There is nothing like going to New York for the first time. To be able to see all the sights, the landmarks, go shopping to your heart’s content.. it's wonderful. You really get to enjoy so much in a small area.
After having went to the wonderful city with my wife, I realized there were so many things I wish I would've known. We were thrown into a whole new environment and culture thriving on unspoken rules that could have made our lives and time there a little easier had we known. So I want to share my knowledge with you.
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Here are the 5 things I wish I knew before visiting New York. Hopefully they will help you out too.
1. Figure Out The Transits
My wife and I live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and that means we have no subways or trains in our area. Jumping into New York was a huge surge of excitement and adventure, but it was also overwhelming and disorienting.
My recommendation is to study up on how their transit works before you go. Assuming you have a smartphone, there are so many great apps that will tell you what subways to take to get you to the right area. I used a combination of Transit and Google Maps to get me through the city. It tells you when they will arrive, how many stops it will take to get to your destination, and how long it will take on average for you to get there.
If you can take the time to figure all that out, it will save you an immense amount of time when you arrive. To give you an idea, my wife and I got on the wrong subway twice before realizing how everything worked. It took about 30 minutes out of our day - but it was still so much fun in the process!
2. Pretend Like You Know Where You Are Going
This one may sound weird, but all my native New York friends told me that acting like I am fully aware of where I want to go detracts all the tour guides and people trying to sell you everything under the sun.
Go ahead and take all the pictures you want, buy all the products that you want to bring back home, and enjoy the scenery. When you go walking, however, make sure that you at least act like you know where you are going. If you don’t, they will be on you like a hawk.
Another tip is that I just completely ignored all the people who tried talking to me (but it’s hard to live with my conscience when I do that.) It works though!
3. Make A Schedule Of Places To Visit
There is so much to do with so little time. We had one day and one day only to visit everything we wanted to see (taking advantage of the weekend.) We sat down and planned all of what we wanted to see, and then separated them into the have-to and the want-to.
We actually were only able to do the have to's, but now we can go back and do the want-to of our list. Take the time to plan and then you can create a loop around New York to utilize your time in the best way possible.
4. Drink Lots Of Water
So this may be a given, but you can also forget if you get too excited about the whole trip which is what happened to me. We, of course, drank water throughout the day, but not near enough to resupply our entire day of walking and exercising.
I ended up getting back to our hotel with a splitting headache and an upset stomach from the lack of water. My wife had similar but not as similar results. After several cups to quench our thirst, we were perfectly fine. So it is important that you stay well hydrated during your adventures.
5. Wear Comfortable Shoes
You are inevitably going to be walking all day and your feet will notice the distance. When you go, you better find the most comfortable shoes that you have because you will have to travel by foot for everything. Aside from the bus trips and subways, you won’t have a lot of rest.
Tennis shoes would have been my shoe of choice, but you pick whatever is best for you. I ended up having blisters on my feet even with decent boots. You will enjoy the sights much more when you aren’t regretting another 2 miles ahead of you.
Those are the things that I wish I knew and I wanted to tell you before you went on your adventure to New York. It’s one of the best trips that I have ever taken and I’m sure it will be just as amazing for you! We will definitely be going again, but we will remember what to do next time!
Have fun and bring me back a souvenir when you go!
