Nobody arrives in New York City without an opinion already formed, and the place usually lives up to it. About 8.6 million people live across the five boroughs, and the wider metro area tops 20 million, so everything is dense, fast and loud. A first visit can easily fill a week with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Central Park, the Met and MoMA, the Brooklyn Bridge, the High Line and the 9/11 Memorial. Then you can wander into Greenwich Village, Harlem, Astoria or Williamsburg, which each feel like a different town.
Most people get around on foot and by subway, and something is always open. The tradeoff is money. Rent is among the highest in the country, especially in Manhattan, and it is still rising. Tourist areas are generally safe and shootings and murders have dropped to multi-decade lows, but pickpockets work the crowds and transit, and some subway stations and outer neighborhoods deserve care late at night.
