New York City Assessment

I went to New York City over Memorial Day weekend and I have concluded that the city is not my cup of tea. I have always thought that NYC would be one of the cities that I would want to live in 'just for the experience' and well, I have experienced all that I want in 5 days.

New York City is an acquired location, like beers are acquired tastes. The city is just too busy for me. The subway is really dirty (I can handle the Washington, DC Metro). And everything is expensive. Even if I was a millionaire CEO, I wouldn't want to live in NYC. I would find someplace in the suburbs of NYC to settle. I guess, I like a significant separation between commercial and residential areas. I mean, seriously, one Avenue is a conglomerate of shops, like a walk-around mall, and then you would turn the corner onto a Street and it would be residential. A nice condo would be right across a restaurant or a antique shop.

Oh and about the subway - its complex. We tried asking for subway directions from natives and they argued between themselves on the best way to get from point A to point B. I mean, jeez, if the natives don't have it down then who does? Maybe take a taxi everywhere? Nope, that gets expensive after a few trips. There is basically a $3 charge for just sitting in one, even before the meter starts to move.

Also, there are tourists EVERYWHERE speaking different languages. Funny thing, I was in Chinatown and the language I heard spoken the most was French.

There are some good things about NYC though. There are some awesome places to eat. There are awesome boutiques everywhere that you can get a bargain. Then there are also the expensive places. I guess you have to live there and find out where the good places are. For example, Big Wong Restaurant is a place where you would never go but the food is AWESOME and its CHEAP! Sure you have to sit with Chinese families and their kids - its not a place where you have to use etiquette, let me tell you. Haha.

For those who are visiting New York, I would suggest to go and buy a Frommer's NYC guide. That book is awesome. It has everything you can think of and tells you the real deal from a NYC native's perspective.

My personal conclusion - visit NYC, don't live there.