I.E. ME. I don't live down here. I live up in Maine, and I'm just visiting family in Rockland County. But we had to go into the city to do what we had planned today (go to the American Museum of Natural History), and got lost at first until we found Broadway, but we were WAAAY up in the W200+ streets. Anyway, going down Broadway allowed me to catch a glimpse of some of the soul of NYC.
First, I knew there was like a ton of stores and shops and whatnot lining Broadway, but I figured they were centered in one neighborhood. We had stores EVERYWHERE, and I wasn't prepared for the sheer volume of 'em. As soon as I expected 'em to end, we just got more store-age.
Second, Traffic. Just as I expected for NYC, but I saw some people making U-turns right in the middle of the street, sometimes in front of other cars coming the other way. Is this legal, or do the police just let it slide because it happens on a regular basis?
Third, I don't think I saw some shady things happenning, but I DID see a suspicious vehicle next to a "farm stand" kind of place. Was a van with grafitti on it, with the left headlight area caught in a fender bender or some kind of minor accident.
Overall, I guess I love visiting the city once every year to see what's goin' on, but apparently, you can take me out of the country, but you'll never wrench the country away from me.
Incredible city, though. I give it 9 out of 10 apples!