Saranac Lake Library: Fill & Download for Free

I would rephrase your question to somewhat “out of the way” spots worth visiting. My shorter list suggests:—Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. Gorgeous four-season setting that doubles as a artists’ retreat.—-Charleston, South Carolina: Better known among Americans, but not among foreigners. It’s an old (by USA standards) city set at the mouth of two rivers. History abounds: Ft. Sumter where our Civil War started, the slave trade, multiple maintained plantation homes, lovely beaches, museums, Caribbean architecture, and a growing cultural scene drawing from a large and dynamic African-American community.—Nashville, Tennessee: Country music central, with the Grand Ole Opry and studios galore. It’s also a university town with a thriving cultural scene.—Branson, Missouri: Country music in the Ozarks, aka Disney for old folks. See for its natural beauty and entertainment choices, but also for a concentrated slice of middle America.—San Ysidro, California (actually part of San Diego): This is the US-Mexican border in all its magnificence, warts and all. See the wall that extends all the way into the Pacific Ocean, the grand border malls, the bridge into Tijuana, Mexico, and the curious Border Field State Park, where families who can’t cross the border legally meet at the fence adjacent to Tijuana’s bullring.—-Salt Lake City, Utah: The Capital of Mormon culture as well as Utah. Smack in the heart of this pleasant city is the huge Mormon Tabernacle (home to its famous choir) and nearby museum and library. Across the street is the Zion National Bank, financial center for the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Up the road are the fabulous Wasatch Mountains and Great Salt Lake, a surreal body of water. A little known fact is that Utah is among our most international states with foreign language learning emphasized, thanks to the Mormon Church’s mission programs.

Best places to visitThe Adirondacks, New YorkOne of America’s first vacation destinations, New York’s Adirondack Mountain region has been luring travelers since the late 19th century with clear lakes, pure air, and 46 high peaks to climb. You can still visit in classic style. Built in 1927, the Hotel Saranac reopened last year after a respectful renovation that brings a touch of urban grandeur to the charming town of Saranac Lake. Hidden in the woods outside of town, The Point is a sumptuous lakeside resort that occupies what was once a “great camp” belonging to members of the Rockefeller family. A change of ownership has brought a welcome refresh to the elevated woodsy décor. —Peter TerzianAlberta, CanadaJasper and Banff’s rugged, powdery trails should be enough reason to add Alberta to your winter travel wish list. But this year, happenings off the ski runs have made the Canadian province more exciting than ever. If you’re flying into Calgary, make a detour before hitting the slopes to see the month-old Snøhetta- and DIALOG-designed Calgary Central Library. Covered with 460 white hexagonal panels, it’s set to become an architectural icon. Culture hounds should visit Edmonton’s new Royal Alberta Museum, a $375-million, 419,000-square-foot institution featuring collections on indigenous cultures, a gallery dedicated to insects, and more. Away from the cities, Kananaskis Nordic Spa, the first of its kind in the province, just unveiled a collection of hydrotherapy pools — as well salt exfoliation cabins and eucalyptus steam rooms — right in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. And if you’re in Banff National Park, keep an eye out for bison. Due to overhunting, the animals haven’t been spotted in the area for over a century, but in June 2018, a herd of 31 was released on Banff’s eastern slopes. —Chadner NavarroAlsace, FranceThis region in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains produces some of the finest wines on the globe. The stunning Villa René Lalique, whose restaurant has two Michelin stars, is the ideal place to start a sojourn. Visit top wineries like Domaine Weinbach and Maison Trimbach for world-class Gewürztraminers and Rieslings. At Au Trotthus, in Riquewihr, chef Philippe Aubron melds ingredients from France and Japan, where he spent 17 years — chanterelle soup with enoki and truffles, for example. Luxury travelers can even see Alsace by boat: a new barge, the Belmond Lilas, offers private cruises. —Ray IsleThe Andaman IslandsFor anyone who’s ever fantasized about running away to a remote island, the Andaman Islands are the stuff of dreams. A chain of more than 300 islands (some sources cite as many as 572) strung between India and Thailand, they seem almost too perfect to be real, with unspoiled beaches, clear water, coconut trees, and tropical mangroves. Many of the archipelago’s islands are uninhabited or off-limits in order to protect the tribes who live there. But one, Havelock Island, became more accessible this March, when Taj Exotica Resort & Spa — the Andamans’ first five-star resort — opened on Radhanagar Beach. Spread out over 30 acres, the property comprises 75 luxurious villas inspired by the huts of the indigenous Jarawa tribe, three restaurants serving local specialties and global cuisine, and the tranquil Jiva spa. It joins Havelock’s other main draw, the charming boutique hotel Jalakara, which opened in late 2015 with just three rooms, three suites, and a private villa on an old banana and betel nut plantation. Days here are spent swimming and diving amid the coral, kayaking in the mangroves, hiking in the forest, and relaxing on the beach. For now, the Andamans remain far less developed than the Maldives, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. Go before that changes. —Laura ItzkowitzArmeniaThis past spring Armenians voted in a new, more liberal government. The resulting energy has made the country all the more inviting to travelers. The Alexander, part of Marriott’s Luxury Collection, recently opened in Yerevan, giving the capital its first world-class hotel. And a number of new restaurants in the city, including Sherep, are breathing new life into Armenia’s ancient cuisine. Armenia has a famously beautiful countryside landscape, and there’s no better way to see it than on foot. The Transcaucasian Trail passes the spa town of Dilijan, the bucolic Dilijan National Park, and a pair of 10th-century Christian monasteries. —Peter TerzianBerlinThe coming year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and city's jam-packed cultural calendar reflects its post-reunification renaissance. Exhibits and performances celebrating 100 years of the city's pioneering Bauhaus architectural movement will roll out all year, starting in January with a ramped-up opening festival at the Akademie der Kunste, which will include lectures, dance and theatrical performances, and concerts — and, this being one of Europe's capitals of nightlife, a pop-up nightclub featuring DJ sets and the presentation of a Bauhaus manifesto for the 21st century. The party will be bookended by the debut later in the year of the Humboldt Forum in the Berlin Palace. The sprawling complex will include the Ethnological and Asian Art museums, as well as a Berlin Exhibition that explores how the city, now a hub of diversity, interacts with the rest of the world and grapples with issues of cultural appropriation. The year's biggest surprise, though, may be the emergence of Berlin — a meat and potatoes epicenter, and the only city in the world boasting a museum devoted to the currywurst — as a veg-friendly culinary mecca. The city is now home to more vegetarian restaurants than any other European capital, and Vevolution, a celebration focused on vegan and vegetarian cuisine, will be part of the city's eat! Berlin festival in February, a culinary blowout slated to draw world-renowned chefs like Slovenia’s Ana Roš and Austria’s Heinz Reitbauer. —Raphael KadushinBrisbane, AustraliaTeasingly nicknamed Brisvegas for its sleepy mien, Brisbane has long been regarded as an outsize country town, a cultural vacuum overshadowed by Sydney and Melbourne. But that’s changing. The shift began with the mid-2018 opening of the W Brisbane, the first luxury property to launch in the central business district in two decades. Now, the city is unveiling the $140 million Howard Smith Wharves development, which brings a hotel and restaurants to an abandoned dockyard under the Story Bridge. But even before the project is complete, this city, which hugs the Brisbane River, has plenty to offer. There are fine arts institutions like the Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art, or QAGOMA, where the vast Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art is on view through April. The Fortitude Valley neighborhood continues to evolve, with the recent opening of the contemporary, white-brick Calile Hotel and the relaunch of the Emporium Hotel as the whimsical Ovolo the Valley following a $39 million upgrade. One thing remains unchanged: the Brisbane River is still the heart of it all, both a thoroughfare and a destination unto itself. The CityHopper ferry is a tranquil vantage point from which to see Brisbane’s parks, the cliffs of Kangaroo Point, and the ever-evolving skyline of this underrated city. —Sanjay SuranaCambodiaMost visits to Cambodia are centered around exploring Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat — but now there’s a reason to head much further south, to an area that more accessible than ever thanks to the Shinta Mani Wild. Set inside the remote South Cardamom National Park (a three-hour drive from Phnom Penh), this all-inclusive luxury camp with 15 tented suites is the brainchild of hotel designer Bill Bensley, who made it a priority to protect hundreds of acres of surrounding land and the wild elephants, gibbons, and other wildlife that call it home. Guests will be able to join experts on guided hikes, explore Southeast