Like many Amherst students, I am returning to my home state for Thanksgiving. For me, home is New York City, a place like no other. Though I brag about the museums, restaurants and fun activities in the city—especially my borough of Brooklyn—I can’t help but roll my eyes when people tell me they are visiting New York City for Thanksgiving break. For most big city folks, the idea of tourists flocking to their hometown makes them shiver with annoyance (ironic since most city folks cause small town folks the same reaction when we visit).
Now, don’t start changing your vacation plans yet. You see there are many ways to get the full big city experience, without hindering the locals along the way. From one friend to another, here are ways to tour New York City or any major city in the most effective way.
Bring A Friend
A friend can help when going on vacation. He or she can split hotel costs, give insight and help you take awesome Facebook photos. Honestly, any excursion is more fun when there are more people around. While more is merrier, limit your group to under ten. There is no worse nightmare for a local than seeing a bunch of confused faces taking up the whole sidewalk as they read the signs. It’s a hindrance and it’s most likely a safety hazard too.
Plan Your Sleeping Arrangements
I hope everyone does this before visiting any new place, but in a large city this step is crucial. Firstly, ask friends if they can offer a place to stay. Most hotels thrive off of the holiday rush, especially in cities where they host large events (like the Macy’s Day Parade). Staying with a friend can limit costs and enhance your experience. When you surround yourself with locals, it’s easier to find the best places to allocate your time. If you don’t have a friend with extra space, look into staying at a hotel. Think more about your sleeping arrangement for the price versus location. Remember in big cities mass transit can get you almost anywhere you need to go! Don’t spend $200 to sleep in a cramped room in Time Square when you could spend $2.25 to get there.
Map Out Where You Want To Go
You have one week to soak up everything this city has to offer. Make a list of everything you want to see. This helps the locals too. They don’t have to stand behind you while you decide between going downtown for lunch or going uptown to the wax museum. You want to balance your time. Leave room for exploring, shopping and bumping into another group of college students along the way. You want to have a little flexibility but you still want to ensure you will do something memorable (not wandering aimlessly in the cold).
Transportation
Where will you get transportation to the city and to return to campus? Do you need a metro card? Does the train take cash? Coins or dollars? These are all very important questions that you should know the answer to before arriving at your destination. Most people don’t forget to book their tickets to get to the city but they don’t look up where they will be dropped off. You want to know how far away it is from your sleeping arrangements or a place to eat. Little things like understanding the metro system of the city can help you to save money and use your time efficiently when touring around.
Food
Getting food can be very difficult in a big city especially if you visit high tourist areas. This is where the Yelp app on your phone becomes your best friend. Most big city folk love to write reviews on the best and worst restaurants in town. You will get a spectrum of opinions on price, quality and quantity.
Ask For Directions
Now, I don’t know about other major city locals, but New Yorkers love to give directions. We suddenly get animated and will sometimes even walk the person if they are going in the same direction. If you worry about getting pranked by some cold-hearted person, ask a police officer. They will always give you the right directions and are almost everywhere in the city. If you are at a store, consider asking one of the people who work there. They are there to help the customer and they usually know the area pretty well.
Keep an Open Mind
A vacation is a time to try new things. Yes you may miss McDonald’s french fries after months of Val, but in this case, enjoying Thai fried rice may make your time more memorable. Instead of going to see Wicked, maybe watch an off-broadway show like Avenue Q. It’s always disappointing to hear, “You’re from New York, I visited there last vacation. I visited (-insert completely typical place here-).” Everyone wants a tourist to get the best experience from their city, and a well-rounded one too. They want you to see the hipster parts of Brooklyn, the edgy parts of Queens and the party-scene in The Bronx. In other words, don’t limit your fun to what you see on television and you can change the local reaction of, “Oh you went to New York…” to “Wow, next time you’re in the city, we definitely need to hangout!”