"The Big Apple" New York City by sarahandgareth

New York City Travel Guide: 15,523 reviews and 30,894 photos

More by accident than by any sort of planning, we had the opportunity to live in New York City for six months in 2002. Gareth was offered a temporary position at the Irish Mission to the UN. Although neither one of us had ever really considered moving to New York before, there was no way we could turn down this chance. So, in January of 2002 we packed our bags, left our car and hiking boots in storage, and caught the bus to New York.

We both agree that could not live in New York long term, we enjoy open spaces and our garden too much for that, but we loved it while we were there and took advantage of every opportunity to get out and see the city. The very fact that we knew the situation was temporary kept inspiring us to really explore the city rather than taking it for granted the way we might have if our move had been more long term.

Now that we are living in the Boston area we try to make regular trips to New York to revisit our old haunts and find new secrets in this never sleeping city.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Tons of things to do, people to watch, restaurants to try and place to wander."
Cons:Busy, busy, busy.
In a nutshell:Never a dull moment!

Last visit to New York City: Jul 2008
Intro Updated Jul 7, 2008
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Reviews (64)

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Very Little Italy Things to Do (16)

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Grand Central Terminal Things to Do (16)

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Lower East Side Tenement Museum Things to Do (16)

This is a great complement to Ellis Island, giving an insight into the lives of many immigrants after they stepped off... more travel advice

Restaurants (14)
See All A Russian extravaganza
Hotels (1)
Funky Flatiron pad
Transportation (5)
See All New York By Train - Penn Station
Off The Beaten Path (6)
See All Brooklyn's 'Central Park'
Sports & Outdoors (2)
See All Running around the city
Shopping (7)
See All Mall shopping without the Mall

Favorites (1)
The sound of New York
Nightlife (3)
See All A neighborhood bar with beer to spare
Tourist Traps (1)
The Site of the World Trade Center
What to Pack (1)
Beware of Sore Feet
Warnings and Dangers (1)
Don't underestimate the heat!
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Comments (12)

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Easty Aug 16, 2003 at 7:55 PM

Nice job on this page. The tips on this page are very accurate and helpful. It showed that you learned alot living in NYC.
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bluewilldo Aug 9, 2003 at 10:21 AM

I couldn't have said it better. I not only agree 100% but applaud you gusto in saying that.
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Phillylawyer_19107 Aug 6, 2003 at 3:23 AM

Interesting point of view on the Ground Zero. I do agree somewhat, though I have to say I went there to grieve and don't regret it, and the many signs of sympathy there are touching.
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hundertmorgen Aug 5, 2003 at 3:51 AM

Harlem Walking Tours... really a great tip! Thank you! I will check it in September...great
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dsantosh Jul 16, 2003 at 6:12 AM

Excellant pages...nice coverage..useful information
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aukjejetty Jun 23, 2003 at 11:48 AM

You got wonderful tips! Another great thing about Prospect park are the concerts they have there in the summer.
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sflorenz Jun 20, 2003 at 12:31 PM

Wow! This is a great page with tons of useful info.
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feline01 Jun 19, 2003 at 1:45 PM

Great page, you've covered alot of NYC minutiae that is often overlooked such as crossing the street. I've seen many tourists (and locals) nearly run over and a few actually hit.
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RandomLion Jun 19, 2003 at 12:24 PM

Great page. I agree about Central park. . . you can spend hours and hours there. . .Definatly going to have to check out the Blind Tiger . . only a 90 min drive woo hoo Friday night!
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mcfeelyg Jun 16, 2003 at 6:23 AM

Some great restaurant tips: always looking for places to eat in NYC!