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.
Traveling To New York City – Overview
Living Costs | Living 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 Costs | While there are some affordable hostels in NYC, overall accommodation costs are higher than in most other cities in the US and even the world. |
Climate | While you can enjoy nice and warm summers in NYC, winters can be pretty cold and snowy in this city. |
Safety | Crime rate in NYC is pretty low compared to other major cities in the US. |
Landscape | While you will find some nice nature reserves around NYC, you should still not expect the same great landscape as tourists in Los Angeles. |
Entertainment | More 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. |
Nightlife | Nightlife 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 & Walkability | Public 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 of Traveling to New York City
- Many interesting skyscrapers to visit in NYC
- New York City has great museums
- You can visit exciting sports games in NYC
- New York City is a pretty exciting place
- Nightlife in New York City is great
- You will have action 24/7
- More than enough entertainment options in New York City
- Easy to get in touch with people from all over the world
- You can enjoy big city life in NYC
- Many great shopping opportunities in NYC
- New York City is a rather safe place
- Many people in NYC are friendly and helpful
- New York City is a pretty tolerant place
- You may be able to meet many celebrities in New York City
- You can make your friends envy by traveling to New York City
- New York City is on the bucket list of most travelers
- You will never get bored in New York City
- You can see the latest trends in NYC
- New York City has a pretty high reputation
- New York City is located at the coast
- 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
- Winters in NYC can be pretty cold
- New York City is a pretty expensive place to spend your vacation
- You may not get as many hours of sun as in many other regions of the US
- New York City is a pretty crowded place
- Hard to get around by car in NYC
- Traveling to NYC is not great if you don’t like big city life
- You will also see the dark side of NYC
- Not as much beautiful nature as in other parts of the US
- You may lose orientation in NYC
- Some neighborhoods in NYC are pretty dodgy
- You may not have time to visit all the nice locations in NYC
- 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 Pros | Traveling to NYC Cons |
---|---|
Interesting architecture in NYC | Winters are too cold for many tourists in NYC |
Many exciting places to visit as a tourist in New York City | You will see the dark sides of NYC |
Many great museums in NYC | Social inequality is about to get worse in New York City |
You can watch many great sports games in NYC | You may be overwhelmed by all the impressions |
NYC is pretty popular all over the world | Visiting NYC may not be great in case you don’t like big city life |
You can meet many great people in NYC | You may get lost in NYC |
You can experience many different lifestyles | NYC is a pretty crowded place |
You can try delicious foods from all over the world | Hard to get around by car in an efficient manner |
Decent public transport in New York City | Not as much great nature in NYC as in other parts of the US |
NYC is located at the coast | Hotels are pretty expensive in NYC |
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.