10 Guilty Pleasures That Every New Yorker Has

Katherine Ripley • February 18, 2016

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Las Vegas is the metropolis that’s dubbed “Sin City” but that doesn’t mean that New Yorkers don’t have plenty to feel guilty about. Here are 10 guilty pleasure that New Yorkers just can’t resist:

1. Cheap junk food

We’re all about hot dogs from food carts and and two dollar pizza at the nearest corner pizzeria. Your arteries are crying but your taste buds are in heaven and your wallet is thanking you.

2. Five dollar lattes

Paradoxically, one of our other guilty pleasures is splurging on a chocolate, vanilla, pumpkin or all-of-the-above latte made at your favorite anti-mainstream free trade coffee place.

3. Your favorite (expensive) cocktail

No matter how much it costs, you’ll always order it when you’re out with your friends, because when you’re going out in NYC you might as well splurge.

4. Musical theater

The Broadway shows and the Off-Broadway shows. We’re in the heart of it here, so we might as well enjoy it, at least once in a while as a special treat.

5. Ordering delivery

…when the place that you’re ordering from is only about two blocks away but you just don’t feel like putting pants on. The laziness has its grip on you, and the Chinese food is calling your name.

6. Spending a day alone

People can be overly stimulating, especially in this city. Spending a day alone relieves you of the pressure of having to get along with friends and roommates all the time, and there is no shortage of things to do alone in this city.

7. People watching

Speaking of which, this is a great activity when you’re riding solo. Simply sitting on a bench and pretending to read a newspaper can provide you with hours of entertainment.

8. Subway jams

Who doesn’t look forward to our time on the subway when we put on our favorite song and play it on repeat, and don’t care who’s looking when we’re jamming out?

9. Uber/Lyft

Sometimes, you just need to. You want to feel like you’re getting chauffeured to your party like a VIP, or it’s raining and you have no umbrella and there is no way you are walking four blocks to the subway. Even if the prices are surging, you hit the order button.

10. Nights in

Everyone loves nights out, but nights in truly are a guilty pleasure in the city that never sleeps. A night in is when you recharge your battery, so you can get back into the pace of the city tomorrow.

Cover photo credit: Ron Wiecki/Flickr