Asia’s last wild estuarine ecosystem on custom expedition boats, and relax in a spa that uses natural, chemical-free products. Feeling extra adventurous? Instead of driving, you can opt to enter the property via a 1,247-foot-long zipline. —Brooke Porter KatzCambridge, EnglandOne of England’s two great university cities, Cambridge doesn’t wear its history lightly. It’s impossible to visit and not feel catapulted back in time, from the medieval maze of streets to the dazzling Gothic buildings of its colleges. Yet the city is also looking to the future: more than 4,500 science and technology firms have opened in the region over the past two decades. Cambridge now has a superb hotel to match. The University Arms, which opened last summer, is both an elegant homage to neoclassical style and a whole lot of fun, with book-filled suites that use famous Cambridge graduates like Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawkins as decorating motifs. The city’s food scene is keeping apace, thanks to Parker’s Tavern, the hotel’s jovial, haute-British restaurant, and, across town, the subdued and sublime Restaurant 22. —Peter TerzianEgyptNews of Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming movie adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic "Death on the Nile" comes just as Egypt prepares to welcome the luxe St. Regis Cairo. When it opens this spring, the 36-floor tower, overlooking Old Cairo and the Nile, will pamper guests with round-the-clock butler service. Luxury tour operators are responding to a strong uptick in visitor interest with new itineraries that cater to families. Abercrombie & Kent can combine a river cruise, camel rides, and hands-on crafts. Tourism will only grow once Giza’s $1.1 billion Grand Egyptian Museum makes its long-awaited debut in 2020. —Sarah BruningElqui Valley, ChileEclipse chasers should book a trip to Chile’s Elqui Valley for the total solar eclipse this July 2. The remote region, whose lack of artificial light earned it a designation as the world’s first International Dark Sky Sanctuary, is home to over a dozen observatories, making it a magnet for both scientists and stargazers. The lush valley is also hailed for its Andes-flanked nature trails, world-class wines, and distilleries where travelers can sample the country’s celebrated national spirit, pisco. Intrepid Travel is offering 6- and 11-day tours to the Path of Totality with award-winning English astronomer, Dr. John Mason. Guests will visit famous observatories like ALMA and Pangue, as well as prominent vineyards and top distilleries. Travel outfitter Red Savannah is also offering bespoke journeys to experience this rare celestial event, with overnight stays in Elqui Domos’ geodesic glamping domes and observatory-style cabins. And Upscape’s new Outpost pop-up camp will open in Elqui Valley starting June 29, just in time for guests to get a front row seat to one of nature’s most spectacular shows. —Nora WalshEtyek, HungaryIn the last two decades, Hungary has quietly been reclaiming its place as one of Europe’s most important wine producers. By now, wine connoisseurs are familiar with the most prominent of Hungary’s 22 wine regions: Tokaj, Eger, and Lake Batalon. But lately, the unassuming little town of Etyek — just 18 miles outside the capital — has emerged as a go-to destination for oenophiles and gourmands. Recognized in the 18th century as “the vineyards of Budapest,” Etyek has been gaining acclaim in recent years for its Champagne-like terroir that yields fine Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot (noir et blanc), and sparkling wines. While still under-the-radar among foreigners, Budapestians have been descending in droves onto the town’s “Gastro Walkway” (a cobblestone street in the older part of Etyek lined with restaurants and limestone cellars). Take a day to explore the town’s wineries on foot. Rókusfalvy Birtok, owned by a Hungarian radio celebrity, is revered by locals for having put Etyek on the oenological map — and Rókusfalvy also owns a restaurant and charming inn just a short walk away. A few doors down from those, Halmi Pince serves wine in an enchanting country setting complete with Tyrol-style furnishings and embroidered doilies, but it is their fruit and botanical syrups in dozens of intoxicating flavors (blackberry, pine needle, acacia) that will leave you swooning. One of the newest wineries in town, Anonym Pince, has a state-of-the-art concrete and glass tasting room, completed in 2015, offering sweeping views of the countryside. In 2019, the town will play host to four major gastronomic weekends (January 19, April 6-7, June 1-2, and September 7-8), organized by Etyek Piknik, with live music and public events highlighting local wines, cheeses, and other regional delicacies. —Elizabeth Warkentin

Life in New York StateMy favorite state is New York because I loved its diversity in ideas, people, geography and modernity. I was born in Milwaukee, camped all over Wisconsin and the Michigan Peninsula, spent six years hunting in Dismal Swamp and fishing on Chesapeake Bay, traveled extensively throughout the middle, eastern and western states, lived in the south for ten years, and spent 40 years in NYC and Upstate NY.New York state is really five different regions; 1) New York City metro 2) Long Island & Westchester County, 3) Upstate full mountains and thousands of large lakes, 4) St Lawrence Seaway, 1000 Islands & and the Great Lakes, 5) Atlantic Ocean Coast.Although Upstate New York - a mountainous lake-filled region which begins outside the greater metropolitan area and is bounded by Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway to the north, Vermont and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Lake Erie to the west and Pennsylvania's Pocono mountains to the south - often takes a backseat to the glitz and glam of the 30 million metro populations of the City. My favorite pastime in Manhattan was absolutely walking around the various neighborhoods! Between the architecture, the people watching, the ways the neighborhoods were changing, and the crazy variety of shops and restaurants, it was always, always interesting and made me feel very alive and connected. And the free concerts in Central Park, performing arts at the Lincoln Center and tours of the Met just added the flavor.While plenty of people thrive in urban environments, for others, the stress of high rent, constant noise, crowds and lack of privacy outweighs the benefits. Upstate NY is exceedingly beautiful and has a rich tradition of fostering creative arts like music, literature and painting. The beauty is beyond compare - rolling hills (of course western NY is a large plateau), the Susquehanna River rolling through the valley, the Finger Lakes and then Saranac Lake near Albany, green in the spring and white with snow in the winter. There are no sunsets like upstate NY sunsets and I'm not just saying that. While the mentality can be a bit provincial, there is also a "live and let live" feel to the place. Syracuse, Rochester and Albany have landed on US News List of 20 best places to live in the country for quality of life.But all of upstate has been pretty depressed for a while as manufacturing left and many smaller dairies went out of business. The political picture is largely conservative and the social picture is largely religious (perhaps less so on both counts in cities and college towns like Utica, Ithaca, Syracuse, Buffalo.). People are kind, and friendly, pretty open-minded and often are not upstate natives. Oswego was an IBM town ("I've been moved") - now Lockheed Martin - so people come from all over. So even small town folks are pretty cosmopolitan. You get to eat Spiedies, Buffalo wings, and Grandma Brown's baked beans, the best Italian food, and go to the Greek festivals for Moussaka. Mexican and Chinese food and an NY deli.Being that most people associate New York with New York City, one might be surprised to learn that almost all of the state is actually rural farmland and wilderness. The Adirondack Park comprises 6.1 million acres of protected nature; which is bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and the Great Smokey Mountain National Parks combined! That being said, the rural lifestyle does have many positives, as well as negatives. The scenery is beautiful with rolling hills, small valleys and of course the Finger Lakes. The seasons can be beautiful, especially at the end of summer and during the height of autumn. Right now the colored leaves are gorgeous! This weekend my town will be hosting its annual Apple Festival, which takes place at the historically preserved homestead on the outskirts of town. Lots of traditional crafts, bluegrass music, local food and tours of the historic buildings. On the other hand though, a lot of rural Upstate New York has a lot of poverty. I don't know why, but there seems to be an inexplicable amount of "red necks" upstate. Makes you think you are in Alabama! The types who listen exclusively to country music, wear cowboy hats with their "shit kickers" and fly confederate flags. We live in New York for crying out loud!For 28 years I lives in Middletown, Orange County, which is part of the Hudson Valley, an area filled with prisons, small towns, state jobs, a Manhattan commuters haven where Times Square is eighty miles away with all forms of mass transit available to commute there. It's a few miles from the Delaware River and the corner of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. The beautiful Hudson Valley, home to onion fields, horse and apple farms, The Hudson River, Bear Mountain, West Point and IBM. How is it here in upstate? In a word, it’s a toss-up. Good if you have a high-paying job, very average if you don’t. Living in NYC - urban living has become unthinkably expensive for many middle-class creative types. So many live outside and commute into the City. We didn’t imagine that we were pioneering