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NYC is a great and wild city, but for better or worse it also has more "bandwagon-ers" than any other city in the country. It is a city that is often obnoxiously over-hyped.
I was in Europe two years ago, and I swear I remember seeing stores dedicated to selling 'New York' merchandise.
Lol, but how is this the city's fault for having a lot of people cheering for it? To an extent I get where you're coming from but that shouldn't take away from everything the city offers and all of the history that comes along with it. Not saying you do that specifically but yeah. People boost all over the world (The US is probably hated the most anyway) but that should't diminish why a place is great (or not).
Also regarding "New York" merchandise, lol I believe you. Though I only feel that's appreciation for a place they love & want to bring that experience to wherever they're from. Brooklyn is becoming it's own entity when it comes to branding more so than any other borough, name wise.
Here's an article about the world’s 10 Most Brooklyn-ish Restaurants and Bars. . .
Besides more exposure I don't see how this effects a city in a negative way.
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Originally Posted by bjimmy24
For the record, I think most parts of NYC are overrated, not just Manhattan. This includes north Brooklyn, and yes, south Brooklyn and central Brooklyn too. Staten Island and the Bronx aren't really "rated" to begin with, so maybe I wouldn't put the same label on them. Queens isn't bad, but not exceptionally good either.
And let's be real about NYC public transit too- it isn't that great. For all this talk about being some awesome world city, it definitely has the worst public transportation of any other international city- Seoul, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Berlin, London, any Chinese big city, they all make New York look like a joke in this department. And it is. Compared to other US cities it might be in the top 5 systems, but the transit is way way way overrated.
Yes there are lots of theaters and classical music and museums, blah blah blah. These things exist for tourists. NYC residents, how often do you go to the Guggenheim? Be honest.
I just really can't stand the NY-centricity of this forum. I like going there sometimes to hang out with friends and stay out super late at bars and stuff, but let's seriously put it in perspective. It's not that it's a bad place necessarily, it's just that for all the talk it gets, you'd really expect it to be much better. Hence, I think it's overrated.
I love when people attempt to downplay certain aspects of New York and then bring in other cities that really compare.
You see, IN THE US New York has the best system. Sure it's not the prettiest, it doesn't smell like roses and we have a lot of delays, but guess what, it still get's the job done and it's very effective. How can you sit and compare lets say a system like Boston or DC for that matter, to New York? We all act like size shouldn't matter but unfortunately it does. When another system handles half of what New York does IN THE US and runs 24/7, then let's talk.
Furthermore I visit B.A.M, MoMa, Prospect Park, Restaurants, events at Barclays, etc quite often. Though the same could be asked for ANY city resident. Having access to visit these theaters and events is extremely better than WISHING I had the access to it. (Let me be clear - I'm NOT saying other cities in the US don't offer any amenities/cultural locations/Museums etc. You guys are extremely soft on these forums so I guess I'll just start making disclaimers for everything I post).
Well, it's impossible to see everything b/c events, shows, museum exhibits rotate too often. However, in other cities it IS somewhat possible to see almost all the current hot events. When you can't see all the events, you get more selective, and the market of events is able to cater better to a broad amount of people. You can almost always find something very specific to your interests. For instance this was last week.
A few weeks ago I caught Sleep No More, one of the hottest shows to hit NY or anywhere in awhile, it was well worth it. It was 80 bucks, but better than a month of watching cable.
Yes a few other cities have stuff like this like Chicago, LA, etc, however NYC has a lion's share of it.
I think it's more of most americans just aren't into culture stuff/life of the mind, period, so they hate on cities like nyc, sf, la etc. then act like the residents never actually go to these place, when many are actually in industry there or very involved.
I know many people who go to Met quite often, they probably have 20-30 large special exhibits that are constantly rotating, and it's pay what you can afford. While I haven't been to the Met that much, I probably went to Chicago AI probably over 40 times due to my own personal interests, showing guests in town, etc. so maybe a rate of 6-7 times a year? Not bad.
I think NYers are the most sensitive and get the most defensive if you call their city "overrated" on here LOL. I think it's rated about right, maybe a little overrated in some ways (like the whole "city that never sleeps" crap) but also underrated in other ways (friendliness of residents for example). But it's not hard to see why some people would think it's overrated at all, or at least I thought it wasn't but apparently it is for some.
