…and if these don’t get you there, book a private tour!
1. The best people watching is to be done in Union Square not Times Square.
Times Square is what happens when you crawl into the TV in your living room on the commercial break – and with a lot less personal space.
2. If its free and sold out, go anyway.
Due to the fact that it’s impossible for more than 4 New Yorkers to coordinate their lives to show up in the right place at the right time, there’s almost always someone looking to get rid of a hot ticket at the last minute.
3. Dont get on the train car that mysteriously has no people on it.
Trust us.
4. The longer the line the faster it moves –
New Yorkers dont line up for just anything, just anywhere. If the line seems as if its not worth the wait, remember that if New Yorkers can manage to wait for something, so can you.
5. Always know where you’re going, except when in Central Park.
That’s right, go north of 72nd street and get lost. No really get lost. Its kind of the point.
6. Ask A New Yorker!
If the first person cannot answer your question, than the New Yorker eavesdropping will. Besides, we’re notoriously egotistical, so everyone will have a different answer.
7. If you leave New York without taking the subway, then you never went.
Think of it as a backstage pass to New York’s sidewalk performance.
8. Speak Up!
We’ve suffered some hearing loss in our incredibly loud city, so there’s no such thing as an “inside voice”.
9. Order it to the T.
You want your sandwich toasted? With egg whites? Honey dijonnaise? And turkey bacon!?! In the city of such exponential diversity, modifications of all kinds are expected and accommodated. Have it your way, our way.
10. Just because you’re eating pizza in New York, does not mean you’re eating New York pizza.
11. Neale Donald Walsch said: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”.
Remember, New York City is an adventure, not a vacation. Though with The Levys’ Unique New York!, it can be both! (Shameless plug.)
12. New Yorker hospitality is not an oxymoron.
But it is a language to be picked up very quickly.
13. BROOKLYN –
(suggested by Dan Schwartzman)
14. You cannot see the Empire State Building from the Empire State Building.
Think about it.
15. If the (theater-restaurant-bar-club-etc.) is a 10 block walk away, put down your smartphone and enjoy it.
No walk is long in the most visually stimulating city in the world.
-Dahlia Lopez Ramsay
About iammattlevy
This is a corollary to #7 – If you leave New York City without taking a Levy’s tour, then you never went. Think of it as a backstage pass to a Broadway show. Right Matt?
These are great and quite correct! I would like to suggest:
Look both ways, you do not see or hear the bikes.
Never tell a cab driver where you want to go until you get seated in the cab.
Don’t stand in the middle of a sidewalk, it’s the superhighway in NYC.
Never purchase electronics in Times Square.
Swipe your metrocard quickly, most visitors swipe too slowly and jam the lines.
If you take the subway at night wait at the center of the station and seat yourself
in the car with the door conductor, #5 and exit where most people are going, don’t be alone.
Avoid side streets at night as much as possible, walk on the wider and well lite Avenues.
If approached by a low life keep walking and mumble in faux German or Russian!
If you sense you’re being followed duck into a hotel or building lobby esp if there’s a doorman or security guard.
The city is safe but be smart! It helps
these are great! Spot on.
Do you live at a “good” address in the city? If you need to ask where that is, you aren’t a New Yorker.
Talk loudly on your mobile phone or use it to Facebook while walking on the street at all times.
Cut in front of other people. It’s your right.
You went to Harvard, Princeton or Yale. It doesn’t matter where you actually attended college, just tell people you went to one of these 3 and it makes you a better person.
Complain about your year-end bonus. If you don’t know what that is, you aren’t a New Yorker.
Complain about how much you work, like 100 hours a week. That’s when you work 55.
No one takes the subway. Real New Yorkers take a “car” with a driver.
For men, it’s all about your shoes and your watch.
Throw parties at restaurants. Or at least have them catered and have a jazz trio playing.
Never cook your own food.
Send your laundry out. Who washes their own clothes?
Who needs to leave Manhattan? There’s everything you need here. Everywhere else is provincial.