some crazy new way of life. Upstate New York has been attracting formerly urban folk for decades. We just wanted to be a little ahead of the curve, give ourselves some financial space to reimagine our lives. In reality, city folk have been settling in various counties of upstate New York for generations. We were betting on the fact that we wouldn’t be alone in fleeing the big city for a small town. Small towns in upstate all have something from Manhattan; Jewish Delis, a Rockabilly Bar called Hot Shotz, a diner (or two), Chinese food and a couple of pizza places.Manhattan is the economic engine of the four state region (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut) and millions commute there. From Times Square, drive 40 miles in any direction and you are in picture-perfect American suburbia: single-family homes on large lots with beautiful lawns (in summer) and green mature trees; department stores; longtime neighborhood staple restaurants and Italian bakeries; family-friendly farms smelling of toasted bread, coffee, and hot cider, open for seasonal apple and berry u-picks; highly-rated schools. Enclosed within all this suburbia are pockets of outdoor heaven (except for Lyme-infected ticks), with lakes, hiking trails, etc.Venture a few hours north and you are in world-famous historic American horse racing town of Saratoga Springs, with its picture-perfect “best American main street” and natural mineral baths. Outsiders (including NYC residents) might find it odd that condos along Broadway in downtown Saratoga push $1m price tag — similar in valuation to, say, a luxury brand-new condo in a high rise in prime location in downtown Tampa or St Pete, FL. Not to mention an assortment of mansions sprinkled throughout the area, easily topping this mark. There have to be good reasons for that…and these reasons involve the fact that some wealthy people find this location desirable, for whatever reason. From there, drive 30 minutes East, and you are in a hiker’s mecca of the famous Berkshires, home to the Norman Rockwell museum; Kripalu yoga center, and numerous historic sightseeing destinations. The Berkshires have a special place in the heart of most Americans - especially those from the East Coast - because the embodies the utopia of good-old American winter wonderland that’s alive in the collective consciousness of the Baby Boomer generation.So what’s my verdict?If you like and prefer large cities, then stick to large cities: you will be happier in Boston, NYC, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix, or San Francisco, no matter what. If you are more of a suburbia/rural America type, you will fit right in and should be able to find a just about perfect town (or “village,” in local terms) in upstate NY. If you get disoriented by the change or seasons, or dread shoveling (or walking or driving in) snow, stay in warmer states; if you aren’t, you will enjoy upstate NY, as well as any place in New England.If you are not into high culture and have a problem paying for excellent schools, mass transit, great infrastructure, progressive social attitudes, etc. with high state and local property taxes, you will not like New York state.Life in Upstate New YorkInterestingly, New York City and Upstate New York have always had a symbiotic relationship, as one needs the other for survival and both share multiple personalities. Whereas the City was a conflagration of social ills containing every ethnic type of person and culture, where some kind of opportunity existed for anyone on earth, where anything went and fun was exemplified at every turn, Upstate was the escape point from those big City manifestations, and was the place of relaxation, where camping, mountain climbing, hunting and fishing occurred. We lived in the Hudson Valley foothills of the Catskill Mountains which has acres and acres of dairy cows, farms, etc. I like the fact that its many small towns have bandstands with evening concerts, parades, not the big commercial extravaganza's like in Manhattan, butcher shops, bakeries other than at the supermarket, small mom & pop stores where you are greeted by name . . . The area is full of lakes, rivers and reservoirs available for fishing and hunting. You are close to the mountains and deep woods so you can escape modern life for an afternoon, go fishing or hunting, and be back in the evening at the local diner for food. I could go on and on. From our front yard you can see the Shawungunk Mountains. They are beautiful and I can see living in Upstate New York biggest bonuses, every morning, afternoon, and night the surrounding mountains and waters never look the same. Different light, weather, time of year, it's always beautiful. And it’s nice for being in the 'burbs but still close enough to commute to Manhattan for work and got out for nights on the town.Upstate New York is littered with small cities and towns. And while the jury is still out on whether urban or rural residents are happier, there's a strong case to be made for the mental health benefits of small-town life. City dwellers have a higher risk of anxiety and mood disorders, and children who are brought up in a city are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia later in life. When it comes to living well, Upstaters may be able to teach us a thing or two. When you are living amongst the hustle and bustle of New York City, you are likely paying at least $2000 a month to rent a room in a shared apartment with a living room and kitchen that share the same 100 square‑foot space. There is probably a rat infestation in your building, the view from your bedroom window probably overlooks a dumpster and a brick wall, and your bathroom probably doubles as a closet. When you live Upstate, the mortgage on your 2000 square foot house is less than $1000 a month.New York has a lot to offer. It’s home to the gorgeous Adirondack Mountains, stunning Niagara Falls, and of course, the Big Apple. Most people associate New York with New York City, one might be surprised to learn that almost all of the state is actually rural farmland and wilderness. It's a very beautiful land of lakes, mountains and rivers. It's full of National Parks, for example the Adirondack Park comprises 6.1 million acres of protected nature; which is bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon and the Great Smokey Mountain National Parks combined?! Horse farms, apple orchards, wine country, mountain and lake shore towns abound. It's one of the most idyllic places in the world! The scenery is beautiful with rolling hills, small valleys and of course the Finger Lakes, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, 1000 Islands and the ST Lawrence River sea way, Delaware and Hudson Rivers. There are no sunsets like upstate NY sunsets.I have traveled in Upstate for vacations, weekend exploring, canoe trips, business meetings and camping sorties - so I knew the area fairly well. There are many different regions of “upstate” i.e. lakes, mountains, valleys, rivers. It is sprinkled with small cities that have quite a bit of culture especially being relatively close to the big cities of the Northeast. The cost of living in Upstate much, much less than in or around the larger metropolises. The cities are large enough to have a variety of arts, culture and entertainment but small enough to get away from. There are lovely historic small cities and villages. Most communities believe strongly in education and support their schools and libraries.I really love the 1000 Islands region of upstate NY which is the world's best kept secret. It's truly "God Country." It is amazing - extraordinary - beautiful. (Ok. The winters are not for the faint of heart). It is tough economically up there - great for people who can telecommute or who are entrepreneurs. It's a place where you know all of your neighbors because the whole town is your neighbor. While the mentality can be a bit provincial, there is also a "live and let live" feel to the place.The towns near the Catskills (west of Poughkeepsie) are truly gems. There are acres of hiking trails, creeks and even waterfalls, rolling meadows with cows, and apple orchards everywhere. The towns in the area were quirky and artistic, and there are great spots nearby tailored to any interest. The Finger Lakes region has been compared to California and European wine countries with its hundreds of vineyards and it's a great place to live!I like the Albany area. Albany boasts an “international” and Greenwich Village flavor and is a central NY transportation point of highways an airports too everywhere. Drive 10 miles in any direction and you are in picture-perfect American suburbia: single-family homes on large lots with beautiful lawns (in summer) and green mature trees; department stores; longtime neighborhood staple restaurants and Italian bakeries; family-friendly farms smelling of toasted bread, coffee, and hot cider, open for seasonal apple and berry u-picks; highly-rated schools. But if you have a problem paying state income taxes, as well as exorbitant local property taxes, you will not like New York state, and Albany in particular. If you see yourself thriving more at a hot hi-tech startup, than a secure, unionized, stable and rather boring state job, then Albany is not the place for you. On the other hand, if you are OK with a stable, reasonably well paying state job, and care about giving your children excellent quality education in a public school, then a few towns on Albany’s outskirts should do the trick.If you get disoriented by the change or seasons, or dread shoveling (or walking or driving in) snow, stay in warmer states; if you aren’t, you will enjoy upstate NY, as well as any place in New England. If you like and prefer large cities, then stick to large cities: you will be happier in Boston, NYC, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix, or San Francisco, no matter what. If you are more of a suburbia/rural