Getting Around New York City

When you first get to New York City, getting around may seem like a daunting task. The city is huge, but it’s not as difficult to get around as it may seem at first. As far as the subway is concerned, remember that you are either going to go uptown or downtown. You will not end up in China! Most trains stop at different points on the same street and if you ever miss your stop, all you have to do is get off and go back in the other direction.

You can cross over to the train going in the opposite direction at many stations, but at some stations you have to exit and pay another fare to go back, so if you need to get off, ask someone where you can cross over without paying again. Also remember that at some stations you can access the uptown and downtown trains while other stations have trains running in one direction only. Before entering the subway, take note of the signs that state the direction of the trains at that stop.

Once you get off the train, you will have to navigate the streets, but the good thing about Manhattan is that the city is set up in a grid. The street numbers get higher as you go north (uptown) and they get lower as you go south (downtown). The avenues run north to south and the streets run east to west, so there is no ambiguity in regards to location as there is in many other cities.

New York is a walker-friendly city, so depending on where you are going, you may forego the subway and opt to walk to your destination instead. There are many exciting sights and sounds in the city that you can miss while traveling underground. Also, taking the train can be more of a hassle than walking depending on where you are going.

Looking at a Manhattan street map can sometimes distort the distance between two points. For example, from 14th Street, Union Square to the Flatiron Building on 23rd Street looks and sounds like a long distance, but in reality, you can walk that distance in ten minutes or less, depending on how fast you walk and when you walk around the city you become so engrossed in the sights and sounds that you don’t even realize how much ground you’ve covered. When I first moved to New York I walked from the West Village to Central Park because the sights were just so enjoyable. If you are walking around and you happen to get lost, there will always be people around to point you in the right direction, and remember that getting lost once in awhile is part of the New York adventure!


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *