the worst of the worst catastrophies in my entire life!!! the vacation that nearly spoiled my entire summer!!! i did not even make it through the first day. when i was riding the subway, i noticed a group of locals sitting in the seats right across the aisle from me. i smiled and waved at them, and they got up and walked out of the train car, and came back with 3 transit security officers. the officers walked up to me and said; "sir, these people said you were bothering them. off the train right now, sir or you will be arrested for harassment!" i told the cop that i was just trying to be nice to those people, but he said; "off the train! now!!" and then i just got up and exited the train, heartbroken and hurt by the rudeness of the people in the subway. then i asked an officer directions to the escalators that took people to street level and he said; "i am too busy here. back off and find it yourself!" so then i walked around for nearly an hour before finding the exit to the streets, during which anytime someone bumped into me they pushed me down and nobody even took action against it. later, i was in central park and went up to a couple of ladies that were relaxing in the park to ask them about the tours of the statue of liberty, and as i was asking them, they got up and walked away, and then they called the police on me. i tried to explain to the police that i was only asking the ladies about the tours of the statue of liberty, but even the cops were horribly rude and they arrested me and made me spend nearly a month in the county jail. i had to stand in front of a judge, along with the presence of the ladies i tried to ask about the statue of liberty. i explained everything i could and still wound up with a restraining order on me. almost immediately, i thought to myself; "i've had it with this hell hole! i'm getting out of here!" but even at the airport, things were bad. the security guards were rude, a group of new york city locals on my flight to tampa got up and complained to airport security and nearly had me arrested again, so i just said "the heck with this! i am sitting and boarding alone!" so i did and got myself an empty row and was so happy to be leaving nyc that i was jumping for joy when we were landing at tampa international. and i wanted out of there immediately, so i ran to baggage claim, picked up my bag and was out of there pronto!

How could some of you MORONS give NYC just one or two stars?! Are you NUTS? New York City is so grand, unique, and historic, you have to be ignorant to negatively rate the place. You're not being asked to live there (it is expensive), but to rate it in it's totality. Manhattan (NYC) is probably THE most dynamic, cultural, artistic, and interesting city in all of North America, with incredible parks, restaurants, museums, art galleries, night clubs, stores, etc. And the people, once you get to know them, are very friendly and loyal. I absolutely LOVE the 'directness' of New Yorkers, because they 'tell it like it is'. I live in OHIO, and 'I LOVE NY'!!!

I live and work here so if any of you want to visit, it is the place to see. I highly recommend it.

Exciting but overwhelming city. There are a lot of people who can't abide the idea of New York not being #1 in every single thing, I've met a lot of people from there who haven't lived there in 30 or 40 years, and they ALMOST ALWAYS have an almost pathological need to say everything in NYC is automatically better. A lot of braggarts there (especially Yankee fans!) and the pace of life there is mind-numbing. Conversely, there really is an incredible amount to see there, and many of the people there are actually quite warm in spite of the city's reputation.

Although this city has been my home for 18 years I will take an impartial view on it. The city is not all that expensive if you steer clear the more touristy and ritzy neighborhoods...in fact, New York is capitalist competition at its best. The city is also very efficient. Everything has its district, and the public transportation system is among one of the cheapest and most expansive in the world. You can get to nearely every crevice of the city by bus or subway in rather good time. Crime is another mis conception of the city. Although in the 70's and 80's NYC accumulated a reputation for being one of America's crime centers, the crime rate is currently alot lower then most major American cities. Although neighborhoods are improving and beautifying on their own, the main problem with NYC is the cleansliness. New York's subway really appears filthy as do many apartments. Occassionally the garbage is not picked up as often as it should be. However, this rarely occurs on a noticable level. Tourists can enjoy the city without this being a detriment to their visit. However, if you plan on living here, I'll take away 1 star. All other stereotypes are really uncalled for. Like any other city NYC is home to pricks and wonderful people, devils and saint,...there is not a noticable difference in the amount of people who are stuck up then in other cities...so any claim to nyc being the home of snobs and dirt bags really has had far too few encounters to be judging. All in all I would say this city is perfect. It has personality and I wouldn't trade it for anything. However, for the sake of judging without too much of a bias, it is a decent city.