America type, you will fit right in and should be able to find a perfect town (or “village,” in local terms) in upstate NY.The political picture Upstate is largely conservative and the social picture is largely liberal religious (perhaps less so on both counts in cities and college towns like Ithaca). People are kind, and friendly, pretty open-minded and often are not upstate natives. Oswego was an IBM town ("I've been moved") - now Lockheed Martin - so people come from all over. So even small town folks are pretty cosmopolitan.New York's upside is that it has excellent schools, has lots of immigrants and is very diverse, great social benefits, has the fourth-highest life expectancy of all states. The cities have great high paying jobs if you have the skills and education. It's considered a "High Culture" state. You have to eat spiedies, Buffalo wings, and Grandma Brown's baked beans, the best Italian food, and go to the Greek festivals for moussaka. Mexican and Chinese food, and NY delis are everywhere. Oswego still has a downtown movie house (the Tioga Theater). The Ithaca area is home to many outstanding wineries, too. There are cool museums tucked away in small towns, like the aviation museum in Clinton, NY or the carousels in Binghamton.Upstate, NY downside has been it's pretty depressed for a while as manufacturing left and many smaller dairies went out of business. A lot of rural Upstate New York has a lot of poverty. Farming doesn't make a lot of money, and as that tends to be a very prevalent career passed on through generations, much of the area has a very low income. Money isn't everything of course, but with the agricultural, low income lifestyle tends to come other things as well. I don't know why, but there seems to be an inexplicable amount of "rednecks" upstate. The types who listen exclusively to Fox News, country music, wear cowboy hats with their "shit kickers" and fly confederate flags. We live in New York for crying out loud! Being so far from the "city" is also a problem. It is sometimes necessary to drive at least half an hour to find a grocery store or somewhere to go out to eat. You pretty much can't live here if you don't have a car, which is unfortunate with gas prices today. The area also is known for its brutal winters and sweltering hot summers. Each season has something great to offer, but also can be extreme.While the Big Apple may still be a magnet for aspiring artists, culture-seekers, and starry-eyed twenty-some things New York has problems. For one, they’re looking to get away from harsh winters and high taxes. The fact is, it’s expensive to live in New York and the additional tax burden over other states is becoming less appealing. While other states benefit from the influx of New Yorkers and their tax dollars, this migration is taking a bite out of the Big Apple’s finances.As for me, Manhattan had become my identity. My career, my social life, my love life had all taken place within four square miles. One's world’s will change leaving Manhattan and moving upstate. Giving up one’s chosen city is like a drunk going dry. Life in Manhattan is so fast and so absolute that the only way you can change things is by actually shifting your life utterly and totally to a different hemisphere. You can’ partially change. There’s no semi-revolution. Leaving the city life I knew was a terrifying thought, but then again, I’d done it before when I wanted to be free and left Virginia and moved to Manhattan. I wanted to be a writer, and now Upstate is calling. So, here I come Upstate . . . what with all the beautiful landscapes, small towns, beautiful old homes (many old Victorian farm houses and early 1800s estates), slower pace of life and many people who tend to stay pretty much their whole lives in the same place, it sort of feels to me sometimes like the area is stuck in time. I don't say that as a bad thing though . . . I absolutely love it here! I find it easy to imagine what it might have been like to live here around the turn of last century and sincerely hope it stays the same for a long time to come!I LOVE Upstate NY!P.S. I bought a snow removal machine capable of destroying 20 inch snow, a fur lined down filled coat, and artic snow boots. As long as I don't have a heart attack shoveling snow I will be all right!Life in New YorkFrom Times Square, if you draw a 50-mile radius circle, you will define the New York City Metro area which holds more than 20 million people. If you draw that circle with a 100-mile radius, you will define the New York City commuting region which encompasses more than 30 million people, all using one of New York Cities mass transportation systems all directed to Mid Town Manhattan which assumes a population of 15 million every week day.Who hasn’t heard about the Long Island Railroad, New York City’s subway system (biggest in the world), AMTRAK (fastest trains in the USA), Metro North, Con Rail, the PATH Subway (New Jersey to Manhattan), Penn Central Station (700,000 commuters per day), Grand Central Station (biggest train station in the world), The World Trade Center mass transportation center (longest escalators in the world) and the Port Authority Bus Station (biggest in the world). International connections are provided by New York City’s five major airports, La Guadia, Kennedy, Newark, White Plains, and Newburgh. New York’s mass transportation system provides extensive interconnections to Long Island, Westchester County, Southern Connecticut, Downstate New York, Northern New Jersey, the Jersey Shore, Eastern and Northern Pennsylvania, and of course, New York City itself consisting of Queens, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Staten Island and the island of Manhattan. These areas contain every kind of disparate neighborhood known to man, of distinctive cultures, ethnic groups, races, colors and social economic variances, from poor too extremely wealthy, but basically middle to upper middle class.It is not the gargantuan size of the region, or the crushing and suffocating commuting to a small Mid Town Manhattan space through tunnels and bridges that defines New York City, it is the diversity of people and everyday experiences that generate the excitement of living or working in New York City. Just think, 37 per cent of New York City residents are foreign born and each ethnic group has its own colorful neighborhoods, restaurants, Bodegas, social styles with its own ethnic parades like St. Patties Day that millions watch and hundreds of thousands march in on 5th Avenue.There are similar parades for Halloween in Greenwich Village, the Caribbean, Asian, Middle Eastern peoples and that grand daddy of all, Wall Street Ticker Tape Parades. New York is not about whom to hate but who to love, because hating would be fruitless in this widest expanse of diversified humanity on earth and loving is so much fun . . . and Godly!It is because this gigantic collage of differentiating humanity is thrown into a bucket and stirred around and mixed up really well, the result being a salad bowl with political opinions and life styles that are so different and varied that the typical ideological wars between Republicans and Democrats or Whites and Blacks seem like child’s’ play, like confrontation 101. Believe it or not, everyone gets along, because they want to keep the peace and because they have learned to enjoy each other. New York’s life style has always been to “Live and Let Live.” They work together, socialize at the dance or night clubs, date and marry, go to church and have sex with each other, and now you can understand New York City. It’s all about connecting to the world in a small space, the island of Manhattan. The culture of New York City extends well into the 100-mile radius of the commuting region with the performing arts, academic intellectual curiosity and liberal social life styles.The New York City area attracts people from all over the Unites States for its sophistication and ambiance but it’s a transient area, and people come and go at alarming high rates. It is the land of immigrants and neighborhoods swap around between ethnic groups and it is not an area that can tract its residents back to Civil War days. New York is a proving ground and lots of corporations want a resume filled out with at least one New York City experience to show you can handle yourself, its like Marine Corp creds are on your list of accomplishments.New Yorkers (City residents) move upstate because when you are living amongst the hustle and bustle of New York City, you are likely paying at least $3000 a month to rent a room in a shared apartment with a living room and kitchen that share the same 100 square‑foot space. There is probably a rat infestation in your building, the view from your bedroom window probably overlooks a dumpster and a brick wall, and your bathroom probably doubles as a closet. When you live Upstate, the mortgage on your 2000 square foot house is less than $1000 a month. But you give up living an exciting city life style for comfort and safety upstate.If you live within the greater New York City Metro area of 30 million people, you most likely get your sustenance from New York, or work in the City and commute to work there using the vast public transportation (trains, buses, subways, ferries) network. If you are native born to the area, you most likely live farther north, come from a lake or mountain culture, and are associated with agriculture or tourism.Upstate is relatively crime free. The actual odds of an event like a burglary happening are significantly small. No one can climb through your apartment window via the fire escape. There are no messed up drug addicts living in your alley. You know most of your Upstate neighbors, which means that if someone shady is lurking around your town all of a sudden, you are much more likely to notice. In the urban jungle that is New York City, you would likely not be able to tell the difference