I am travelling to New York over Xmas alone. What places would

>>1181855
New Yorkers are pretty friendly but a lot of them are busy going somewhere so they won't notice you unless you say something first.

Central Park would be a nice place to go over Christmas. The best food you'll get will either be in small locally-owned shops or street vendors.

>>1181861

>new yorkers friendly
>best food in small shops or street vendors

what the fuck are you smoking

>>1181855
>are new yorkers friendly

I grew up close to NYC and have been there countless times. New Yorkers are very busy people. If you stay out of their way you wouldn't have a problem

>>1181855
I lived in New York for four years.

New Yorkers do not care to talk with you if they don't have to.

I have had maybe 5 street encounters over 4 years where strangers initiated contact with me and it was not the lead in to a scam or getting you to sign something.

Best places for meeting people in new york:
1: Bars
2. Book Stores
3. Coffee Shops
4. Museums
5. Parties (But you have to already know people for this one)

Clubs are not for meeting people. No one talks in a club. Clubs are mainly for anonymous sex (and some girls that just want to dance and are entirely unrealistic about the nature of a club environment). Sometimes it develops into more but most of the time it doesn't.

Those are about it though. everyone else just wants to sell you something if they're trying to talk with you.

As for food, almost every restaurant is good because if they aren't they go out of business almost instantly. In fact, even good restaurants go out of business frequently.

NYC has a lot of great bars. And they stay open til 4AM.

The Lower East Side, East Village, Greenwich Village, and Williamsburg (which is in Brooklyn) all have a lot of great bars.

And these areas are all very walkable, so if you
don't like a place or want to move on you can just leave and walk to another one.

The kind of places you should go depends on what day of the week it is. Monday thru Wednesday tend to be slow, but the places that are overly busy on Friday and Saturday might be perfect on these days (Pianos comes to mind).

I would say to avoid going to the bars in Midtown Manhattan for the most part, they tend to not be happening. Basically, Lower Manhattan and Williamsburg are where you want to be.

>>1181961
I've talked to strangers at bars countless times.

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>>1181855

Metropolitan Museum of Art, has a pay-what-you-want policy (ask them about it) with it's admission. As long as it exceeds a penny, you're good to go. Has an impressive amount of notable artwork and is absolutely massive. I'd only recommend it if you like that kind of stuff.

The MoMA in my opinion has more interesting and famous pieces compared to the Met, though it's about like $20 for admission, I think it's worth a visit. Has Van Gough's Starry Night and a Dali painting

The Transit Museum in Brooklyn is about $10 for admission for adults if I remember, and it has all the old city train cars from the 1920s until now. Thought it was a very small museum, I thought it was pretty cool place to visit for a quiet afternoon. Place closes at 4pm, and I would only reckon this place if you're planning to see the Brooklyn Bridge or something else nearby

The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens is another small museum, but it has a pretty cool display of all telly-related stuff and it's evolution. There's also an old school arcade, recording sets to try, and exhibits of some shows. Last time I went they had one for Mad Man. Honestly, I think it's a lot fun and definitely worth a visit

The 9/11 Museum, surprisingly, was a very good museum that's definitely worth visiting. Honestly, it could be one of the best museums

Also, I personally don't like the Highline (it's constantly overcrowded as fuck), the intrepid, rockafeller, times square (duh), and the view on WTC 1. Seriously, you pay 30 fucking dollars for 2 minute elevator ride just to take you up to a gift shop and a crowded observation deck

As for pubs, there's a whole fuckload of them everywhere, so pick whatever you like. I can't really offer a place since there's so many. Seriously, 60% of all the businesses on the streets has to be bars

I'd avoid eating anywhere near 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th Ave all across midtown, especially near times square...

>>1182292

Also, here's a short list of some of my favourite restaurants: Jacob's Pickles (Is also bar, constantly packed and loud literally all the time, but the fried chicken there is worth everything. Portions are massive and I always have to pack it for takeaway), Carnegie Deli has some good Chicago styled stuff, Chicken Provence, Le Parisien , Five Guys (Fuck that Shake Shack shit)...eh, that's all I can think of atm

>Are New Yorkers friendly?
Well, since you're British and have an accent, they'll dig that shit.

Social events, I can't really say. But you can check out these other events here: https://www.timeout.com/newyork/events-calendar/december-events-calendar and here: http://www.nyc.com/events/

Oh yeah, if you consider renting a citi bike, just know that it's $9 per day, accepts only mastercard i believe, and will also chrage you like $114 or something just in case the bike gets damaged, but they'll deposit it back into your account once the bike is returned. Biking in the city is the best way to get around and is really fun, all across the Hudson, there's an entire bike pathway and you can get some seriously good views.

Also, if you plan to stay for new years, be very cautious if you're going to see the ball drop. It gets so damn crowded that your feet don't touch the ground and its easy pickings for muggers.

>>1181855
Do 'sleep no more.' Very fun experience. Worth the ticket price. There's a great restaurant on the top floor called the Heath, and I had the best rack of lamb in New York there. Plus, the restaurant looks like something straight out of Bioshock, a very old, smokey jazz club with live music.

>>1182303
It's probably best to skip the ball drop

>>1182292
There are a fuckton of pubs, but I think he would have more fun in Lower Manhattan than anywhere North of 14th st.

>>1182303

How is manhattan in general for new years? Absolutely dont want to be in/near times square for it considering i hear people wear diapers it gets so crowded. But would it be worth being in a different part of the city? If so, any idea how the LIRR is that night/early morning? Im out in eastern LI and im curious if itd be better off to just get a cheap hotel rather than cram into the train home.

