've never been to New York or don't know much about the place.)
- NYC has a different culture. If you're coming from nearly any other place on Earth, New York City will be different from what you're used to. Culturally, geographically, and socially, it's distinct from any other place in the United States. You wouldn't insist on people at Disney World wearing formal wear, and you wouldn't expect people in Paris to all know English, so if it helps, think of New York City as a city full of Americans who speak English, but just happen to have a significantly different culture than the rest of the country. Once you look at it that way, you can stop being frustrated by your expectations and enjoy the differences.
- Don't go to the goddamn Olive Garden in Times Square. If you come to New York just to experience the same things you can get at home, you'll find them to be... well, completely unimpressive. Yes, we do have really big gaudy versions of the restaurants you eat at back home, but the way fancy restaurants work here is backwards. In the small town I grew up in, going to the Red Lobster was fancy because it was a big national chain. In New York, it's the opposite -- the places we love most are those that are distinctly, and uniquely, of New York City.
- Yes, it's expensive. Speaking of comparisons to home, you'll just drive yourself nuts if you are constantly saying "Hey, that only costs half as much at the Wal-mart back home!" From rent to food to clothing to parking, a lot of the staples of life cost more here. What you may be surprised to find is how often there are very, very good examples of these staples (especially food and clothing) that you can find for cheaper than almost anywhere else. Millions of us who live here started out being broke and barely scraping by, and as a result, there's always a market for cheap eats and low-cost threads.
- Get out and walk. The primary mode of transportation for all of Manhattan and most of the outer boroughs is a combination of walking and mass transit. We really, truly do ride the subways and buses every day, and even millionaires don't own cars. Our Mayor Bloomberg is a billionaire, and he rides the subway to work, and it's not merely populist affectation -- it's just that much more efficient. If you are walking on the sidewalks and get winded because you're not used to hoofing it so much, be sure to get out of the way before you just stop; Pulling to a halt on a sidewalk is the equivalent of stopping your car right in the middle of traffic. Though the subways and buses can look a little tricky, they're actually extremely convenient and inexpensive. But if you're just too intimidated by them, grab a cab -- they're cheaper than taxis in any other American city, they're really speedy except in the worst traffic, and NYC cab drivers are almost always pretty competent at getting you to any common tourist destination.
- It's not a theme park. This one is hard to stress enough. Though New Yorkers are overwhelmingly friendly, this is the place where we live, work, and play, and being treated like zoo animals while we do those things is one of the few things that can make us ornery to tourists. I used to work in the Empire State Building. While I never got tired of being wowed by the building, it got pretty tiring being asked questions like I was a tour guide about where to find bathrooms, or how old the building was, or did I mind taking someone's picture when I was just trying to get to my office. Put yourself in the shoes of those around you, and be considerate of people trying to live their regular lives, and they'll bend over backwards to help you enjoy the city.
- It's safe. I was raised with terrifying stories of how Central Park was where one goes to get mugged, and grew up believing all kinds of horrible urban legends about what happens to people in New York City after dark. The reality is, most places any tourist would go are incredibly safe. Violent crime in New York, as in all of the U.S., has dropped dramatically over the past decade and a half. You should, of course, take sensible precautions (be as aware as you'd be at any crowded area like an amusement park or an airport) but you don't need to go around fearfully clutching your purse, like I see so many people doing in Times Square. The best way to make sure you never have to worry is to spend a little bit of time reading up on your destination and route wherever you go (all of the web-based mapping sites offer nice amenities like displaying NYC's subway stops overlayed on the map) and being mindful of your surroundings.
- The natives are friendly and helpful. Like everyone I know who lives here, I end up giving someone directions or information almost every single day. I don't live in a particularly tourism-heavy part of the city, but there are always people around who are out of their element, and they're fairly easy to spot. (You all dress funny.) If I'm not in a hurry and I think I can help, I'm always glad to answer a few questions, and that's generally true of most people here. It's even a good opportunity to talk to someone who is a little bit different than the people in your usual circle of acquaintances. No matter where you're from, you should be able to find somebody in New York who seems strange to you -- now's your chance to go make a new friend.
Anil Dash
How to Visit New York: The Must-Sees: After yesterday’s look at the basics of visting New York City, it’s time to move on to some more ambitious, and more contentious, topics. I’m going to start with my short list of the sights you simply must see if you get to the city. ... read more »Anil Dash
How To Visit New York: Outside Opinions: As I’ve been sharing my opinions about how to visit New York this week, I’ve been lucky enough to get some great responses from other people on the web, and to find some terrific resources for visitors to check out. So far my own series on ... read more »Anil Dash
How to Visit New York: What You Can Skip: Okay, this is the one that’s going to get me in the most trouble: A list of the famous tourist attractions that you can safely skip when you come to New York City. After covering the basics and the must-sees, it only stands to reason that there&#... read more »kathryn
I would add to the last part that NYers are used to coexisting with many, many people every day. If we walk around with blinders and don’t make eye contact or respond immediately, that’s why.
