Someone just asked me if I would be glad to get back to where I have a car to get around in. I haven't even missed a car; everything I could possibly need is within a block of here. Hardware store, dollar stores, UPS center, two real grocery stores and the Gourmet Garage, wine shop, jewelry store, bakeries, several drug stores, banks, lots of restaurants, coffee shops, beauty / barber shops, a florist/ plant shop, shoe repair, keys made, clothing stores, a Catholic school and church, and (if you absolutely HAVE to have one) even a car rental place. That's literally within ONE BLOCK of our front door!
And everything else in Manhattan? A subway or bus or a combination of both can get you within just a few blocks of whatever you want. Most of the subways and buses are handicapped accessible, many with elevators or escalators (all the buses I've been on "kneel down" to let you on, and do accomodate wheelchairs).
And so many surprises! what looks like a tiny bookstore has an escalator leading to the upper floor which covers a whole block! Where else but in NYC could you find a tiny Ob-Gyn Clinic tucked away between a Dunkin' Donuts and an Irish Pub?
Kurt Vonnegut called NYC "Skyscraper National Park" and I do love the skyscrapers...but I think my favorite part of the city are the neighborhoods. A photographer, Todd Webb, said that NYC "is like a series of small towns," and it's true. Right off many busy main streets will be little tree-lined neighborhoods of lovely old apartment houses, with flowers in the window boxes, and their own unique characters. Then there is China Town, Korea Town, Little Italy, Greenwich Village, Chelsea--not to even mention Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, or Staten Island--all completely different species.
Wherever you go, just remember that "traffic signals in New York are just rough guidelines" (David Letterman) and you'll be OK.
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