I understand where you are coming from as I prefer the country life myself. However, I highly recommend a visit to Manhattan before you die. It is truly a memorable experience. Just make sure you bring plenty of money!
My career takes me to Manhattan on a somewhat regular basis and I've been there on pleasure with my wife several times over the past 30 years. While I would never want to live there, I do love going there to visit.
One thing that amazes me about NYC is how every single block is a city within itself. It would take you weeks to sample every bar and restaurant on any given mid-town Manhattan block and even when you think you've been to them all, there will be many more (known to the locals) that are hidden away in tiny nooks and crannies. I remember having lunch there one day during a business trip and my co-worker took me down a tiny alley, down two flights of steps, and into a soup restaurant where you had these gigantic bowls of delicious soup for just a few dollars. A tourist would have no idea it was ever there but the locals know. After all, the locals are not necessarily made of money and they need affordable places to eat. They are there if you know where to look. I was also taken to bars that had glasses of draft beer for a dollar. Again, not a place a tourist would ever find.
There are over 25,000 restaurants in New York City - if you ate at a different one every day, it would take you nearly 70 years to sample them all. Of course, the restaurants are always changing so even if you had all the time in the world, it would be physically impossible to visit them all.
If you visit New York City, I would recommend skipping the taxis and just walk everywhere. It will help burn all the calories you will be taking in. New York City has the best food in the world. Even something as simple as a slice of pizza or a hamburger tastes much better in Manhattan.
Surprisingly, New York City is one of the safest cities in the world to be a pedestrian in. As 90% of the traffic are taxicabs, you are dealing with professional drivers who are used to stopping on a dime. So if you jaywalk in NYC, you will get honked and cursed at, but they will always stop for you (watch out because the cops are quick to give pedestrians tickets for jaywalking).
Same with crime. Street cops are everywhere in the city proper so violent crime is very rare. So long as you stick to the main drags, you will likely never be hassled with. Do keep your wallet in your front pocket however as pickpockets abound and they are very good at their craft.
New York City is probably one of the few places on the planet where you can stumble out of your hotel room at 3 in the morning and get a decent meal or find plenty of other people to have a beer with. Las Vegas is probably the only comparable place I've been to where it is truly a 24/7 lifestyle.
I also like very tall buildings and Manhattan abounds with them. When I was a kid, I used to study the skyscrapers in the World Almanac of Facts and knew most of the major ones. It's a shame that other countries are now building taller buildings. I would like to see New York City start building some 200-story buildings that tower up to 3,000 feet in the air. That would definitely be a good thing and such buildings are very possible from an engineering standpoint.
I’m so touched by your praise of my beloved hometown! It is a wonderful city despite its terrible flaws.
No American should ever forget that on the day of 9/11, New Yorkers immediately went to all the hospitals to donate their blood. Sadly, it was not needed because their fellow residents were all dead. Of course, any decent American would do the same thing but it is just a reminder that New Yorkers are, in the end, true-blue Americans.
I have a liberal friend who is now in very bad shape because he donated so much of his time in cleaning up Ground Zero.
Thanks for that, Sam. I grew up near there and have been to the city many times. It’s tough to explain it to others.
Here’s a little story: I visited there some years ago on business. The first night I went to a very busy and upscale brewpub. The bartender was a very attractive young lady, and a very nice person. I chatted briefly with her about my business trip. I returned the next night, or perhaps two nights later, and the bartender greeted me BY NAME, and asked how my presentation went, remembering fully the nature of my business. Now here’s a pretty girl that serves thousands of customers per night, but remembered me (some old married guy) personally a day or two later. NYC has a lot of cool people like that.
Thank you for posting this. I’m a native New Yorker, now living in VT. Half my family came into NY Harbor during the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. The other half were already there when the 2nd half showed up LOL.
You did my ancestral stomping grounds proud with your post.
Thank you for posting this. I’m a native New Yorker, now living in VT. Half my family came into NY Harbor during the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. The other half were already there when the 2nd half showed up LOL.
You did my ancestral stomping grounds proud with your post.