Advantages & Disadvantages of Traveling to NYC

You think about spending your vacation in New York City but want to get additional information on living costs, housing, entertainment, nature, safety and much more?

Great! Stick with me since I will show you the pros and cons of traveling to New York City in the following article.

Table of Contents

Traveling To New York City – Overview

Living CostsLiving costs in New York City are extremely high and you should have a pretty big budget to afford many nice touristic things in this city.
Accommodation CostsWhile there are some affordable hostels in NYC, overall accommodation costs are higher than in most other cities in the US and even the world.
ClimateWhile you can enjoy nice and warm summers in NYC, winters can be pretty cold and snowy in this city.
SafetyCrime rate in NYC is pretty low compared to other major cities in the US.
LandscapeWhile you will find some nice nature reserves around NYC, you should still not expect the same great landscape as tourists in Los Angeles.
EntertainmentMore than enough entertainment options and most tourists barely have the time to do all the major things in NYC and will never run out of ideas in this regard.
NightlifeNightlife in NYC is great and as long as you have enough money, you will find many great locations where you can party until the early morning.
Public Transport & WalkabilityPublic transport in NYC is pretty decent and you will also find many things you want to visit pretty close to your hotel as long as you stay not far away from the city center.
advantages and disadvantages of traveling to new york city

Advantages of Traveling to New York City

  1. Many interesting skyscrapers to visit in NYC
  2. New York City has great museums
  3. You can visit exciting sports games in NYC
  4. New York City is a pretty exciting place
  5. Nightlife in New York City is great
  6. You will have action 24/7
  7. More than enough entertainment options in New York City
  8. Easy to get in touch with people from all over the world
  9. You can enjoy big city life in NYC
  10. Many great shopping opportunities in NYC
  11. New York City is a rather safe place
  12. Many people in NYC are friendly and helpful
  13. New York City is a pretty tolerant place
  14. You may be able to meet many celebrities in New York City
  15. You can make your friends envy by traveling to New York City
  16. New York City is on the bucket list of most travelers
  17. You will never get bored in New York City
  18. You can see the latest trends in NYC
  19. New York City has a pretty high reputation
  20. New York City is located at the coast
  21. Decent public transport in NYC

Many interesting skyscrapers to visit in NYC

One advantage of traveling to NYC is that you will see many great skyscrapers.

In fact, there are barely any other cities where you can see so many exciting buildings as in this town and if you are interested in architecture, NYC will be a really great place to visit for you.

New York City has great museums

You should also know that you can visit many great museums in NYC and can see world-class art from artists all around the world and you can spend days in those culturally interesting places and even if you are usually not interested in art, chances are that you will still find visiting those museums pretty interesting.

You can visit exciting sports games in NYC

You will also have many great sports teams in NYC and in case you are a sports fan, you can visit many great games and can also make memories for a lifetime in those big halls and stadiums.

New York City is a pretty exciting place

You should also know that NYC is a pretty exciting place and you will therefore have more than enough things to do during every minute of your vacation and will not even know what great things you should do first.

Nightlife in New York City is great

Another benefit of spending your vacation in New York City is that nightlife is great and you will find more than enough great bars and clubs where you can party and hang out until the early morning and you will also have a really easy time getting in touch in those locations.

You will have action 24/7

NYC is also a great place to visit for people who need adrenaline 24/7 since there is just always something you can do no matter what time it is.

More than enough entertainment options in New York City

You will also find many great entertainment options and there will be something to do for every taste and every age group so you can visit NYC with your family or just travel solo and can have a great time in both cases.

Easy to get in touch with people from all over the world

Since NYC is a pretty popular place all over the world, you will be able to meet more than enough other tourists in this city and can have a great time with many people from all over the planet so you can also have many exciting conversations which can make your travels much more interesting.

You can enjoy big city life in NYC

NYC is one of the best places if you love big city life since you will just be surrounded by skyscrapers, many people and so on and you will just feel like being at the heart of the universe.

Many great shopping opportunities in NYC

You will also never run out of shopping opportunities and as long as you have enough money, you will find more than enough fancy boutiques where you can go shopping all day long and can get many nice things and souvenirs.

New York City is a rather safe place

Compared to many other big cities, NYC is also a rather safe place and as long as you follow some basic advice, chances are that you will not have to worry about getting involved in serious incidents much and you can just have a great time.

Many people in NYC are friendly and helpful

You should also know that many people in NYC are pretty helpful and open to new things and you will therefore also be able to experience many different lifestyles and may be able to learn quite a lot for your own life.

New York City is a pretty tolerant place

In NYC, people are welcome from all over the world and your background doesn’t matter.

As long as you are friendly and tolerant yourself, you can just have a great time in this region.

You may be able to meet many celebrities in New York City

Since NYC is one of the most popular cities on the planet, many celebrities will visit or even live in NYC and this gives you the opportunity to see many of your idols sooner or later and if you are really lucky, you may even be able to hang out with those world-class actors and celebrities.

You can make your friends envy by traveling to New York City

Since almost everyone wants to travel to NYC sooner or later and many people just don’t have the money to do so, you can also get a really high social standing among your peers by making your dream come true and finally visiting this beautiful city.

New York City is on the bucket list of most travelers

NYC is also a place that many people out there have on their bucket list and you may therefore also want to travel to NYC so you have experienced this city since you might regret it later on when you are old and may never have visited NYC.

You will never get bored in New York City

Since there are so many exciting things to do in NYC, you will also never run out of ideas about what to do next and you can therefore make sure that you will never get bored in this place and will always have something to do.

You can see the latest trends in NYC

NYC is also a place where many well-known trendsetters live and if you want to follow fashion or technology trends, chances are you will be well off visiting this city since you can see things that might not be available in your hometown yet.

