Magical Melting Pot - NYC Part Four of Four

Why is New York so unique? You now know about all the places to go, the things to see and the people to meet. But what is it that makes it such a success of a city, a desirable place to live, and a keeper of dreams? It features as a character, not merely a setting, in many works; known as the fifth character in Sex and the City. Other shows and movies such as The City, How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty Spiderman and When Harry Met Sally serve to up the celebrity quotient and glamorous aura and just wouldn’t be the same without the lights of Manhattan. (For a more complete list, click here.)

When the place was first appropriated by the Dutch (they paid for it with 60 guilders and rumored glass beads) and called New Amsterdam, they were attracted to it because of the layout of the land – rivers carrying fresh water, the impenetrable nature of the island and its perfect situation for trading. Little did they imagine that its popularity would grow so incrementally and that it would become the world’s fifth largest city (number one in the USA) and the most linguistically diverse – more than 800 languages are spoken within the metro.

Many of the city’s symbols are recognised around the world – from the welcoming Statue of Liberty who has hailed ship-bound immigrants since 1886, to Times Square, commonly known as the crossroads of the world and host to the most legendary New Year’s Eve parties; and to Wall Street which has had movies made about it and on it, and which has witnessed many recessions since the eponymous Wall Street Crash which lead America into the years of the Great Depression.

Although Manhattan is only one of the city’s five boroughs (the others being Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and The Bronx) it sometimes seems as though the others exist merely to sustain it. Although each borough has its own unique feeling and culture, Manhattan is the centre, not only of the city, but of the country, and for some, the world.

Aside from New York’s incredible density of population, it is its ethnicity that stands out and makes the place so appealing to so many; no surprise then, that it is where the term ‘melting pot’ was first coined (Lower East Side, early 1900s). About 36% of the city’s population was born in other countries, and many of the American born residents come from other states. The city is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel, a quarter of America’s Asian population, the largest black community in the country and the largest population of Chinese people outside of Asia. Although obscure, the following Wikipedia fact is somewhat fascinating: “The Irish also have a notable presence; one in 50 New Yorkers of European origin carry a distinctive genetic signature on their Y chromosomes inherited from the clan of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish high king of the fifth century A.D.”

With people of all races, colours, religions, sizes and shapes, New York is probably the closest thing to a true meritocracy that we’ve got. People are chiefly judged on their talent, profession, who they know and what they’ve got, and very seldom by who they are or where they come from, which must make it one of the most liberating places in which to live.

Enjoy your trip!