Christopher Halajian – A First Timers Impression of New York

 After being sent out to New York by my editor Christopher Halajian, in order to cover a story on the local elections, I was pretty excited given the fact that I had never visited before. The Big Apple is an endearing place for sure, and I was situated in a hotel in between Southold and Matticuck. Throughout the fortnight that I was here, speaking with police, candidates and just about anyone interesting that I happened to find in the town, I did manage to get some time out to see more of the iconic city. I’ll be gong home on Monday, back to my quiet estate out in the country, so I wanted to take this moment to share my first hand account of breaking my New York virginity.

They Do Sleep

I have been on some late night trails and finished meetings at some ungodly hours during this trip, and I can in fact concur that New York most certainly does sleep. Perhaps there are some clandestine clubs in the Village which may pump out the action until the early hours, but generally you can expect to find peace and tranquility as soon as it hits 3am.

Expensive

In what will no doubt come as no surprise whatsoever, New York ain’t cheap. Now I understand that if I were living outside of the city limits, I could probably find some cheap pizzeria somewhere but if you aren’t in the know, expect to bring plenty of cash.  

It Is Simply Breathtaking 

I try hard to ensure that I am not easily blown away by new destinations, in order to scratch beneath the glossy veneer which is presented to us and instead understand the city, but that is nearly impossible in the Big Apple. The first thing you’ll notice is the way that so many races, religions and cultures come together and intertwine with such ease. Secondly you can’t help but be constantly impressed by the iconic street names, the movie scene locations and the attractions like the Statue of Liberty, Empire State building and Central Park which hit you in the face like a pop-up Lonely Planet guide.

Direct, Not Rude 

There is a certain notion that New Yorkers are rude, something which I did not find whatsoever. In fact I think what creates this problem is that they are very direct, and they don’t have any time to be more than that. This city appears to spin on its axis faster than the globe itself, so New Yorkers need to know what you want, how, where and why, and they haven’t got any time to wait. I actually quite like this attitude, and it is something I plan to adopt when I get home to the country, although I’m unsure that it will go down quite so well back home.  

New York is a crazy, beautiful, frenetic, stressful and colorful city, which will chew you up and spit you right back out again, and I love it.