I (still) live in New York City - Ask Me Anything

[allfurcoatnoknickers]

I did an AMA four years ago and thought it might be fun to do another one since I'm seeing more and NYC advice threads popping up on the Holiday board.
Anyone got any questions for a current Manhattanite? I love to play tour guide 😊.

I'm also married to a born and raised New Yorker, and we have a four year old in elementary school and a 5 month old baby, so feel free to ask away and pregnancy, birth, maternity leave and schools in the US. I see a lot of misconceptions on here I'd be happy to chat about.

I totally believe that!

So jealous! I love New York.

This might be a bit insensitive/personal but how much do you think 9/11 still shapes New York today?

It seems to be the first thing people plan to do (visit the memorial) when they arrive. Do you feel it's still a massive cloud hanging over NY in everyday life?

Apologies for how this is worded but I can't seem to get across what I mean properly

Sorry if this has already been asked. I love NY btw.

Do you live in actual Manhattan then? I feel like very few non millionaires live there anymore.

Are the children at your child’s school v v wealthy?

Does the gun situation in school scare you?

Do you plan to be there longterm? Do you think you’ll move out to get a house?

Also is it hard to achieve a work life balance?

How easy have you found it to make friends?

I LOVE the west coast. I'd move there, but DH can't function anywhere outside of NYC. Which state are you in?

Brilliant thread thanks

We're visiting for the 1st time end Dec into Jan so will be there NYE. Dont like the idea of being penned into Times Sq for the ball drop so figured to do Central Park for the fireworks instead.

Is there a whole event on in the park before the fireworks? Struggling to know what to do with the afternoon/evening as I know moving around the streets can be restricted?

Also, any recommendations for somewhere to have dinner that won't cost a small fortune?

CA - I'm in San Francisco. It's the most beautiful place I've ever lived

Alas it's made me far too soft to survive an NYC winter (or indeed a summer).

@noodlezoodle I love San Francisco - it's so beautiful. Nothing like standing on top of one of those hills and looking out over the bay. DH and I actually had our honeymoon in Napa and Sonoma!

I keep hearing about coupons for money off things, is there an app or website for finding coupons for eating out in NYC?

@BiscuitLover3678 I've made loads of friends. New York is a very transient city - most people are from somewhere else, so you don't have to break into friend groups that have been established for decades.

I absolutely HATE the suburbs, so no. I don't get why anyone would want to live somewhere where you can throw a rock and hit your neighbor, but also have to drive to get milk or pick up a coffee. If DH and I could be 100% remote I'd move to the arse end of nowhere though with a load of land and space for many many dogs and some chickens.

I had no work/life balance when I was climbing the ladder and paying my dues, but now it's pretty good. I'm head of a team, so I can work things to my schedule up to a point. I'm able to totally disconnect on holiday, leave early for sick children and WFH basically whenever I want.

Pulsd is great: pulsd.com/new-york

Gilt City is worth a look, but it's more high end and doesn't always have dining offers.

You'll have a lot of mumsnetters sticking their fingers in their ears and going lalala at the mat leave. They love to perpetuate the myth that we get neither vacation nor maternity leave in the US.

It's still a very raw wound for the New Yorkers who were there at that time, but I wouldn't say a cloud hangs over the city of anything.

Is the tenement museum really worth it??

As a Brit who lived in an ex mill town, for example?!

I don't know if there's a whole event in the park - Google is your friend for that one. You'll have no trouble getting around on the subway but the roads will be a bit off a mess prior to the ball drop.

I suggest doing the early seating at dinner at a restaurant in the West Village/Meatpacking/Soho then subway up to the park afterwards. You're a bit early to book anything, but keep an eye out - download the Resy app, set the date to NYE and see what comes up. Menus should be posted online. DO NOT GO ANYWHERE NEAR TIMES SQUARE IT IS A SHITSHOW. Ahem.

