Many friends and relatives have asked me how my stay here has been. My automatic and obvious response is always “Great. It has been awesome!” Of course, I also tell them about places I have visited, people I’ve met, and so on. However, I always forget to tell them the true unique things about New York. Places and facts that make it somewhat different than other states. For this reason, I’ve decided to give you some of the some of facts people don’t normally know about New York.

New York is a True Democratic State (McCain haters are everywhere)

Speaking with an open mind view and with no political bias, I can honestly say that about 90% of the people I met in New York were hardcore democrats. Emphasis in the word hardcore. Not only were these people democrats, but they would openly talk bad about Bush and McCain. This was actually quite easy to notice considering I come from Texas, a republican state. Test this yourself. If you are in New York, ask other people from NY about their political point of view. I’ll bet you’ll be having an hour long conversation all the pros of being a democrat or, for that matter, all the cons of being a republican (ok, maybe not an hour but you get the point).

Finger Lakes Wine Tour

And you thought California was the only state with quality wineries? Think again. Surprisingly enough, there is more than 100 vineyards and wineries surrounding the lakes of Cayuga, Canandaigua, Seneca (my favorite), and Keuka Lakes, making New York’s Finger Lakes area the second largest wine producing region in the US only behind Napa Valley, California.

Consider this, I used to not care at all about wine. I sort of liked it, however, I would always prefer to have something else (i.e. beer) if I had the option. After only one visit to the area though, I automatically became a wine lover. No kidding, their wine is just fabulous. You learn to appreciate wine and distinguish the flavors between all the different kinds. Great, great experience. The lakes are only 15 minutes away from Ithaca, New York (home of Cornell University) which makes it an even better touristic tour.

New Yorkers Really, Really Like to Smoke Cigarettes

Having already lived in Mexico City, a city in which people smoke cigarettes a lot since tobacco laws allow people to smoke inside restaurants, night club and pretty much everywhere, I would think that in NY, a state where smoking is not allowed inside buildings and where prices reach $10 for a pack, people would not smoke nearly as much. Well, surprisingly I was wrong! The percentage of people that smoke in New York is extremely high. Maybe this is because of all the different immigrants and cultures that surround the area or the incredible amount of people that live in the city, or simply stress, but seriously you can’t walk around in the city without bumping into a dense cloud of smoke. While I was in NY one of my coworkers, for example, would smoke a pack day like nothing. I wonder what do you think the life expectancy of the state is.

Closeness to Other Cities

Obviously, if you look at a map and look around it, this would not seem sound to uncommon to you. Usually though, you don’t think or care about this fact when you travel to NYC because you know you will have your hands full with all the things you can do there. And I would say you are right, there is many, many things you can do in the city if you are planning a weekend or a full week trip.

On the other hand, if you are planning a road trip or long vacations I would suggest you let go of your plans of going to Europe and visit the New York area. Toronto, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Rochester, Baltimore, Maryland, Connecticut (state), Syracuse, New Jersey (state) and Cleveland are all withing 8 hours away from NYC. Only 8 hours away. That’s what I call a road trip.

Infinite Amount of Colleges in The State

After just a few days of talking to people from NY you can’t help but realize the incredible amount number of universities in the state. If you ask new yorker what school do they go to or where they graduated from they’ll come up with all sort of universities. In fact, there is so many Universities is just hard to keep track of all of them. After doing some research in wikipedia, I actually found out there is 307 degree granting institutions. Geez. No wonder. Some of the most notable universities include: Columbia University, Vassar College, New York University, Cornell University, Fordham University, Binghamton University, Rochester Institute of Technology RIT, University at Albany and Stony Brook University. This is not to mention other popular universities in Massachusetts (a couple of hours away from NYC) which would generate an even longer list.

New York City is Expensive (no, seriously… it is very expensive)

I am pretty sure you have heard how expensive New York City is. Well, let me tell you that it is worse than what some people might tell you, especially if you plan to go out at night and you are not familiar with the area. Most bars and clubs you ‘ll run into charge a $25 for cover, and drinks will cost at least $8-$9 dollars. It is also not uncommon to spend $25 on a dinner or lunch meal in a regular restaurant and there is no free refill in any restaurants in Manhattan (I wanted to kill myself because of this!). Also, You’ll get charged to get in to pretty much every museum and events in the city.

Don’t get me wrong though, it is all worth it! The food is awesome, the museums are very entertaining, Broadway does live up to the expectations. So what if you spend more money? You already paid for plane tickets, hotel, etc. Don’t be greedy and you’ll have the time of your life (just be careful and be prepared).