Visiting New York? Things to Avoid

With all of the wonderfully numerous attractions that New York has to offer, there are an equal amount that visitors should avoid.

Times Square
Times Square has to be one of the biggest tourist traps New York City has to offer. Besides billboards on steroids, I never understood the attraction. Everything is priced astronomically high and tourists who don’t know any better flock in droves. Spending money on food and fare here just doesn’t make sense. Also to avoid: New Year’s Eve! I tried it once in my lifetime and won’t do it again! Not that my experience will be your experience, but despite how it’s romanticized on TV, the bitter cold and packs of people make it way too uncomfortable to make it an experience you really can enjoy.

Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides
Spare these poor horses the burden. Tourists plop down $40, $50 and $60 dollars for a few minutes of fun, having these poor horses slosh them around in a buggy in the midst of a city crowd. A much better solution would be to take advantage of the many other available modes of transportation available to you: a train, a bus, a Double-Decker, the subway, a ferry or your feet!

Big-Name Restaurants
If you’re visiting New York, break out of your box of conformity by avoiding everything familiar, namely, big-name restaurants: McDonald's, Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday, Chilli’s, dot, dot, dot. New York has an unimaginable host of ethnic restaurants, pubs, diners, coffee shops - something to meet every taste and budget, spanning every city corner, just waiting to be explored. All that’s needed is: a little bit of digging. How to find them: Village Voice, City Search or Time Out New York are a few to get you started.

"Street Meat"
“Street Meat” is to New York natives what “Hot Dog Stands” is to everybody else. You’re walking along, taking in the sights and get of whiff of roasted peanuts, Halal, hot dogs and other what-nots and that may be very well what you get: a what-not. The quality of food and sanitation of these little establishments can sometimes leave a lot to be desired. Proceed with caution.

Electronic Stores
In the city, you may come across a host of small stores with electronic ware packed into the windows, hanging off the ceiling and even the roofs - radios, stereos, recorders, IPods, gidgets and gadgets and banners advertising deep discounts, permanent sales and such... Avoid these! The quality of the products doesn't match what you would find in a reputable store, and the sellers are highly skilled at luring you in and selling you something that they'll make you think you can’t live without.

Street Vendors a.k.a. “Cheat” Vendors
Chinatown and Canal Street are popular shopping areas. You can find a host of things cheap and chic, but handbags aren’t one of them. When I was younger, I really did believe Louis Vuitton and Gucci handbags were sold on the side of the street. I mean, they looked real, until I got home and the color started to fade, the sewing frayed and the letters popped off.

Driving in New York
Who does that?! Tourists! The only people who should have a driver’s license in New York City are: taxi drivers and buses. Seriously. Save yourself the headache because finding parking - let alone, legal parking is one of the things you should file away under the Seven Wonders of the World. Utilizing a parking garage is just as ridiculous, because after you finish traipsing the city, you’ll come back to find that you’ll need to use all of your vacation money just to pay the bill. As I’ve mentioned before, New York is much better explored using the train, bus or your feet.

Have any suggestions on places to avoid?