Anyone been to New York in July/August? How hot?

[PotassiumPermanganate]

How hot will it be? Obviously I can see the average temperature by having a quick look online, but what does the heat feel like? Oppressive, quite pleasant, overwhelming, just like anywhere else hot? Husband has booked a family trip, which for many reasons I don't want to go on, but I need to start preparing. Also, are there many shops you can get "British" food? Both my kids are fussy eaters, and to avoid taking suitcases full of Walkers ready salted crisps, bread and Weetabix, I'd like to find out if there will be food available to get them through a week, which is the longest they'll have ever been away from home....

There's no denying it.....New York is hot, sticky and humid in July/August. It's the humidity that's the killer - makes you very sweaty.

We went a few years ago, in early August.... I warned the family, but I don't think they quite believed me. DD1 and I are OK in the heat, but DH, DS and DD2 really struggled.

Obviously there is air-con everywhere (weirdly, the subway trains are beautifully chilled, way better than the London tube trains in the summer), so you just have to make sure that anything that requires a prolonged period outdoors (cycling in Central Park, walking the High Line) is done before 12am or after 6pm when it's not so hot, or broken up with lots of dips indoors to cool down.

Food-wise, I'm sure your kids will be fine, as US food is not remotely exotic, and a lot will be familiar. Plenty of restaurants serving pizza, burgers and whatnot. Bread is just the same, you'll find every cereal known to man in the shops.

But it's a fun place, lots to see. Enjoy!

It's the humidity that makes NY grim in the summer months, can be unbearable, but every building you go into is air conditioned within an inch of its life. Here's the Met Office weather chart for NY so you can take a look:
https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/travel/holiday-weather/americas/usa/newyork

There are some supermarkets in NY but not quite like we know them - it's more local stores or Wegmans and WholeFoods are both in the centre, no equivalent of Sainsbury/Tesco in Manhattan. You may or may not find Weetabix and depending on tariffs you may find it expensive, but the US pretty much gave the world crisps so you'll certainly get ready salted if not actual Walkers. American bread can be quite sweet compared to ours and the very long shelf life tells you the story of how many preservatives they put in, but there are very good bakers that do fresh bread. Their chocolate is vile but you can get Cadbury's. Things like Fanta have about double the sugar in the US to here so won't taste the same.

Rather than focusing on 'British' food, why don't you start to get them ready for the idea of branching out a bit - and if the worst comes to the worst you can get amazing pizza, burgers, fries etc etc which will be familiar (I assume).

I grew up outside of NYC in the suburbs and it's crazy hot and sticky. And really oppressive in most of the city with the smoke and subways and crowds everywhere. If you've not been anywhere truly hot in the summer just be prepared to be inside a lot and wear as little as possible.

Food wise you can get amazing food everywhere and you can customise anything in the states. Don't feel constrained by what the menu says - you can add or delete pretty much anything unless it's really specific items or pre-made. It was a struggle for me to get used to things here where food is what it is (though now I prefer it!).

I went in august and it was fun but gosh it was warm, and like previous posters have said it was sticky. This was difficult when queuing for tourist attractions and the subway was actually unbearable

I thought it was about as hot as London but felt more stifled. Like in Manhattan it feels like there's not enough fresh air or light due to all the tall buildings.

I used to live there, and in a heatwave, it is like living in a swamp. Thin loose clothes, as few as you can manage, and natural fibres.

@CointreauVersial @mimbleandlittlemy Unfortunately there's more to the food issues than just needing to try new stuff. My youngest has been diagnosed with ARFID and my eldest is very likely autistic. Dds14 lives on bread/toast, weetabix, petit filous, fruit, biscuits/crackers and Ds18 eats Birdseye waffles, a particular type of Aldi Yorkshire puddings, crisps, McDonald's fries and fruit/salad veg. I don't think dh has thought about how to keep them going for a week. I've had them away for a couple of days on holiday in Europe and that's hard enough.
And yeah, I was worried everyone would say it's like a extra hot London! 😫 I heard DH on the phone to his sister saying he was planning lots of outdoor activities seeing as we would be there in the summer 🙈........no, I think as many air conditioned indoor places as possible is going to be the only way. I know I'm being a pain but I am dreading it. For more reasons than I can go into here.

Went there in August when the kids were 9&7. It was fine heat wise, but we like the heat! Our hotel had a pool which was great. It was however crazily expensive. And some roads were quite stinky (nothing out of the ordinary, but city bins stink when it’s hot).

I went a few years ago in the middle of August and it was unbearably hot. I personally wouldn’t ever go again at that time of year, but I suppose it depends if you like the heat or not. It was too much for me.

As pp said, there’s loads of burger/pizza places etc. we mainly ate off the food carts, giant hot dogs for lunch, pretzels the size of your head for breakfast!

If you’re planning on doing the Statue of Liberty, book it asap! It wasn’t expensive but sells out quickly. And make sure you take your passport if you do go there. They won’t let you on the ferry without it!

Don’t be fooled by just looking at daily temperatures it’s the humidity that kills you. Fine everywhere indoors of course which makes the contrast when you outside all the worse.

Things like Birdseye Waffles aren't sold in stores in the US, unless you can find a British specialist supermarket, and obviously you won't get the Yorkshire puddings - nearest thing would be called 'popovers' which you can get frozen from a few places. Obviously McDonalds is readily available. Fruit/veg/crisps also readily available.

My vegetarian niece lives in NY and when anyone goes out from the UK they take out things like baked beans because most US brands contain meat, Marmite etc because they are SO expensive there. In fact, NY is just incredibly expensive, full stop.

Oh, that does sound a l more challenging than simple fussy eating. MacDonalds fries, no problem, Aldi Yorkshires you will struggle...... but if you've survived Europe I would think you will be OK in the US, the Land of Plenty, where beige food reigns supreme. 😉

Good point about the lack of supermarkets (as we know them) in Manhattan; you might need to do a bit more shopping around and research where you can stock up. But it's doable..... even if they live on crisps and apples for a week.

I am a parent of someone with ARFID who moved to NYC and I will not lie it has been very challenging for her.
Everything tastes different even stuff like “fresh” fruit and pasta.

Take dry essentials with you. Also google the location of UK and Irish shops.

Whole foods is good. The one in Soho is the most normal feeling if you are used to grocery shops in the UK.

Unfortunately dh doesn't see any further than his nose. He will be in his element with the food, but he will not have given a thought to anyone else's needs.
I know I am coming up with a million pessimistic problems here, but my youngest is really skinny and will not go anywhere without being fully clothed in long trousers and a hoody. We love the cold and our short holidays are to Poland, Norway, Germany etc all in the winter. We did go to Ibiza last year for two days in April and it was fairly hot, but he wore his hoody the whole time. Argh!! I also want to separate from DH, so, you know, not a great situation all round 🙈🙈🙈

I was there last summer. Temperatures ranged from 29 to 36. Best bet is to be out early/late when it’s slightly cooler and leave the middle of the day for air conditioned places and a rest in the hotel. We didn’t let it stop us doing most things. Just dress in light cool fabrics and have plenty of water.

Regarding the Statue of Liberty I booked two weeks before for the pedestal and it was fine, plenty of tickets. Also not sure what the pp means about needing your passport? You just need to scan your ticket before you get on - our passports were in the hotel safe all week!

The subway is a killer but generally you’re not stood on the platform for more than 4 or 5 minutes and a lot of the trains have air con.

I don’t really know about British food but big Targets will have loads of choice so you can stock up there on a lot of things.

I’ve been summer and winter and would take summer any time despite the heat, I love the general vibe, there’s so many more outdoor things going off, picnic in the park, night time entertainment etc.

In the kindliest way possible @PotassiumPermanganate, why is your DH putting you all through this? It sounds incredibly stressful, and if you have to go to NYC, I think you'd find it much more enjoyable in November or March. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are all beautiful, as is spring.

Yes it’s hot and humid in July and August there. However the vast majority of places have air con or go to places like South Street seaport, Staten Island ferry and so on for the sea/river breeze. Just wear shorts T-shirts or cool cotton clothes.

With food I agree there are hardly any supermarkets in Manhattan (at least not what I found). There’s lots of food choices though. You can get take out anything including breakfast.

Googling apparently Morton Reid and Trader Joes (I like the latter never heard of the former) are supermarkets in Manhattan. Duane Reed is crappy food but there are lots of them about.

Here's the website for one of the Manhattan Target stores. Worth having a look to see what you could order to collect?

https://www.target.com/sl/manhattan-herald-square/3277

I was there last year at the end of July/beginning of August and it was hot but not unbearably so and I didn't find it massively humid either. We did have some rain, including two absolute downpours, so maybe that helped. I don't love the heat and was quite worried about it, but it was ok. Washington on the other hand...

As for supermarkets, I loved Fairway Market on 74th street, which was opposite our hotel. I don't know if it had the products you wanted but there was a lot of choice and I would call it a 'proper' supermarket.

I spent 5 weeks there one summer in July and August and the heat and humidity were absolutely stifling. It’s like traipsing through treacle. And I am
normally a hot weather lover.

What I found was tricky is that there’s nowhere (other than indoors) to go and cool off. Normally on a hot holiday you can jump in the sea or go in the pool..but no real option for that.

You have to stay indoors in the air con lots which isn’t much fun. It is also really smelly. It’s the worst time of year to go. Is there a reason he’s insisting on this?

It can be great other times of year….

I hate the heat so would never go at that time of year. Best avoided according the the Facebook NYC groups I'm on. Adore going there in November. Not too cold.

I lived in NY for 3 years, left last July. The person who is saying bread is just the same is wrong. My kids wouldn't eat most bread when we lived in NYC, it's too sweet. Neither would I, mind you, it's horrible. Trader Joe's do a sourdough sliced loaf which isn't sweet (nor is it sourdough, actually). But it's not the same texture as UK bread. It's fine toasted, not great otherwise. Their fruit and veg is decent and cheaper than other supermarkets. Their organic milk tastes most similar to UK milk, likewise their organic salted butter. They have yoghurts with cream in that are nice and not unlike petit filous.

We never ate at McDonald's because unlike in the UK and Europe, the fries have a lot of additives. Generally we found fries had stuff on them to make them crisper and "tastier". I hated them.

Morton Williams grocery stores usually have an international food section. The one near the UN on second avenue/48th St has a UK section. I've never seen weetabix there but you never know your luck.

It is generally absolutely miserable weather wise in July/August. Very hot and humid and then FREEZING indoors. And it stinks. I would never go back at that time of year. May or October.

It's also hideously expensive.

Not only is it too hot, it absolutely stinks in the height of summer. It’s still my favorite city though