Anybody been to New York City during their winter?
If so, how long did you stay, was it long enough and did the cold impact negatively on your stay there?
When I was 18 I went and stayed with my bro in NYC for 5 weeks in January. So regarding winter, yeah it was cold but you dress for it and there's lots of coat racks and it's warm everywhere inside. Basically wear long johns/thermal underwear under your jeans, singlet, shirt, jumper, heavy jacket and hat/beanie gloves. Ice can be very slippery or slushy so get some waterproof shoes or be careful where you walk. Some days nights will be windy/freezing and other times quite mild so you might not need all of the above all the time, but you will at some point.
Being a young kid from a country town I spent most of the time walking around the streets and just looking at the buildings, people, shops and landmarks, so I spent a fair bit of time outside and it didn't bother me. I think last winter was colder than usual so I guess it varies. It wasn't as if things were closed or anything.
I recently stayed in NYC for 10 days with Mrs wannabe, and we struggled to fit in everything we did. If we'd had longer we would have done it at a much more leisurely pace. We hardly got out of Manhattan (only to yankee stadium), and we didn't do the museums any justice, only went to one. Would have loved to spend a full day in central park (maybe not in winter...), visited the other burroughs (Brooklyn is meant to be really cool), and we didn't really check out any night-life other than some cheap college bars. Didn't really explore the history of the place either. And we were flat out getting up eary and doing everything we could each day. NYC is like Melbourne on drugs when it comes to festivals. Comedy/Fashion/Food/BLues/Italian etc there's always huge festivals happening, and sport/music etc.
So if you're not excited about NYC and can't really think of anything you want to do, still give yourself 5 days minimum. If you only go for a couple of days you will kick yourself. If you know there's heaps you want to do try and give yourself 2 weeks, there's so many experiences to be had.
P.S. One of the best experiences I had was reading a Bob Dylan biography in a laundromat for a couple of hours in Greenwhich Village, just people watching and seeing people go about their day.
Anybody been to New York City during their winter?
If so, how long did you stay, was it long enough and did the cold impact negatively on your stay there?
yep i went for a month last december. it was plenty long enough; i was visiting friends and i'd been travelling for almost 6 months by then and needed some recuperation time. i stayed in brooklyn but went into the city most days. i think 2/3 weeks is a good amount of time to spend there. the way i usually work out how long i want to spend somewhere is by doing some research and allocating how long i think each activity/thing would take then i wack on a couple more days to explore/do whatever else. this usually works alright for me.
it snowed a bit while i was there and there was a minor blizzard but i still had a great time. cos it's so busy and bustling the snow doesn't really stick too much and it's quite nice. just bring a warm coat and wear gumboots because the salt they use to melt the snow wrecks all other shoes.
a few things like the highline and central park might have been nicer without the snow but otherwise it was fine. we still went to bars/clubs and they all had cloak rooms. if you're only there for a few weeks you feel pretty motivated to go out even if there's snow on the ground; it's not like home where you'll stay in if it's even hinting of rain.
apparently summer there is almost unbearably humid so i'd prefer snow to that.
Any recommendations on suitcases? My in law has a Samsonite and it has the nicest suitcase wheel action I've ever felt, but I think those are quite expensive right?
After the amazing way antler stuck by us last year…and how publicly they supported us… you must buy their product.
I spent a lot of money in May last year on another brand of luggage for my overseas trip…gave it away at Christmas time and bought a whole new set of antler luggage.
We've generally used Columbus Direct who seem to be competitive and are linked to Lloyd's of London, if that still means anything, but fortunately we've never had to make a claim so I can't comment further. My daughter used Travel Insurance Direct for a trip to the US last year where she badly sprained her ankle and had to visit a hospital and make a claim. She said the hospital just asked for the insurance details and everything went smoothly and she didn't have to put her hand in her pocket. Not sure about their rates
Definitely a funny field and prices seem to be all over the place.
...and recommendations on travel insurance? Plenty of sites around to find the cheapest cover but I don't trust any online 'reviews'.
check your credit card. mine has amazing travel insurance included if i purchase certain things, like flights, accoodation etc. from memory its included (ANZ card) i think my work amex is the same.
...and recommendations on travel insurance? Plenty of sites around to find the cheapest cover but I don't trust any online 'reviews'.
Like GRR says you only really find out about an insurance company if you have to claim. Luckily I have never had to. I have used travelinsurancedirect.com.au a few times & their policies seem comprehensive & good value.
These insurance companies don't muck around with snow sports -- how many people get injured at the snow every year? Must be heaps!
Shot loads of injuries, and generally pretty severe such as broken bones etc. plus I guess they factor in having to get you carried out in a bucket and taken to hospital. People do stupid stuff at the snow. It's heaps of fun though.
