Going to NYC for the first time

Colleges and Universities A-Z New York University
1

<p>I'm 19 years old and I live in Los Angeles. I will be visiting NYC in April...for the first time. The person I'm staying with lives in Manhattan and has a super busy schedule and I'll have to get a cab from JFK to their house and basically just go on adventures by myself while I'm there. I like to be alone, but I suck when it comes to figuring out where the hell I'm going. I worry that I will get seriously lost. I wish that I was traveling with just one other person, but obviously that isn't an option. I didn't even care really when she told me I'd have to just spend my day taking the subway wherever I want to go, but when I told my mom all of this she had this terrified look on her face.</p>

<p>I am not the most independent person, but I am trying to be. I'm nervous about the trip but I'm also really excited, and my mom, who of course has the right to worry...has kind of freaked me out. I already bought my ticket and there is no way in hell that I'm not going, so what tips do you guys have for me? My mom flipped out when I told her that my flight arrives in NY at 10pm and that I'll be taking a taxi that late at night, but I'm not worried. I mean there's nothing I can do about it, so I'll just go with the flow. But what should I do while I'm there? I might meet up with someone but if I don't...I'll be on my own for about 85% of the 5 day trip. </p>

<p>If I get into NYU and move to New York...I'll end up having to do this stuff anyway, so why not do it now?</p>

2

<p>My son went to college in Scotland, and flew to London, then to Edinburgh, and then took a bus to his college at St Andrews, all by himself.</p>

<p>At first, it seemed to me to be unthinkable, but as you said, if you do get into NYU, you will be roaming around New York City every day starting in September.</p>

<p>You might want to go on some organized tour bus to visit the tourist sites.</p>

<p>Also, you should divide the city into different sections, and concentrate on seeing one such section of the city each day.</p>

<p>If you can afford it, you can take cabs everywhere. Then you won’t get lost. </p>

<p>Also, you can bring a GPS with you. They work even if you are walking, rather than driving.</p>

<p>Also, buy a travel guide at a Barnes & Noble. They basically spoonfeed you. They say, “walk here, then walk there”. </p>

<p>This is really no different than if you were visiting Rome or Paris. You wouldn’t know those cities either.</p>

<p>At least your friend lives in Manhattan. That will make things much easier for you, than if he/she lived in Brooklyn, Queens, or the Bronx.</p>

<p>Suggestions: Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Got to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Walk around the park at NYU. Walk around both the East and the West Village, so you will get an idea of what it is like to live near NYU.</p>

<p>Walk up and down Columbus Ave and Amsterdam Ave, on the Upper West Side.</p>

<p>Go to the Planetarium, and the Museum of Natural History.</p>

<p>Walk around Times Square.</p>

<p>I would not go to the top of the Empire State Building. The lines are incredibly long. It literally takes hours and hours.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the suggestions! Also, there’s a slight chance that I might meet up with someone I know. But I’m not depending on that. Thanks again.</p>

4

<p>Damn some kids are really sheltered. It’s not 1990 anymore and there are neighborhoods in Manhattan that are way sketchier than the majority of Brooklyn or Queens. Just don’t get in the cab with one of the cab guys that grab you as you walk out. Get in the line for a cab right outside the door and it’ll be perfectly safe. I think the fare from JFK is $50 + tolls and tip.</p>

5

<p>You only suck at figuring out where you are going cause you live in LA! :slight_smile: Seriously, Manhattan streets are laid out in a grid mostly, avenues run north-south and streets east-west. This changes a bit in lower Manhattan though. Subways are pretty easy but cabs allow you to see more. You can get a lot of good exercise walking there. Your smart phone may have a GPS app and there is a NYC subway app you can download. Uptown is toward Central Park and downtown is toward the statue of liberty. A tour is always a good idea as mentioned above. You’ll have fun!</p>

6

<p>Lullinatalk, unless the OP wanders down alleys he/she should be fine in Manhattan. Can you tell us what section of Manhattan you will be staying in? Manhattan is pretty easy, but there are sections in the village that veer off on a slant and could get confusing.</p>

<p>Personally, I wouldn’t take taxis all around Manhattan, like someone said above. Much better to get out the subway map and figure it out, rather than be at the mercy of the cabdrivers and traffic. </p>

<p>My suggestion is have a compass with you (I’ve got one on my iPhone). Knowing what’s east/west/north/south is what you need to have to navigate the city easily.</p>

<p>So many tourists are interested in Times Square, wander around Penn Station, Empire State Building, etc. This NYer thinks those areas are in the circles of Dante’s Inferno.</p>

7

<p>I’ll be staying in Lower Manhattan, really close to ground zero. I’m not really interested in Times Square. I have a feeling that it’ll be similar to Hollywood Blvd which is just…a nightmare. I’m curious but it’s not a must see on my list. I want to visit places like Greenwich Village, Central Park, The Natural History Museum, The Metropolitan and the planetarium sounds cool. I guess I’m mainly interested in visiting places near NYU, seeing as that’s where I’ll hopefully be going to school. Brooklyn also seems cool but I don’t know of any specific places there.</p>