Plan to be taking my girl into the city around that time for a day or two (shes around for a week with newyears being in the middle), doesnt need to be new years but if its doable and not pure insanity id like to do it then. Any suggestions on where to take her? Even touristy spots, she'll love them - but off the beaten path is awesome too. Something id really like is to hit the museum of natural history, been there many times but im concerned it may be jammed packed since its a pretty big tourist week.

One last thing - when does all the christmas stuff come down? Is it over with soon as christmas passes? Or does it kinda linger until the new year rolls around? Shes really looking forward to seeing the city with all the decorations and the big tree about so im really hoping its still there.

Thanks everyone!

>>1182710
LIRR runs 24/7 but check your schedule. Go to mta.info for them. Christmas stuff comes down at New Years then the dull winter starts.

>>1182762
24/7 with an asterisk, especially for Eastern LI. The gaps sometimes might be from like 1AM to 5AM. I'm on the Babylon branch though, and the worst gap is between like 2:30 and 4:54 late night coming back from Manhattan.

1. Harlem is not the nicest neighborhood, don't wander around in the alleys.

2. New Yorkers are pretty nice but the city has one of the biggest economies in the world and most of the people who live there have things to do. The sterotype the they are mean is because tourists love to stop in the middle of the sidewalk to take selfies and act obnoxiously. As long as you don't get in someone's way as they are trying to get somewhere then they will be friendly.

3. I would reccomend visiting the 9/11 memorial, it's absolutely beautiful. Central Park is really nice too, especially around Christmas. You can get a carriage ride around Central Park if you want but it will be pretty expensive. Obviously there is the Statue of Liberty and Times Square as well but I personally think they are kind of dumb. Don't stop to take pictures with the people in costumes, they will expect payment and will probably rip you off.

4. There are some very good restaurants to go to in New York, I don't like the famous "New York dirty water hotdogs" but you might as well try them. I would go to bars, talk to people, and milk the fact that you have an accent and that everyone will find you fascinating for awhile.

>>1182762
>>1182833

My question was more towards whether or not the trains will be hellishly overpacked, not so much the schedule. Ive missed the 12:14am train enough times to understand how much waiting for the next night train to ronkonkama sucks lol. Either of you guys have personal experience with the trains on new years?

Im assuming they will be intolerable but then again i find it doubtful that ill find a hotel for an affordable price that night of all nights.

Which leads me to my other question: is being in manhattan any fun/worthwhile for newyears? Again, avoiding times square - i already know thats a sea of drunken douches, piss and puke and i want no part of that. Like is there fireworks on the river or some shit?

Thanks again.

>>1182893
Harlem is huge, some parts are gentrified as fuck. I don't think any actual alleys exist there anyway, alleys are rare in Manhattan.

I'm going on vacation in New York soon and I want to get at least one Puerto Rican tranny (preferably well hung), where should I go for that?

If I can't make that happen, I want to go to at least one glory hole, there has to be at least one spot around for that. I'm not gay but I'm open to going to a gay bar if necessary.

>>1183797

...what?

>>1181855
Nightlife for a 24 year old with some money to blow is probably best in the East Village / Lower East Side area. This is the highest concentration of good bars and restaurants, and even a few holdout music venues from back when the downtown music scene was relevant. If you plan your evenings on the east side between 14th St and Grand you ought to do OK even if you pick at random. The trick is gonna be getting back to Harlem after. The D train moves pretty quickly, but at night that still can be an hour ride. Might want to download Uber and see how good the Uber X options are for getting you back at the end of the night.

Harlem will be interesting because you'll get to try soul food, which is Southern American cooking brought to NYC by blacks during the Great Migration. Also you'll see the Farrakhan guys on the street (bow ties a giveaway) selling bean pies and copies of the Final Call (newspaper). Probably very interesting for someone from the UK to interact with actual black separatists who dream of their own nation within the borders of the current US and do not condone interracial marriage. Or eating pork.

Visit Chinatown. The food varies from OK to great, but it's worth seeing. Get a hot dog at Papaya King and a falafel sandwich from Mamoun's. Along with a pastrami sandwich at Katz's and a bagel with Nova at Russ and Daughters' Cafe. Go to the Tenement Museum. See the tree at Rockefeller Center. Maybe a pizza at Lombardi's and a few beers at McSorley's. And a Cuban sandwich on the east side of Harlem.

You'll have done NYC at xmas alone OK.

>>1184521
The East Village and Lower East Side are great for barhopping. I've never done it by myself but I'm sure he can make friends, especially with his British accent.

>>1184521
And listen to "Fairytale of New York" over and over while on the subway or in a car getting around NYC. Just to keep you in that holiday mood.

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I went to a barcade in brooklyn during my last visit that was a ton of fun. Does anyone know what this place was called based on this picture?

As for some other things worth checking out I'd suggest going to a basketball, football or Hockey game while you're in the city. you can get nets tickets or islanders tickets for like 10$. I imagine that the jets are doing so fuckin bad this year that you could probably get tickets for cheap as well. Some of the most american things you can experience are at sports games.

As for other cool things to check out I suggest you give us some of your interests in the city to narrow the field. Are you into architecture? Transportation? art? Food? Watching weirdos doing weird shit? Graffiti? Industrial wastelands?

>>1184532
I think the place is called Barcade. They have 2 in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn.