What do you see on your way to work/school?

[JWS]

Originally Posted by Betsy

chrislit - I hear you about the dead carcasses! Lots of skunks seem to move rather slowly as do porcupines. There are signs all over the town I work in. It seems our squirrels have the plague. Lots of dead ones on the grates to public buildings.

JWS...THE Santa Monica Blvd?? (The one made famous in that Sheryl Crowe song??)
Hello Villavic!

I remember you and your photos from Machu Pichu! (sorry if I miss spelled it.) Your beach photo is great too. You always posted some great shots in the photo thread.

(BTW, my husband is a member of the Colorado Hiking Club. They are planning a trip to Peru next spring to do the climb to Machu Pichu. I will be PM'ing you when the trip gets closer to ask about some do's and don't.)

I don't know that Sheryl Crowe song but I'm sure it's the same Santa Monica Blvd as in Randy Newmans "I Love L.A." played at Laker games. It's a long street. I live at the west end...not the Hollywood end (east)

[bucklind17]

I see four blocks of Astoria, Queens, a mixture of 24 hour fruit markets, Greek eateries, small-town style bars and the usual gentrification (Dunkin Donuts, Chase bank, Duane Reade, etc.). Then I see the elevated subway tracks of my station, the inside of a crowded subway car (but when I'm lucky it's not so crowded and I get a perfect view of the NYC skyline), the inside of a subway tunnel and eventually, my stop with the red-orange painted bricks. I emerge to see what is almost a postcard view of Times Square. Kind of surreal sometimes. Last thing to see before my office is my beloved coffee cart, where the guys know my order and starting making it when they see me emerge from the station.

[Amlyn]

NYC skyline. I live just across the river from the city and work about 20 miles west. Driving home each night i usually take note of the Empire State Building's colors.

[golddustdrummer]

Originally Posted by JWS

I don't know that Sheryl Crowe song but I'm sure it's the same Santa Monica Blvd as in Randy Newmans "I Love L.A." played at Laker games. It's a long street. I live at the west end...not the Hollywood end (east)

yeah. I believe it was in "All I Wanna Do"

"...until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard"

sadly, anytime someone mentions Santa Monica Boulevard...that song goes through my brain.

see? there it went again! alhdkjankznz



oh to add to the thread.
I see manicured lawns and neat houses, an expressway, car dealerships, Target, and then some corn fields before I get to school.
truly awe inspiring.

[tuigirl]

B..All at the moment, it's pitch black when I'm on the road to work! but when it does eventually become light (on my way back home) theres a bit of Southern English countryside (hills trees etc) and a bunch of Highland cattle (long haired red ones) en route.

[daniellaaarisen]

New Yorkers--

What do you love (and maybe hate) about the city? I'm applying to NYU and I'd love a resident's opinion.

[hippilil86]

I start out in the Franklin-Nicollet Neighborhood of Minneapolis

[IMG][/IMG]

Then I head my way on Lyndale Avenue into Uptown.....


Then I reach the Lake Calhoun area of Minneapolis...where I work!

[bucklind17]

Originally Posted by daniellaaarisen

New Yorkers--

What do you love (and maybe hate) about the city? I'm applying to NYU and I'd love a resident's opinion.

I love many, many things about the city. There is ALWAYS something to do. You know that a favorite band or artist is likely going to come here at some point, there's SO much theater to see (and cheap ways to see it!), there are amazing restaurants, Central Park is fabulous all year round and something I never tire of and it's pretty easy to get from place to place around here. You can almost always get what you need when you need it. NYU's campus and surrounding neighborhood is great as well. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions! Many of my friends are NYU alums and I lived amongst the dorms when I first got here, so I know the area and culture pretty well!

My biggest thing that I hate about the city, which I KNOW is from working in the heart of Times Square for over five years, is how crowded it is. There are just SO many people, stopping to take pictures in the middle of the sidewalk or strolling at a snail's pace. I understand it, I've been a tourist many places, it just has really started driving me crazy lately. I wish they could install a lane for locals so we could go about our business and neither of us would have to bother the other! I miss space.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by daniellaaarisen

New Yorkers--

What do you love (and maybe hate) about the city? I'm applying to NYU and I'd love a resident's opinion.