New York City has a pretty high reputation

In general, NYC also has a pretty high reputation since it is a pretty popular city and people from all over the world want to visit this place and many of your peers may also admire you for visiting this city and you can also enhance your social media profiles by posting pictures from all those beautiful places.

New York City is located at the coast

Since NYC is located at the coast, you may also be able to hang out at the beach and to go swimming, at least in summer when temperatures allow it.

Decent public transport in NYC

You should also know that NYC has pretty good public transport and you will be able to get from A to B in this city by metro or bus in a pretty efficient manner so you don’t have to rely on a car.

As you can see, there are many reasons for traveling to NYC.

Yet, there are also some drawbacks of spending your vacation in NYC that I want to talk about in the following so you can better decide for yourself whether you still want to spend your vacation in NYC or rather want to travel to different places instead.

Disadvantages of Traveling to New York City

  1. Winters in NYC can be pretty cold
  2. New York City is a pretty expensive place to spend your vacation
  3. You may not get as many hours of sun as in many other regions of the US
  4. New York City is a pretty crowded place
  5. Hard to get around by car in NYC
  6. Traveling to NYC is not great if you don’t like big city life
  7. You will also see the dark side of NYC
  8. Not as much beautiful nature as in other parts of the US
  9. You may lose orientation in NYC
  10. Some neighborhoods in NYC are pretty dodgy
  11. You may not have time to visit all the nice locations in NYC
  12. You may be overwhelmed by all the great things you can do in NYC

Winters in NYC can be pretty cold

One downside to traveling to NYC is that winters can be pretty cold in this region and if you are a person who loves hot weather and don’t like the cold at all, chances are that you may be better off moving to Austin or other warmer regions instead.

New York City is a pretty expensive place to spend your vacation

You should also know that living costs are pretty high in NYC and also hotels and hostels are pretty expensive and in case you don’t have a big budget, chances are you will not get happy with spending your vacation in New York City since everything is pretty expensive and you may just not be able to afford many nice things.

You may not get as many hours of sun as in many other regions of the US

While summers in NYC are often nice, it still rains from time to time and you may therefore not get as many hours of sun as you may be used to from other big cities in the US.

New York City is a pretty crowded place

You should also know that NYC is a pretty crowded place where you often run into people and you will therefore not have much public space for yourself and may feel pretty confined when you spend time in public.

Hard to get around by car in NYC

Since NYC is pretty crowded, also streets are congested quite often and this also means that you may have a pretty hard time getting around by car in an efficient manner and may also lose lots of time in traffic jams.

Traveling to NYC is not great if you don’t like big city life

You should also ask yourself whether you really like big city life. If the answer is no, you may just not get happy with your vacation in NYC since you may just not find many recreational spaces and quiet areas to relax but will be surrounded by loud car noises when you are in public.

You will also see the dark side of NYC

You should also not forget the dark sides of NYC, including homelessness and an increasing level of inequality due to skyrocketing rents and property prices and you will therefore also see some unpleasant things during your vacation.

Not as much beautiful nature as in other parts of the US

While there are some nice nature reserves in the NYC region, you should still not expect the same great landscape as people moving to San Francisco or other places are able to enjoy on a regular basis and in case you are a nature lover, there may be better places to travel to for you.

You may lose orientation in NYC

Since NYC is a pretty big city and there are many skyscrapers, you may also have a hard time with orientation and if you are not careful, you may just get lost and may have to walk pretty long distances to get back to where you wanted to be.

Some neighborhoods in NYC are pretty dodgy

You should also be aware of the fact that some districts of NYC are pretty dodgy and if you end up in one of those places, you may get into serious trouble in case you are not careful or just unlucky as a tourist.

You may not have time to visit all the nice locations in NYC

Since there are so many different things to do in NYC, you may also just not have time to do all of those great activities and may regret it later on.

Thus, before making your plans for visiting NYC, make sure that you have at least one week so you will not run out of time to do all the things you want to do.

You may be overwhelmed by all the great things you can do in NYC

If you are not used to big city life, you may also be overwhelmed by all those new impressions and your brain and your body may take a while to digest all those things in a proper manner and you may therefore feel quite stressed as a tourist in NYC.

Top 10 Traveling To New York City Pros & Cons – Summary List

Traveling to NYC ProsTraveling to NYC Cons
Interesting architecture in NYCWinters are too cold for many tourists in NYC
Many exciting places to visit as a tourist in New York CityYou will see the dark sides of NYC
Many great museums in NYCSocial inequality is about to get worse in New York City
You can watch many great sports games in NYCYou may be overwhelmed by all the impressions
NYC is pretty popular all over the worldVisiting NYC may not be great in case you don’t like big city life
You can meet many great people in NYCYou may get lost in NYC
You can experience many different lifestylesNYC is a pretty crowded place
You can try delicious foods from all over the worldHard to get around by car in an efficient manner
Decent public transport in New York CityNot as much great nature in NYC as in other parts of the US
NYC is located at the coastHotels are pretty expensive in NYC
Advantages & Disadvantages of Traveling to New York City

Should You Spend Your Vacation in New York City?

While spending your vacation in NYC can be great since you can visit many great museums, try delicious foods and will be able to enjoy great nightlife, you should also know that living costs are pretty high, hotels are expensive and traffic is a big problem in this city.

If you even consider moving to NYC not only for vacation but permanently, you should also have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of living in New York City.

Sources

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/newyorkcitynewyork

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_New_York_City

About the author

This site is about living, moving and traveling to various parts of our fascinating planet.

My name is Andreas and when I was younger, I traveled the world and learned a lot about different cultures and countries.

Thus, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can benefit from them and avoid common mistakes in this regard.

In my articles, you will find everything you need to find the best location for a happy and successful life.

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