Visiting New York is fun, but living in New York can be more fun
Lifestyle Fashion

Visiting New York is fun, but living in New York can be more fun

A friend of mine I met in Chicago, who is visiting New York, reiterated that same statement to me today. He said that he had fallen in love with New York and that he saw it as impossible to get bored here. “There is a LOT to do. Chicago is fun, but compact.” New York City stretches before a person for miles, and within each mile there is more than enough to do in a week, even without visiting all the iconic places known to tourists and New Yorkers alike.

Think of all the different places and things that can be done just for exercise, outdoors. Get ready for a half marathon or a full marathon: go to Central Park or Riverside Park or even walk the length of Manhattan. Walking the length of Manhattan may sound overwhelming, but when I was training for a marathon, my walking coach had me walk at least half of the marathon within a week of the walk. Choose a favorite avenue or one of the famous avenues to walk or combine them and walk a little more than the 13-mile length of Manhattan. My favorites to walk around are Broadway and the Avenue of the Americas (commonly known as Sixth Avenue) and Fifth Avenue. If you’re a morning person and it’s spring, start at the bottom of the island on Broadway, before the rush of all the people going to their various jobs on Wall St. Passing by on your left will be the famous Bull, for the bull market . Continue north through Wall St. and its various commercial amenities, City Hall, along with its beautiful park, will appear on your right, how many times have you told your guests to visit City Hall? Looking east is the Brooklyn Bridge, which could be a sidewalk experience in itself. Imagine stepping out into the middle on a beautiful day to see three of the five boroughs within easy reach. It’s amazing, in addition to all the other bridges. It’s nice.

Continue up Broadway through Greenwich Village, the perfect spot for a mid-morning snack, although most often on 6th Avenue, the intriguing food spots along the way on Broadway will keep you salivating. At 14th Street there is a fork in the road and your choice is to go up Park Avenue, but I’ll take Broadway. It depends if you want to see shops or big houses. Continuing down Broadway, you’ll come across the sometimes wild Union Square. There are always vendors, sometimes protesters or dancers or musicians. Whatever you can sometimes see in Union Square. Depending on the day you go for a walk, you might be at the famous Union Square Green Market and then have an easy lunch. Fresh state foods abound to entice you to shop and eat or both. However, don’t buy anything you can’t eat while walking, no matter how tempting it may be, because it will weigh you down. You can always come back; vendors are there until almost dark. Continuing down Broadway will take you to the eastern edges of the Garment District, mainly the accessories part, luggage, handbags, some scarves and necklaces, as well as hair accessories and wigs. If it’s a hot day, you may also be able to find a sun hat along this route. Keep walking and you’re in Herald Square, near Macy’s and the super discount store with the pink bags. You know which one. If you’re walking around for Easter, you can enjoy the Macy’s Flower Show in your windows, if not, then your windows anyway.

Keep walking down Broadway and you’ll be in Times Square in no time, where all the tourists or people who don’t live here full time hang out from west to east checking out the iconic spots and the ones you won’t be visiting today. Between Times Square and Columbus Circle there are more sightseeing or window shopping adventures on your journey. At Columbus Circle is the third fork in the path of your travels. If you want a quiet break as you walk north without too much foot traffic and the refreshing view of Central Park to your right, then take the 59th Street exit and follow Central Park West (CPW) for 51 blocks or continue on North Broadway. If you continue on CPW, you will be greeted by several doormen as you traverse the west side of the street. On 96th Street you will be able to get up close to Columbus and see the new buildings they have and are building as new residences, which adjoin or are across the street from the mall which includes WholeFoods, a great place to stop for lunch and bathroom, if you need it. Also, in this same complex is Michaels, the craft store. We (craftsmen) knew what we were missing at Michaels before and it’s finally here.

If you’ve walked down Broadway to this point, you’ve passed the Time-Warner building with several stores including Borders & WholeFoods, Lincoln Center, several magazine stores, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, mom and pot cafes (they still exist.), the American Folk Art Museum, various bookstores, boutiques, Fairway, Zabar’s and Westside Market along with other museums on inner streets, other music venues including Symphony Space. Past 96th on Broadway, you’re at the various restaurants around the world, along with six high schools. (Columbia University, Barnard College, Teachers’ College, Union Theological Seminary, Jewish Theological Seminary, and Manhattan School of Music) When my husband and I started dating, I lived in this neighborhood and he drove from Queens where there was easy parking, but when school was in session I would sometimes be an hour late driving around trying to find a parking space, but I digress. At 125th Street you are officially in Harlem, albeit on the western side. Before reaching this place, other iconic places are located both to the west and to the east. To your right (west) are Grant’s Tomb and Riverside Church on Riverside Drive. To your left (east) is the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Amsterdam and 110th St., the upper part of Central Park and Morning Side Park begins, along with the division of Harlem’s Heights and the Harlem Valley, all on 110th Street.

Between 125 and 190 there are several smaller parks, restaurants, shops, and even to the east in Amsterdam, City College, and (part of CUNY) that host various music events and award shows throughout the year. On 190th Street in Fort Washington, which extends to Broadway, is Fort Tryon Park, which includes the Cloisters. This is a great spot for a picnic as it is one of the highest points in Manhattan and overlooks the Hudson River and of course New Jersey. The Cloisters Museum is the closest to Dyckman (or 200th St.). Keep walking 20 more blocks and you will have reached the island. To the west is another green space, several actually, Isham Park, Inwood Hill Park, Inwood Hill Nature Center, an apartment building, and Columbia’s Baker’s Field.

If you’re old school you could walk across the Broadway Bridge and into the Spuyten Dyvel which used to be part of Manhattan until the Harlem River ran through it and just 5 or 6 years ago the Bronx legislature won and has claimed as part of the Bronx. Also, it would give you the opportunity to stand on a bridge.

You are right, my friend, about not having enough time to see New York or getting bored here. It may take you all day or as little as 3.5 hours to walk from one end of Manhattan to the other without stopping, but how can you resist not stopping to visit one of the many places mentioned above? I completely agree with her and with a walking tour. end to end is one of the best ways to see it and living here gives you the time to do it.

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