between a local homeless man, your next‑door neighbor of three years, and a contestant on the Biggest Loser. How can you possibly be able to ensure your home security and prevent crimes?The schools are very good! Upstate New York has the same problems any school system has when located in minority laden inner cities, but New York’s population is very racially and ethnically mixed, with all groups having large middle, upper middle class and wealthy cultures that the standards of excellence are set very high and the schools are, over all, very good and some of the best in the USA. The school I sent my children to (and was on the school board for) was an academic oriented system that offered college credit classes in high school, academies and the International Baccalaureate program that guaranteed admission to all the IVY League colleges.It’s my opinion only, but I think New York is basically a libertarian state with (some) right wing conservatives and (mostly) left wing liberals modifying the strong libertarian nature of its politics. I say that because New York, especially New York City, is so focused on personal freedoms and individual choice, albeit there are large government programs subsidizing much of its populace, it is a state that loves to voice its many varied opinions and enjoy its many personal freedoms. Tell a New York person what to do and you will have a fight on your hands, believe me. Something like the embedded Southern racial segregation would never happen in New York, there are just too many different kinds of people, what group would you segregate and where would you put them, all the neighborhoods are already totally integrated? That’s not to say there are not ethnic neighborhoods, but they are transientory, always shifting between groups, and moving up or down on the wealth scale.Living in NYCNew York City occupies a special place in the American consciousness as the tumultuous seat of our financial markets and the buzzing capital of our culture. New York is celebrated for its wealth of nationalities, ethnicities and languages. But why would anyone want to live in NYC? It's insanely expensive, there are too many crazy people, it's bundles of energy and famously, "If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere." And lots of people love the challenge! Most important, it’s the city that exemplifies American pluralism, the “melting pot” that attracts new immigrants looking for work and college graduates drawn from their hometowns by the promise of excitement and opportunity. Its appeal hangs on its image as a city where everyone can try, get, and be anything. It has been my home for more than 40 years and I love it for its social and economic freedoms. My education and computer technology background fit right in and I found great career and social successes. Am I wrong or what?But NYC is not a panacea, it has its own problems just like any other city. First of all, it's terribly expensive, living costs are very high, you live in a small apartment that cost a fortune or commute from far away distances. Taxes are high to pay for all the social services, city employees and infrastructure support. The New York City government's budget is the largest municipal budget in the United States. In 2016 the NYC city government had a budget of $80 billion a year. The best jobs are in NYC and unless you are wealthy, you must commute and the hours required while being stuffed on packed trains and subways which are actually a frustrating second job. Second, the City is densely crowded. People are piled on top of one anther. Third, you will never get a good job unless you have a great education, NYC is comfortable for skilled and educated people only. Others scrape by! NYC is also being seriously gentrified, wealthy people move in to replace poorer people who are moving out.On the other side of the coin, NYC is certainly a playground for adults. There's never a dull moment in NYC. It's the city that never sleeps. It offers a thousand different interesting things to do every day. Besides high paying jobs for the talented in the business, banking, financial, advertising, business, performing art’s world, there is Broadway, Greenwich Village, China Town, Little Egypt, parades galore - St. Patties Day, Halloween, Macy's Thanksgiving, street theater and theatrical Flash Mobs, thousands of restaurants, bars, night clubs, museums and parks to pleasure your life away. Living or commuting to NYC is like being a member of Delta Force. It ain't for everyone but if you can do it life is great and you are a very special person.So let's talk about NYC. The New York City immediate Metropolitan area represents the largest city and metro in America with more than 20 million residents. New York City has an extraordinarily diverse population. Half of the residents are immigrants. It is one of the few cities in the country in which four different racial/ethnic groups each make up at least 10 percent of the population. Put it in perspective, and you end up with the conclusion that New York City is by far the most ethnically and racially diverse city in the world. It has the largest number of blacks, close to 3.5 million in the USA. (Atlanta is second.) This is almost 9% of the entire Black population of the United States. New York City proper has more than 2.4 million African Americans.According to the 2010 decennial census, 33 percent of New York City residents are white, 26 percent are Hispanic, 26 percent are black, and 13 percent are Asian. Altogether, 47 percent are immigrants. Some neighborhoods are mixed, but most are of the same ethic/racial groups. Expensive neighborhoods like most of Manhattan and lots of Brooklyn and Queens are white. Immigration from the Caribbean and Central America are diminishing the dominance of Puerto Ricans, and among Asians, where new arrivals now are more likely to be from rural China or Southeast Asia rather than Taiwan or Hong Kong. In joining the ranks of American cities where whites are a minority, New York, in its diversity, is more like Los Angeles and San Francisco than cities like Detroit and Newark, where black majorities replaced white ones.New immigrants do not simply replace old residents in the same jobs. They alter the economic mix. Look at the way Italians shaped the construction industry or, more recently, how Koreans have changed greengroceries. The succession of wealthy and skilled Blue Collar European groups who founded New York and dominated it for centuries have now become a racial minority. Whites are the racial minority residents in NYC itself. And they tend to be wealthy too to afford the expensive skyscraper multi million dollar condos and $3000/month apartments being built by the hundreds to accommodate the huge world migration to NYC. People have their priorities and if one of the top ones is living in Manhattan then they make it happen. Lots of people live in 2 bedroom apartments with 2 or 3 other people they don't know so they only pay $1,000 month each. I don't know how people move to NYC from anywhere else because the amount of living space you'll end up having is just a fraction of what you're probably used to . . . but for us NYers it's just what we are used to. It's also a very different lifestyle. There are a lot of singles and couples, it's exciting, active, socially diverse, people get along, tons of things to do any day with lots of entertainment choices, Very few families live here (in Manhattan).Lots of the people renting are struggling actors or such and they sacrifice space for location. I have friends who live in only a small room and share bathroom and kitchen. I know people who commute 2 or 3 hours to work . . . I am one of them, which is ridiculous but I have six kids and wife Upstate in the Catskill’s mountains, so its worth it. If you know the right spots to look and the right people you can get something affordable in this town . . . but for most people you're better off moving somewhere else. It sounds crazy but it's just life here.Most New Yorker's don't own, they either rent and/or live in the burbs & commute. When I first moved here, I lived in Hell's Kitchen in Midtown Manhattan and then moved to Jamaica, Queens. I worked in the Village and spent one hour on the F Train each way to and from work. The average rent for a Manhattan apartment was more than $2500 in 2005 and it's only gone up since. It would be more realistic for you to look for a studio, deep in another borough and even then you will have a hard time finding something acceptable that is that cheap. There is an affordable housing crisis in NYC and things are bad for everyone. Luxury skyscraper condos are sprouting up for sale everywhere but nothing affordable to rent. You could always try renting a bedroom in a share situation. It's possible that you won't find much less than $700/800 since you don't want to get shot or have an hour commute.NYC is a commuting culture. Millions of people commute to Manhattan every day, they ride trains, take ferries, subways or buses to Manhattan and there are tens of thousands of amenities to accommodate them. They come from Westchester, Long Island, Connecticut, Hudson Valley, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Upstate. This Metro area is more than 30 million people. Consequently, transportation is everything in NYC. But if you live in Manhattan, don't even consider a car unless you're wealthy, because you'll have to pay big time to keep it in a parking garage which cost around $800/month. You can get around by train, subway, taxi and bus. Subways go everywhere but are full of smelly homeless, hot, dirty, loud with rude people, constant beggars and candy sellers etc. But the entertainers at the stops are great.The A Train travels the entire length of the city, from the Bronx all the way through Brooklyn. It is quite the ride . . . a bucket list thing. Busses aren't bad but it tends to be slow. Living in Manhattan