I wish I could of met Muhammad Ata and the boys and threw them a few extra bucks cause destroying the world trade center was not enough. To many shiit head people, rats and egos in that city. Makes me sick, it is a trash strewn ghetto. A city built with no alleys...nice keep the rats on the front lawn instead. Place is a shiit hole from hell.

New York is a wonderful, compelling and one-of-a-kind city, especially to visit but once you live here for a while and get to really know the locals, youll realize that the place is filled with a lot of hatred between divisions. The tough working-class guys of New York hate the Euro-trash and gays. The Euros, even in New York, hate the Americans. Williamsburg hipsters hate the commercial Soho locals and the yuppies. New Yorkers disparage the bridge-and-tunnel crowd. Wall Street hates all the 'lazy' poor people. Yuppies hate the 'ghetto kids'. Foreign-born blacks hate the native-born blacks. Brooklynites sometimes enjoy laughing outloud at Manhattanites. And yes, of course, as always in the USA, there is the whole 'black people vs. white people' or 'white people vs. black people' thing here too. All this does not necessarily mean that somehow New Yorkers do not seem to get along as they often do, always in a charming manner. Somehow they manage to save their banter of offensive remarks for the occasional whispers and backstabbing, all the while bragging about 'how real they are'. Hey, but dont listen to me, you wont notice all these nuances, until 3 years later. Enjoy the good-times while they last.

You can hate this place and love it at the same time, as I do. But it doesn't matter, it is pretty much, the center of the universe and the energy that exudes from here is enough to make it constantly feel like the place to be. New York is the Land of Kings. It's influence is very far reaching. Too bad it's not also the Land of Queens - that maybe has to go to California, at least in the USA.

Probably most energetic city in the world, certainly in America. Lots of water . But, lots of congestion, filth and hustle bustle, which wont be for everyone. The city is in your face 24/7 Love it or hate it.

Sure, NYC is a cool city for the most part, despite its slummy areas. But all and all, whoever is talking about the great New York women has got to be kidding. They are like men in skirts.

New York has more vibrancy than London. For this alone, it is probably worth the full 5 stars. Cloth-selection is better in London though, but still New York is up there for sure. There are, it seems, rough pockets that seem dangerous however and entering the hot clubs without a girl drapping your shoulder is near impossible. New York is a mess when it comes to taste with some of the nicest and ugliest architecture I have ever seen. I have been here 3 times now and it has never disappointed me.

Everything you want is in NYC. Museums, Art Galleries, Historical sights, multitudes of skyscrapers, many enetrtainment venues, bars, and Parks.

Can be somewhat pretentious, but as the cultural capital of the US, you are certain to find something to do at NYC. Has some of the best restaurants and hotels in the world. In many respects, it is a microcosm of America, bold, somewhat gritty, but magnanimous as well. Gentrification has taken root in some areas, especially around 43rd Street and Times square. Cost of living is astronomical in the city and with each passing year, the city gains a more disney feel to it. To get away, well, you can go just about anywhere in the Northeast, being that it's very centrally located.

NYC is FUN- and the one thing I enjoy besides the culture, history, food are the quirky people- its totally fascinating. The worlds best city.

If the whole United Stated of America would happen to be considered the Big Apple... New York City would be the rotten part. Chicago would be the part of the apple that you would take a bite out of first.

I love my home, New York CIty! great people, great entertainment, great sites and just great everything. People tend to judge New Yorkers attitudes and such, but seem to forget that there are a lot of people in NYC and of course you'll find all types of people and sometimes the unpleasant people make it bad for everyone else. I love the diversity in culture, the atmosphere and the realness of my people in this great city. Go Yankees!!! I miss you all, and if I could change things I would move right back to the most biggest, wonderful and exciting place.

