But at the same time I would understand why a perspn would want to go there and would find it kind of strange if they didn't and I wouldn't look down on or get upset at someone for going there.
Fuck me? Fuck you! Fuck you and this whole city and everyone in it. Fuck the panhandlers, grubbing for money, and smiling at me behind my back. Fuck squeegee men dirtying up the clean windshield of my car. Get a fucking job! Fuck the Sikhs and the Pakistanis bombing down the avenues in decrepit cabs, curry steaming out their pores and stinking up my day. Terrorists in fucking training. Slow the fuck down! Fuck the Chelsea boys with their waxed chests and pumped up biceps. Going down on each other in my parks and on my piers, jingling their dicks on my Channel 35. Fuck the Korean grocers with their pyramids of overpriced fruit and their tulips and roses wrapped in plastic. Ten years in the country, still no speaky English? Fuck the Russians in Brighton Beach. Mobster thugs sitting in cafés, sipping tea in little glasses, sugar cubes between their teeth. Wheelin' and dealin' and schemin'. Go back where you fucking came from! Fuck the black-hatted Chassidim, strolling up and down 47th street in their dirty gabardine with their dandruff. Selling South African apartheid diamonds! Fuck the Wall Street brokers. Self-styled masters of the universe. Michael Douglas, Gordon Gecko wannabe mother fuckers, figuring out new ways to rob hard working people blind. Send those Enron assholes to jail for fucking life! You think Bush and Cheney didn't know about that shit? Give me a fucking break! Tyco! Imclone! Adelphia! Worldcom! Fuck the Puerto Ricans. 20 to a car, swelling up the welfare rolls, worst fuckin' parade in the city. And don't even get me started on the Dom-in-i-cans, because they make the Puerto Ricans look good. Fuck the Bensonhurst Italians with their pomaded hair, their nylon warm-up suits, and their St. Anthony medallions. Swinging their, Jason Giambi, Louisville slugger, baseball bats, trying to audition for the Sopranos. Fuck the Upper East Side wives with their Hermés scarves and their fifty-dollar Balducci artichokes. Overfed faces getting pulled and lifted and stretched, all taut and shiny. You're not fooling anybody, sweetheart! Fuck the uptown brothers. They never pass the ball, they don't want to play defense, they take fives steps on every lay-up to the hoop. And then they want to turn around and blame everything on the white man. Slavery ended one hundred and thirty seven years ago. Move the fuck on! Fuck the corrupt cops with their anus violating plungers and their 41 shots, standing behind a blue wall of silence. You betray our trust! Fuck the priests who put their hands down some innocent child's pants. Fuck the church that protects them, delivering us into evil. And while you're at it, fuck JC! He got off easy! A day on the cross, a weekend in hell, and all the hallelujahs of the legioned angels for eternity! Try seven years in fuckin Otisville, Jay! Fuck Osama Bin Laden, Alqueda, and backward-ass, cave-dwelling, fundamentalist assholes everywhere. On the names of innocent thousands murdered, I pray you spend the rest of eternity with your seventy-two whores roasting in a jet-fueled fire in hell. You towel headed camel jockeys can kiss my royal, Irish ass! Fuck Jacob Elinski, whining malcontent. Fuck Francis Xavier Slaughtery, my best friend, judging me while he stares at my girlfriend's ass. Fuck Naturel Rivera. I gave her my trust and she stabbed me in the back. Sold me up the river. Fucking bitch. Fuck my father with his endless grief, standing behind that bar. Sipping on club soda, selling whiskey to firemen and cheering the Bronx Bombers. Fuck this whole city and everyone in it. From the row houses of Astoria to the penthouses on Park Avenue. From the projects in the Bronx to the lofts in Soho. From the tenements in Alphabet City to the brownstones in Park slope to the split levels in Staten Island. Let an earthquake crumble it. Let the fires rage. Let it burn to fuckin ash then let the waters rise and submerge this whole, rat-infested place
Seeing something in a picture isn't the same as actually being there. There's no way seeing a picture of Mt. Everest could prepare me for actually standing on Mt. Everest. Seeing pictures of the Vegas Strip is not the same as being there. You are taking the native perspective, which is fine but its not a perspective tourists relate to. As far as the Statue of Liberty, I saw it when I was 12 on my first trip there. I did all the campy touristy things on my first trip - the Statue, the Empire State Building, looked at all the pretty lights in Times Square, the WTC, the Staten Island Ferry, ate a sandwich at Carnegie Deli the size of my head, yada yada yada. Got those out of the way so when I went back (which I've been about 10 times) I could do other things. I never pretended to get an idea of what the city is about and if people actually say that they know the city because they've been there once, you shouldn't worry about what they have to say after that because it's probably dumb. I live near LA and whenever I have people from out of town visit, they want to see two things - the stars/handprints on Hollywood Blvd. and the Santa Monica Pier. Both are lame as hell, but I take them there and let them experience that. If they are hungry, they want to go to In-N-Out Burger (fine by me) and if they are chicks they want to go to Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Most people I've done this with agree (especially on the Hollywood Blvd stars thing) that it's kind of dumb after doing it, but they are happy that they did it just to say they did. Then I take them to the Hermosa Pier or somewhere like that to show them what I think they should experience in LA. But yeah, I'm never going to get on a person for wanting to go to Alcatraz or Fisherman's Wharf in Frisco, go to Independence Hall in Philly, go to the Washington Monument/Capitol in DC, yada yada yada. Those places are famous because they are unique to their respective cities. The people who live in those cities are so used to them that they don't understand that
The problem with NYC is there is so much fucking shit to do, that when people visit they do the touristy shit because they wouldn't even know where to begin to go to get the local culture. And I'll agree on the food being the best in the country...except for bbq. Not a fucking chance you find good bbq in NYC, I've tried on multiple occasions and it can't beat anything from down south.
