Anyone been to New York recently and loved it?

[Crushed23]

I went in 2017 and fell in love with it, and was planning to go again this year, but with it getting quite a few mentions on the ‘overrated’ thread, I am worried it might have deteriorated a lot in the last 7 years? 😩

I used to love it and had been many times between 2000 and most recently 2019 - apparently it has gone WAAY down hill, very scruffy, dirty (even more so than it used to be) and smells strongly of weed everywhere you go now. My neighbours went just before Christmas.

Agree with @Woodenwonder have been many times and was there in October just gone. Brought my DS16 who hated it, said it was dirty and smelled like greasy food. I couldn’t disagree with him. It’s gone downhill and the price for everything and anything is ridiculous.

We were there in August having gone for the first time in 2011. To be honest I didn't think it was any more scruffy or dirty than it was before. Yes there is a bit more of a smell of weed but didn't find it too bad. It is incredibly expensive though. If you were used to eating out cheaply in the US before be prepared! I did find it very noisy and didn't enjoy it as much as I did before - but think that is just me getting older! My dc (23 and 21) loved it and enjoyed it far more than they did when they were kids.

I have been a few times and really loved it but went again in November and as others have said it was dirty and really expensive. It felt a bit unsafe.

We stayed at a Sheraton Hotel in TriBeCa and a glass of white wine and a gin and tonic was almost 40 dollars. Eating out is really quite expensive.

I would stay off the beaten track. Times Square is very grubby.

The High Line is a beautiful walk.

South Street Seaport is lovely, nice restaurants and open spaces.

You can get the train to Washington from New York which is very clean and green.

Boston is a great alternative to NY.

Got back yesterday after having a great time. I can’t say I ever felt unsafe, but it does now reek of cannabis and it was a lot more expensive than my last trip in 2019- but where isn’t? I love NY and can’t wait to get back. It’s a must do.

Does everywhere smell of cannabis?

Even West Village? Chelsea? Tribeca?

😭

Yes, it’s fair to say that I smelt it in 90% of the places I went - and I walked from FiDi up to The Empire State Building.

We went last October and loved it. DH, me and DS12. We stayed at the Wall Street Hotel which was lovely and quiet, walked everywhere, MOMA was amazing, high line also, we had a fab time. I’ve not been for about 10 years and I thought it was pretty much the same as it’s always been: some lovely areas, some a bit scruffy. We used the subway, walked around, never felt unsafe. But agree with other posters, it’s VERY expensive.

Went in April with DC 10 and 12 and loved it. Have been several times since the 90s so was a bit worried after reading it had gone downhill on Mumsnet but honestly it was fine. Didn’t feel unsafe at all…there are some areas near the hospitals to avoid i believe but it’s no different to any big city. Agree that Times Sq is a bit of a dump these days…but so many amazing new things to see. Favourite was the viewing platform at One Vanderbilt. It was bloody expensive to eat out though!

Ps. The odd smell of weed but didn’t really bother us.

Can anyone recommend things for a 2 day visit? I've been many many times before but last time was 6 years ago. DH never been, and we're heading there in May, so mapped out a rough plan of
top of the rock
Central Park
walk along Brooklyn bridge
statten island ferry
China town / little Italy

find a decent steak restaurant
find a good place in midtown for brunch

hadn't heard of 1 Vanderbilt so will add that to my list, thank you @Banjobollo!

any other places to do as a must see, or should I keep to my list?

I went in 2022. Had an amazing time. Was really worried as per the news but it was fine. Probably was expecting the worse. I tried to stay out of the Time Square area. The city has lovely food choices and great vibe and friendly atmosphere. Did not used the metro or buses but Uber and yellow cabs.

i think a lot of places have changed since the 1990s/2000s unfortunately. Even where I live (London), the touristy bits are noticeably less charming than they used to be. I walked along the South Bank the other weekend and even though it looks lovely in films from 20 years ago (like Love Actually) and there are nice views from the bridges, it just felt a bit meh. The charm has moved out of the centre, I think, and if you want riverside charm you need to head to Chiswick, Putney etc.

We're planning this one for autumn next year OP - our kids will be 10 and 14 by then so super interested in the responses. Are people's experiences mainly based on staying in Manhattan? We've got family in Brooklyn so we're considering something different and staying there instead as have been to Manhattan a fair few times pre-kids.

We went this year and loved it. Loved it just as much as ten and twenty years ago. Yes it’s a scruffy, edgy and chaotic but it always has been and that’s what I’ve always loved. That is the essence of New York.

It is expensive now though, I live in London and am used to high prices but the food was almost double London prices.

The thread about over rated places is a miserable bag of complainers. They are hilariously grumpy and blinkered in their views. The fact someone had a bad visit somewhere often says more about them than the place.

Whereas we went a lot early 2000s and went again in 2023 and were really disappointed about how sanitised everything was.

NYC used to feel a bumit gritty and exciting.

Now it's all homogenous shops/experiences/food.

Could have been in London. Missed the yellow cabs and dirty feeling (though fully appreciate the benefit to the envriobment of all the electric cars and Boris bikes!)

Bumit... *A bit

I was there in the summer. Have been many times before. It was still a really fun city break.

There is definitely a noticeable increase in homelessness and some quite vulnerable souls on the subway and streets that might make some people feel unsafe. Felt no less safe than London to me, though.

So much to see and do. We had a lovely time in Brooklyn this trip.

Agree on avoiding Times Square and the tourist traps.

We went this winter and loved it, but haven't been before. There is a smell of cannabis in most places to some extent, we travelled all over the place, but it's occasional outside the area around Times Square / midtown better it is really strong and almost constant. There are a lot of homeless people who clearly have serious mental health issues, but we were there over a week and we only actually felt scared once, on the subway. We really liked Williamsburg over in Brooklyn, and also Dumbo over there. It did feel expensive, we didn't do a lot of the tourist attractions, because of that, though we're more mooching and eating people anyway, and lots of the staff in shops and cafes were offhand, but we also met some really friendly people too. I'd definitely go back!

Interesting that someone said it was double London prices. I follow an NYC influencer who joke-complained about coffee now being $5.50 as standard, but it’s nearly £4 (~$4.70) for a coffee in London so quite far off half price!

We were there in April and I still love it. I smelled weed once in Times Square so I never understand the comments that it stinks of weed. It’s still my favourite city.

Maybe like most cities you need to be in the know to get the best value for money.

If you only ate at restaurants in Covent Garden and Soho, you might go away thinking London is terrible value for money. But if you had dinner at some of my favourite spots you’d think London was a bargain 😁

We went 18 months ago and loved it. Avoid the tourist trap areas like Times Square. We much preferred Brooklyn to Manhattan so spent most of our time there. The weed thing is pretty rank but we didn’t notice it in Brooklyn at all, only Manhattan.

Highlights for us were Brooklyn, Dumbo, Williamsburg, the High Line, NY ferries (not the free Staten Island one but the NY ones that cost the price of a subway ticket), Brooklyn Bridge, and a few other pockets.