It had been five years since I had been back home. After moving to Sacramento during the pandemic, I never imagined myself moving back to New York City. Life always throws curveballs though, and I didn’t expect this one at all.
At first, I had no idea what to expect when I returned home earlier this semester. For the longest, I was scared that I’d outgrown the concrete jungle. But after walking 14,000 steps the day after my plane landing, it felt like my city welcomed me back with open arms. Returning as an adult has given me an entirely new appreciation for my hometown.
So, here are some things that I’ve been able to do over the past month. My perspective might just inspire you for your first (or next!) trip to New York City.
WHAT TO EXPECT
I took over 74,000 steps my first week back; trust me, you’ll end up walking around a lot. It’s arguably better to walk around or rely on public transportation. Taxis and rideshare will cost an arm and a leg, so don’t sleep on other modes of travel. The MetroCard is retiring on Dec.31, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that tap-to-ride is available here in the city, on both the subway and buses.
Expect lots of people, particularly in areas known for tourism. With that comes lots of external stimuli. Whether it be a sudden change in weather, the LED billboards, or the honks of car horns, there’s a lot going on at one time. Be ready to be startled, jostled around and feel like you’re everywhere at once. I forgot just how crowded the city can be. But my best advice, particularly to myself, would be to embrace it.
Did I visit the landmarks? Absolutely. I’ve been through Times Square, trekked across the Brooklyn Bridge, viewed the Empire State Building from different parts of the city. I know it may seem cliche, but there’s just something good about seeing different landmarks in person. As a native, we barely get time in our schedules to enjoy these places. I made it a priority to view these landmarks like a tourist would after being gone for the length that I’d been.
ART
New York has more than 150 museums, with the majority of those located in Manhattan. Not included are galleries and exhibitions, so expect to stumble across a lot of these. I might be a little biased by choosing to visit a couple of those in Manhattan over the past month (since I was born in this borough), but I promise that any museum you visit here in the city will be enjoyable.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was one museum that I needed to revisit during my first week out here. Covering 2-million square feet, this museum houses collections of art and artifacts from around the world, from America to Asia, Europe to Africa. I spent the majority of my time in the Divine Egypt exhibition, enthralled by the size of this collection. Statues of gods/goddesses, jewelry and slabs of hieroglyphics filled the walls!
One museum that I’d never got a chance to visit during my childhood was the Museum of Modern Art. Thankfully, I set aside some time to walk through this place to see what was displayed. Covering six floors, artwork from as far back as the 1880s is on view at the MoMA. Some of my personal favorites were found on the fourth and fifth floors, with work from artists including Claude Monet, Jackson Pollock and Vincent van Gogh (and I won’t lie, seeing “The Starry Night” in person made me emotional).
One gallery that I stumbled upon recently was the Lévy Gorvy Dayan. Conveniently located near Central Park, the founders of this gallery focus their exhibitions on modern and contemporary art. Between Sept. 18-Dec. 13, “Downtown/Uptown: New York in the Eighties” is available to the public (for free). Included in this two-floor exhibition are works from some of the biggest artists from the eighties: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Andy Warhol to name a few.
RANDOM ADVENTURES
There are a couple of things that I’ve done over the past month that I’d consider pretty random. I could even consider them bucket-list items, since they’re things that I’ve been wanting to do for the longest.
New York City knows how to celebrate the holidays. I got here just before Halloween and wanted to celebrate in a way that wasn’t trick-or-treating. The Village Halloween Parade has been happening annually since 1973. I knew that I wanted to visit the parade as an adult, so I put that on the agenda for Halloween night. Spanning from Canal Street to 15th Street, the parade flowed through 6th Avenue. Costumes, floats and music filled the streets, with fun for every age!
Another thing that I finally got to try was a trip on the NYC Ferry. For $4.50, I was able to ride from Soundview all the way down to Wall Street. I wasn’t confident about boats until then — the ride was extremely smooth.
Facing my fears seems to be on the agenda from here on out, because I also decided to ride on the Roosevelt Island Tramway. For $2.90, the aerial tramway rides alongside the Queensboro Bridge and over the East River, providing panoramic views of the city’s skyline and places its passengers in the center of Roosevelt Island. The best advice that I could give about this form of transportation is that it gets extremely crowded. And, because the tramway has windows on all sides, try not to focus too hard on the fact that you’re above water.
Coming back after five years away hasn’t been the seamless homecoming I once imagined, but it’s been real. Loudly, beautifully real. In just a month, I’ve walked more than 12,000 steps each day, retracing old routes and carving new ones. New York hasn’t changed for me; it’s changed with me. And somehow, after all this time, it feels like it’s been waiting for me to come back home.
