There we were trying to make our way through the center of York on a busy weekday afternoon. Winry was darting back and forth, determined to get herself tangled in the mess of tourists staring up at the buildings stacked haphazardly on top of each other. I ducked past one especially gaping tour group and looked back to Zach weaving his way through another. "Good god, it's like we're back in New York!"
And then it hit us, we were in New York in a way. Just in the original version. Looking back on the month we spent in York we started to spot more similarities and subsequently, the differences in these two cities. Here's our take.
The Same: The Tourist City
As we were just discussing, York is just littered with tourists. Like New York, this city doesn't seem to have a popular time to visit so people just come whenever the mood strikes. The streets are equally as crowded on a Saturday afternoon as they are on a Tuesday morning. While not as infuriating as trying to walk through Times Square, the bundle of tour groups talking in the Minster make for an interesting path when trying to get from one side of town to the other. So instead mind-numbingly inching forward in the giant New York crowd, you're more making huge swerves around the tight circles. Though when you live in a popular tourist destination you learn to live with a little more patience. Losing your cool isn't going to make that German family walk any faster, sorry.
The Different: The Site of Something or Other from Forever Ago
Everywhere we go in Europe, it's immediately apparent that everything has been around so much longer. Whether it's the houses or the streets, or the signs boasting this to be the site of The Battle of Fulford 1066, everything is simply steeped in history. It's especially noticeable on the buildings as almost everything is made with brick and has a sign announcing it's name. Seriously, there are just random houses with plaques announcing their official title. As silly as it sounds, I much prefer the beautiful old brick buildings that were made to last over America's cookie cutter, pop-up houses that whistle when the wind blows. They bring more character and charm to a neighborhood and are a nice nod to the past. While obviously modernized to an extent, walking down the streets you feel as if you could really be walking in the same steps as some Brit from the 1800s. It's okay America, when you're older you'll understand.
The Same: Great Takeaway
You almost can't help it in NY, at least two or three nights a week you'll order in food. What arrives at your doorstep definitely depends on what restaurants are closest, but with apps like Seamless and GrubHub you've got access to almost anything. York seems to have followed along in that trend and we went to get takeaway or ordered-in food four times during our stay. The first opportunity we had to order in and suddenly we were working our way back to our old habits. But I can't complain because we were alternating between Fish and Chips and Pizza arriving fresh at our door.
The Different: Obviously Smaller
This one is obvious. New York is huge with over 8 million people crammed into their five boroughs (as of 2013). Compare that to York's population of 200,000 and you've got a bit easier living. Plus York does a great job of keeping all of the city amenities confined within the old castle walls (not even kidding, actual historic walls) so you could walk all the streets within a day if you were very determined.
The Same: Happy Faces
While you always have the grump or two, for the majority in our time in NY and York people were friendly and generally happy.This could be chalked up to tourists enjoying themselves because they're away on vacation, but I could imagine with all the amenities that these cities can offer it's easy to be doing exactly what you want when you want to. Want a drink? Check out the pubs around the corner! Want a pretzel at 4am? There are street carts everywhere (okay, that might just be NY). But the friendliness is an important factor too as people in both cities were quick to say hello and exchange small talk when we were out walking Winry or were lost and needed directions. It goes a long way in making a city welcoming!
The Different: A Whole Lot of Buses, No Metro Lines
When we lived in NY we never rode the buses. The metro lines were so easy to understand that I never bothered trying to figure it out other transportation options. The only time I ever set foot on a bus was when I was herded on one due to train maintenance or after Hurricane Sandy, so you can imagine I wasn't blissfully riding around the city. Looking back now I realized I never really liked buses. You never know how much it'll cost. You have to stay vigilant for your stop or you'll completely miss it. They're never on time, but either a little early or just too late. So when I had to find a bus across town one night traveling home from our hosts house, you can imagine my displeasure when I found out the buses had already stopped running and my only option was to walk back in the rain. I'll never forgive you, buses.
Well we've hit pretty even on differences and similarities between the two, so I guess we'll have to chalk this one up to a tie. Though, between you and me, if I had to choose one to live in I think I'd go with the original. As long as I have a car! (Zach's vote goes to New New York from Futurama)
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