Thoughts on New York City

Drake and I have always loved to travel.  Drake because he grew up traveling from place to place, and he feels comfortable seeing new places.  I love to travel because l had to leave Tulsa, Oklahoma to find the things that I loved - art, theater and ballet.  Before all my Tulsa friends jump down my throat, I'm talking the Tulsa of 1965.  Once you'd been to Philbrook and Gilcrease that was pretty much it back then.  Plus, my parents didn't have the money to go to any theater that came to town, and ballet consisted of my dance recital. 

We started traveling even before we got married - Phoenix may not seem too exotic to me now, but at age 19 it was my first exposure to the desert and all its wonders, and my first road trip.  My love affair with cactus and car trips started in 1970.  We took an NCL cruise in 1975 - at the age of 25!  We were only 40 years younger than almost everyone else.  What we didn't do sealed the deal about travel.  When Merilyn and Norm (Drake's parents) went to Korea, we thought we couldn't afford to go.  Only later did we realize that we missed a great opportunity.  From that point on (the late '70's) we planned trips to lots of great places continuing even after Sarah Lynn was born.

We've been able to spend 30 consecutive days on an uber-vacation twice:  Once in 1980 - we went to Western Europe for 30 days.  (Now that was a trip!  At age 30, I could appreciate all it offered, and I still had the boundless health of the young.)  This 30 day trip to New York City was a gift to ourselves.  Since we have a very limited need for possessions, we decided that this would be the perfect 40th Wedding Anniversary gift.  New York City was our first choice.  I hadn't been there since age 16, and Drake had never been there.  For some reason, it just didn't get 'done' prior to Sarah Lynn's arrival, and NYC is not exactly a kid friendly trip.  

After spending 30 days there, this is what I think.  NYC turned all my assumptions about 'how it would be' on their head.  I assumed it would be difficult to negotiate, overwhelming, overrated, filled with rude people who didn't possess an iota of courtesy, unsafe, and overcrowded.  I was left with two assumptions that turned out to be oh so true:  too many people living too close together, and noisy.  

Because people do live so densely, basic courtesy is the rule.  You say "Excuse Me" when you bump someone inadvertently.  (You're expected, generally, not to especially in transit situations.)  I routinely saw people give up seats to old people, pregnant women, and even to me when someone noticed how much trouble I had staying upright on the subway while standing up.   People thank, you, hold doors, and are generally helpful. 

Tourists are brightly colored buttons in a sea of black.  We're very easy to pick out like M&M's.  Average people were constantly stopping to ask us if we needed help.  We could pause on the street to ponder which way to go, and more than likely someone would stop and ask if we were lost, needed to find the subway, or directions some place.  This happened in all parts of town.  Tourists were also fair game in terms of aggressive marketing.  Most street corners in the places tourists frequent were filled with street carts selling dreck.  Did you know they make I (heart) NY t-shirts in every color under the sun?   Also, if you didn't buy it in Chinatown, you paid too much.  I saw those shirts everywhere priced from $10 each down to 7 for $12 in Chinatown.

After having ridden the subway system at all hours of the day and night (including Sarah and Jay who rode consistently after midnight), I don't understand how any major city can function without one.  Texans should be ashamed of their non-existent transit.  We have 3 of the top 10 cities in the United States, and NONE of them has transit worth spit.  Not only were the subways great, but the bus system was also superior.  You never waited more than 10 minutes for anything - and it was usually much less time waiting than that.  Plus, everything was almost always ON TIME.  If the train was supposed to arrive at 10:03 - by heaven, it was there at 10:03.  

One of the positive things that sheer numbers buys is lots and lots of great art, great theater, great music, and great ballet.  The robber barons were total stinkers, but they did pour money by the carload into culture.  I think they were belatedly trying to save themselves from hell.  I guess I'll have to wait for the afterlife to see if their plan worked.  Everywhere in New York is the touch of the rich.  So many 'collections' are the roots of the great museums.  Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney literally put American artists on the international scene with her money, support and purchases.  Donated pieces of art are housed in buildings that were built with rich people's money.  Us average folks are reaping the benefits of their largess.  New York houses some of the greatest art in the world - yes, to rival Europe and the far East.  The largess of the rich still continues as they patronize and help maintain the great New York artistic institutions.  For example, The American Ballet Theater handout for each performance has a 'sponsor's name' printed under the name of each principal dancer.  I can't imagine what you have to pony up to sponsor a dancer and get your name saying so in the program.

Another assumption that WAS true is the NYC is expensive.  Drake and I both realized that we don't have enough money to be able to live in Manhattan or Brooklyn for that matter.  Drake constantly wondered what people did for a living that allowed them to live in the Big Apple.  We were told that New York has two industries left:  Finance and Tourism.  Tourists account for over 50% of revenue flowing into New York City.  No wonder people were so nice to us.  Those service jobs just don't pay that much though. 

One answer is rent controlled apartments.  The guide on our tour bus was bragging that his grandmother managed to hang onto an apartment in Manhattan for 20 years (the amount of time it takes to become a rent controlled apartment - meaning there can only be a 5% rental increase any year).  His birth certificate listed that apartment as where he born, and now he lives in central Manhattan where apartments routinely rent for $3000 for a rent of $500. We also noticed New Yorkers sharing meals, eating at happy hours, and in places tourists don't know to go.  

A big surprise was how easy New York was to navigate.  It's just not that hard to find where you want to go.  The MTA (metropolitan transit authority) actually has a 'trip planner' embedded in it's website that will say:  Do (1), do (2), do (3) VOILA! - you're where you wanted to go.  Maps are easily available for free everywhere.  

Another surprise was that there was that I really never felt 'ripped off'.  Of course, you have to accept that everything is going to be expensive, but even though we paid a lot of money for certain things (like Yankee/Ranger tickets), I always felt I got value for money.  The only exception was the Guggenheim Museum, and that was more a function of I didn't like the artist they installed throughout the entire museum.

The one thing that bothered me about New York more than anything was the NOISE.  There was constant unrelenting noise.  It was loud, it was hard to ignore, it was blaring, and it was impossible for this country bumpkin to sleep through.  The noise just wore me down.  It was NEVER quiet.  Even at 3am, there was noise.  During the peak of the day it felt like a physical presence beating on you.  The noise alone made me ready to leave.  That coupled with constant people, people, people anytime you stepped out of the house made me very happy to get to New Hampshire.

I'll be ready to go back to NYC in about 3 years.  Without a doubt the next trip will revolve around the ballet.  Drake and I both considered the two ballet performances we attended to be the pinnacles of the trip.  I can see us blowing into New York, after leaving a car in a long term lot in New Jersey and taking the train into town, for a four or five day stay - hitting the NYC Ballet and the ABT, taking in special art exhibitions and going to the theaters.  Now that will be ANOTHER great trip.