Profile: New York City, New York

By Paul McGinniss, FrontDoor.com | Published: 11/25/2008

USDA Hardiness Zone: 7

Major Airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport

Companies With a Major Presence Here: Most of the biggest corporations in the U.S. are headquartered here, including major financial institutions such as Citigroup and American Express; and media companies such as NBC, Time Warner and Conde Nast Publications; New York Stock Exchange

New York City could be described as the most or least American city -- the largest city in the United States, spread out over 304 square miles with a population of more than 8 million people -- it has every imaginable kind of "American" living all in the same place. It is so utterly American it almost seems like a foreign place even to people from elsewhere in the United States.

The writer Spalding Gray said, "I think of New York as a puree and the rest of America as vegetable soup." And it's true. New York is so diverse it has its own unique taste and it's almost impossible to separate out the distinct flavors from the whole mixture.

The city has five boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Each borough is a community of eclectic, ethnically diverse neighborhoods with their own small town-like main streets, commercial centers and residential enclaves. Linked by a series of bridges, tunnels and ferries, the five boroughs are accessible by the world's largest public transportation system that has 27 subway lines with more than 700 rail and subway stations. New York City is also a great walking city to be explored by foot, after taking the ferry, subway, bus or water taxi.

O. Henry once said about the city, "It'll be a great place if they ever finish it." But, the fact that NYC is always growing, changing, starting over and reinventing itself is really one of the best things about it. As former NYC Mayor Edward Koch put it: "Being a New Yorker is just simply a state of mind."

Read More About New York, NY:

• Search Homes for Sale in New York City
• 10 Great Neighborhoods in New York City
• New York City Essentials
• Local Lingo and Lore in New York City
• New York City: Like No Place Else
• NYC: A Living United Nations
• Slide Show: Get to Know New York City

Explore more cities in FrontDoor's City Guides

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