Yep, I live in actual Manhattan. Close to (but not right on) the Highline to give you a vague idea of geography. Lots of non-millionaires here, my neighbours bought their apartment in the 80s for $80k, and there's a huge middle-income housing development nearby as well as plenty of rent stabilized and some rent controlled housing.

The parents at the school seem fairly well to do? But it's difficult to really tell at drop-off - spotted a couple of nice handbags but that's about it. The catchment is in a very, very nice area but a few families (us!) from out of the zone are there too.

I don't even think about guns. The gun laws in NYC are very, very strict so it doesn't cross my mind.

I really liked it?! It's a fascinating experience and very different to a normal museum. I often suggest it to visitors and I took my mum and dad when they came. My dad grew up very, very poor though and found it a bit too close to home.

@Honeychickpea Hah oh God I know. Most of my friends have similar too, but I do acknowledge that I'm part of a privileged group of professionals.

@coxesorangepippin I have just booked the Tenement museum for when we come. Our big Apple greeter recommended it (it was on my list anyway though)

This brilliant thread has come at just the right time...I'll be there with my friend and 4 teenagers this over half term! We are planning very cheap eats with pizza, hot dogs, burgers and bagels. Looking at Katzs Deli and Ellen's too for some fun. Any other recommendations for super cheap food? Which pizza place would you recommend? And are all street hotdogs the same? Is the Summit better than ESB or TOTR as an observation deck? We are staying in the Bronx. Thank uou!

@DevonCream don't go to Katz for 'cheap' food
Went there a few weeks ago, sandwiches were $25-$30 😱😱

@DevonCream There's a lot to unpack here.

Where/why are you staying in the Bronx? It's a schlep to all the touristy stuff and a lot of it is not very safe. Please tell me you're not doing Air BnB - there's been a crackdown on them recently and you're at serious risk of having it cancelled at the last minute if it's not a legit one that follows all the rules.

I would never eat a dirty water dog, so cannot advise on whether they are all the same or not. For Pizza I like Ovest, John's of Bleeker and Artichoke Basille, although none of them are super cheap. If you're talking dollar slices then anywhere will do. For bagels, Brooklyn Bagel, Absolute Bagels and Zucker's are all great. Also recommend getting a chicken over rice from a Halal cart - the best one is allegedly The Halal Guys.

Don't go up the ESB because you can't see the ESB. I bet the teenagers would like the Summit though.

Like PP said, Katz's is expensive, as is Ellen's - also the food at Ellen's is notoriously terrible.

Timeout does a list of great cheap eats: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/best-cheap-eats-in-nyc

As does Eater: https://ny.eater.com/maps/best-inexpensive-affordable-restaurants-food-nyc

There's also great cheap food in Chinatown, I haven't been down there in a while (it's a schlep from where I live with 2 small kids), but dug up this Reddit thread with great recs: https://www.reddit.com/r/FoodNYC/comments/vgjpvr/bestcheappeatsinnchinatown/?utmmsource=share&utmmedium=iossapp&utmname=ioscss&utmmcontent=2&utmterm=1

This is a great question. One of my favorite views of the city is from the LIC Waterfront, so I'd probably do a day in LIC/Queens taking in the Museum of the Moving Image, MoMA PS1, The Sculpture Center and getting lunch at Casa Enrique.

Not "hidden" but new - Pier 57 with a food hall, rooftop park and ecology center and Gansevoort Peninsula, which is a beach in NYC - it has great views down to WTC.

Problem with hidden gems these days is people keep finding them and putting them on TikTok, then they get swamped.

I'm bringing my 16 year old son to NYC in a couple of weeks. I have done lots of planning but realised that I've not done much research into places to eat, thinking we'll just eat as and when we see places. However it'd be good to have some places in mind. We're going to be staying in LIC, is there anywhere there you'd recommend?
Also, I'm really keen to walk at least some of the Highline - where are your favourite spots?