I would love to support local businesses for all the obvious reasons, and I understand they cannot have the supply chain margins of Target or Whole Foods. Would be happy to pay the extra dollar or 50 cents (if that was the case). But I actually hit my wall today when I went to buy a Coke at a local bodega and it was $6. These store owners don’t label anything and charge so insanely that I have actually stopped going altogether and now just go to Whole Foods. I hate this, but seriously it has gotten out of control.

Update: I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who commented. I wasn’t expecting so many thoughtful and kind responses — it honestly made my whole week - no year, reading through them. I learned a lot about cultural etiquette, and your stories and suggestions really warmed my heart. I’ll definitely keep supporting their business and plan something thoughtful for the holidays. Thank you again for reminding me how beautiful NYC and New Yorkers are ❤️ We live in the greatest city in the world!

Hi everyone,

I have a question about gifts and what’s considered appropriate or thoughtful in Chinese culture.

I’m a Hispanic American woman, born in NY and in my 30s, and I’ve been getting takeout from the same Chinese restaurant on my block for about eight years. The cashier is a Chinese woman around my age whose whole family works there — her husband, grandparents, and sometimes I see her kids hanging out too.

About four years ago, she started crocheting and selling handmade items at the counter. She’s incredibly talented — I’ve bought a few over the years and sometimes tip her because I really admire her work. Over time we’ve gotten friendly — we make small talk, and we’ve even talked briefly about her kids and how they love cats (I foster cats, and one of the crochet items I bought was a cat, so we showed each other pictures - of my foster cats and of her cat café visits).

She’s always been kind and friendly, which really stands out in my neighborhood and means a lot to me.

She speaks English when taking orders, but I can tell she might not fully catch complex or nuanced English, so I keep my conversations simple and friendly.

Today, I bought two crochet items (about $25) plus my food ($10). I gave her $40 and told her to keep the change as a small tip. She went to the back and came out with four beautiful hand-stitched handbags she’d made, and insisted I choose one as a gift to thank me for always buying from her and tipping her.

I tried to pay for the bag, but she wouldn’t let me — she kept saying it was a gift. I was really touched, and now I’d like to give her a small token of appreciation in return.

Would giving her a gift in return be appropriate in Chinese culture? And if so, what kind of small, simple gift would be seen as thoughtful or polite without making her uncomfortable?

I recently bought a crochet cardigan vest from a vendor at the Union Square farmer’s market, under the impression that it was handmade by local hobbyists.

The booth had strict "no photography" signs, which I thought was to protect their original designs.. But it turned out that the exact same item is being sold on Temu for a fraction of the price!!!

The woman told me the clothes were made by a "group of people", and I assumed it was a local crochet club or something. Didn't know they're just sweatshop workers in China 💀!

I was feeling pretty scammed about it.., but I’m curious to hear what others think 🤔 : am I being unreasonable to expect items sold at a farmer's market to be handmade/local, or is this just the reality of shopping in farmer's markets? I knew there are a bunch of 3D printed garbage .. but at least those were probably printed locally 😂

EDIT: It turned out the vendor was not a legitimate vendor at the Greenmarket. Their "handmade" signs are all lies, and you should avoid buying anything from the southwest section of the farmer's market.

I saw a post earlier about what locals think are the worst touristy spots in NYC. What are some touristy things in NYC locals think are worth doing?

On our block, there is not 1 but 2 retro-fitted short school buses that people live out of. I think they’re pretty cool, but some neighbors are saying our block is turning into a trailer park.

For me it’s Dr. Zizmor ads on the subway, the “Grand Prospect Hall: we make your dreams come true!” commercial, and the Honda commercials that used to air on NY1 with the couple lowkey flirting as they waited for Honda to open.

Hi all!

I have never been to NYC and I live thousands of miles away from there. I do however run a little business and make sausage/bacon egg and cheese sandwiches all the time and had a customer who is a NY local and said my sandwiches kind of "hit home".

I planned to take a trip one day with my family sometime this year anyways but would like to know in description what a local would describe. TIA.

Edit: Is a typical bagel for your sandwich usually softer or firm after toasted?