A friend invited me to live there one summer. It was unbelievable! I couldn't get enough! The people were very hospitable to this poor guy. However, I regret not having spoken to the ferry worker who had to listen to a Californian criticize NY'ers, regarding hospitality. He patiently listened; but I could have told him I lived in Calif., also, and was very charmed by my experience in NY. I walked to as many exciting places as I could. So many, many favorite moments! I even went into the church where George Washington had worshipped! We saw Coriolanus at Central Park; The free shows at Washington Square; The Irish pub, where about six patrons of both sexes, and mostly young, sang a most dreadful version of the Mercer/Jenkins' song, P.S. I Love You;(This was before karaoke came on the scene); And yours truly, being absolutely charmed. I walked along the waterfront after closing time, through Battery Park, on to the ferry to Staten Island, walked to Lafayette Park, where I was staying, quite a few nights. I was unmolested. Saw so many things, that it would take a book to relate it all! Yes, I love NY. My taste of The Big Apple left me very nourished!

While i do get upset about it being all people see to the state of New York. I can't deny that it is an awsome place. To all of you commenting on how mean and rude the people in NYC are, here is something you have to consider... The population of NYC just within the city limits is just over 8 million, with the surrounding area it is about 25 million. about 40 million people pass thru new york city every day. Less than half of all people in NYC are actually natives. Most of them, expecaily in Manhattan, are from other parts of the country, and other parts of the world. Chances are, when you walk down the street and get a bad immpression of somebody there, they aren't from New York. I like central park a lot, and i like the older, less commercail parts of Manhattan, but i actually think Brooklyn is my favorite borough, lower Brooklyn, around Bensonhurst, and Coney Island, it just has a real charming feel.

North America's best city. The power here is amazing. We are all affected by New York if we love the place or hate it. People complain that New Yorkers are unfriendly. I have never found this to be the case. Get to know them and believe me folks, these are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. There are so many inventions and such a rich history here. Gotta love New York.

New York is absolutely a place where everyone should go at least once, to visit or live for a short time. There is plenty to do and see. However, there are many misconceptions about the city. When it is judged on the surface, New York may seem like this awesome melting pot of different groups, a place where anyone can fit in or where people live a 'Sex in the City' or 'Friends' lifestyle or where hip hop music and culture is celebrated. Some of this may be true. But NY is really far from a harmonious place. Different ethnicities, races, sub-cultures and social classes generally live apart in NY. There is more hatred and love between out-groups and in-groups here than anywhere I have ever been. New York is also probably one of the most intensely racist and classist cities you will ever be. For every rich kid in Manhattan, there are three-hundred poor ones throughout the city. Every racial, ethnic and class group lives in near seperation of one another (except at work) and almost every racial and ethnic group spends plenty of their free time denigrating each other's out-group in private and blaming them for various problems in the city. A great city but a disappointment for anyone with any idealistic notions about it. You will find it particularily hard to access different groups which are outside how others identify you. Sadly, New York is still imprisoned by it's ugly history of class and race divisions. Instead, it has been replaced with 19th Century pseudo-liberalism, where even younger kids feel 'hip' or 'liberal' when they walk through Brooklyn or be-friend someone of differing ethnicity or social class. If this strikes you as pathetic , you may be alright in the village. Or if you are looking for somewhere more multicultural/multi-ethnic, where race, ethnicity, class and even sexual-orientation issues are either celebrated or more at a back-burner, I would go a little north to Toronto or Montreal.

I have lived here in New York for 5 years. NY is a great city. Yeah, people can't shut up about race. But experience will teach you that in NY, most these complaints about blacks is because many blacks actually have (admirably) attained a lot of power and influence and therefore, a lot of attention (Still, no excuse though. Racism in New York is just plain embarrassing). There are also some hard-working hot-shots here. This is a masculine-orientated city with lots of tough people (or at least people who act that way). My problem is not with the NY toughness either because again, experience will teach you that many people here are the 'tough and fair' types. My problem is with the scores and scores of people who walk around down here like their supermodels, with their noses in the air, when they look more like Roseanne Barr in a Deisel T-shirt. Arrogance can run a little high here. Which leads me to my point: New York may have some the world's top notch dudes but let me just warn any guys coming here. There is a little secret that most the newly-arrived guys have had to learn the real hard way: The money and the good job are absolutely here but many NY women, really just don't add up to the big-city hype. Do not be fooled by those superficial walks around SOHO where all the tourists and visiting models hang. NY is worth a thousand visits and even living for 1-2 years but don't stay too long unless you are really 'making it'.