And I get a little ticked off that you’re getting the way or walking too slowly or gawking, well, that’s just a self-defense mechanism and a gentle lesson in “the way of life.”
Now, please, step aside to let me and everybody onto the damn train, because I just want to go home.
Geof F. Morris
I think your comments are spot-on, Anil, from my one trip to the City. I still hope that work’s going to send me back to Jersey someday so I can have an easy excuse to come back.
Caryn
As my boyfriend says to the crowds as we walk by the INCREDIBLY LONG LINE for Olive Garden in Times Square: “What are you DOING? If you walk THREE BLOCKS in ANY direction, you will find a restaurant, run by a guy named Sal, who will serve you food ACTUALLY COOKED BY SOMEONE WHOSE FAMILY CAME FROM ITALY! For LESS MONEY! And it will TASTE BETTER!”
Adam 
Point 3 probably needs qualifying for Londoners, because New York is really, really cheap by our standards.
Looks like I should visit the rest of the US for luxury lifestyle on peanuts money…
Ben D. Benner
“Get out and walk.”
Some of my best memories of my time spent actually enjoying the city was walking around to get places. Down here in Texas, you pretty much have to take a car to get anywhere. Mass Transit is horrible here in Austin, unless your smack dab in the middle of downtown.
Scott Johnson
While I would generally agree with the advice against visiting chain restaurants, I have to say that the service at the Olive Garden in Times Square is far superior to that of any other Olive Garden location. The food is the same, but the service is impressive.
Scott
I don’t think you can stress point #2 enough. Mainly because following point #2 will offset point #3. I’ve never paid more for a good meal in NYC than I would have if I were home in Seattle. Primarily because I went off the beaten path and looked to see where the person leaving the subway went to eat. There’s a huge variety on any given 5 block stretch just in Manhattan. It gets even better if you venture out to Queens or Brooklyn.
Catbird
Of course, Adam, it also doesn’t hurt that the pound is effectively worth 2x the American dollar.
Fuzzy
I was going to quibble about “they’re cheaper than taxis in any other American city” based on base fare rates (Chicago is $1.80/mile to NY’s $2.00/mile, for example) but I’m sure the average NY taxi trip is shorter, since everything’s all jammed together there.
see http://www.schallerconsult.com/taxi/fares1.htm
Other than that, an excellent guide and the “It’s not a theme park” section mirrors many of my own feelings working in the North Michigan Ave area of Chicago.
Scoboco
Wise tips, all, especially the don’t pause in the middle of the sidewalk. New Yorkers walk extremely quickly, and I can’t tell you often I’ve plowed into the backs of out-of-towners who didn’t “pull over” before stopping.
Of course, there are tons of blogs written by people who love this town, and I have one of them, for which I write about food (usually inexpensive- to mid-range, with a whole section on sweet treats), the best current art shows, and, of less interest here, movies and music.
Take a look, if you like:
scoboco.blogspot.com
Have fun!
Clarence
I wish I read this post before my trip. I just returned from NYC on Sunday. I agree with all the points above, especially with the comment about how safe NYC is. The last time I was in NYC Bush Sr. was still the president, and NYC really has cleaned up quite a bit since then.
Amber
I think New York is cheaper than San Francisco, sure the rent rates are comparable but I’ve found better eats and threads and bars in nyc that are WAY cheaper than anything I’ve been able to find in SF over the last decade.
Rebecca
Cripes, I can’t agree enough about the Olive Garden (or Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. or Applebee’s) in Times Square. I’m a way-out-of-towner (Missoula, Montana), and when I visited New York last fall I couldn’t believe it when I saw that all the mega-chain restaurants in Times Square were full and had a waiting line outside. My god, people. You can eat that crap at home.
Americans need to get out of the franchise bubble. It’s killing us, and not softly.
jhnboy
NYC does not have a “significantly different culture” than the rest of the country. Particularly not if you hang around the relatively affluent youth set, which is made up largely of transplants. Most soi-disant New Yorkers I’ve known have been from the Jersey, Connecticut, and PA suburbs.
pickle
don’t stop at the top of the steps when you are coming off the subway to look for where the empire state building is at rush hour. step aside.
our sidewalks are your Main Streets. when you are 4 across on the sidewalk that means you are talking up all lanes in both directions. and on our Main Streets, there is a minimum speed limit too.
Linda Cassidy Henderson
You really MUST go to the Rock, it is absolutely fabulous, way better than the Empire State. Just home to Northern Ireland ( July 29 07 ) and adored everything about Manhattan, best place in the world and as said above, so safe! xx Enjoy.
laura
new york is amazing - im doing my english project on it!!!! =D =D =D …x…
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