"New York City" New York City by Fewf

The five boroughs were consolidated in 1898. I have no idea why that was done, but we ended up with one BIG city on our hands. If the initiative had anything to do with relieving crowding in Manhattan, it failed miserably, but I think most New Yorkers are glad of that.

The Big Apple is a great place for people who love to always have other people around in liberal amounts. A bit tough on those who prefer to be alone sometimes--because that simply won't happen.

New York City is crazy. Everything flies at you at once. On the street, you will be accosted by all sorts of signs and advertisements, most of them very clearly "New York." The people won't normally accost you but if you keep your eyes peeled, you'll see all sorts of interesting and odd specimens of those as well. It's hard to really explain the "New York feel" to somebody who hasn't been there, but once you've visited once (or after a few visits, for certain), you'll know what I mean. You can tell it's New York. It just couldn't be anywhere else.

The Morning After

Many who have never visited think of New York mostly through the phrase "the city that never sleeps," and they decide for themselves what that phrase must mean. Once there, many end up spending hundreds--or thousands--of dollars trying to bring the city in line with the fantasy they had of it before they visited. All they usually get is a severe case of "morning after."

Don't try to turn New York into your fantasy; turn your fantasy into New York. Don't try to make the city a part of you right away; be a part of the city. The rest will happen.