The World's City. I would LOVE to live there the RIGHT way (with millions). Impossible to be bored in New York. Awesome buildings, food, culture, and central park is awesome for the outdoors. I would guess many of the negative comments are from people who like to shop at Wallmart and eat at Appleby's. New York is not about being average- but about success at the highest levels. A bit daunting, and everyone who visits doesn't measure up to the top of New York. Personally I think it's cool that a place as competitive as New York exits, even if I personally don't have an interest in living there (unless I was worth $100 million minimum).

I agree that NY is overrated. I think it is a fun place to visit, but living there is a whole other thing. It seems that the city is too commercial, and I am sick of every single movie taking place in NY. There is more to the country you know. I personnaly like Boston better than NY, it has a lot more character and charm than NY. And the people seem nicer. The NY population seem arrogant and pompous. Im not saying all of them are that way, but the few Ive met have. Overall, nice vacation spot. But thats all.

You gotta love NY. It's not my favorite city but if you can't have fun here then there must be something wrong with you. I agree with most of the comments below, no denying it's dirty, inflated ego's, and everything costs astronomical. My kind of New York is food and shopping. New York, like Boston and Montreal are cities that took in the wave a European Immagration and embraces other international cuisine that food in these cities just can't be beat, it's the best hands down. Shopping in New York is better than anyplace on the planet. It has everything your heart desires. Maybe you can't afford it but window shopping on 5th Avenue is fun if you can dare to dream. Also if you look hard enough there are some great bargains to be had in places and the selection to choose from is a dream. It would be redundant for me to say nightlife in the city that never sleeps kicks a**, Duh ! Central Park, the mere fact that it exists is amazing, walking among the trees and rocks. New York offers an adrenalin rush of exitement that nowhere else can match. With all that said, for me it's strictly for visiting and all that chaos wears thin on me fairly quickly that I feel I need to leave after a few days there. Like any good American outside of NY should, I hate the Yankees and watching the Red Sox put them in their place was one of the sweetest moments in sports. But that just brings up another point, NY's teams bring on that kind of passion. Enjoy New York !

I still have a lot of respect for citizens of NYC. NYC is a city that everyone should visit at least once in their lives. It's an amazing city. I love it... Altho some of the people there can be rude (that's just the East Coast demeanor), they aren't all bad. Great things to do and see in NYC... I didn't really get chance to eat upscale while I was there, but duh...it is NYC so they've got some great restaurants. I didn't feel unsafe at all while I was there, but I did stay in lower Manhattan, only venturing no farther than Central Park and the Upper West Side. Everyone there seems to be very busy...which they probably are. If you like the hustle and bustle of big cities, you'll like NYC. Always something to do.

New York is fine place to visit and some sub-sections are absolutely dazzling. However, if you do a little travelling outside the Manhattan core, you will be shocked at the deplorable poverty which can appear at almosty any corner. Anyone who is truely honest has to admit that New York is a mixed bag. An interesting visit with unique qualities but also a scary one. And believe it or not, race is still a big issue here.

Yeah, the cost of living here is enormous, the people are snotty and mean, and everyone loves to rip you off. I get the impression too that everyone does look down on you. Thankfully, I have visited NYC a lot, but not had to live there. I just watched a couple disgraceful episodes of Boiling Points on MTV. This is young New Yorkers at their worst. An MTV actor posing as a Pizza shop owner pisses off a couple teenage girls, who actually manage to throw the water and pizza back at him. There are quite a few other incidents on the show that convince me New Yorkers are just disgusting, classless people. I won't even mention the NYC kids I went to college with. Ugh, I wouldn't be caught dead here.