Keep in mind that half the reaction is based upon the stupid thread title and contents of the OP. As such, my responses have been tailored to the type of person who would even start a post off in that way. I am in no way saying not to see landmarks ever. I am just saying that if you are the guy who is looking to hop on a double decker bus and do those things, than don't be surprised if you are the guy asking "NYC. Worth going?", and upon return saying, "NYC. Not that fun." FYI, there is also a huge difference between seeing those things as a 12 year old and as an adult. Your options are quite a bit more limited as to what you can do as a 12 year old, and the world is also that much more of an amazing place. I understand the Mount Everest analogy, but it really isn't the same thing. You go to Mount Everest to go to mount Everest. NYC offers a bit more options.
If you're a history guy, the Freedom Trail in Boston is a must do. As for New York, I loved Ellis Island, could have stayed there forever. Finally left after many hours.
I agree, the double-decker bus is stupid. I wouldn't do that in a million years. Part of what makes NYC NYC is walking/taking the subway and seeing the city from that perspective. A double-decker bus is the lowest common denominator of tourist travel. As for the picture analogy, Everest was a stretch but my point remains - a picture is not the same as being there. Seeing pictures of Alcatraz didn't prepare me for what it was like to actually see it up close and personal. But yeah, part of being a tourist is going places that you don't have where you live. The Statue of Liberty/Times Square fulfills that. And while Times Square sucks, you definitely have diversity there - there are tons of goofy-ass languages being uttered by awkward, gawky tourists there.
There's a BBQ competition during the summer that attracts talent from across the country that is supposedly pretty good.
There are definitely a miasma of options. You definitely have to go more than once. As for BBQ, there was a place on the east side, around 83rd street I believe, that had a mean pulled-pork sandwich. It served as the ACC gamewatch bar. Forgot the name of it but it was pretty damn good, and I've lived in Texas.
I fucking hate big cities and I love New York City. Have been about four times and loved it each time. Every American should visit once. So much to see and do.
As someone who has lived here for a year now, NYGator could not be more spot on. It's about walking out of your door every day and realizing you are going to see and experience something different. I just got back from the gym, and on the subway back this fat old black lady yelled at me for bumping into her on the way in the train. She went on and on about god knows what as I just laughed. The entire train car was laughing. May seem annoying to some, but for me its just another part of my day where I can say "jesus I won't get this anywhere else". And Brother Jimmy's is laughable BBQ. The only one that I think is almost up to snuff is Dinosaur BBQ in Harlem. That BBQ fest is badass, Big Bob Gibson's from Decatur, AL came last year
I never ate at Brother Jimmy's. Only drank there. I can't ever really recall having great barbecue in NYC, but I only started getting into barbecue over the past few years.
If you are going to see monuments then don't go. As others have noted, it's to be experienced, not seen. If you want to see things stay in DC, it's not worth the aggravation.
I agree with this.. I've been a few times in the last five yrs and I'm not a huge fan of it but it is definately worth seeing.
Going next week. Is walking the Brooklyn Bridge worth the time? Yankee Stadium tour? How long should you plan to spend in Central Park?
I think that every American needs to visit NYC for a weekend in December. Best time of the year to go IMO.
