how's life on the east coast? esp new york??

Pre-College Issues High School Life
21

<p>I live in the Midwest but I usually spend at least a month each summer on the East Coast. Most of it is spent in the DC suburbs with Maryland, so we drive everywhere. But I also spend time in the city (with my brother and some other relatives), in the richy-rich suburbs (with my aunt), and way out in the country (we have a house and some relatives there). It's not really all that different, but it's much better. For a long time my brother didn't have a car in DC and it was still pretty easy. We went everywhere in the subway. But he did sometimes borrow his cousin's car. Basically, in DC you can get around without a car, but it's more practical to have one. Where my aunt lives is like any other well-off subdivision. Way out in the country is like any other rural area. It is however, sort of close to Monticello and to UVA, so that's nice. One of my mother's cousins is on the staff at UVA, so we visit there sometimes.</p>

<p>I've spent maybe two days in New York in my life, so I don't know anything about it. If you ever travel from NY to DC though, you should take the train, and first class if you can. It is unbelievably fun, and when you go first class they give you everything you want.</p>

<p>And DC isn't nearly as dangerous as people make it out to be. Nowadays sometimes, I'll get dropped off somewhere on the mall with my sister and cousin and we'll be left to our own devices. It's cool. The mall in general is pretty safe. I was wandering around the Capitol and Chinatown (the whole Georgia Ave area. My aunt has an apartment there and my brother and I went for sushi) and I felt completely safe. There are, however, gigantic rats. They are horrible.</p>

<p>And all the tourists suck. When I was under 10 my grandparents used to drag me to the mall in the summer in the middle of the day because they thought it was important that I see the monuments but now we don't go anywhere near the area if I'm there in the summer. But if you go in the middle of the night, it's nice, even though you can't go in anything. No one's there and it's cool and calm and quiet.</p>

22

<p>^wow nice description
so would you want to move anywhere else or are you happy where you are??</p>

23

<p>I live in Pennsylvania, but have traveled to NYC/Boston/Providence many times and honestly couldn't picture myself living anywhere else in the United States. Overall, the East Coast/northeast is great if you love having 4 distinct seasons (albeit with a very long winter), and a mix of great cities/suburbs/picturesque mountain ranges and nature sights.</p>

24

<p>I'm definitely planning to live on the East Coast as an adult. Chicago is the only Midwestern place worth living in and even if I were there, I'd tire of being so far from the ocean. The ocean is one of the best things out there.</p>

<p>And I don't want to live on the West Coast. It's not me.</p>

25

<p>now i wanna move there more :D
so does it snow alot??
ohh and do people get depressed because winter is so long? ya know..with seasonal affective disorder and such...i wanna beeee happyyy!! haha</p>

<p>i hate vegas. it's hot and dry and makes your skin dry. =[ and there is nothing here and the strip is overrated.</p>

26

<p>East coast ftmfwwww its legit</p>

27

<p>are there a lot of gangsters there? O.o</p>

28

<p>I live in the South, but we go up to NYC occasionally and I LOVE it there. We've been to DC too. But yeah, all the New Yorkers I met were really nice and polite. Not at all like what everyone else told me. I mean, you wouldn't smile at a random stranger on the street or anything but didn't encounter much rudeness. </p>

<p>And so true about the steam coming up from the manholes (haha I didn't know that's what they were called). It was quite fascinating at first, but we got used to it pretty fast and you don't notice them at all after a while.</p>

<p>The traffic scared the crap out of me though. Taxis were insane. Everything was really fast paced. Everyone knew where they were going and what they were gonna do with their life haha. I'm not sure I would like that ALL the time though..</p>

<p>Umm people wear a lot of black? The first time me and my friends were there, it was spring and we all had little colorful sundresses on....and BOY did we stand out. We all bought long black peacoats the next day. haha. </p>

<p>We usually go during spring/summer so can't comment on the winter weather. I would like to know though! I love having 4 season but I don't really like the cold. I mean, I'll suck it up but is it really that bad? </p>

<p>I'm like ...determined to go east for college. It'll be different but that's why I want to go. I really want a change, a new environment and I've always been sorta fascinated by the east coast.</p>

29

<p>Sorry about using this thread to ask my own question but how is philly?</p>

30

<p>It's the worst place ever. No joke.</p>

31

<p>nj is boring as ****. i'm not biased against nj as i live in nj and i used to live in st louis. i'm moving to either the southeast or back to the midwest for college this coming school year.</p>

32

<p>New York City is freaking fabulous. If you love theater/Broadway, you can't live anywhere else. Period. The stereotype is that New Yorkers = rude, but they just have an agenda and they get things done quickly. I spent a week in LA last summer, and I honestly thought time was moving backwards: things just move so slowly and calmly in comparison to the city. (Also, if someone refers to THE city, they're talking about Manhattan.) As long as you don't stare at people for a long time, know some self defense, and watch yourself at night, things really aren't bad. </p>

<p>You don't need a car to get around; the public transportation system is legit and it rocks. Traffic isn't LA traffic, but it's present. Cars are always honking, there is always construction, and you will most likely see a celebrity/television crew somewhere. </p>

<p>Tourists in Manhattan/Times Square are really, really annoying. Don't ever make a sudden stop in the middle of the sidewalk. The summers get really hot and sticky, the winters get really cold. But NYC at Christmas time is the most wonderful experience EVER and you haven't lived until you've been through it, and it's great to have four distinct seasons. </p>

<p>New Yorkers have style. People will wear whatever they feel like wearing, and most importantly, have the ability to pull it off. SoHo is getting too tourist-y now, but there's still lots of great shopping, of course (and I don't necessarily mean Saks 5th Ave/Barney's type shopping). </p>

<p>I don't think there's a true "New Yawk" accent anymore, mostly because most people aren't originally from NY. Oh, and yes, many people who work in the city are from northern New Jersey, which, despite popular opinion, is actually a nice place to live in (even if it is boring and cliche), as many of the richest towns in the country are located in Bergen county. Southern and northern NJ could/should really be two separate states, honestly. But sure, there are people who don't enunciate the r's at the end of words, but there's a whole slew of accents/no accents.</p>

<p>It's not for everyone, but it's a really exciting place to live in, if you're blessed with the opportunity to.</p>