Why I Will Never Solo Travel To New York City Again

I know by writing this post, there will undoubtedly be pushback from you New Yorkers. I already anticipate a lot of obscenities and telling me to never come back. (Because I already got it on my TikTok video.) If you’re going to insult me, at least get creative about it. From the title of the post you must be wondering why? There are many reasons why I will never solo travel to New York City ever again.

Thecomments on my TikTok video were overwhelmingly positive and the support from other women who have experienced similar treatment and harassment in New York was much appreciated. However, I realize there are those who don’t respect the experiences of others. Let me just get this out of the way and say if someone had a really rotten experience in Chicago, I would honestly feel sad. I love my hometown and want everyone to love it too; however, I would never discredit another experience.

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Solo Travel To New York City Isn’t That Safe

With the heartbreaking murder of Christina Yuna Lee, attention has been drawn to anti-Asian hate crimes as well as how unsafe New York City is becoming for women.

When I hear about these attacks, it’s personal. While I was living in Hanam City in Korea, I also experienced hate crimes. If you don’t believe me, watch this video about the Truth About Where I Was Living in Korea if you’d like to see proof.

The only reason NYC would appeal to anyone is if you’re rich and white… and maybe to stay a couple days to check out Times Square and a Broadway show.

Now I know a lot of you may be thinking,”WTF does she know? She’s from Chicago. It’s got the highest murder rate in the country!” Murder isn’t the only thing that makes a city unsafe.

Growing up, I learned some skills that come with big city living like watching my back, having common sense, and constantly being aware of my surroundings. As a woman, this goes double. I lived abroad in Mexico, Japan, and South Korea.

Is New York City Safe For Solo Female Travelers?

Honestly, I don’t think a female traveling alone in New York City is safe. Whoever tells you that place is safe for women is honestly lying. I’ve been to rough places and I found myself looking over my shoulder more often than not while in the Big Apple.

I’m an experienced traveler and have encountered so many different scenarios. I’ve been in sticky situations that traumatized me. New York City left me with a real bad taste in my mouth I’m not likely to forget soon.

I Was Almost Abducted

Our story begins one frosty January morning in 2020, before the world shut down. I was walking to the Stanton Island Ferry.

While I was walking to the terminal, I saw a man out of the corner of my eye start approaching me and speaking to me. I had my headphones in and I didn’t hear what he said. I’ve never felt comfortable when strange men approach me on the street. Giving him a disgusted look, he stopped and nodded to someone who was behind me. When I looked back, I saw another man start rushing toward me.

That’s when my stomach dropped promptly out my ass.

My gut instinct was telling me to book it. With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I ran for it.

As I sprinted, I could see their reflections still hounding after me in the glass doors of the ferry terminal. One of the doors had just been opened. I darted through them and saw two police officers standing over the balcony monitoring the station.

One had her hand on her gun. She was about to come down when she stopped. As soon as I looked behind me, both men had turned back around and ran off.

I almost lost my breakfast as I shakily got onto the ferry and found a group of women to sit next to so that it wouldn’t seem I was alone.

That moment was when I promised myself I would never solo travel to New York City ever again and I was so glad to be alive and not had my organs put on the Black Market or worse.

Catcalling

Before you say catcalling in New York City is not a problem, then please look at the below video. This YouTube video was filmed awhile ago, but the behavior hasn’t changed

The audacity and entitlement that so many men have to a woman’s body is DISGUSTING. I personally believe men catcall because it’s about power and not actually treating the woman like a human. I was cat called every single day I was in New York City. It was unbelievably uncomfortable to just exist as a female.

I actually had other women comment on that same video I made about how everyone could tell I was a tourist. How could anyone tell? I was wearing a heavy winter jacket like the rest of the folk in the city. What was I supposed to do? Wear shorts and a t-shirt in less than 20 degree weather?

The people who called me out were literally proving my point about how rude some New Yorkers are.

I Got Scabies

If you don’t know what scabies is, it’s an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite. Basically, the little microscopic fucker burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs. The most common symptoms of scabies are intense itching and a pimple-like skin rash.

Unfortunately, what I thought was an allergic reaction to the shit food I was eating, was actually a nasty little mite. I stayed at a hotel highly recommended by another blogger. The room seemed clean until I realized after waking up the next morning I had tiny little red bumps all over my legs, hands, arms, and other unpleasant places.

When I went to the doctor, she informed me many of her patients in New York City get it often. Apparently the city actually has a big problem with scabies and that’s probably why I got it.

In Conclusion

At the end of the day, New York City is the top three places I absolutely hated traveling. My overwhelmingly experiences were so rotten, it has completely turned me off ever returning to that city. I truly believe had I been traveling with a companion be it male or female, my experience in New York City would have been different. I find it absolutely repugnant when men mutter sexual things under their breath and equalize it to nails on a chalkboard.

I also didn’t feel safe walking around at night or in the dark. If I did go out, I went out with another traveler because let’s be real, safety in numbers.

To be fair, I had an amazing time at Times Square, the Museum of Ice Cream, watching Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, as well as seeing Lady Liberty. Other than that, New York City is nothing special.

I welcome any and all opinions on this blog post as long as they are respectful. Personally, I will never solo travel to New York City ever again. I don’t feel safe and I don’t think the city is all its cracked up to be. Would I travel again with a companion? Maybe. But I’d really have to think about it.

That being said, it’s okay if your opinion is different. If you do decide to take time out of your day to be a dick, it takes me less than a second to skim read your comment and delete it. So as always, I ask for the mutual respect and discussion of this issue.

This post contains affiliate links which means at no additional cost to you, I make a small commission to help keep Gina Bear’s Blog running. Thanks for your support!

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