NY Times on ';Turf War'; between locals and foreign tourists

Today%26#39;s Times has an interesting article about the huge influx of foreign tourists in New York and the attendant pluses and minuses:

nytimes.com/2008/…

NY Times on ';Turf War'; between locals and foreign tourists

interesting article, I have been when it has been $2 to the £ and $1.28 dollars to the £.

I know which one I prefer!!!!

In saying that, what makes New York is the New Yorkers, not tourists with big wallets.

NY Times on ';Turf War'; between locals and foreign tourists

That article made me feel a bit ill. Why, exactly, are people who don%26#39;t work in the service industry supposed to be so thankful for people making a tacky show of themselves?

';Why, exactly, are people who don%26#39;t work in the service industry supposed to be so thankful for people making a tacky show of themselves?';

I didn%26#39;t see that being espoused in the article at all. The tone of the piece was quite the contrary. In fact, I thought it would please, or at least validate, what some locals experience, because the article highlighted the frustration, jealousy and aggravation of locals.

Most of the quotes were like this:

';These friends from Europe and Asia “come over and play in New York like it’s Candyland,” she said in an e-mail message.';

';Steven Schoenfeld, a 45-year-old investment manager who lives near Lincoln Center, said that he welcomes the influx of visitors, in theory, as a boost to the local economy, but “sometimes you feel like it’s going to become a situation where they stop and take picture: ‘Look at that endangered species — a native New Yorker, with a briefcase, going to work.’ ” ';

The only local quoted who was happy to have the foreign tourists was a British ex-pat who knew that if she gave her friends ';inside info'; on shopping or dining, they would treat her to dinner.

It goes both ways. I remember when a friend visited here in the 90%26#39;s and couldn%26#39;t believe that she was getting two Australian dollars for every one of her US dollars. She thought everything was so cheap here and went wild with shopping.

Don%26#39;t get me started on someone wearing Vera Wang complaining because she wasn%26#39;t shown priority service over someone wearing sneakers!

Well I started comimg to NYC I had to pay $A2.05 for every US dollar.My last lot cost me$A1.03.All I can say is

Girls:

The minute you walked in the joint,

I could see you were a man of distinction,

A real big spender,

Good looking, so refined.

Say, wouldn%26#39;t you like to know

What%26#39;s going on in my mind?

So, let me get right to the point,

I don%26#39;t pop my cork for ev%26#39;ry guy I see.

Hey, big spender, spend...

A little time with...me...me...me

Whilst the exchange rate is good, I still wouldn%26#39;t say New york was %26#39;cheap%26#39;. A four night trip for two has probably cost me nearly $4000/£2000. I could have spent 4 nights in Barcelona ( one of my other favourite cities), even with a crappy exchange rate against the euro for half that amount easy.

fact is I love New York and am able to afford it at present. If the dollar strengthens up, coupled with the ever increasing airfares, I will not be able to justify spending such a large chunk of my vacation budget no matter how much I wan%26#39;t to return. I think it could be end of the european boom in New York soon.

I remember when Europe was cheap, when you could buy a beer in Prague for $.25, so I guess we (Us citizens with dollars in our pockets) were spoiled at one time. Currency valuation does move in cycles and, not to make this a political board, I can see the US dollar gaining some of its value if Obama wins as the dollar%26#39;s decline has been both economic and political.

And maybe I will go back to Europe, but right now it%26#39;s Latin America, Asia, maybe Africa, or staying in the good old USA for my vacation money.

Thats alot for 4 nights for 2? You could have got that alot cheaper imho. We%26#39;re going thanksgiving for 1 week,myself,hubby and 14 year old and it has cost us 1 thousand 350 pounds. Saved ourself alot by staying in Queens and not Manhattan.

No disrespect, but staying in Queens is like holidaying in London and staying in Slough.

What I saw of Queens didn%26#39;t temp me to wan%26#39;t to stay there, Manhattan is the %26#39;New York Experience%26#39; I wan%26#39;t, and I would rather pay the premium that comes with or go elsewhere if I couldn%26#39;t afford it.

A-ha. This is one of those interesting geographical misconceptions that I%26#39;m exploring in my other thread :)

Staying in Queens is actually like staying in Hackney or Stratford.

Hackney to St Paul%26#39;s = 2.8 miles

Long Island City to St. Patrick%26#39;s = 2 miles

Stratford to St. Paul%26#39;s = 4.6 miles

Jackson Heights to St. Patrick%26#39;s = 4.7 miles

Slough to St. Paul%26#39;s = 23 miles