Things We Saw In New York You Will Never See In Louisiana

Last week, we were honored to be able to go to New York City to the Townsquare Media offices for a visit and sightseeing tour. (For a funny rundown on everything that happened, check this out.) During our trip, we saw things that we never saw before.

That got me to thinking. (Yeah, I know. That's always scary.) We saw things that we will never see in Lake Charles or most anywhere in Louisiana, at least not in our lifetime.

First off, the size of New York is just crazy! I mean, there were thousands of buildings and every one of them had to be at least 20 stories or higher. One city block sometimes seemed like a half a mile long.

Here are some of the things we noticed in the big city that we know we will never have in South Louisiana:

Subways

It was just crazy how you can walk down the street and every couple of blocks you would see these stairs leading under the street leading you to an underground area with really fast trains to take you all over the city.

When we got down into the subway system, it was really muggy and the smell was kind of like being in a musty gymnasium when you were in high school.

The place was packed, too. Plus, you have to have a subway pass to get through. It was like the Fort Knox of train stations. If you don't have a pass, you don't ride!

See what I mean! Then it was the traffic!

Traffic In The City

You better not be in a hurry to get anywhere fast, especially if you're outside the city and you are trying to get into the Big Apple. I mean, once we finally got into the city, it wasn't as bad but still really congested. The picture above is from or cab from the airport which, by the way, cost $47 bucks to get from the airport to the hotel.

Taxis Everywhere!

I have never seen so many yellow and black cars in my life. Literally, it doesn't matter where you are in NYC, you can always hail a cab. They are freaking everywhere! I purposely stood on a street corner for one straight minute and in that time I counted twenty cabs that passed me by.

We found this picture that let us know there are about 12,000 "taxi's" in NYC (and, as my editor pointed out, apparently not one person who knows you don't pluralize words with an apostrophe). That is crazy! I think we have maybe 30 in all Lake Charles, counting Lyft drivers.

Random Newsstands on the Streets

Need a newspaper, cold drink, pack of gum, chips, flowers or a bagel to get your morning started? Well in New York, you are covered on almost every city block. These newsstands are like mini Walmarts. Heck, now you can get that random Fidget Spinner to get you through your day!

Everyone has Headphones on!

I guess the best way to get to your destination faster is to listen to music, a podcast, or just have them on so that you don't have to talk to anyone! The streets, especially in the early morning and late in the evening, are full of people trying to get to work or commute back home, and most of them are rocking headphones or playing on their cell phones.

I also noticed that most people in NYC are mall walkers! I mean, they are walking with a purpose and at about 10 mph. They know where they are going and are trying to get there as fast as possible!

Huge Bridges

So I know in Southwest Louisiana we have a couple of big bridges with the I-10 and 210 bridges, but they don't even compare to the size, scale, and architecture the NYC bridges have, like the Brooklyn Bridge above. They are massive. I don't know exactly how many of these style bridges are in New York, but there are several on either side of Manhattan that connect commuters to New Jersey or the other boroughs of NYC like Brooklyn.

Massive Tall Buildings

Tall buildings is an understatement! These buildings are unbelievable. I mean, everywhere you look these buildings are touching the sky. From the Freedom Tower above (which was incredible and moving to visit) to the high rise of Rockefeller Center (below) and the Empire State Building which gives you a great view of the entire city and island of Manhattan.

The pictures don't even do it justice of just how tall these buildings are, and not to mention the beautiful architecture inside the concrete giants.

Everything is expensive!

Better bring some money to the big city. Everything is pretty pricey. I mean, let's just take one example. If you smoke, the average price for a pack of cigarettes in Louisiana is about $6 bucks. Not in NYC! Get ready to pay an average of $12.50 per pack.

Need a coke or water? Expect to pay at least $3 each. The one thing that was really cool though was that there are no taxes in New York on clothing and shoes. That was cool, and it helped when buying souvenirs for sure.

Theatre and Broadway Shows

If you want to get your artsy fartsy on, then New York is the place for you. We have the occasional broadway or play shows here, but not like there. There is no shortage of shows to go see.

Some of the things that you may think happen in New York that you either heard on TV or saw in movies, we never saw or experienced. Like people were not rude in the city. Busy and in a hurry, yes but not rude at all. Everyone we encountered was really polite and nice. I didn't see anyone get mugged or any fights on the streets. Everyone was just going about their business.

All in all, it was a great experience and I would definitely go again! I think we should all go at least once.