City Introduction

It is hard to know what to expect from a new city as travel guides tend to highlight typical tourist attractions and the media often plays up stereotypes. Check out these city descriptions to get a better idea about what some of America's most famous cities are actually like.

City Overview Education # of Students Cost Climate
New York, NY If you are looking for big city life, there is no better place in America than New York. Although not an easy city to live in, those that have what it takes to survive here will be greatly rewarded. Columbia University | Cornell University | Daemen College | Pace University | United States Military Academy at West Point 164,137 High* Humid continental climate, with cold, snowy winters. Spring and autumn can be erratic, ranging from cold and snowy, hot and humid, or cool and rainy. Summer is warm and humid, usually around 90F.
* We have determined whether a city is low, medium, or high cost based on comparisons to other cities in the U.S. The cost of living depends upon several cost factors such as housing or apartment rental, auto insurance, health insurance, state taxes, food, utilities, etc. Please visit the Best Places website to compare cities where you are interested in applying to schools.
New York, NY

If you’re looking for big city life, there is not better place in America than New York City. The “Big Apple” is home to more than 12 million Americans. It is the headquarters for many big businesses and institutions including the United Nations. New York is also home to many tourist destinations such as Broadway, Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan museum, Madison Square Gardens, and Yankee stadium. Of course, a description of New York would not be complete without mentioning that it is the shopping Mecca of the country. Although not an easy city to live, those that have what it takes to survive will be greatly rewarded.

New York University is one of the country's best schools. The campuses are spread throughout the city but the main campus is Washington Square, in Greenwich Village. One of the cities most energetic communities, the village has attracted generations of musicians, artists, and writers including Jimi Hendrix, Barbara Streisand, and Andy Warhol. In addition this neighborhood is bustling with intellectuals as it is home to many of NYU's faculty, staff, and students. The historical area is surrounded by Washington Square Park which is one of the most visited urban parks in the world. Greenwich is filled with row houses, tree lines streets, cafés, restaurants, jazz clubs, piano bars, and art galleries. Another top university located in New York is Columbia. Columbia is known as one of the best academic and research institutions in the world especially for medicine, science, the arts, and the humanities. There are two campuses, one in Morningside Heights and the other in Washington Heights.

New York City has a phenomenal public transportation system. Between the subway, the bus, and taxi cabs, you can definitely survive without a car. The hard part is finding a place to live. Searching for an apartment in New York City can be challenging. There are five main boroughs comprised of many neighborhoods to choose from. Union Square is only a few blocks from Washington Square Park and is popular for its farmers market, nice restaurants, and shops. Also nearby the NYU campus is SoHo, which has undergone huge transformations since it began to be inhabited by New York's artsy crowd in the early 1970s. Now it is home to many artists, galleries, trendy boutiques and restaurants. You can also find unique neighborhoods not far from campus such as Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. These places hold a mix of attractions and ethnicities including Greek, Asian, Hispanic, and Russian communities. For those individuals who need to be outdoors, Central Park is more like a small forest than a park. Here you can go running, biking, swimming, row boating, yoga, bird watch, and even see concerts.

After you find a house you can start exploring this visually stimulating and lively city. In fact, it has been said this is the city that never sleeps. There is always a bar, café, club, or restaurant teaming with interesting people. If you are independent and need an environment that is constantly changing and always offering a new adventure, New York is the city for you.

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