I think NYers are the most sensitive and get the most defensive if you call their city "overrated" on here LOL. I think it's rated about right, maybe a little overrated in some ways (like the whole "city that never sleeps" crap) but also underrated in other ways (friendliness of residents for example). But it's not hard to see why some people would think it's overrated at all, or at least I thought it wasn't but apparently it is for some.
I think NYers are the most sensitive and get the most defensive if you call their city "overrated" on here LOL. I think it's rated about right, maybe a little overrated in some ways (like the whole "city that never sleeps" crap) but also underrated in other ways (friendliness of residents for example). But it's not hard to see why some people would think it's overrated at all, or at least I thought it wasn't but apparently it is for some.
This is pretty fair. NYC does offer the best of urban experience, no doubt but no place is a panacea - this to me is where things get stretched
And as someone aid earlier - it most definately is not for everyone
I love it for its good and bad but that is purely my opinion - to believe its perfect as some would suggest, well I dont buy that or that for anyplace
recently I had a really good weekend in Cleveland, was more than I expected - again not perfect but the good is outweighing the bad and that is a good thing for many places these days
Lol, but how is this the city's fault for having a lot of people cheering for it? To an extent I get where you're coming from but that shouldn't take away from everything the city offers and all of the history that comes along with it. Not saying you do that specifically but yeah. People boost all over the world (The US is probably hated the most anyway) but that should't diminish why a place is great (or not).
Like another poster said earlier on, cities are inanimate things. It isn't NYC's fault for being overrated. Nor does the fact that the city's overrated keep it from being a great and vibrant city (as I said in my previous post). Great is not an antonym of overrated.
Nevertheless NYC IS overrated. Not because there are many who have lived or visited the city and have loved it. Rather, I'd call NYC overrated because people who've had very limited experience with New York still assume that it is the urban version of Eden.
It's just too [i]idealized[/] I think. Few people (besides new yorkers) know much about new York outside of midtown Manhattan and maybe parts of Brooklyn, and yet it seems like half the shows on tv and half the movies produced in Hollywood (slight exaggeration but oh well) are set in New York.
New York is overrated because the ratio of people who love the New York of movies and music videos to the people who [i]actually[/] know and love the city is much higher than for any other us city.
Some New Yorkers seem a little defensive. Every city gets it at one point or another.
Lol how can anyone get defensive on an internet forum, I'll never understand this. Can some of you detect tone of voice, expressions and other factors needed to tell if someone is being defensive or not?
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Originally Posted by iAMtheVVALRUS
Like another poster said earlier on, cities are inanimate things. It isn't NYC's fault for being overrated. Nor does the fact that the city's overrated keep it from being a great and vibrant city (as I said in my previous post). Great is not an antonym of overrated.
Nevertheless NYC IS overrated. Not because there are many who have lived or visited the city and have loved it. Rather, I'd call NYC overrated because people who've had very limited experience with New York still assume that it is the urban version of Eden.
It's just too [i]idealized[/] I think. Few people (besides new yorkers) know much about new York outside of midtown Manhattan and maybe parts of Brooklyn, and yet it seems like half the shows on tv and half the movies produced in Hollywood (slight exaggeration but oh well) are set in New York.
New York is overrated because the ratio of people who love the New York of movies and music videos to the people who [i]actually[/] know and love the city is much higher than for any other us city.
If that makes sense...
I see your point, especially about Hollywood. Though when I think of overrated I think of the definition that's all. Overrate - Praise too highly, overvalue, higher opinion than deserved etc. . .
For an American city New York has no equal, though this seems so wrong to say on here. Why? To dilute/leave out this fact just to make people feel better won't change this fact. That's why people on here are quick to say New York is overrated. Not because of the reasons you mentioned, which at least had some type of reasoning for you.
The idealization is just that. . . someone's perspective. What's perfect for one may not be suitable for another, etc. It depends on who's telling the story/experience.
But in short I see exactly where you're coming from.
For all the talk about how tough NYC and its residents are, it's always amazing to see the butt-hurtedness when anyone says anything less than glowing about their city.
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