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| Brooklyn Bridge from Brooklyn Heights Promenade |
I thought I'd start out, though, with some things I've learned so far.
- The R train is sloooooooowww. It can definitely make you late - especially if they randomly decide to run Express without informing you (like they did in Brooklyn this past weekend). Be prepared and only take the R train if necessary.
- New Yorkers are just as bad as Atlantans when it comes to being overly bundled up for weather conditions. I was truly surprised by this.
- There's no such thing as "good walking shoes" when it comes to NYC.
- Also, nothing is as far as it looks on a map . . . unless your feet are hurting, you're carrying something heavy or you have to pee.
- If your Manhattan cabbie asks for directions to your Brooklyn destination, pretend you don't know. This seemed to work for me . . . once.
- When you go to Smorgasburg, take an initial "look around" lap before buying anything. I know it will be difficult, but scope out the things you want and then split your group (or pair) up to wait in line for different items at the same time. That way, you're not wasting tons of time in line and you can all share multiple items without filling up.
- You need to find one great market for produce and other fresh food items (cheese, eggs, dairy, etc.). You can buy the other junk at a supermarket. I'm still looking for a great, non-overpriced butcher, though.
- You never have to leave your apartment if you're willing to pay a little more to have someone else do all of your shopping and deliver it to you. This is even true for Ikea. In other words, this place must be FULL of recluses. And people in witness protection probably.
- Knowing which direction your destination is in is incredibly helpful in knowing which way to exit the subway. Paying attention to the sun can also help orient you provided it isn't noon, night time or cloudy.
- The weather can change to anything at any time and also can be drastically different in different parts of the city. I learned this lesson living in Boston, but I'm learning it again here.
- Always keep some sunscreen in your bag.
- Most businesses will lie about what neighborhood they're really in if they are adjacent to a sexier/hipper/safer/prettier/more subway accessible neighborhood.
- Your apartment neighbors can be really nice and helpful - make the effort to get to know them.
- Many, many places here are cash only. Yet another lesson that never seemed to stick with me after living in Boston. Luckily, there are ATMs everywhere. This also shocks me considering how often standalone ATMs are dragged out of stores with chains attached to pickup trucks in Atlanta.
- Birds are assholes (I've always preached this one). If you are enjoying a lovely spring day on a park bench while wearing a white shirt, a pigeon will come and shit all over you. Isn't that sort of a metaphor for life, though?
- I will forever be a better tourist based on the wretched tourist behavior I have to deal with daily here. Then again, it just seems like common sense not to spread your family of 10 people out across the entire sidewalk, thus blocking all pedestrian traffic while you all circle around and try to decipher a map. Right? Side note: I didn't want to live in Manhattan because I thought it would be too touristy, but Brooklyn Heights is MAD touristy. Oh well.
