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First time for me was '88. Landed 12hrs late at JFK and was really struck by the numbers of homeless guys in the main terminal killing time feeding quarters into the little TV screens attached to chairs. The whole vibe was quite intimidating for a first timer. Everything seemed very shabby and run down.
NYC itself gave me a similar impression. I had that 'this doesn't seem like it does on TV' feeling. But the city has improved a fair bit over the years. Last time I was there it was a much cleaner, friendlier seeming place. I still much prefer London though.
I've had a few enjoyable trips to various parts of the US since then, but I feel like I'm losing interest in America nowadays. I've spent 4 weeks in LA this year, partly work, partly holiday, doing a bit of house hunting (we've since decided to buy in Europe instead, my other half has been more of an America fan than me, but even she has come round to the idea that Europe is nicer).
The US just feels too bland, lacking in culture relative to Europe, and I feel like I could easily never visit again and not care.
Interesting, for me it felt EXACTLY like on TV. I visited in 2011 though, but many of my formative images of NYC were from the 90s (e.g. Home Alone 2, Seinfield/Friends) or earlier (Taxi Driver, Annie).
Most American cities are bland, but NYC is incredible...I love the retro grit, the diversity, the energy, the famousness...
Compared to expectations (not to London, or Paris), seedier, dirtier, uglier. Even the well-presented areas (I was around Beverly Hills/Bel Air for much of my stay) had a perpetual shallowness and blandness to them. The UCLA campus was great, however.
Well, I pretty much agree with your assessment from a tourist perspective. Los Angeles is not a very good looking city, at least not when you initially visit there.
I have heard people say that you have to live there for a long period to time to appreciate what the city has to offer, since everything is so extremely spread out. I don't know if most people would have that kind of patience to give it a fair shake though.
Interesting, for me it felt EXACTLY like on TV. I visited in 2011 though, but many of my formative images of NYC were from the 90s (e.g. Home Alone 2, Seinfield/Friends) or earlier (Taxi Driver, Annie).
Most American cities are bland, but NYC is incredible...I love the retro grit, the diversity, the energy, the famousness...
And you keep going on and on about it.
I'm going at the very end of this weekend and I am a tiny bit excited but if it were you it sounds like you'd be wetting yourself.
No, that is not visiting New York City. Newark airport is just a flyby.
You need to actually go into Manhattan - stand in Times Square, the Rockefeller Center, the top of the Empire State Building, Central Park, 5th Avenue, the museums, Little Italy, 1 World Trade Center, take the subway, maybe catch a Broadway show.... etc.
Actually, you should take a double-decker bus tour of it all.
No, that is not visiting New York City. Newark airport is just a flyby.
You need to actually go into the city - stand in Times Square, the Rockefeller Center, the top of the Empire State Building, Central Park, 5th Avenue, the museums, Little Italy, 1 World Trade Center, take the subway, maybe see a Broadway show.... etc.
I know someone who's born and bred in Upstate NY who's never even been to NYC. I find that incredible. I had to travel literally halfway around the world (Perth is about as far away from NY as you can get, NY's antipode is just southwest of Perth in the Indian Ocean). Of course NYC wasn't my only destination, but it was fitting end to an amazing roadtrip across America.
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