Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
But I would say that Manhattan shopping and nightlife is a huge draw for people in Jersey. That's what I meant by it being mostly one way traffic.
That's also largely true in the DC area. But I would say the average Washingtonian ends up leaving the District far more often than the average New Yorker leaves NYC. One big reason is that many more of them have cars, which makes it easier to access amenities in outlying areas. There's also a lot less traffic during off peak hours and no tolls. Options in general also seem more spread out.
Shopping, not really. Not when we have no sales tax on most items one would go to a nice store for and NYC has high sales tax for stuff. Nightlife, yes. I personally would never go to New York just to shop. Maybe if I'm already in Manhattan and wander into Tiffany because I'm in the area, then okay. But we have Tiffany stores here and pretty much every other high end store in Short Hills Mall, so I don't need to go to Manhattan just to shop. But that's just me. When hanging out in the city with my parents growing up, my mom would go into stores, find something she liked, then stop and say - wait, why am I about to buy this here when I can buy it at home with no added tax? And put it down. Not kidding, this would happen 90% of the time. But some stores in the city carry items the stores elsewhere don't, and sometimes it's just fun to go shopping at a Manhattan Saks or Macys or a flagship Chanel store or something.
Shopping, not really. Not when we have no sales tax on most items one would go to a nice store for and NYC has high sales tax for stuff. Nightlife, yes. I personally would never go to New York just to shop. Maybe if I'm already in Manhattan and wander into Tiffany because I'm in the area, then okay. But we have Tiffany stores here and pretty much every other high end store in Short Hills Mall, so I don't need to go to Manhattan just to shop. But that's just me. When hanging out in the city with my parents growing up, my mom would go into stores, find something she liked, then stop and say - wait, why am I about to buy this here when I can buy it at home with no added tax? And put it down. Not kidding, this would happen 90% of the time. But some stores in the city carry items the stores elsewhere don't, and sometimes it's just fun to go shopping at a Manhattan Saks or Macys or a flagship Chanel store or something.
I meant more in an objective sense of "where the shopping is." Tyson's Corner is one of the premier if not the premier shopping center in the DC area. I never really ventured out there often but it was always on my list since the shopping options in DC were underwhelming (no doubt a DC poster will chime in and say how DC has now transformed into a semi-Manhattan).
From a shopping perspective, there is not much, if any, reason to leave Manhattan (if you live there). That's not true in DC.
There is nothing cohesive about southern maryland/northern virginia/ and the district. The reason DC is consistently rated the worst gridlock and traffic in the country is because the only way to solve these problems are the two states and DC working together to solve the traffic issues. This is not happening. We may not be at the mexico city or istanbul traffic and gridlock level yet but with the growth projections for DC , it is probably not that far away. The popes visit this week is a going to be a traffic nightmare and the metro is already jammed full. All the federal workers are being told not to come to work this week.
Last edited by floridanative10; 09-22-2015 at 10:39 AM..
I would say DMV. There really seems to be a seamless flow from one to the other, facilitated by Metro and the beltway. Culturally, I would characterize the MYC metro as the least seamless. It seems to be a big event even when going from one borough to another, let alone the shade Manhattaner throw NJ's way. The cohesiveness of Philly's metro falls in between.
There is literal seamlessness (like NYC being 4/5 islands and trying to travel within it and in and out of it) then there is cultural seamlessness. Literally, no the tri-state is not cohesive because it is made of up lots of islands and water. But culturally, it is. Even in looks and IMO feel, it is.
I would say DMV. There really seems to be a seamless flow from one to the other, facilitated by Metro and the beltway. Culturally, I would characterize the MYC metro as the least seamless. It seems to be a big event even when going from one borough to another, let alone the shade Manhattaner throw NJ's way. The cohesiveness of Philly's metro falls in between.
That's true. One thing about living in Brooklyn is getting used to people not wanting to ever visit you. Or maybe they'll come to a baby shower or something. By and large, though, it's tough getting people off Manhattan.
That's true. One thing about living in Brooklyn is getting used to people not wanting to ever visit you. Or maybe they'll come to a baby shower or something. By and large, though, it's tough getting people off Manhattan.
Yeah but that's just the raw size of NYC at play. As for the question at hand, DC wins it pretty easily. Its the smallest city and the city itself has the lowest relative percentage of the city metro population among the three areas. The new exciting DC that everybody seems to love is also a new phenomenon. DC was the murder capital 2 decades ago and was actively avoided by suburbanites. What all this means is that the suburbs have always had to carry more of the load in the DMV. In addition, the suburbs are pretty evenly split between MD and VA. DC's resurgence has brought the city back into the mix and all 3 areas together definitely have a more cohesive feel. This is not to say NYC and Philly don't have this feel but it's more pronounced in the DMV.
There is nothing cohesive about southern maryland/northern virginia/ and the district. The reason DC is consistently rated the worst gridlock and traffic in the country is because the only way to solve these problems are the two states and DC working together to solve the traffic issues. This is not happening. We may not be at the mexico city or istanbul traffic and gridlock level yet but with the growth projections for DC , it is probably not that far away. The popes visit this week is a going to be a traffic nightmare and the metro is already jammed full. All the federal workers are being told not to come to work this week.
What does bad traffic have to do with anything? That's common for any large metro area.
What does bad traffic have to do with anything? That's common for any large metro area.
Maybe it indicates lack of a good highway system to connect areas? This is true for getting into NYC but there are only so many bridges and tunnels you can build, and it's not cheap to do so. We need another tunnel under the Hudson but NY tried to make NJ foot the bill and NJ was not buying that, so that idea's on hold though we desperately need one for rail.
DC has the advantage since its a small city with no suburbs of its own. What i mean is you have DC at 60 square miles the VA and MD suburbs start where DC ends. Both states originally dedicated land to make DC and to me it feels more like two states and a city as opposed to a true tri state area.
NYC has three truly different states that are tied together economically. I know this is hypothetical, but if metro counts couldn't pass state borders and you took away CT and NJ from NYC, you still have NYC suburbs. You take away NJ and DE from Philly, you still have Philly burbs. Take away MD and VA from DC, you only have DC and no metro. It just doesn't seem like an equal comparison.
Last edited by Mr Ambitious; 09-22-2015 at 11:06 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
