City Guide

Introduction
Hollywood has made New Yorkers of us allHollywood has made New Yorkers of us all, not just those of us who live here. Thanks to the many movies that have been made here, even if you've never visited the city, you're probably already familiar with many of its famous sites. Over the course of any given day, you are likely to hear the phrase, "Oh, I recognize this! This is where so-and-so was in so-and-so movie," coming from the mouths of tourists.

The real city is a bit different from the one you see in the movies and on television of course. Sex & the City, for example, inspired young women to flock to Manhattan, to find that the only places they could afford to live were in studio apartments in the outer-boroughs, and between work and commuting, they were experiencing plenty of the city, but not as much sex as the characters in the show, all of whom seemed to have nothing but free time and fantastic apartments.

Although it's true that New York life is always more glamorous in the movies, the allure of New York is that the possibility of that life is always there. It is a city of opportunity. If you can make it here, you really can make it anywhere. It's that sense of excitement and knowledge that anything could happen that continues to draw people to this magnificent city.

Background
The largest and most heavily populated city in North America, New York is the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. Wall Street, the United Nations, Broadway and some of the greatest museums in the world are all located within its boundaries.

New York is comprised of five boroughs; Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island. While each of the boroughs has its own distinctive personality with pluses and minuses, to most tourists, Manhattan is New York. All of the famous buildings and landmarks, such as the Empire State Building, Times Square, Central Park, etc, are located within its boundaries. New Yorkers in the Outer Boroughs (as the other boroughs are known) generally refer to Manhattan as, "The City." As in, "I'm going to head into the City today."

With over 8 million New Yorkers, the city has a larger population than 39 of the 50 states. Perhaps the biggest difference between the movies and reality here is the ethnic makeup of that population. Take a show like Friends for instance, where it was a huge deal when one black character appeared in a few episodes and compare that to the real city, where blacks represent over 25% of the population and Hispanics approximately 27%. Nearly every nationality in the world exists somewhere in the city. It truly is America's melting pot.

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Getting Around
Metrocard Anyone visiting New York is going to need two things; a good pair of walking shoes and a MetroCard. Technically it is possible to take a taxi everywhere, but you'll miss the feel of the city if you do, and you'll regret it when you're stuck in rush hour traffic. To truly experience New York, you're going to have to get out and walk, and no trip here is complete without a ride on the subways, which are still the fastest and best way of getting around. Since most tourists will confine their visit to Manhattan, the following tips apply to that borough only.

Navigating the streets of Manhattan on foot is made easier by the grid system above 14th street. You only have to remember a few simple rules.

Although the entire island of Manhattan is just 23 square miles, you're not going to want to walk everywhere. When you need to get around quickly, you're going to want to head to the nearest subway station. Fortunately, except for the far east side, you're never going to find yourself too far from one. Most stations are marked by lighted green globes, although not all entrances are open around the clock.

A subway car, don't ever expect to see one this empty!A single ride MetroCard for the subway will cost you $2, with free transfers at connecting stations, which if navigated properly could get you to nearly every stop in the city. However, you're going to be much better off buying an unlimited card, with time limits of a day, a week or a month, depending upon the length of your visit. With one of these cards you can ride the subway as often as you like during that time limit.

Although you can buy subway maps, you can pick up copies for free in many of the transportation hubs and tourist information spots in the city, such as Grand Central, Penn Station or Times Square. There are also maps in each subway station and on many of the trains themselves, although I recommend knowing where you're going before you get on the train.

Like the streets above, the subways also travel uptown, downtown and cross-town. At some stations you can move freely from the uptown and downtown sides, but not at all, so make sure you enter on the correct side of the street and read the signs before you swipe your MetroCard.

If you ever get confused or lost on the street or on the subway, don't be afraid to ask for directions. Although New Yorkers have a reputation for brusqueness, they also take pride in knowledge of their city and will more often than not, point you in the right direction.

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Safety Tips
New York at Night New York in the 1970s and 80s was known as a dangerous place. Anyone familiar with movies like Midnight Cowboy, Taxi Driver, Death Wish, or The Warriors, is familiar with the image of a crime-ridden, graffiti-covered city, packed with sex shops and street gangs. Then in the 1990s, Mayor Giuliani and New Yorkís finest began initiating a broken windows method of policing that drastically reduced crime and turned New York City into one of the safest big cities in the world.

The danger however, is in thinking that the city is completely safe. Like the sex shops of Times Square, which can now be found just a few blocks away, danger has left the public face of the city, but it is still there. I say this not to discourage anyone from visiting, but to put any potential visitors on their guard.

In todayís world, you not only have to worry about potential muggers, but also terrorists as well. No one will ever forget the tragedy of 9/11 or the London subway bombings. Itís an uncertain world, and one that has forced us all to be constantly aware of our surroundings.

Fortunately, by using common sense, you can minimize to a certain extent some of the danger. While no one can guarantee your safety, if you follow these tips, you should be able to reduce your chances of being a victim of crime.

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Useful Links*

*These are links to external sites. Newyorkinthemovies.com makes no guarantee of the information provided by these sites.

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