Getting Around

The C train out to Brooklyn

We headed out to Brooklyn last night for dinner to a neighbourhood called Fort Greene, about a 20 minute subway ride from Manhattan. Despite the many complaints there are of how dirty and crappy the New York subway system is, I reckon its a pretty impressive ride considering its over 100 years old.

The trains are relatively clean and they run on a regular schedule - there are usually trains every 5 to 10 mins, and for a flat rate of $2 you can go anywhere in Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. I guess the only bad thing I can say about the system is that the subway stations can get pretty unbearable in the summer, where the humidity underground is stifling.

Navigating the subway is pretty straight forward. All train lines are colour coded so you just pick your destination and find the corresponding train line on the subway map and off you go.

After dinner and a few too many drinks, we decided to catch a cab home. The cost of living in New York may be expensive, but I find the taxi fares here a lot cheaper than in Sydney. A cab ride from mid-town to the West Village where we live costs about $8, whereas travelling the same distance in Sydney would cost closer to $25.

The cab driver was getting a little ansy with us taking flash photography at the back of his cab at 1 o'clock in the morning, understandable I suppose considering it probably doesn't help his driving. But this is a pretty cool picture John took of a map of Manhattan found in every cab.

More soon...


Map of New York inside a yellow cab