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?

If you want to have a truly terrible time in New York, go in February

We went in February half term and it was no colder than here but we had taken appropriate clothing in case it was. We had a great time.

@PrincessNutella when were you last in NYC that you haven’t been asked for money?

We were accosted 3 times in the space of 2 minutes by men asking for money coming out of the theatre last night. One told us he needed to get high. It was very intimidating despite the NYPD being everywhere and obviously not caring that tourists are being harassed on the street. Twice on the subway from Lexington Ave as well, before the theatre we remarked that we hadn’t been hassled as much today .

We decided to go into a deli rather than a restaurant last night and filled up plastic boxes with food to take out. One was just fruit, mine had no meat just veggies and quinoa (as I’m a veggie) and DD’s was only half full. Together with 2 fruit drinks, it came to $77 or £60! The woman was very aggressive when we argued and we ended up putting the fruit box back but it still came to $50. So the portion of fruit was $27! It is fucking rip off central. I’d be embarrassed to be an American to be frank.

Overjoyed to be leaving today! I will certainly not be recommending anyone come here.

I don’t know why people are constantly talking about it being January. I haven’t moaned about the weather once in my posts. It’s not the weather that’s the problem.

Oh and the cab driver from the airport to the hotel, did not know where to go and hadn’t heard of our very well used hotel (if the reviews are anything to go by).

But you can look up prices of places before you go there. There are plenty of places in the uk that would rip you off but if you spent the cursory five seconds looking you’d find a reasonable greggs/McDonald’s/Tesco.

The fact is New York is a city where people live, not a neatly packaged tourist attraction. I do think people expect places to appear like a ‘holiday package’ but the majority of people I baby big city are just living their lives, going to work, coping with the Christmas aftermath etc. They aren’t there to facilitate tourists in having a lovely holiday.

*in any big city

@UserBot989

I went to boston and ny october 1999 and i thought it would be about the same as ireland /Britain, you know, getting cooller but not COLD. i was totally unprepared. I was really ignorant.

We went to Boston in February and really loved it but it was COLD. Really impressed how they keep the roads clear even after very heavy snowfall.

We went to Boston in February and really loved it but it was COLD. Really impressed how they keep the roads clear even after very heavy snowfall.

I have family in the Boston area and my son goes to uni there. The joke is that if they get four inches of snow they say the storm missed them. There's some truth to the joke.

Just as an FYI: NYC Taxi drivers don't have to do The Knowledge, they're not like London cabbies! They don't have to undergo any specific training, so they won't know hotel names. Generally you give them the cross streets and hope for the best. Can you tell I'm not a fan? That's why Uber and Lyft are so popular. I haven't been in a yellow cab in years.

Also those deli boxes are done by weight - it's not what's in them, it's how heavy they are so fruit is always pricey. I've been stung by artichoke hearts before.

Quite the nerve to go somewhere and accuse the local people of being 'rude and ignorant.'

One might call it...

I lived there for 6 years and never had a problem. Found people, on the whole, very pleasant and helpful.

I've found NYers to be very pleasant on the whole. In a brusque, living in a busy city, kind of way. I like the way they sometimes bark compliments too, 'GREAT COAT', as they stride past you. And I've just remembered that Robert de Niro held a door open for me once. So that's absolute proof they're all nice.

We went to Boston in February and really loved it but it was COLD. Really impressed how they keep the roads clear even after very heavy snowfall.

It is minus 14 celsius here in Boston today :)

I find it really depressing actually and feel that the way Hollywood has portrayed New York is all smoke and mirrors.

I think the mistake here was expecting somewhere to be like it is in the movies.

@allfurcoatnoknickers

Just as an FYI: NYC Taxi drivers don't have to do The Knowledge, they're not like London cabbies! They don't have to undergo any specific training, so they won't know hotel names. Generally you give them the cross streets and hope for the best. Can you tell I'm not a fan? That's why Uber and Lyft are so popular. I haven't been in a yellow cab in years.

Also those deli boxes are done by weight - it's not what's in them, it's how heavy they are so fruit is always pricey. I've been stung by artichoke hearts before.

They also won't take you to the airport if they're due to shift change within about 45 mins as I discovered!

Winter and plague time isn't really every going to be the best experience of anywhere though. I live in zone 1 London and normally pretty vibrant areas still feel pretty flat I think

@ChiBox

I went pre pandemic and was disappointed it was as you described. I live in London so used to the tourist trap (I think) but NY was an absolute rip off, the worse food I’ve ever had. We went off the beaten track I researched/planned our trip. I love the shows and even in winter I loved Central Park. But NY was a huge let down. To enjoy NY you have to me mega rich. People of NY were the rudest ever and in the end we found it hysterical.

I don't agree you have to be mega rich to enjoy NY at all. We were last there in March 2020, as the pandemic broke and we're far from mega rich. We had a great time wandering round green markets, the grand bazaar on the UWS, walking miles around central park and towards Harlem. We went to a gig which was no more expensive than it would have been here, we went all over on the subway using the excellent value 7 day ticket. Ate in diners, went to museums, got muffins from a fab little cafe.

If you don't like it that's fair enough but I can't see why you think you need to be mega rich, I really can't.

I clearly recall putting a fruit salad back on a shelf in a deli after seeing it was too pricey.

But $27? Wow. Interested to know exactly what was in it. Presume that includes sales tax.

I do tend to imagine that post Covid, NY will have had to increase prices hugely. That's partly why I'm surprised anyone chose to go atm. It will take a long time for things to change. In fact, I thought it was 80s levels of hard times in NY now.

Nescafe Gold Blend - I am howling!

If that is what you think coffee tastes like then no,. NYC isnt for you.

Who goes to a city for the coffee?

Sounds like a shit holiday.

I'm convinced some couples go on holiday just so they can home and say 'Geoffrey and I found NY/Paris/Goa very underwhelming'.

'That's right, Amanda, it was very underwhelming'.

And they go on for ever more about how they can't believe other people claim to like it.

@phishy

Who goes to a city for the coffee?

Sounds like a shit holiday.

All I could think about was Karl Pilkington saying thoughtfully that he was concerned as he was ‘down to his last packet of monster munch’ while travelling in China.

Someone mentioned their son and DIL going to New York and hating every minute of their trip. Stop being a bimbling bore and take control of your situation. Get a train/greyhound bus/flight out of there and stop wasting your holiday allowance on being miserable!

@phishy

Who goes to a city for the coffee?

Sounds like a shit holiday.

On a city holiday the feeling of 'living' there is a massive reason why I go, and nice coffee, food, general 'normal' life like shopping in nice little shops, wandering the streets etc, are quite important to me.

A lot of American coffee is a bit grim though isn’t?! Gritty filter coffee that’s been sitting in the jug for god knows how long and don’t even get me started on coffee creamer or pumpkin spice. I know you can find the good stuff if you look for it but IME it’s not what most Americans seem to drink on a day to day basis. I’m not convinced Nescafé Gold is much worse tbh.

I think it might be the times that are in It. I could go every year I love it,brilliant city with so much to zee and do,never get bored and I've found people really nice

Some of you really need to look up crime statistics if you think NYC is more dangerous than Chicago, Philadelphia, or Washington DC. It's true that many crimes in those cities aren't in the tourist areas, but that's true in New York too. We spent a year and a bit in Philadelphia and there's a lot I like about the city, but sometimes I think there's a deeper reason they named the hockey team mascot 'Gritty'.