or Brooklyn and having a car is suicidal. A car is needed if you live on Staten Island. In Queens a car is helpful, and not a pain. For most of the Bronx, forget it, except for Riverdale. Manhattan and parts of other boroughs have alternate side parking, which means you have to move your car every day except Sunday and find a new parking spot. Loads of metered parking also.When I moved to NYC, I kept my car. I love the freedom that driving gives me and I hate having to rely on public transportation. My only issue with cars would be traffic & parking. It's HORRIBLY hard to find parking in Manhattan. And no one drives a nice car in NYC, just whoopdees that suffer lots of dings and dents. Your car is also apt to be hit or sideswiped so if you're very anal about the way your car looks, you'll have to pay extra to fix it . . . And yes, insurance is expensive. As for "deals" on apartments, some neighborhoods are cheaper and some more expensive. Location counts for a lot. I, for one, always was more interested in space than in location. I was always willing to live on off blocks (but never dangerous ones, just skuzzy looking ones) to get a bigger place. Right across the Hudson, Hoboken is a great pace to live. Hoboken is a very up and coming place, lots of young people who commute to Manhattan, lots of bars, restaurants. It's just so clean, quiet and friendly here. There is the PATH Subway and ferries to take you to work in NYC.Speaking of commuting, New York City has one of the most extensive public transit systems in the world. The New York City Subway System is one of the largest subway systems in the world with more than 700 miles of tracks covering the four out of five boroughs of New York City. It is the only subway system in the world that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Penn Station is the busiest railroad station in the world, with more than 800,000 commuters in it every day. In addition it hosts the Long Island Railroad, which bring million of the commuters from the eastern suburbs into the city daily. Grand Central Terminal is the largest railroad station in the world. The GCT is home to Metro-North Railroad, which operates train from this fame rail hub to the Hudson Valley, the northern suburbs and Connecticut. And now also the Long Island Railroad to Manhattan's east side.Other form of transportation operates to and from New York City, they included The PATH, NJ Transit, Amtrak, and both national and regional buses departing from and arriving to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. There also five airports, (Newark, LGA, JFK, Newburgh, and White Plans), as well as an extensive ferry system that include the Staten Island Ferry. So there is definitely no way you'll need a car to get around New York City. Manhattan squeezes people in skyscrapers and more are built every year for business, condos and apartments. Most people who work in those tall Manhattan skyscrapers of Manhattan live in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, or even the NJ cities. Asking whether the City or New Jersey right across the Hudson is better is like asking if surfing is better in the Great Lakes or the Pacific. Stay away from Long Island, New Jersey, Hudson Valley, etc. if you're not looking to start a family, or simply do not prefer some of the most exciting activity in the world.Honking Horns are a New Yorker’s Ambien. Ads for an apartment often say “cozy.” At first, you’ll think this means a nice little one-bedroom, maybe with some exposed brick or a fireplace. Nope: It means you can probably touch your fridge from your bed. Seriously, there are hundreds of apartments in this city that are 200 to 300 square feet. Sometimes you’ll have to shower in your kitchen or store your clothes in the oven. And many of them cost upwards of $1,000 a month.In New York City your job is your life - 10 hour days are the norm (even if you’re just an assistant). This means that by Tuesday, you’re exhausted and in need of a cocktail. The good news for you is that NYC has one of the best bar scenes on Earth (we have a cocktail named after our most famous borough, Manhattan) - and you never have to worry about drunken driving (subway!).At first, you’ll move to the City and the sound of traffic will keep you up. But then, a strange thing happens: The traffic begins to soothe you. “It’s like the ocean, no?” you’ll explain to your bewildered mother. Then, when you go visit your parents in the ‘burbs, the sound of silence will literally freak you out. “Am I about to get murdered?” you’ll lie awake thinking—as you count the hours until you’re back in the city.Without a car, going to the grocery store is a hassle. So New Yorkers get almost everything they eat and drink from their corner bodega. This means your bodega guys sees it all - that 3 a.m. bottle of cheap Chardonnay you’re using to console yourself after another bad date, your affinity for Chubby Hubby and Cool Ranch Doritos after a long day at work. It won’t take long before the two of you are on a first name basis—and it won’t take long after that ‘til you start to dish on your problems. After all, with the rent you’re paying, it’s not like you can afford a real therapist.Sure, pizza in NYC is incredible, but when it comes to bagels, we rule. Soft on the inside, crusty on the outside, and slathered in cream cheese, mmmm.Driving in NYC is best left to the taxi drivers. The traffic is insane, no one obeys traffic lanes and you can forget about parking for less than about $20. You’ll take the subway or taxis everywhere—and pretty soon, you’ll come to love it (just read on your iPad and chill until you’re deposited at your destination). Years go by, and almost by accident, you wonder if you’ve forgotten how to drive—but you don’t really care.NYC has some of the best food on earth - at all price points. There are more than ten thousand restaurants, diners, and street counters. And then there are the thousands of Halal food carts. You can easily spend $200 at Per Se for one of the best French meals of your life or $1 for a slice of pizza that will blow your mind. And you can get pretty much any type of food delivered anytime you like.You’d think all these delicious eats would make the pack on the pounds, but they won’t - you literally burn them off because New Yorkers walk everywhere (that restaurant’s one mile away - no problem!). Oh, and thanks to Mayor Bloomberg, you’ll be forced to look at the calories on menus of any chain restaurant, so you can forget about your appetite after that!If you live within the greater New York City Metro area of 30 million people, you most likely get your sustenance from New York, or work in the City and commute to work there using the vast public transportation (trains, buses, subways, ferries) network. If you are native born to the area, you most likely live farther north, come from a lake or mountain culture, and are associated with agriculture or tourism.Upstate is relatively crime free. The actual odds of an event like a burglary happening are significantly small. No one can climb through your apartment window via the fire escape. There are no messed up drug addicts living in your alley. You know most of your Upstate neighbors, which means that if someone shady is lurking around your town all of a sudden, you are much more likely to notice.In the urban jungle that is New York City, you would likely not be able to tell the difference between a local homeless man, your next‑door neighbor of three years, and a contestant on the Biggest Loser. How can you possibly be able to ensure your home security and prevent crimes?It’s my opinion only, but I think New York is basically a libertarian state with (some) right wing conservatives and (mostly) left wing liberals modifying the strong libertarian nature of its politics. I say that because New York, especially New York City, is so focused on personal freedoms and individual choice, albeit there are large government programs subsidizing much of its populace, it is a state that loves to voice its many varied opinions and enjoy its many personal freedoms. Tell a New York person what to do and you will have a fight on your hands, believe me. Something like the embedded Southern racial segregation would never happen in New York, there are just too many different kinds of people, what group would you segregate and where would you put them, all the neighborhoods are already totally integrated? That’s not to say there are not ethnic neighborhoods, but they are transientory, always shifting between groups, and moving up or down on the wealth scale.There is a “tale of two cities” and the growing gap between the city’s haves and have-nots, which all too often follow racial lines. Indeed, racial segregation in New York is frequently accompanied by socioeconomic segregation. Across the state, the typical African-American student “attends a school where 69% of students are low-income.” For the typical Latino student, that number is 65 percent. For whites, less than 30 percent. Mandatory efforts to force integration - such as busing - are unlikely to gain political traction today. This causes great anger among whites and they move out.NYC is heavily minority but overall, whites are much better off - they are better educated, have significantly less out of wed lock births, suffer less drugs, idleness and do much less crime than minorities. The evil doer whites steal unethically at the top in Wall Street and the blacks steal violently at the bottom on the street. Social progressives are always trying integrate the neighborhoods and schools, but it is the old story, how do you mix poor minorities with educated affluent whites? So the melting pot image belies the reality that much of the city remains divided along racial or ethnic lines. In dozens of neighborhoods, a single racial or ethnic group predominates, at rates of 70 percent to nearly 90 percent.New York schools are the most