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Should I let my 16 year old stay with family members who he has never met in NYC for 3 weeks? He wants to experience city life since we live in a small town. I know the family and they are great people.
It depends. Do they play banjos and drink moohshine?
Sooo-eeee.
But for real, I got my drivers license at 16 and the day I got it I drove to Manhattan (100 miles.) I was tall and could pass for 18...and drink. It was an exciting day.
He will be fine, but staying with people you have never met is not the most pleasant experience for most people.
Since you like the folks he'll be staying with, call them and set some ground rules first, so you are all on the same page about what he can and cannot do while he is here -- the types of things he'll be allowed to see and do, where he can go by himself, what to do if trouble arises, etc etc If these forlks are solid people it shouldn't be a problem. Let him come and enjoy himself.
It might depend on what neighborhood these relatives live in.No matter how well you know the people and no matter how great you think they are,they may live in a neighborhood that is more prone to trouble than other areas.
Location should be at least a part of the equation.Most of NYC is quite safe but there are sections of every borough of NYC that I wouldn't want to think about a 16 yr old non street smart kid walking around in.
You know the family members and hold them in high esteem, so they would not be likely to allow your son to get into any trouble. I would agree with setting ground rules, as I had when I used to go to London or Paris on my own, staying with relatives. In LA and San Diego, it was never a worry for my parents because teenagers cannot get too far without a car, so we did not have the same rules as we did in other cities, when visiting relatives without parents.
There are many things to experience in the city, and I am sure it would be an enjoyable trip for him, as well as for your extended family to be able to meet him and spend time with him. He's sixteen, so setting out on an adventure can be exhilarating, especially when you have local family to help frame the trip so that it's safe as well as enjoyable with hidden slices-of-life that are not found in guidebooks.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
Should I let my 16 year old stay with family members who he has never met in NYC for 3 weeks? He wants to experience city life since we live in a small town. I know the family and they are great people.
Yeah definitely, sounds like you trust the family members to be good hosts.
Your son would be luckier than most tourists to stay here 3 weeks. That's a good amount of time for a visit, he'd have much more time to see the sights and enjoy the different neighborhoods. A lot of tourists only get to stay here a week, which isn't enough time to really enjoy what the city has to offer if you ask me.
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