Manhattan in the fall is a 5; some other parts in all seasons are a 1. But it is indeed THE urban place in the U.S. ...Cy

Manhattan is truely an amazing and definantly worth visiting. If not for the irreplaceable energy and the stunning visuals. The problem is that New York's glory is just really Manhattan and some spots in some of the other buroughs (i.e. Brooklyn Hieghts, Park Slope, Fort Lee, Hoboken etc.) Much of the outlier area of New York make for an interesting visit but are often too dirty, run-down and poverty-stricken to consider living, given the expenses. San Franscisco, Toronto, and Montreal are all sort of quite small compared to New York but there is almost as much to do and see because so much of New York's vastness is sort of inaccessible because these areas tend to be sort of poverty-stricken or run-down or what people there deem ghetto. Maybe I'm wrong or being classist, but that's just my opinion. I also really just can't understand why such a wealthy city is marred by bumpy roads, dirt everywhere and annoying traffic. In addition, some achievement-orientated residents of NY can be some of the most insecure people you may ever meet who have a tendency to over-analyze everything. Anyone who says achievement and insecurity are not related will be in for a pleasant surprise. Nevertheless, no city can match Greenwich Village, Upper West Side and Upper East Side. Definantly worth several visits but would not necessarily move there unless you are quite wealthy.

Mile high rent for living in concrete shoe boxes, big egos, crappy road conditions, sticky summers, snowy winters crappy music stations (unless you like hip-hop), filthy subway system with fares that keep rising. Shows like Friends and Seinfeld and flicks like Spiderman portray a false, distorted view of this city. Don't let one borough (Manhattan) influence your rating. Don't attempt to live here unless you earn over 55k a year.

nyc is the greatest city in the world, when your in new york you will feel like your in the middle of the world, there are so many different cultures in new york you might walk on the sidewalk and hear five different languages in a minute, the people are really nice and proud to live in the greatest city in the world, everyone in nyc is happy to be there

I want to give New York City a 3 but i cant cause their are a lot of things i didnt like bout the city! True theirs a lot of things to see but a theirs a lot you might want to avoid!!!1. i really hated new yorks subway sytems!!!the systems are dirty and theres a crap-load of graffiti on and in the trains as well as the tunnels!!!!!!!!!2. the air is really hot and muggy and full of pollution. if u are in a stroe in dwontown, as soon as you step out u feel the sudden air pollution and mugginess which i found extremely annoying!!!if u go to new york just visit!!!i dont think new york deserves to be rated all the way up here!!and those of u who havent been to new york!!U all shouldnt be rating this city!!!!

New York is very OVER-RATED. The city's status is mostly because so many people live here and are full of themselves. I always love to meet a New Yorker who has left and realizes how much easier life is, everywhere else. It is true that when you live here, you go through extremes of hating it and loving it. The truth is NY is the best, worst and everything inbetween. The best: energy and vibe, endless bars & clubs, best shopping, job opportunities, friendly open people, hype and Halloween in NY is wild. The worst: expensive everything, pollution and dirt everywhere, urine-stained subways, awful traffic, race-obsession, disgusting restrooms, too may arrogant pricks who were losers in there suburban high-school but decide to live in NY to re-invent themselves and think that they are special but they are still dorky loser geeks, women who are either beautiful 'daddy's little-girl' princesses or obese she-male ex-divorcees who are very scary.... STILL LOVE NEW YORK THOUGH, BUT I CAN'T RIGHTFULLY RECOMMEND MOVING HERE. STAY IN CHICAGO, SAN FRANCISCO, MONTREAL AND TORONTO. TRUST ME, JUST VISIT NY.

New York City must be awesome! I have never been there but i'm sure it would be a memorable experience to visit the real center of the world!!

The best city in the world. The food, the diversity, the arts, the culture, everything. Topic A in NY is sports. New York has 55+ major championships in their big league sports.

junk. how many times do i have to write it?

NYC's got it all.

