How to properly visit New York City


a large building with many people with Grand Central Terminal in the background

I’m excessively helpful when I see people lost on the streets of New York City. I like offering directions or suggestions for places to go and things to do. Mostly because I hope that karma works and that I’ll meet similarly friendly people when lost on my travels but also because I like the tax revenue tourists bring in. It is all good. At the same time, however, there are some things which are harder to manage with visitors. Sometimes the requests they make are silly or, in my opinion, bad ideas. I’ll still help them, but I have been known to divert people from their planned walk towards Times Square to stop off inside Grand Central Terminal and look at the ceiling from time to time.

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What I’ve never managed to do, however, is be quite this funny about how tourists should behave in NYC and why:

We’re not rude and Times Square isn’t a great place to visit. There’s reasons for that and you should understand them, not just assume we’re all assholes.

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Seth Miller

I'm Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there's no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

6 Comments

  1. Totally loved Johnny T’s tips. I may be living in the PNW but I was born in NY and with all the coverage in the media about the new mayor, I’ve had NYC on my mind all day. Great fun and so true!

  2. I loved when Michael Scott went to his favorite authentic Italian restaurant…Sbarros!

  3. Hilarious! However, as someone who lived in NY for 14 years I can say with authority that most New Yorkers are assholes to tourists. It’s just that they have understandable reasons for being so, as portrayed in this video. 🙂 But you cannot say with a straight face that most New Yorkers are not assholes (to tourists)!!

    PS: that whole “moving fast” crap is why I left. When you move that fast you’ll be dead before you know it and won’t enjoy a moment of your fast-moving life. I still adore NY and go there every couple of months (by choice), but only as a jerk.

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