Travel Oracles 50 States: New York

As part of my summer series - Travel Oracles 50 States - I am revisiting each os the fifty American states as an overview on travel culture and history. Today: New York

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Joined: In 1780, New York ceded area to the United States that became part of the Northwest Territory in 1787. New York ratified the U.S. Constitution on July 26, 1788 when it was the 11th of the original 13 states to join the Union. Nearly one third of all the battles fought during the American Revolution were fought in New York State. The capture of Fort Ticonderoga, the Battles of Oriskany, Newtown and Saratoga are just a few of the major events that took place on New York soil. During the civil war, New York was the most populous state in the Union during the Civil War, and provided more troops to the U.S. army than any other state, and provided a major source of troops, supplies, equipment and financing for the Union Army.

Original Indigenous Peoples: The Lenape, Mohicans and Iroquois were native to New York State.

First Settlers: The Dutch first settled along the Hudson River in 1624; two years later they established the colony of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. In 1664, the English took control of the area and renamed it New York.

History moment: One of the original 13 colonies, New York played a crucial political and strategic role during the American Revolution. Between 1892 and 1954, millions of immigrants arrived in New York Harbor and passed through Ellis Island on their journey to becoming U.S citizens. It is estimated that up to 40 percent of Americans can trace at least one ancestor to that port of entry. New York City was the first capital of the United States after the Constitution was ratified in 1788. On April 30, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as the nation’s first president at Federal Hall, located on Wall Street. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France in honor of the United States’ enduring dedication to freedom and democracy and of the alliance held between the two countries during the American Revolution. Erected in 1886 on Bedloe’s Island (later renamed Liberty Island) in New York Harbor, the statue stood as a welcoming symbol to the 14 million immigrants who entered the United States through New York until 1924. After the towns of Woodstock and Wallkill refused permission to host what ultimately became the country’s most renowned musical festival, a dairy farmer in nearby Bethel agreed to provide access to his land for “Three Days of Peace and Music.” With musical acts kicking off on August 15, 1969, the Woodstock Music Festival attracted more than 400,000 attendees

Known for: New York City - home to the headquarters of the United Nations and has been described as the cultural, financial, arts and media capital of the world, The Statue of Liberty, New York Stock Exchange, Broadway, famous museums like the Met & MOMA, the state's disparate landscape includes the Adirondacks and the Catskills, Woodstock festival of 1969, top colleges like Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Fordham, Barnard, Vassar, and military academy and the oldest continuously occupied military post - West Point, The National Baseball Hall of Fame is located in Cooperstown, New York

Places: New York City, Albany, Ithaca, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Hudson Valley, Upstate - Catskills and more

Movie setting: So many! West Side Story, Goodfellas, The Godfather, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Urban Cowboy, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Manhattan, Annie Hall, Arthur, Wall Street, Do the right thing, When Harry Met Sally, You’ve Got Mail, Rent, Wolf of Wall Street, Gangs of New York, Hustlers, and hit shows like Succession, Friends, How I met your mother, Taxi, The Nanny, Law & Order, Sex in the City, Seinfeld

Musicians from: George Gerschwin, Stephen Sondheim, Carole King, Carlie Simon, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Billie Joel, The Ramones, The Velvet Underground, Blondie, Madonna (born in Detroit but began career in NY), Biggie Smalls, Beastie Boys, Nas, Mary J Blige, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Sean Combs, Jay Z, Fiona Apple, Cardi B, and so many more!

Surprising facts: NYC’s Original Name Was New Amsterdam, NYC Is the Birthplace of LGBTQ+ Rights in the USA, The First Pizzeria in the USA Opened in New York City, New Yorkers Speak More Than 800 Languages. New York City contains roughly 660 miles of subway track connecting 468 subway stations. Adirondack Park in northeastern New York contains roughly 6 million acres of protected land. Comprised of both public and private areas, the park is larger than Yellowstone, Glacier, Everglades and Grand Canyon National Parks combined. The Niagara River produces enough hydroelectric power to supply more than a quarter of all power used in the state of New York and Ontario.

Say the words "New York" and icons like Times Square and the Museum of Modern Art may be the first things that pop to mind but the state is also very much a destination for appreciating the outdoors, in every season. Across New York, from Niagara Falls to the tip of Long Island, there are breathtaking hiking trails, lakes and rivers for fishing and boating, mountains for skiing, and lovely ocean beaches for relaxing. And with historical mansions, Revolutionary War sites, stunning mountain lodges, renowned B&Bs, and some of the country's best wineries, there's something for just about everyone. Let’s travel to New York

My Experience: I lived in this incredible city for over a decade, and it shaped both me and my career enormously (I first started with an internship at Seventeen magazine). I will always consider it one of my homes and I return to it all the time, from NYC to Hudson Valley to the lovely upstate region around Catskill. I have written a lot about it on the blog here

New York City: Things to do

Hudson Valley: Things to do

Upstate/Catskills: Things to do

Nature: Of the 22 national parks in New York State, 10 are in New York City. Every year 12 million people visit these parks, monuments, and historic sites, more than 27,000 acres of protected land and preserved past. These include large parks and historic sites, from The Adirondack Park to Ellis Island.

Ranking in US: Per the annual US News report, New York is currently ranked #21 out of 50 in 2021 and #25 in 2019.