New York New York
It’s A Great Place to Visit.
For years, many people on the West Coast tended to discount New York City
as a tourist destination. The reasons, perhaps valid were that… the people
were unfriendly, public transportation was dangerous, hotels charged high
rates, dining was expensive and it was a long plane trip.
Since 9-11 however, empathetic Coasters have softened their attitude and
seem to have an attraction to “The Big Apple” that has been dormant for
years. That attraction is now justified because all of the above negative
perceptions no longer exist except that it still is a 4-5 hour flight. That
will not change in the foreseeable future.
We were recently in New York. With the exception of one subway cashier
who wouldn’t give me a senior rate, all bus drivers, cab drivers, hotel and
restaurant employees, market cashiers, policemen and people on the street
were friendly and helpful. Subways and buses were inexpensive, clean, safe
and above all, lots of fun. Just observing the other passengers and
traveling through all the remarkable neighborhoods is worth the price of
admission. You can get an all day bus and subway “Fun Pass” for $4. Since a
one way fares are $1.50 the pass is a value.
There is excess hotel space. If you shop the Internet
or AAA you can get acceptable accommodations in the central city for under
$100. We found a spacious 3-room suite including a kitchen, living room and
bedroom on the exclusive upper Eastside two blocks from the subway and a ˝
block from busses for $215 per night. We used a nearby market to buy
ingredients for breakfast in the room each morning. We saved about $100 on
breakfast over the four days we were in the city.
