For Visitors - What Surprised you most about NYC?

I thought it would be interesting to hear what surprised people most about NYC. All of your trip reports are great, and I love the little nuggets (i.e. we thought we would be arrested for standing around at a ';No Standing'; sign).

Can anyone summarize, briefly, what they found most surprising about the City? What did you love? What didn%26#39;t you like?

For Visitors - What Surprised you most about NYC?

My first trip to NYC exceeded my expectations. It was everything and more than I expected. What surprised me the most was how safe I actually felt during my stay. My sis and I would stay out late and did a tremendous amount of walking at night. During that time, I never felt apprehensive. Something else that surprised me was, in my opinion, how clean the city was. Being as that it is so densely populated and not to mention the #1 largest city in the US, I didnt expect to be as clean as I have seen it. Finally, I was pleasantly surprised at how well planned out the city/walking grid is. It was so refreshing walking everywhere! I didn%26#39;t expect the blocks to be so short. A far cry from living here in Houston where we drive to the grocery store, even if it is next door.

For Visitors - What Surprised you most about NYC?

Great questions!

Most surprising? The friendliness of New Yorkers!

What did I love? The entire experience of NYC

What didn%26#39;t I like? Taxi rides!!!

okay,i am a native new yorker,but moved away,so return yearly as a visitor...i have always been impressed with the idea of a small island jam packed with every ethnic group/nationality/religion on the planet-represented,and IT WORKS!!

when I lived there,on my own,Iwas mugged,beaten up(drug-related,I%26#39;m sure)..but you know,you survive,even thrive living in New York..it is vibrant,full of life,full of activity...I was always on-the-go,never sedentary,NEVER bored!!

a small island,but evry group on earth represented..working,playing,praying,fighting,loving,etc....amazing!!

What surprised me most? Two things: how quickly I was able to learn my way around, and just how much I would fall in love with the city!

What did I love? The shows, the general excitement of being there, the never-ending list of things to do.

What didn%26#39;t I like? Can%26#39;t really think of anything!

i am the same as the above, literally feel in love with the city! My husband and i still swear we would pack up and move there if we won lotto. And if it was%26#39;nt so far from aust we would be there endlessly! We love the atmosphere, the fact there are so many different points of interest (central park to skyscrapers!, etc), that a city so big can make you feel so at home so quickly and i agree with the safety aspect! We felt completely safe, no ,matter what time we were out! The history! The prices of parking for 1/2 an hour! (scary! I even took a picture of the sign), laughing at the signs that say you can be fined for honking - is%26#39;nt that THE soundtrack of new york? I could keep going but i would hog the post! lol!

I agree with Bannda--the helpfulness of shopkeepers, taxi drivers, just about everyone, and this was before 9/11. I only got yelled at once, by a deli worker, because I was too slow in telling him what I wanted on my sandwich. I remember one of the retail clerks telling me where to find a safe public bathroom as I was about to go down into the subway and use one there--she said ';never, never do that';. Having grown up in a very small town on the Central Coast of Calif., I must have had ';tourist'; written all over me and New Yorkers really took pity on me and made sure I was safe and clued in. I%26#39;ll never forget that first experience in NY on my own and how grateful I was for their tolerance and help.

definetely the friendliness. Not mean ,nasty people

How quickly I felt at home

I ';got'; the city far more than I will ever understand Halifax (no not the Canadian one)

I love New Yorkers, I haven%26#39;t met one yet I didn%26#39;t like

What I loved about New York was that when you leave, you just want to go back so bad. And when you watch films/tv and New York appears, you just want to be back there because your so jealous.

Also, everyone was so friendly. I didnt expect that. Once people found out I was from Scotland they were like ';Ohh Edinburgh! Braveheart! Whisky!';. Even though a lot of people got the geography mixed up and kept mentioning Dublin. But I just thought everyone was so friendly, that was a suprise.

I loved the food, the atmosphere, the fact I actually felt safe, oh and I loved people watching on the subway and listening to some crazy folks yapping away. Theres some amazing folks in NYC.

Not really a surprise but what impressed me the most is Grand Central at rush hour. You can walk through the Terminal along with thousands of others walking extremely fast and not be touched! Not one elbow! Maybe I%26#39;m bored but to me its pretting amazing. I am always surprised by the lack of places selling beer and what I like the most about New York City is New York City. Its really a package deal. So many diverse people, places and things to do make it so great.

Scott