L.A. or New York?

Question

I am planning an escape from Little Rock, Ark. Which is a better place to visit? What should I do when I get there? Where should I stay? Anything else, I'd appreciate it.

Answer 1

New York. It's easier to get around, and things are more compact so you could see more. In LA as has been mentioned the transit system is terrible and everything is extremely spread out. Depending on where you are and want to be it could take over an hour (i.e. from westwood to OC beaches) to drive there. There would be enough to keep you busy in manhattan alone, and you could get around easily with an all day subway pass.

Things you might want to see are the empire state bldg., statue of liberty, times square, museum of modern art, soho, greenwich village... I stayed at a budget hotel the last few times I was there: http://www.portlandsquarehotel.com/ . The rooms are tiny, like a closet and you share (very clean) bathrooms, but it has a great location near times square. It's also close to my favorite NY church: http://www.tscnyc.org/ in case you have any interest. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I used to live in Springfield, MO-- and have been to both LA and NYC.

If you haven't traveled much or driven in many big cities, you do NOT want to go to LA because you will HAVE to rent a car and driving is HELL. With the price of gas being at over $3 a gallon, it is expensive too.

NYC is easy to get around in. The city is also pretty safe (no accidentally going into any really "bad" areas unless you're just stupid and wander over to New Jersey).

Cheap hotels in NYC can be found- though for a real deal, expect to share a bathroom. The Americana Hotel, Chelsea Star, are the ones that come to mind right off the bat. For the first time in NYC, I would avoid anything much north of 100th street, as it's a bit far from touristy things and I'm not sure how comfortable you'd feel in Harlem :)

In NYC, you should get a map and WALK.
Actually, by wandering around and exploring, you can find alot of really interesting things and places. Manhattan is an Island, and taxis are all over,so the worst that can happen is you end up near water or in an obscure ethnic area you don't feel comfortable in and call a cab to get you back where you meant to be.

NYC is amazing.It's a great place to vacation!

Answer 3

I have had the pleasure of going many times to both. I have to say that New York is MUCH easier to get around WITHOUT a car. Public transportation is superior. L.A.'s public transportation is pretty much non existant.

Both places have shopping. L.A. has Rodeo Drive and New York has 5th Ave and SoHo. New York has many historical sights to see (Statue of Liberty,Broadway, Ellis Island, Staten Island ferry).

L.A. has surrounding areas such as Anaheim, Santa Monica, Malibu to explore. It has numerous beaches. This would be a good place to visit if you plan on vacationing during the winter months.

So I would say L.A. in the winter (November-April) and New York (April-November).

Answer 4

New York: Very expensive, tall buildings, not easy to find places to stay that are safe. Absolutely miserable in the summer--about 100 degrees and 100 % humidity. Well, if you like museums, great universities, vast crowds, feeling like an alien everywhere you go, the UN, numerous places to visit once you get there.

LA: wide open, near to beaches, sunny and warm, nice people, mountains and sea, numerous places of all sizes and shapes to stay in. NY is so old, so foreign. LA is so California, so tropical. Absolutely great in the summer. Just ask around when you get there. You'll just drive and drive and drive forever. You'd also better learn to drive very fast with someone on your bumper and someone right in front of you for long stretches on the freeways.

Answer 5

Depends what you enjoy doing on vacation and what you want to do. I love both cities but they are VERY different.

a comment on the public transportaiton - while LA is still lightyears behind many other cities - the public trnasportation here has vastly improved. If you stay in Hollywood you can easily get downtown and to Universal on the subway and the buses have improved immensley on reliability and more frequent routes.

LA is more laid back, beaches, shopping, amusements parks, etc and New York is much busier. LA is more movies & t.v. where NY is Broadway and t.v.. Both have good restuarants, shops, sightseeing, etc... As stated below - LA is more spread out where as New York has everything centrally located.

Answer 6

I went and visited lots of American state! The Americans are the greatest nation in the world! Oh... I love the the people! Anyway my opinion is if you want to go, go for LA! I think it world's capital!

(You shouldn't decide base on my opinion, cause I was there for tour)!

Answer 7

it depends on your taste. if you want sun and beach where avg. temp. is a round 72 degree then come to southern cal. we have skiing in the winter. and surf pretty much all year round. there's scuba diving and snorkeling. and if you feel adventureous, mexico is only 1 - 2 hours of driving away. not to mention hollywood and disneyland and ritzy area as well. new york - i don't know anything.

Answer 8

I really wanna help you but, i can´t cause I´m brazilian...