Experience New York City Like a Local

One thing I quickly learned when I moved to New York one year ago, was that visiting as a tourist is a completely different experience than living here. The list of comparisons feels endless but here are a few of the main ones that come to mind and a little advice on navigating the city.

• Take the subway everywhere. Locals don’t take yellow cabs. If we need to go somewhere by car we use Uber or Lyft.
• Walk. Fast. When locals walk around Manhattan they don’t stop suddenly to look up. A local knows the rules of the pathways which leaves no time for looking at your surroundings, as sad as that may sound. We know where we need to go and don’t waste time getting there.
• Stay away from Times Square. Sure it’s cool to look at but no local has a reason to be there unless they genuinely enjoy feeling like a sardine or like to eat in overpriced, poor quality mega-chain restaurants.
• Drink good coffee. The “city that never sleeps” is fueled by coffee, but not just any coffee. There might be a chain coffee shop on every corner in New York City, but you won’t find many locals there. A true local will forgo Starbucks for freshly roasted beans and pour-over brews. Hot spots include Blue Bottle Coffee, Everyman Espresso, Joe the Art of Coffee, La Colombe, Stumptown, and Third Rail Coffee.
• Shop in sample sales. Buy books in local bookstores. Get your vegetables and fruit in farmer markets.
• Do Brunch. Weekend brunch is a way of life here. Experience a million different varieties of eggs Benedict, fruit-filled pancakes, chocolate French toast, gourmet burgers, or fried chicken and waffles, accompanied by mimosas, Bloody Marys, or specialty brunch cocktails. These days, just about every restaurant worth going to requires an advanced booking for their brunch on the weekends.
• Don’t eat in American chain restaurants. There’s really never a good excuse to eat in one of these places when you have literally hundreds of other eateries to choose from with much better food. If you’re stuck for ideas see my NYC restaurant guide & map HERE.
• Don’t pronounce Houston Street like the city in Texas. It is named after a guy who pronounced his name “HOW-stin.”
• Subway advice: If a subway car pulls up and you notice two-thirds of it is packed and the last third is empty, everyone’s not too stupid to walk to the end: they just smell something you don’t yet. Always stay with the crowd.
• People on the subway mean business. There is no time to pause, so jump off the carriage and power walk out of that station. Never, under any circumstances stop at the very top or bottom of a staircase.
• Drink the tap water. The tap water in New York is the best filtered and treated water in the country.
• Buy everything on your credit card and build up your credit score. I never did get around to this but if you’re living in America long term it is a must. You can save money in multiple ways, build points towards flights and hotels and of course it’s super helpful when finding a place to rent.
•  Don’t limit yourself to Manhattan, check out Dumbo and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, Hoboken in New Jersey and White Plains in Westchester, Upstate New York. The beautiful towns of Connecticut are only an hour away too.