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New York: Background and Travel Essentials |
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New York is a vast metropolis, one of the largest and most
densely populated cities in the world. New York City reflects
the madness and spirit of immediacy and a go get attitude
with such a buzz, that you will either love this city or hate
it. It's a noisy, dirty, fast and furious place to be. More
than anything, New York has "pzazz", that knack
to go just one step further, and combines some of the most
exciting buildings, museums, restaurants, theatres in the
whole of Northern America. It's an entirely multi-cultural
city with a mainly immigrant population from all over the
world. |
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Smoke in the city: the throbbing metropolis
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New York City is divided into five boroughs - Staten Island,
Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and by far the most infamous
- Manhattan Island, an island 13 miles long and two
miles wide packed with all the top museums and tourist attractions.
There are seven and a half million people in New York. The
city has a large gay population with most of the nightlife
centred around the East Village.
Business was first established in the big apple in 1624 by
the Dutch, who bought the Indian settlement area which is
now Manhattan. By the early 19th century it had become a vast
metropolis of a quarter of a million people. 100 years later
in 1930 it was a staggering 7 million, the people have changed
since then but still inhabit NY in their droves. The city
suffered near bankruptcy after the Great War but prospered
in the 1980's to being a centre of trade on Wall Street.
It is designed as a totally modern city, most of which is
constructed in a massive grid in blocks with generic names
like "4th street" and "42nd street" (more
commonly known as Broadway) and 152nd Street in Harlem. |
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In the midst of giants: Ian Wright with a local basket
ball team
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People
New York is a melting pot of people and cultures, with 30%
of the population come from outside of the states. Many of
the minority groups mainly live in their own quarters, like
Chinatown, Little Italy, the Hispanic population
in East Village, and African Americans in Harlem,
Washington Heights population is largely from the Dominican
Republic and El Savador. It is fairly well integrated
ethnically, with occasional flare ups. Having said this, America
is an implicitly racist nation so don't be suprised to receive
a few looks if you are the only white face in a Hispanic or
black area, or the only different coloured face in an elite
white neighbourhood.
Language
The official language is English, but you will find
a whole host of other language spoken in the different boroughs,
from Spanish, Chinese, African languages to Polish
and Greek.
Cash
The local currency is the US $ dollar.
1 Euro = $0.9 US.
£1 sterling = $1.4 US.
It's an expensive city to visit - you can rent a double room
in a budget price hotel for around $100 but expect with food,
travel, and cheap accommodation to spend at least $200 a day
as a tourist.
Travel
If you're sightseeing, get away by subway as the street
are always grid-locked, or walking is OK during the day but
be careful if you're alone at night - a cab is a safer bet
and there's always the famous yellow cabs around to
hail down.
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