8

<p>Take a walk on the High Line. Visit the Meat Packing District (restaurants, clubs, beer gardens and expensive shopping) and Chelsea Market near the southern end and walk up towards 34th street where a new extension is being built. The High Line is a former rail road track now converted into a vertical park. You will find yourself among native New Yorkers and a lot of international travelers. Around 23rd Street you can detour off and head uptown to visit art galleries between 10th and 11th Avenue. (Some were flooded out by Hurricane Sandy, but many are back.)</p>

9

<p>In Brooklyn, take the L train to Williamsburg.</p>

10

<p>If you’re getting in late (no traffic) don’t let the cabbies charge you the flat $52 fare–a metered ride should be no more than $45. On the other hand if you’re worried about it you could just do the flat fare. </p>

<p>@" It’s not 1990 anymore and there are neighborhoods in Manhattan that are way sketchier than the majority of Brooklyn or Queens."</p>

<p>Honestly the only places in Manhattan I’ve ever felt unsafe is East Harlem above 117th and UWS above 135th. I suppose I don’t know what you mean by sketchy, but in terms of actual safety it’s incorrect to say that a “majority of Brooklyn and Queens” is safer than the average Manhattan neighborhood.</p>

11

<p>Definitely the High Line. In Brooklyn, walk over the Brooklyn Bridge on a nice day and walk around Brooklyn Bridge Park, DUMBO, the Heights Promenade, etc.</p>

12

<p>if you’re really bad at directions and find yourself in parts of lower east side/alphabet city while wandering around nyu and soho, you may find it a bit sketchier than… god knows what, astoria</p>

13

<p>Android phones give excellent walking and public transit directions with their built-in GPS.</p>

<p>Bring really comfortable shoes and enjoy! You’ll have lots of fun. </p>

<p>If you are downtown, walk to the river and check out the park alongside Battery Park City on the river. Stuyvesant High School is at the northern end of it and the kids there go out for lunch. Pace University is just south of the Brooklyn Bridge. NYU has dorms and classrooms downtown. Columbia U. has a beautiful open quad just east of Broadway.</p>

<p>You’ll have no trouble finding people to hang out with, including lots of teen tourists. So even if you don’t meet up with someone you know, you’ll find it easy to meet other young people to explore the city.</p>

14

<p>So you’re picking the “worst” neighborhood in Manhattan and comparing it to Astoria? That’s a logical fallacy. It’s like comparing the UES to East New York. As a whole, Manhattan is extremely safe. Alphabet City is perfectly fine during the day, and I wouldn’t consider it “sketchy” until you get past Ave. C.</p>

15

<p>Bring two comfortable pairs of shoes because you will walk everywhere, and you will want to alternate pairs. Walking is unavoidable and the most efficient way to get around, after the subway. You will see so much of NYC on foot.</p>

<p>Download Hop Stop to your phone for subway directions, but the actual subway maps are also helpful. You may find yourself turned around when you exit the subway, but the worst that will happen is that you have to walk an extra block or two until you gain your bearings. However, it is easy to get lost in Central Park.</p>

<p>Only caution is to not wander around staring at your phone and avoid puling it out on the subway also. NYC is an incredibly safe city, but there has been a recent uptick in snatch and grab of phones.</p>

<p>You can go to Trip Advisor and look at the list of top NYC activities and just choose those that are free. Have fun!</p>

16

<p>That’s why I said “there are” places in Manhattan that are sketchier than “the majority” of BK/Queens. If you can’t distinguish between this and “the entirety of Manhattan is sketchier than all of BK/Queens” then I’d suggest you steer clear of logic classes.</p>

17

<p>I have an iphone and I downloaded all of the apps that everyone suggested, thanks! Also, can someone suggest a reliable and relatively cheap car service that I could use? Haha my mom is acting paranoid and wants me to take the super shuttle instead of a taxi because that’s what we usually use when we travel to and from the airport, but I seriously don’t feel like making stops that late ugh. My cousin told me to look up places in chinatown because everything is cheap but my mom is worried that something “sketch” will happen.</p>

18

<p>You’re not comparing apples to apples. Either way, irrelevant. </p>

<p>Supershuttle is okay, if late at night and you’re fairly certain your flight won’t be delayed. There’s no difference in safety in either choice. With a taxi, the only concern you might have is that you might get jipped, but if you look up a route beforehand and tell the driver to take it he is obligated to do it. Supershuttle, depending on how many other people are on the same van, might take you twice as long.
What are you looking up in Chinatown… car services?</p>

19

<p>Yeah I was looking up car services in chinatown on yelp. I’ll probably just end up using supershuttle…and I have until April to make up my mind haha</p>

20

<p>So I’m in NYC right now (on the staten island ferry haha). I took a taxi to my cousin’s apt. which was beyond easy/convenient. This morning I took the subway to washington sq park which I was kind of nervous about ha…but it was so easy that I felt ridiculous for being worried, ha. I walked around Soho and I ended walking back to lower Manhattan where I’m staying, which didn’t take as long as I thought it would and yeah, I’m having fun and things haven’t been as intimidating as I thought they would be. Thanks everyone for your suggestions/help. Tomorrow I plan on taking the train to 86th st and I’ll probably go to the Met cause it’s supposed to rain.</p>