A Word From...: Riding the Subways in NYC

Okay, so you're going to be taking the subway a lot, unless you like to walk literally everywhere. But this is a good thing! The subway in New York City is the most interesting part of the city itself. I think us folk in Oklahoma have misconceptions of the subway, and that's mostly from all the movies we watch. Well, they're not really misconceptions, they're just the only idea we have of the subway (unless you're used to subways from somewhere else). Anyways, the subway is not as bad or cruddy or scary as you may think it is. You will probably end up riding the A C E most while you're in the city. This is the one you'll take from Penn Station to where ever else you're going. The A C E is not the cleanest line, but you'll learn to love it. Another line we take a lot is the 1 2 3, the 1 in particular. This train is quite a bit cleaner than the other. So is the 6. The 1 and the 6 are both really clean and nicely air conditioned. But I don't think they have as much character. Only twice have the trains been so crowded that we've had to smoosh in next to people; and one of those times it was pretty warm and a tad sweaty (see picture of train in previous post). For the most part you're able to grab a seat.

The subway stations, on the other hand, are not as clean as the trains can be, but they have just as much character. There are all sorts of interesting things down in the stations. A few times we've seen the token New York City rat running around the tracks (not to mention one particular food place in Penn Station, but we won't name names... They were pretty busy). Many times you'll find someone in the station playing music or singing, or both. Sometimes they're really good, and sometimes they're not. By far, the best place to people watch in NYC is in the subway. Every stop has different people at it, so after a while you'll learn what area is above by what the people look like below.We want to ride at least one of the trains all the way to the end, just to see what it's like. Maybe we'll get a chance to do that before we leave.

So there's a brief run-down of traveling the subway. The Metrocards are only about $20 and the cost to get into the station is anywhere from$1 to $3, depending on where you are. Ride the subway to you hearts content! The NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority website is great to check out and can be really helpful.

A Word From...: Cars

I have heard that some interns haven't brought their cars with them when they come to New York... I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be up here without a car. We wouldn't be able to do anything! It would make us very, very inefficient. I wouldn't be able to go to the store for groceries or pick up take out. We wouldn't even be able to get to work (it's much too far to walk and biking would be difficult and no fun, but possible). We couldn't get to the train station to take us into the city. We couldn't go to dinner in the evenings, or any where on the weekends (the ocean, IKEA, pleasure driving, etc.). In other words we'd be stuck. I highly advise all interns to bring their car!