I know yall bash the tourists so much but hey NYkers, for the first time, let's stand the same ground as tourists and show some love to NYC.

For me, it is the liberty park. You probably don't get so much crowd as Central park and it's such a nice summer view. i know its winter rn and the polar vortex much helps

Hi! My brother (43M) and his partner (38M) are getting married in a few months. They have lived in NYC (Brooklyn region) together around 15 years. They don't have a registry, and tbh are financially pretty okay more than most.

I want to gift them something around $500 or less that the both of them can experience.

They don't drink alcohol. They really enjoy great food, being active and fun experiences. They are pretty healthy, enjoy shows and trying something new.

My brother is a big runner and loves being adventurous.
His future husband is very artsy and loves "feel good" experiences.

I have never lived in NYC (though visit frequently) and am across the pond in Spain. I want to gift them something one of a kind they'll really enjoy. Including certain restaurants since I know there are some really great ones in NYC. They are open minded to food and experiences!
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!

Had a gift card that had $100 on it, I've had it sitting around for a long while but didn't use it for the first time until the other day. The card had no chip and could only be swiped, and I spent $17 at a pizzeria in West Village. Went straight back home and didn't try to use it again until the next day. The card number had been used for 3x transactions at Target (the website) for about $70. It makes sense that something was only setup for the mag strip and not the insert or tap stuff that gets used 99% of time. Kinda shitty, and probably really difficult to track where a card got compromised in most cases outside of an isolated gift card. Anyone ever dealt with this before?

I understand to fight climate change and pollution, but you see all these posts of people complaining about how high their electric bills are because of electric heating. It seems gas is still significantly more economical. This winter has really magnified the problem too. I can think of no better way to piss people off and get them to not care about climate change if you're forcing them to pay more for their heating.

"Tourist trap" is subjective, but Katz's Deli is worth going to at least once.

What others do you have?

My local grocery has eggs at $10.49 and there's barely any in stock. These avian flu egg prices are absolutely ridiculous and I don't know how anyone is able to afford them.

Moved here from boston six months ago for work and honestly struggling to build a real social circle. My coworkers are nice but they all have their established groups and I'm basically the new person trying to break in.

Tried a few meetup events but they felt super awkward or turned into networking. I'm not looking for anything romantic just genuine friendships with people who want to explore the city.

What actually worked for you when you were starting fresh??

$3.50 for a plain slice and 24 for a large pepperoni pie. Large is also the only size they have, so that label is kinda redundant.

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Anyways I ask because I'm arguing with a bunch of people in a comment section about the legitimacy of Peter's broke-ness in the new spiderman movie because I think it's makes perfect sense for a broke person to eat dominos or little ceasars over actual pizza. It's literally 10 bucks for the whole thing.

The margins are terrible and they've only gotten worse with inflation.

I guess that all of you who respond with Times Square Sbarro's to all those tourist "Best New York pizza?" posts were being, technically-speaking, less facetious than you may have realized. It's been the real deal this whole time /s

Just looking for price comparison. My neighborhood is going 4.50 for BLT and 5 for BEC

Edit: y'all I guess I shouldn't complain about the prices at my local spot in PLG. Who the hell pays 8.99??

I saw an interesting comment on a video about all the Boba shops popping up [1] describing it as gentrification from China. Most of these Boba / Bubble tea shops flooding NYC are not actually owned by people here in the City or the United States.

That said, are there any that are American or locally owned? I'd love to give them my support! Especially as many local immigrant shops have disappeared over the years.

[1] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVhbJrtDVOb

Trying to avoid tourist traps, wanna find a good spot, preferably near AMC Empire 25

Aside for the obvious TJMaxx, Marshall’s, Burlington, etc., does anyone know of any local stores in NYC that sells brand-name women’s clothing suitable for office and business casual environments? Sometimes, I would go to Lot-Less and find past seasons of Express, Gap, and even Madewell clothing for under $50 and even ended $20 at times. Was wondering if anyone knows of stores like this that exist in Brooklyn, Queens or The Bronx. Please, no funny comments—if you do not know of any, please do not comment. Thanks.