Don't do any of that shit except for central park. If you have people that live in the city, have them tour you. Eat dinner at Il Mulino in the village. Party in the meatpacking district. Take a walk through times sq and Rockefeller ctr. Check out Central Park. Don't walk too far north of it. After all that's done, throw on a KKK robe and have a cab drop you off in Brownsville. I'm just kidding about that last one. Don't do that.
I absolutely love New York. I rented an apartment in West Village/Chelsea when I was there and it was just so awesome. I know this goes against every stereotype of the city but it honestly was the most polite place I've ever visited.
pretty much. I was staying right in between 8th and 9th Ave on 14th St. 10 minutes to MSG? I saw Carmelo buy weed from a guy on my block one night when I was buying pizza
was there a week ago. honestly if it's your first time you SHOULD check out times square, the park (obviously), st patricks cathedral, midtown & rockefeller, lady liberty, grand central, 9/11 memorial, financial district, etc. because they are so iconic and unique to NYC but also make your way downtown to experience that cultural part of the city. we just kind of explored downtown because i've already been uptown so much on other touristy visits but experiencing places like the village is just so cool. not really sure if i can recommend much to a middle aged guy because a lot of what we did was the post-grad scene but i urge you to check out downtown, at least just for an afternoon walk through the west village or something. one specific piece of advice i can give is to call ahead to reserve a time to see the 9/11 memorial. the lines can get ridiculous and it will save you time. also i know most people fly in and catch a cab to manhattan but if you're within driving distance i had a great experience driving in and parking near the staten island ferry. its actually a really great (and free) ferry ride (great views of the statue), plus its free, and only $7 a day parking, overnight, plus a $12 toll to get on staten island. you're an absolute idiot if you park overnight in manhattan. parking at a train station in jersey or westchester county is supposed to be easy too.
as long as you play by their rules and don't be an obnoxious prick demanding to be directed to times square, NY people can be so hospitable. the guys at rocky's pizza gave me and my brother almost an entire bottle of wine on the house because we waited and were friendly, and people can be really helpful with directions if you approach them the right way and speak their language . some people can be very knee-jerk about being approached and might just totally ignore you though.
I didn't "act" like a tourist so I think that's why I didn't really rub anyone the wrong way. i just tried to avoid all the touristy stuff and focus on the cultural things. since i was there for work and based in greenwich village i was able to interact with a lot of NYU students, and they kinda helped me out with the fun obscure shit
~3rd st and 1st ave IIRC. kicked it in that area, bowery, and nolita mostly. nolita house, the meatball shop, and B bar were all fun.
Fuck yeah. Meatball is delicious. Love me some B Bar but never been to Nolita house. Big fan of this area and the delicious foods
spicy pork balls w parm cream sauce and mozzarella on hoagie @ meatball shop is one of my top boners in nyc.
I will be in DC for work, then we are taking the train up to NYC. Have 4 full days in the city. We are staying in Times Square. Have "reservations" for the 9/11 Memorial, and the Statue of Liberty. Bought a pass to the top of the Empire State Building, but paid extra to not wait in line. In hindsight wish I would have done top of the Rock, still may do that. Also have tickets to The Book of Mormon. A lot of advice above will help round out our trip. Anymore food/drink recommendations?
@SF when we gonna kick it anyways, i always suggest to first timers to spend a day uptown and midtown. start at the park. especially with this weather, and bum around. then walk around the fancy shops up on lexington and 59th. then check out the times square sites. get food. broadway play... and then get the fuck out of midtown and everything north of it.
We'll kick it when you're ready to break to barrier of internet and reality. We'll have a NIT victory party or something at Sidecar or w/e
Just slanging money. I did that thing but ain't heard nothing yet. Will keep you posted. What'd you do this weekend for St Paddy's?
Word bruh. Did some day drinking, dinner with some friends then out for a while. Didn't get too crazy.
Having visited NYC a lot for work and lived in the Bay Area, I can honestly say that NYC is much more friendly to tourists than San Francisco. But 1. how can you hate big cities, when they're responsible for 95% of American culture, and 2. what constitutes a big city? Is their a population limit or square mileage? Just curious.
Dunno what food you like but Luke's Lobster (lobster rolls) in the East Village are fucking bomb. Lobster is brought in fresh from Maine and the rolls themselves are equally as amazing. Handcuffed and OB have been here longer than me but I know a handful of cool dinner spots. Butter, Sons of Essix are two of my favorites but there's thousands more to check out.
I'm actually moving out of the East Village at the end of the month. Lived here for three years and loved it, but I've grown tired of the amount of tourists. Plus we're looking for a change of scenery. Moving to Williamsburg, which is practically the EV minus the tourists. Plus we got a bigger place for less rent and rooftop access with a fantastic view of Manhattan.