The New York Story

Growing up, all I knew about United States was the Statue of Liberty, when someone spoke about United States, all I thought was about the statue.

As I grew up, I learnt that it is located in New York, as I read more and more about New York, I started falling in love with the city's vibe, lifestyle, hustle and obviously, its massive skyscrapers.

The first time I've been to New York City in 2017, I came to the city for a day trip, I probably had $200 in my bank so I couldn't really do anything there, I saw some skyscrapers from up close and visited Times Square, that's about it. I wanted to come back and get the NYC experience next time.

2022 April, I return to NYC and this time I had a whole plan for 5 days and I made a list to visit them all and get the complete experience this time. I also decided that I'd ride the Subway like the locals and act like some busy person but in reality I was just there for the experience.

The View That Changed Everything

Let me tell you about where I was staying, I checked into my Hotel, I was on the 23rd floor in Midtown at a decent hotel, as I opened my door, through the massive glass window, I had the view of the Empire State Building, The Vanderbilt and a few other skyscrapers. I never stayed in a hotel like that, it was day time and I was pretty impressed with the view and I couldn't wait for it to turn dark, I knew I would be mesmerized by the glowing and inspiring lights of these buildings around me. I left the hotel quickly as I wanted to be in the streets among the hustle and bustle of the city, I don't want to bore you with the details of what I did during the whole day, I have a separate post coming up for that, I'll keep this post only to admire the City and how it inspired me.

The Concrete Jungle Experience

As I stepped into the streets, I had a smile on my face and if you could read my face, it probably had "I made it to the concrete jungle" written all over it. Now as I walked along with the people around me, I was struggling to keep up with the pace of New Yorkers, they were walking fast but hey, I quickly caught up and it became a natural thing over the next few days. There was some kind of energy in people, they wanted to get somewhere, quickly, like they had something really important to do — probably like catching a flight but no, I learnt that is normal, they were just trying to get from point A to point B.

Basically, I understood that New York City is pretty busy and the timeline to get from A to B differs during different days and most times it differs during different times on the same day. So, they just want to get to a subway station and catch a train ASAP and get to their desired location. Also, since there are trains available every 10–20 mins, they want to get on a train ASAP and not miss and wait for the next one, that probably keeps them on their feet all the time. One more thing, I think people walk so much in NYC since its very well laid out, they try to walk faster to reduce times. I think they walk a lot more than people living in other cities.

The Great Equalizer: NYC Subway

Every destination I go to, I always rent cars to explore the place, but with NYC, I knew I din't need that because firstly, the city's public transit system is awesome. Secondly, its difficult to find parking spots and even if you find one, its going to put a hole in your pocket. Talking more about the Subway, I used subway and the buses for the most part, sometimes taxis when it was urgent. In the subway, there were people with maps in their hands (probably tourists like me), people who looked like locals and some folks who really dressed up (probably big shots), subway is probably the only place where a bench in a car is shared by every economic class. Also I think I'd feel unsafe if I was the only one in the car or something, however there was always way too many people so fear factor was pretty low.

It is home to nearly 8.5 million people, one would think that it could be one of the unsafe cities in the country but surprisingly, it is one of the safest big cities in the country, one reason could be that you are never alone when you are in the city, there is always somebody walking with you on the street or sitting in the same car as you in the subway. Also, the police is almost everywhere. As I write this part, I remember that there was a shooting that took place in the subway while I was there and 20 people were injured, does that change my perception about safety? I don't know, stats say otherwise.

A Foodie's Paradise

Are you a foodie? I am.

The best thing about New York's food is that you can get it for cheap unlike San Francisco, I was able to get a breakfast wrap for $6.50 in Midtown, that'd be impossible in the Bay Area. Also, that wrap I talked about was healthy and of good quality for any price. I visited a few carts, ate at a few famous spots and fine dined as well, I really loved everything I had there. There is this dialogue in a Telugu movie about Mumbai's food scene, it goes like this — "In Mumbai, you get food for 10 rupees and you get the same food for 10000 rupees", I felt the food scene in NYC is pretty similar, there is food for everybody, the city doesn't let you starve if you don't have a lot of money, you can always get a decent sized slice of Pizza for a dollar or two. The NY style cheesecake at Junior's was crazy delicious and soft, never had a softer cheesecake than that, it just melted in my mouth. Chicken over Rice from the Halal Guys was pretty tasty too, I've had halal guys in other cities, I don't know if it is the city or something else but the NYC Branch Halal Guys's quality and quantity was higher. Alright, I'll stop at that, I know I'm getting you all craving for some.

The City That Never Sleeps

Let's talk about things to do, the first time I came here, I was just able to catch a glimpse of the city, just a few buildings, times square where I got ripped off for taking a photo with a fake batman — that costed me $20 (I thought it was free, they tell you afterwards that you have to pay, such a scam), I din't even see the Statue of Liberty which was synonymous to the USA for me as a kid. But this time, I had so much to do that I gave it 5 days to explore, the plethora of museums, the central park, observatory decks, food, history, culture, lights and diversity. Again, you don't have to spend a lot to get the NY experience, you can always skip the ticketed venues and instead explore NY for free, maybe visit times square, one world trade centre, cathedrals and view historical buildings from outside and you can still soak in the energy around you and feel jubilated. There is something for everyone out there, NYC is very welcoming in that aspect.

Lights, Camera, Inspiration

As the sun set on the east coast, I planned to go onto the observatory deck of One Vanderbilt to get the view from up top and absorb those glittering lights, as the sky turned darker, the lights turned brighter and it just felt like jewels shining on a black velvet cloth, that's how I'd like to personify the experience. The city was so busy from the top, there were moving lights(cars) and moving people all over the place ever after the working hours. The night life is lit, the tourists keep them lit, that keeps the restaurants open until late. From the top, you can tell by the look of the city that it is a strong economy, NYC and a few other cities like Tokyo and Singapore might be few cities you can judge the economy based on the looks from the top. Talking about lights and nights in NYC, when I was at the Times Square for the first time, I had hair on my hands standing up straight, it was just too much for my eyes, so many lights, there's people all around — everyone probably had their own story of NYC, the advertisements, this was something I just watched on TV and it was overwhelming for my eyes, for a moment, even though I was broke, I just felt some kind of confidence, inspiration in me that I just cannot explain. Maybe my circumstances contributed to the feeling, I'm not sure but all I know for sure is that it was magical.

Driving Through Manhattan

Also, I had a chance to drive in Manhattan, I rented a car to go to Weehawken, NJ just to experience NYC from a distance, as I drove the car through the traffic, I got the hand of it but it was difficult for me to drive like the locals, the locals drive like how I used to drive in Hyderabad, India — No signals, they overtake even if there is a single lane, honking is normal which is pretty much abnormal in the rest of the US, I wouldn't advise driving in NYC, try it for the experience maybe.

The City That Teaches Resilience

As my trip came to an end, I just sat an hour sitting next to the glass window staring at the Skyline from the other side of New York (which is Weehawken in New Jersey), I was probably just getting inspired by the city and admiring its beauty. This is a city that I would probably never get tired of, there is so much to do for everyone, if I wasn't an outdoor person who loves California's vast outdoors with beaches and mountains, I would probably rush to stay in NYC but for now, California is where my home is. With that being said, NYC will probably always inspire and motivate me to move forward no matter what, if NYC has something to teach us, that would be — No matter what happens, NYC just keeps moving forward and that it is impossible to shake the city, the city fought through toughest times and came together when needed as we learn from the history, no wonder it is one of the best cities in the world if not the best.

I might just go on and on, but I'll stop here by saying — Once you make it here, you can make it anywhere, at least that's what people say.