First experience in the big city..

[professor]

Thanks Drich, makes me happy I don't need to travel.
Went to NYC once.
Found I don't like big cities.
Actually made me thankful for the Buffalo area.

[Crossless2.0]

Drich, for future reference, 'fuck off' is widely understood in NYC by people of all ages.

[Tonus]

Heh, should I be worried? I'm flying into the States Saturday night.

I won't say that NYC is unique in terms of big city experiences, but it's a special brand of awful in some cases. It was a lot worse from the 70s to the mid-90s, though. Me, I'm just ~270 days from moving to the suburbs and leaving the big city behind for as long as I am able to.

(Apparently for the sake of easing the transition, the local county that I am moving to has spent the last several months razing a small forest of trees to create a shopping development. Because that's why I moved to the suburbs, to replace trees and grass with concrete and asphalt.)

[Drich]

I've been to nyc a few times since, and I think I am getting the hang of it. On the plus side I got to sit behind Ving Thames marsellus Wallace (http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0001789/) he is not as tall as I thought him to be.

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@professor I found I don't like to travel much any more either. I use to want to see everything, and the more I experienced the more the simple life stood out as being what I wanted.

[Anomalocaris]

Heh, should I be worried? I'm flying into the States Saturday night.

Who knows, maybe I'll have a little "Esquilax goes to 'Murica" story to contribute once the 36 hours of traveling and attendant jetlag have worn off.

I lived in New York for 6 years and we still fly into Laguardia at least once a year to visit my parents. We've flown in and out of every terminal. While there are unending constructions, on the whole the airport is efficient and clean, if congested. The bathrooms are cleaner than those in most motel rooms in Florida. Every "arab" girl (how did he know she was arab?) is not out to get you. New Yorkers tend to be worldly, streetwise and don't suffer nonsense easily. You would have to act outstandingly yokelish to cause any New York crooks to single you out as a victim.

I traveled quite a lot for a previous job. If you are flying into a major murican city, you would see large American international airports tend to be congested, dated in decor and design and lacking in the overwhelming size and post modern sleekness often found in other international airports, particularly new ones in Asia. But they are usually competently and efficiently run, and not dens of filth, confusion and vice as the OP makes one of them out to be.

[Jenny A]

@ Dritch

Sorry to be short last night, but I find it sad when people give up the pleasure of travel or judge a whole city based on it's airport. I'm not a city girl, but I do enjoy travel and while I mostly wouldn't want to live there, big cities have much to offer. Our last great European odyssey, we spent time in London, Paris, Rome, Milan, and Zurich. We had a fantastic time, and because we stayed outside the tourist zone in apartments we were often outside our comfort zone when picking up groceries, etc. But we also enjoyed seeing a little real city life and meeting people who do not make their living accommodating tourists. The scammers were of course in the tourist zone.

Chuck is quite right about who gets picked on and why in NY. I haven't been in NY much myself, but I have spent time in a number of large cities, and the airport and train station scams are the same where ever you go. I have several general pieces of advice. First while it's probably impossible not to look like a tourist, you can look like you know where you are going and what you are doing, even if you don't. Doing so will save you from the great bulk of scammers, beggars, and thieves. Second, look alert (not paranoid) and generally aware of your surroundings. Third, sad to say you should be wary of people who offer you unsolicited help. Just by picking who to ask yourself, you eliminate the bulk of the scammers. Finally, do not engage with people who have odd requests. Chuck is quite right that "Fuck Off" in universal in U.S. cities.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I wrote a book about my four years in Iran.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

thinking I had a Handel on the airport experience as well.

You won't know that for sure until you're on the way Bach.

Boru

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Praise Allah you weren't hurt.

[Anomalocaris]

thinking I had a Handel on the airport experience as well.

You won't know that for sure until you're on the way Bach.

Boru

I think he sings the messiah rather too loudly.