Essential skills for enjoying New York in Summer

Tips for visitors to New York in the Summer.

New York is one of the cities that is every thing you expect and more. In Summer it’s a fun, crazy, hot, busy kind of city and the list of things to see and places to go is endless.

One of the tennis commentators on TV this week said a quote I really liked which was “Either you beat New York, or it beats you”. Based on my visit during the last two weeks, here are some skills that will help you enjoy New York in Summer.

1. Walking

• New York is all about walking so get your comfy shoes on and enjoy looking around
• Walk around to enjoy the city and see the sights including Central Park, the High Line, the views from the Brooklyn Bridge and the art on the streets.
• Walk to the subway and back
• Walk up stairs to your apartment at the end of the day.

2. Queuing

• To get to the good stuff, you often need to queue, especially to get “the best {insert food name} ever”.
• Queue for the best burgers ever, the best ice cream ever and the best pizza ever.
• Queue for same day tickets to attractions, the theatre and free stuff.

3. Using the subway

• Knowing your Uptown from your Downtown
• Using the entrance to get to the right platform
• Withstanding the heat of a platform that’s hotter than a bikram yoga session
• Holding on tight to your tickets and money when an arriving train causes a huge wind in the station
• Waiting patiently for the next train, sometimes with no information about when it will arrive.

4. Sleeping through noise

New York is a busy noisy city. If your accommodation is near the street, get used to hearing garbage trucks rolling past in the night, plus with all manner of sirens; police, ambulance and fire trucks.

You may need to get used to sleeping through the noise of the air conditioner too.

5. Outsourcing

This is probably more relevant if you’re staying longer than a few days but there are a lot of parts of life that you can easily outsource in New York:

• Washing clothes
• Hair styling
• Nails
• Eating out
• Getting coffee.

Other New York skills I’ve observed are:

• Walking in amazing shoes
• Reacting quickly to a sudden downpour
• Knowing where to be if you do, or don’t, want to get on TV.

Have you been to New York in Summer? What other skills do you recommend having?

Until next time

Grand Slam Gal