To absolutely HATE New York

[GreetingsFromVenus]

Dreamed of going there for many years. Thought it would be amazing. Everyone seems to think it is.

Here now and I hate it. Extortionate prices, rude ignorant locals, so many aggressive beggars. mentally ill people shouting in the street. loads of homeless people. The subway stations are disgusting and feel very menacing compared to London.

I find it really depressing actually and feel that the way Hollywood has portrayed New York is all smoke and mirrors. It is nothing special at all IMO. In fact it has a LOT of social issues and it made me feel quite sick to be spending $100 just for a mid range meal for 2 (no dessert) while there were people asking for food outside.

Central Park - pffttt!

Cannot wait to get home next week and will never complain about London prices again!

Anyone else felt the same?

@TatianaBis

I hated NY and loved Paris

Ditto.

NY is disappointing because it’s ugly, smelly and no great architectural excitement.

Paris is enchanting because it’s beautiful and historic.

@TatianaBis - it's not ugly or smelly and the architectural excitement for me is mostly about the skyscrapers, the first one (Flat Iron) and various other 1920s ones like the Chrysler Building etc.

In summer I found New York is definitely not smelly or ugly but that's my opinion.

Paris - I actually find quite boring and not that enchanting - a lot of the arrondissements seem to be the same, factor in impossibly rude Parisians and I actually found the architecture (though of course old) got waring after a while. We also did lots of 'spot the rats' in various parks and bushes. After schlepping around various houses with 2 teens it was great to find a pretty, small playground near the Victor Hugo house.

New York has similar beauty and history but in a different way/timescale in my view.

@TatianaBis

We also went out to the Hampton which was fun.

The Hamptons are glorious.

I like the East Coast just not NY.

@TatianaBis - East Coast has a great variety though, from Martha's Vineyard to Annapolis, DC etc.

Where my friend lives in Delaware it's mind numbingly boring and not even that pretty after a week, max.

But there is not that much interesting to do in NY beyond Ellis Island, Empire State and seeing the Flat Iron.
And reading the comments on here have just confirmed that. Those saying they loved it talking about cocktail bars, oyster bars, etc. I don't fly halfway around the world to go to a cocktail bar or a diner.

I have a lot of relatives there and spent years there earlier in my life. It is a fab place. But, my relatives say it is not great at the moment. It has been hit hard by covid. There is not as much money for everyone in America as there was, it's much more divided. And there is a lot of social unrest. Giuliani, when he was mayor did an awful lot in pushing the dangerous stuff out of Manhattan and was big on antisocial behaviour. There has been a bit of a u turn on those Politics and a big increase in recreational drug use which leads to more crime undercurrent.

It feels safer than London though.

I really like Paris too and have never (in about four trips) found Parisians rude (the rude ones IME are all in South Kensington )

They're just very different places.

I have found my people (well, 50% of the people )

We went in April 12 years ago and I still found it cold and miserable.

No aggressive beggars though, that seems to be a new thing.

It's not my favourite place. I could never shake the feeling there was a party going on to which I wasn't invited but I imagine that might be the same for a stranger in London where I live.

I used to visit a lot for work but my job has changed and I haven't been since 2013. I won't miss the special attention US Immigration devote to the holders of work visas. Mine was valid as are most people's but you wouldn't know that on arrival and sometimes on leaving. I know lots of people want to live in the US but I have a perfectly nice home to go back to. There must be a test for would-be immigration officers where they are given a blank map of the world and if anyone gets anything right about it or responds without aggression they fail.

But I've found New Yorkers to be no different to Londoners or anyone else in a big city. Not especially rude or ignorant though that is what people expect of us and you can't shake them of their prejudice. Many of us can be kind and helpful. I try to be because I am proud of my city and know what it's like to be a fish out of water.

I won't forget the people in the cafe I went in for breakfast after getting up early and going for a long walk because of jet lag. It was around 4th Avenue which I believe is the garment district so was full of ordinary workers. I was homesick and mopey. It was January so the grey and freezing weather didn't help. I ordered the biggest breakfast they had and read my book. Out of the corner of my eye I could see them watching me carefully but not in a suspicious way. They didn't hurry me at all.

When I finished - plus the free coffee refills - the waitress brought the extremely modest bill to my table. She asked what I was doing there and I explained I'd left my my hotel near Central Park at 6am and gone for a very long walk. She drew me a map back and they all said goodbye. It was a business trip so I was taken to some nice restaurants. The staff were always professional and friendly but that was the best place.

Have you been to Ellis island op? If it's
Open. That's my favourite touristy thing.

Lots of these comments are comedy gold - really amusing on a dreary cold Jan day! This thread is giving me great amusement.

At least you will come home with some funny stories to tell. My friend got bullied into buying trainers by a shop assistant and another friend made the mistake of asking a prostitute for directions.

@RoyalFamilyFan

But there is not that much interesting to do in NY beyond Ellis Island, Empire State and seeing the Flat Iron. And reading the comments on here have just confirmed that. Those saying they loved it talking about cocktail bars, oyster bars, etc. I don't fly halfway around the world to go to a cocktail bar or a diner.

You haven’t been to any of the museums or at galleries? Astonishing collections in amazing buildings in NYC - the Frick or Morgan alone are worth going for. Similarly, the NY City ballet doesn’t tour much outside the US, so there is repertoire you can only really see in NYC.

@foxgoosefinch I dont like ballet. The museums and galleries in London and Washington DC are much better. I saw an amazing art exhibition in Washington. I was very disappointed by the galleries and museums in NY.

Id read a recent thread on this very topic and how rough it was there at the momentb
I had no problems when i went (many tears ago) and did enjoy it wouldnt rush back though

Agree there is SO much more in NYC than that. Unbelievable. The Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side, is recommended. Some great walking food tours. The Guggenheim, MOMA, The Witney. Bronx Zoo. Broadway. Ballet. Jazz @ Birdland. Amazing restaurants, diners and great street food carts.

I don't know anyone who goes to zoos these days. The Tenement Museum in Glasgow is better.

I hated it the first time I went. Loved it the second. Washington is the best city break we’ve ever had. It was absolutely fantastic.

@RoyalFamilyFan

I don't know anyone who goes to zoos these days. The Tenement Museum in Glasgow is better.

You won’t learn much about New York’s tenement and immigration history from Glasgow’s museum though.

This thread makes dispiriting reading. I got a little windfall back at the start of 2020 and kept hold of it for when travel resumed, hoping to take my kids away for the kind of trip we've never been able to afford. I have a milestone birthday next spring, kids will be 9 and 13 and I thought New York would be ideal. Maybe not.

I used to live there, and New Yorkers aren't any ruder than anyone else ( including Paris). They are quite brash and due to our British " politeness" people find them rude. Spend any time with any and they are fine.

It is an expensive city though, and to be fair, I haven't been back for a while so could have gone downhill lately.
I agree with posters that say that Brooklyn is much nicer. Taking the subway to Clark Street and walk in Brooklyn heights is gorgeous and the views are stunning. Nicer restaurants, and when I lived there we went to Prospect Park rather than Central Park.

I also loved New York for all the film locations I found myself in without even trying.

So many but I was amazed by the diamond district and not just because of the humungous stones - and they were just the ones in the windows. It was exactly like the scene in Marathon Man filmed 30 years before I saw the location apart from being hunted by a Nazi war criminal with a huge knife.

It's still a working and residential city as well as a big tourist destination. And everyone is surprised that there really is steam rising out of the streets. I don't like jaded travellers asking if people really believe New York is like a film set. Of course it's not, but even the most casual film watcher can't fail to recognise places.

It's not one of my favourite places but it has its charms and I hope they remain.

I really don't mind the NY rudeness, it's almost expected.

My favourite was at MOMA when the young, meek-looking and bespectacled museum lady suddenly shouted to everyone "GET IN FUCKING LINE!'

But still hate NY

Each to their own. I lived in Manhattan up to the cusp of 9/11. It was my childhood teenage dream. I wore pink shade Kandies and rode the subway. It was and still is everything to me.

Everyone saying DC is nicer, it's not really, it's just they've done a better job segregating all the 'bad bits' (aka real city life) away from the tourist areas. And it's much much smaller.

I'm also curious where everyone is hanging out in Boston to think people there are more polite lol

@pastypirate

Each to their own. I lived in Manhattan up to the cusp of 9/11. It was my childhood teenage dream. I wore pink shade Kandies and rode the subway. It was and still is everything to me.

I love this : )