New York City, the panorama, the skyline, is absoultely breathtaking, if not completely overwhelming and surreal, but it's very overrated. Take it from someone who lives by the city. Nature is non-existant, people tend to be obnoxious and very self-obsessed, it can get dirty and hard to breathe in especially in the summer, and well, it's just very congested and dirty, and full of all sorts of chaos and fear. You always feel like you can't let your guard down in this city, and it has some very awful boroughs.

What can I say? I LOVE NEW YORK!

BEST DAMN PLACE ON EARTH-------PERIOD!

NYC really is fabulous, a place I'd happily return to over and over. I have to take off a star because Big Apple natives and residents feel the need to keep reminding people it's the greatest city in the world. It gets inserted into articles and conversations even at the most inopportune, weird moments. Insecure much?

New York is a great city! Sure, it has its flaws like too much traffic, too crowded, but it has personality! It has the best food. AND WHAT IS UP WITH EVERYONE SAYING THAT THE PEOPLE HERE ARE RUDE? People in New York are REAL! I love New York (Especially Manhattan and Brooklyn). GO NY!

New York has become such a megalopolis that it's not worth trying to get to. Oh, and it smell like urine in the summertime.

It is our biggest city, and probably our best city. The only reason i don't give it 5 stars is because it is sucking all of the money and many of the people out of upstate ny. The suburban sprawl of NYC is getting bigger and bigger, it has actually spread into upstate ny now (orange county) There are other great cities in new york too, that would have a chance to really get going again, if all of the states money didn't go to NYC.

ya gotta love NYC, if you don't, you basicaly don't love america. I'm not saying that NYC is all there is to this great country, but it is a mojor contributor and deserves all of the posative attnetion it gets, and not all of the negative attentino that it used to

Many pluses and minuses here.Don't even bother if you are disturbed by crowds! NYC has a lot to offer culturally:museums,plays,art galleries by the ton.Any kind of food in the world can be found here,usually within a few blocks.Cheap transportation is available if you can figure out the maze of subways.However,it is egregiously expensive to entertain yourself or shop here.You may not get mugged,but the results are the same when you get home with your empty wallet.

New York is busy, sure, but there's no more exciting city in the United States. The restaurants are unbelievable, public transportation is a snap, the sights are amazing, the shopping is terrific, and Manhattan from the financial district to Harlem is thriving. It may be packed with people, but it's hard to argue, with the possible exception of Chicago, that this isn't the best city in the country.

Two words: perpetual gridlock. Traffic is bad enough out west. Hard to imagine squeezing 30mil into the same land areas as Phoenix with just over 3mil.

I can't see how you can't respect New York City. We all started out here, it is the port into america, or at least it was, now that has unfortunetly turned into the makeshift bridges accross the Rio Grande. I can see how somebody would not want to live in NYC, it could be overwelming, but i dont see how you can just hate it, you would have to be very close minded. I DO REALIZE THAT THERE IS MORE TO AMERICA THAN NYC. It's just that, NYC has every bit of america, Atleast, all of the cultures. For anyone coming to america, i would of course say visit NYC, it is our greatest city, but its not our only city. See the rest of America as well. Just make sure that you go to NYC first, because a great deal of the rest of the country (99% of whome have never been there) don't like NYC and think that it is nothing but snobby rich people or criminals. WRONG! I will be first to admit, i don't think that i would want to live in Manhattan, but maybe some other boroughs like staten island or brooklyn, sure! And i would live in almost anywhere in the area around NYC. As hard as it may be to believe, the entire metropolitan area of new york even though it spans three states, feels like a big family of 30 million people!!! Its just great, its the capitol of the world. People from all over the world and all walks of life meating at the crossroads of the world. This is going to sound very corny, but if there is ever a free united world, New York would have to be the capitol, no other city comes close. And everyone who reads this, what do you think the chances are that evilone as she is so perfectly named, has ever actually been to NYC or eaten the pizza?

NYC is the media capital of the world and nothing more. New Yorkers have an unwarranted arrogance and are largely filthy. Times square is tacky and queens, staten island, the bronx and much of Brooklyn is just depressing. NY pizza is crap!!! you hear me crap!!!. There is nothing Ny about its just pizza served with a topping of pomp.