segregated in the country according to a new study. More than half of New York City’s public schools are more than 90 percent black and Latino, But these numbers don’t mean very much when placed in the context of the demographics of the school system as a whole - more than 67 percent of all students in the NYC system are black and Latino to begin with and live in their own neighborhoods.There just aren't not enough white kids to go around and integrate. And the white kids come from a different demographic too - more wealth, better educated and less dysfunctional homes. Sounds like Atlanta to me too! This is the worrisome inequities hidden beneath the New York’s glowing facade.New York’s elite high schools are some of the city’s crown jewels, are the best in the USA, renowned for their merit-based exclusivity. Changing admission requirements to the city’s top schools for the sake of feel-good social justice would erode the schools’ tradition of excellence in the service of dubious ends. Absent a massive program of busing, or forced population transfer, there aren’t enough white people to satisfy the social progressives. And many of the best-regarded public elementary schools are getting whiter.More than a third of the 100 most diverse schools are high schools, reflecting the city’s practice of allowing students to apply to any high school. The Mathematics, Science and Engineering High School at City College is the most diverse. Every year about 80,000 students will soon receive high-school acceptance letters, and for many this time marks the culmination of months—sometimes years—spent hitting the books, meeting with tutors, and sprucing up resumes. That’s because admission into one of the city’s 400 or so public high schools is rarely automatic: Each kid ranks and applies to as many as 12 schools, and recent statistics suggest that less than half of a year’s applicants get into their first-choices, while 10 percent of them—nearly 8,000 kids—don’t get a match at all.Then there are the crème de la crème of New York City’s public high schools: the nine prestigious "specialized" institutions that are often seen as informal feeders for the Ivy League. Only 5,000 kids are offered admissions to these college-prep schools, which students can pursue in addition to their 12 choices. You get into them by passing a test - a 150-minute multiple-choice test known as the SHSAT. But critics say the test encourages a culture of exclusivity - one that, matched with the schools’ notorious lack of student diversity, has been subject to intense debate over the years. Social progressives suggest new desegregation efforts that link “choice” with “key civil rights standards, such as strong public information and outreach, free transportation and no admissions screening.” Personally, I think that admission screening is a must unless you want to water down academics.NYC is the epitome of capitalism and socialism aka called Plato's Utopia - in the USA. They are conflicting values, but everyone on both sides gets along. In such a highly people packed environment, where ten thousand people work in one skyscraper, getting along is a must. Immigrants, entrepreneurs and business make the world turn, the socialists want undeserved economic equality.I am old school - you work for what you get - and I do not agree with much on the progressive social agenda that I equate with giveaways and guarantees for the free lunch crowd. I don't have a problem with providing a "hand up" but dislike the handouts that never go away and encourage laziness and dependence on the government. Excellence starts in the home and grows stronger in the schools. I do not favor increased social welfare spending - life is sweet but can be hard, getting educated and keeping a job and your nose clean is perquisite for the good life. In another words, "personal responsibility" counts more than welfare spending. Social progressive wanted to eliminate tests and merit-based criteria for schools, busing to mix populations, reserved housing for minorities in wealthy areas, etc. I totally disagree with any of that. I say stimulate the economy, create jobs and that will eventually take care of most of the problems.Life on 34th StreetI am a 35-year New Yorker. I lived in Hells Kitchen, Manhattan and Jamaica, Queens for two years and worked in Greenwich Village, Mid Town, the East side on 42nd Street, and around Manhattan's Penn Plaza (One Penn Plaza @ 57 floors and Two Penn Plaza @ 42 floors). It was a very busy area with major transportation facilities and office buildings where tens of thousands of people walked by every day. New Yorkers tended to be diverse, thick skinned, adventurous, well groomed and mannered, tall, slender and well dressed - and friendly too, always ready for a joke or a prank. There are dozens of Delis, cafeterias, and eateries in each building and one Penn Plaza has a roof top Mexican restaurant which has decent view of the Empire State Building, which is all you need/want when you’re throwing back beergaritas - giant, strong margaritas with a Corona dumped right in.It was a busy area, across the street from Penn Plaza was MSG and below was Penn Station with all Manhattan's subways connections also serving Amtrak trains to destinations all over the United States and Canada, and Long Island Rail Road and New Jersey Transit trains to suburbs and the Jersey Shore. Consequentially the people traffic was about a million every day, with about 800,000 using Penn Station alone. MSG is home to concerts, hockey, basket ball, circuses, conventions, and boxing. It is the oldest and most active major sporting facility in the New York metropolitan area. I have been there dozens of times, but there's nothing like The Garden on fight night. Some of the greatest heavyweight championships have taken place over the years and more than fifty world title bouts overall have been decided at The World's Most Famous Arena. I went to the "Fight of the Century" in 1971 between Joe Fraiser and Mohamed Ali - It was a great fight - Burt Lancaster did the blow by blow. Fraiser won. I went to Club 21 after the fight and hung around with Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack who were at the fight too.Within two blocks were about 500 restaurants, fast food, places, bars, shops and hotels. Street performers and Flash Mobs were everywhere. You could even get into a great game of Chess on 34th Street. Around the corner on 8th Avenue was the Fashion District, going up several blocks to 42nd where the infamous and world's largest bus station Port Authority sat, across the street was the infamous Terminal Bar with exciting and somewhat perverted 42nd Street right next store. Times Square had thousands of activities, home to hundreds of night clubs, dance clubs, discos, Bars, Porn shops, Massage Parlors, all night Movie theaters (each had three movies plus cartoons), restaurants, hotels, and the Great White Theater District. The 11th Avenue Diner was my favorite all night spot for eggs, bacon with greasy potatoes and onions. Celebrities haunt the place. I met Woody Allen and Telly Savalas there. It was a very exciting area. One of trembling anticipation of what was around the next corner to embellish your life.There are even high quality strip clubs if you like some skin, for Belly Dancing there is Little Egypt; for cabaret there are dozens of clubs around; plus all kinds of fine ethnic restaurants - Chinese - Korean - Japanese - Indian - Egyptian - Portuguese and German food emporiums. The area is filled with food street counters, Orange Julius, Pizza, Shiskabob and Halal street carts for even more tasty ethnic dishes. Lunch out on the tumultuous streets was always an adventure. You had a hundred restaurants to pick from and the girl watching was excellent. Girl watching is an art form in Midtown, so many beautiful women pass by on the street, of every color, racial type, size and ethnic origin, you have your pick of whom to fall in love with for that second. You could say "I am watching for a six-foot Asian girl in a Yellow dress and five minutes late she would walk by. And the girl watching around Penn Plaza was great, not as good as Mid Town or Wall Street, but great.Occasionally you would see one of the painted girls, they are naked but there body is painted so you cannot see their privates. Usually they have something like the American Flag painted on them. There is lots of street entertainment, Flash Mobs put on dance and singing performances from hits in Broadway plays while the underground music scene in New York City is in the subway system, and is characterized by Mariachi bands and musicians playing various instruments. Occasionally you stumble upon a gem, a real professional playing versions of the Grateful Dead’s 'Me and My Uncle.' Yesterday while waiting for the train to Brooklyn, I saw a young girl do a roof-raising Irish jig who inspired a small hootenanny of strangers coming together in unfettered joy.Right up the street on 34th Street's Penn Plaza was a major shopping street connecting the Lincoln Tunnel and Queens-Midtown Tunnel - is Macy's the world's largest department store, Gimbals, the Empire State Building - the second tallest building in the city, and Herald Square, a major subway station where Broadway and 6th Avenue intersect. Slightly north, at 38th Street and 5th Avenue is Lord & Taylor; the oldest department store in the United States. At the west end of the street one finds the Hudson River, the West Midtown Ferry Terminal, the West 30th Street Heliport, the Hudson River Greenway, the West Side Highway, and the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center where the Auto and Boats shows are put on. On the West Side, 34th Street is in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, at the north end of the West Side Yard. On Tenth Avenue is a McDonald's with a drive-thru and a small parking lot, a rarity in Manhattan. There are more