I used to live next to NYU buildings... but to be honest, the thing I hate most about that area is, well, NYU! They are on a mission to annex the entire Village to become one big urban campus.

There is much to love about the city- the cultural institutions, the food, the shops and the multitude of things to do. But unless you have fabulously wealthy parents or a trust fund, I can't even begin to imagine trying to live a decent lifestyle while being a student there- it is very, very expensive. There are lots of rich kids who attend NYU, so I would imagine there is quite a bit of peer pressure to "keep up appearances." But I must admit that I am envious of anyone who was able to spend their transformative years in New York- it really is an incredibly culturally enriching experience for a young adult. Very safe too, believe it or not.

I spent the first few years of my NY existence constantly pinching myself as if it was all a dream. I was constantly in awe of everything. But now it's just... home. Still, every once in a while, when I'm driving around the boroughs, I catch a glimpse of the Manhattan skyline and it gives me those chills again- the incredible vertical scale and density of this little island. But that usually fades as soon as I start hitting potholes and bridge congestion...

[jannieC]

I saw something so disturbing on my way to work this morning!

A young woman (late teens?) walking with a couple that may or may not have been her parents. The young woman had on short shorts (tan), knee high black boots, and a pink hooded winter coat. She was about 50+ lbs overweight and it was just not a good look. So odd.

Dani- you should send petep9000 a message. He lives in NYC and writes beautifully about it. I am originally from NY and his journal entries make me terribly homesick.

[chiliD]

Cars...cars...& more cars....oh, and trucks & motorcycles...and more cars. (I commute via freeway in Southern California...can you tell?)

And, I see the rollercoaster tracks of Knott's Berry Farm, the smokestacks of the Queen Mary, the dome that used to house Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose seaplane.


And, more cars & trucks & motorcycles & cars...and cars...and cars.

[JWS]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Cars...cars...& more cars....oh, and trucks & motorcycles...and more cars. (I commute via freeway in Southern California...can you tell?)

And, I see the rollercoaster tracks of Knott's Berry Farm, the smokestacks of the Queen Mary, the dome that used to house Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose seaplane.

Is Knotts Berry Farm still operating? I thought it had shut down years ago. I live in LA and only visited one time back in the 80's

[petep9000]

Originally Posted by daniellaaarisen

New Yorkers--

What do you love (and maybe hate) about the city? I'm applying to NYU and I'd love a resident's opinion.

I think if you have the opportunity, you should try try try to come. It's a wonderful city, warts and all. I love living here. Granted, I was in a borough (Brooklyn) but I always worked in Manhattan and everyday I find something new to look at.
In terms of cultural offerings, NYC is justifiably world-famous. I love going to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, and also the great museums and of course eating. The skyline and sights are beautiful, and it is true that you get used to it but once you see it from a distance it all strikes you again. This I remember from Brooklyn for sure. So I moved into a new apartment with my partner on Friday, so here is some NYC views that I get to see from my house!

Here is my view from my dining room



Here is my view from my living room

[Villavic]

Originally Posted by Betsy

(BTW, my husband is a member of the Colorado Hiking Club. They are planning a trip to Peru next spring to do the climb to Machu Pichu. I will be PM'ing you when the trip gets closer to ask about some do's and don't.)

That's so cool. Though actually the climbing wouldn't be to the Machu Picchu (old mountain) but the Huayna Picchu (young mountain), cause that's the challenge! To reach Machu Picchu you take a van that climbs the road. Then within the ancient city there's an entrance to the Huayna Picchu. Few people dare to go, cause there are some riske parts of the roa. The Huayna Picchu is the big peak, pyramid shape, you see at the pictures, behind the actual ruines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huayna_Picchu

I have never climbed the H.P, but I did the inca trail, 4 days of trekking (there are sorter circuits) and it's hard, cause you have to go up 4000mt high over the see, its exhausting. But it's a beautiful experience. If you want this you have to reserver months before because entrance is very controlled, they are preserving the nature (in the past was saturated of adventure tourists and affected the ecology)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inca_Trail_to_Machu_Picchu

[daniellaaarisen]

Thank you guys SO MUCH for the feedback about New York. I think it is my second favorite choice right now and I think I should start looking at other schools in the city as well. I want to be somewhere either super urban or super rural, so we'll see what I end up with.