than 180 hotels near Penn Plaza, but right around the Plaza there dozens, each with its own restaurant and Happy Hour and many with entertainment or a DJ. Are you looking for a cheap Motel, an economy Holiday Inn, staid Penn Plaza Pavilion hotel, fancy Staler Hilton? From sleaze to five star, it's all here. New York City is all about meeting people and the street Café serving up espresso or wine is great at that and they are on every street and corner. Meeting New Yorkers is not who you are but what you are . . . diversity personified, no bigotry allowed, mix with the poor and rich, just have fun and appreciate each other. On special occasions we go to the Florida Bar and Grill on 35th off 8th Avenue. It's really a first class strip club, women are curvaceous and beautiful, and their topless dancing is good. Over all a fun experience.Penn PlazaAround the complex of Penn Plaza office building, there is Penn Station, Madison Square Garden (MSG), dozens of hotels, and hundreds of bars / restaurants / dance clubs / strip joints. After a stressful day at work satisfying Manhattan's high expectation customers, if you are interested in some intellectual or casual conversation, maybe unwind with a beer or cocktail, or for sure a tasty snack, there are literally hundreds of places within two blocks to try. Everyone knows that the area surrounding Penn Plaza and MSG is just an unfortunate, low brow, Irish-themed reality (if you don't, now you do), filled with your favorite gritty places to eat and drink for Happy Hour or before a big game. I like McCann's on 33rd off 7th Avenue, its got multiple huge TV screens, you can watch sports or news, eat all kinds of free food snacks from Sliders, pickled Pig Feet and hard-boiled eggs up to $5.00 three inch thick burgers and $10.00 full course meals if you want it.It's wonderful to have so many interesting spots near my Two Penn Plaza office for lunch or after work drinks, even in a five star restaurant. Other than that, the next best place is the Brother's Bar and Grill across the street from MSG on 33rd by 8th Avenue. It sits right next to One Penn Plaza, my first Plaza office for my 50 person engineering group was 9,000 sq. feet on the Mezzanine right next to the bar. The big circular bar surround by sit down tables hold hundreds, you will meet all kinds of famous people and performers playing MSG who hang out there. It gets super crowded after work hours but there is a lot of outdoor patio seating which is great during the summer.Penn StationUnderneath Madison Square Garden (MSG) is Penn Station where you will step into a homeless shelter enforced by the ACLU, full of sleaze and excitement. It's the busiest passenger transportation facility in North America catering to almost a million people every day, and there are hundreds of 24 X 7 available food choices available. When I used to live on NJ and if there was a delay (let's be honest that happened more often than it should) there was in the station lots pf places for a bite or a drink and 30 or 40 random spots that no sane person ever dared to go into - but commuters are not sane - they are tired, hungry and desperate. Penn Station is basically a subway/train station on a Hollywood playwright’s steroids where writing about Penn Station is like writing a review of herpes. It’s a gritty place, full of characters, Dive Bars, and new big city experiences, all with plenty of COPS around too kept the peace. If you are an ex sailor, it’s a great place making you think you are back in Karachi or Bangkok. If you're unlucky, sloppy, or come from far enough away where all this is strange, you do what you have to do to get out of it as fast as possible . . . but the stink will linger on. It is a whole lot dirtier than Manhattan's other big public transit center, Grand Central Station on 42nd Street. Penn Station has all the glitz and glamour of your usual subway station, which pretty much says it all. More than 800,000 commuters a day use the place, and it is always crowded. It is home to the LIRR, NJ Transit and Amtrak. Penn Station is the commuter's home away from home, it has everything to keep you comfortable whether you want to eat or drink.Rabbit Dive BarThere were more than 30 bars in the Penn Station complex alone, each with its own theme and ambiance, but the Rabbit was the most fun. I like a Dive Bar, they are comfortable, dirty, sleazy, and usually filled with crazy and interesting characters. It had a great Top 40 Juke Box, greasy hamburgers, with pickles and onions, Hamburgers and chili smothered Hot Dogs. On the 7th Avenue entrance and across the passageway from the Rabbit Bar was a Pizza Place, a Manhattan Deli, newspaper stands, and a convenient store where you could purchase clothes, candies, and personal items if you suddenly found yourself stuck in town overnight. Which did happen often and we would get one of those vacant (where the Manhattan Project people stayed) prepaid DEC rooms at the South Gate Hotel on 31st street.You'd probably miss this place with the hustle and bustle and gazillions of people pushing/shoving their way through the Penn Station underground, but you'd be missing out on this place that's literally right under all these people's noses. Go down the 7th avenue stairs into Penn Station and its on your right. Of course, the crowd is of all types . . . this can be a plus or a minus depending on who YOU are.. We started to go there for Happy Hour and sometimes wind up hanging out there all night and then get rooms at the South Gate hotel down the street where DEC booked rooms at for our guests. Besides New Jersey / New York / Pennsylvania commuters, you would meet people from all over the USA and world. This place is like a hidden diamond. Its got a juke box, pool table and old piano. The bar is long and serves up standard NYC bar food, pickled pigs feet and hard boiled eggs.The Rabbit is the kind of place for meeting interesting people and talking. Most people have to catch a train,. so you keep meeting new people all night. Being such a comfortable and interesting bar, a lot of people practically lived there. George would came over once in a while and play three sets of flawless big band tunes. When the Juke got fired up, the dancers hit the floor and were a treat to watch.All levels of skill and knowledge, and a delightful older black man who was obviously from the old school of Lindy Hop who was very kindly and sweetly teaching some of the younger pups how to do the steps. There was one older guy who looked kind of like an elderly and spindly college professor who could move more in five minutes than I ever could in a lifetime. It was a true total treat.You will also find yourself around the most successful, ambitious people in the world. Most people in NYC had to chose to move here, sacrifice to get here and they make the concerted choice to stay every day. The sacrifices you make to live here (like tiny apartments for insane rent, noise, "hot garbage smell" in the summer, walking through giant pools of dirty slush water to get to work in the winter, being crammed into the subway with legitimately insane people on your morning commute, $8 coffees, other grumpy busy people being rude) can take a toll - it tends to weed people out who don't really want to be here. But if you're the type of person who is driven to be extraordinary at what you do, this can often feel like the only reasonable place to live. Oh, and you will walk through TV and movie sets constantly. And start doing this annoying thing when you watch TV and movies where you point out that the restaurant in the movie that is supposed to be in Paris/Chicago/Tokyo is actually that dive bar down the block from your work, and actually, you remember when they were filming that, and everyone is like "sshhh, just watch the movie."It can also be hard to live here. Its very expensive. And while you can find ways to live on the cheap, you often find yourself paying a premium for convenience. When I go to the suburbs with friends, we get weirdly excited to go to malls, giant box stores and supermarkets in cars. The amount of people in such a small space in NYC, and fact that you have to walk everywhere can make doing everyday things like errands really hard. For instance, our grocery stores are excruciatingly small, with narrow aisles and shelves up to the ceiling. If you need to pick up dry cleaning, laundry, ingredients for dinner and a bottle of wine on the way home from work, good luck: you're going to feel like a grumpy pack mule by the time you get home to your 4th floor walk up. Its hard not to justify a cab ride over the subway when you're wearing heels, exhausted from the day and trying to get through a to do list the length of your arm. And while apps like Fresh Direct, Fly Cleaners and Seamless have slowly made it a lot more convenient to live here lately, its for a premium.Whereas NYC had everything, from tough water front bars, girls of every color and ethnic type everywhere anxious for attention from loved starved sailors, to ritzy nightclubs, the south had no social life, just military bases, guns and churches. And the Civil War which was like a mountain range that guards all roads into the South: you can't go there without encountering it. Specifically, you can't go there without addressing a question that may seem as if it shouldn't even be a question - to wit: what caused the war? One hundred years after the event, the Confederate Flag still flies south of the Mason Dixon line and southerners don't think the Civil War had anything to do with slavery - regardless that Jefferson Davis and all the seceding states stated slavery was the reason for the war. It was the 1960s and African Americans were waging epic struggles for civil rights that altered white Southerners' worlds who reacted with hostility. They feared social and political change, and grappled uncomfortably with the fact that their way of life seemed gone for good.