I went to queens for a few hours in 2015 or so. In the short time i was on the street there, i heard probably ten different languages and zero of them were English. It was a wild experience.
It was such a normal thing growing up there and having all your friends be drastically different. When I visited other, more white parts of the country as a kid, I was always very confused.
I went to Newtown High School in Elmhurst in the late 80s. Mayor Koch came to our school to give us an official plaque for being the most ethnically diverse school in the city, which had to make us the most ethnically diverse in the world!
That's cute. I live really close to Newtown Highschool now. And I mostly like the area. Pretty tree-lined blocks etc. I've only been here for a few years, and this is off-topic but the thing I keep coming across here though is people actually being really backwards despite the diversity. It's so weird. I am from E. Texas originally, and sometimes I feel like I'm running across almost the same small-mindedness and prejudice. Also, I am still completely confused why no one in this area seems to know how to use email. I have to call businesses and sometimes literally go down there to get anything done. It's so weird. I feel like i'm living in the 90's sometimes.
It' also not a race thing. My partner is super white (although Greek and Italian background), but him and all of his friends act like it's crazy that I would do business any other way. I'm a web designer so it makes things a little difficult lol
i erased my comment for maybe sounding more confrontational than i had attended. but answering your question, my point is that there are multiple diverse places in the world that americans are oblivious to because they view stuff from their standards. india has multiple ethnicities, so does africa, but americans will just see them as 'asian' or 'africans'. brazil alone has hundreds of different tribes that are distinguiished but for americans its ''latinos''.
Extremely multicultural; large diaspora communities from China and the Caribbean in particular. Probably one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse places in the US.
Not just anywhere in the Caribbean, you’ll find people from all over but the biggest Carribean groups are indo-Caribbean. The Guyanese community in Queens is absolutely huge, and though not as big there’s also a significant Trinidadian community.
No kidding about the large diaspora communities. You could show someone a picture of Flushing and they wouldn’t be able to distinguish it from an Asian city.
I love Queens. You can literally eat almost any country in the world’s food here and not just the more popular ones. As someone who grew up in NYC for part of their childhood, I think Queens embodies what “real” New York and NYC living is like. It’s often forgot about for non-New Yorkers because the image is always Manhattan and maybe the trendy parts of Brooklyn.
That being said, it has also suffered from crazy high living costs in recent years from high rise luxury condos popping up in Long Island City to even single family homes in nicer areas like Forest Hills costing no less than a million.
Grew up in Queens. Incredibly diverse, amazing food of any type you can think of, and a lot of good, hard working people. It does have a weird reputation sometimes from people who don't spend time there. I dated a girl from Long Island who said Queens "didn't have trees." Lots of houses that are close together and that also weirds out people from outside the city.
If someone tells me they're from Manhattan, I definitely view them differently than my Queens people. Also, no one in the NYC subreddits have any idea of what's going on in Queens. It's very Manhattan-area based.
When I think of queens I think of “working class suburb within the bounds of the city”.
Akin to Staten Island but with a direct connection to the subway/train system instead of a ferry.
I live in Brooklyn and have lived in Queens, your description is accurate. Yes it’s still very dense. But as soon as you enter Queens from Brooklyn, it does look a bit “leafier” by NYC standards, and much of the borough is made up of single-family houses with driveways and yards, even if those yards are very small by US standards. There are parts of Querns where the average person would be shocked to know they are in New York City
I have not visited New York, but I get the impression that Queens is more "suburban" than Brooklyn but less suburban than Staten Island, as far as the boroughs go relative to Manhattan.
A lot of Queens is still very densely populated and developed, pretty much on the same level as the other boroughs outside of Manhattan. Buts it’s so big and the eastern post parts are full on suburbs.
Queens ain’t a suburb. You guys tripping 😂
(It melts into the actual suburbs way out there but still, using “suburb” to describe most of Queens is off the mark)
Compared to the density of Manhattan and in the context of being apart of the largest/most densely populated city/metro in the country, yeah I think suburb with quotes applies.
I took the LIE train through there once on my way from JFK to Midtown Manhattan.
It's frickin' *huge.* And it's not any westerner's idea of a suburb, either. It just kept going and going, and 90% of it was 8+ story hulking brick buildings.
It’s not true really because Queens is massive with 2.5 million people and at least 99 distinct neighborhoods. Western Queens is very dense, extremely urban, and is busier than almost all US downtown areas. Over a third of Queens residents live in Western Queens. There are a lot of high rises and even some skyscrapers in Western Queens.
Once you get past Flushing into central Queens and Eastern Queens it looks more suburban.
I had some extended family living in Queens in the past, and when visiting them, I really liked how diverse the borough is, and consequently how diverse the food options were. It was especially cool to come across cuisines which, despite growing up in also diverse California, I rarely if ever came across (such as Jamaican, Indo-Caribbean, and Colombian). The borough also feels a bit less hectic and frenetic than Manhattan, or even Brooklyn, but that is just my impression.
Yeah in California the vast majority of Latinos are Mexican and there isn’t a large black immigrant population either. In NYC many black people are of Caribbean origin, at least partially. Latinos here come from all over Latin America, I know many Latinos who married someone with a different Latin American nationality. In NYC the Latino population leans more Puerto Rican and Dominican, but in Queens they mostly come from the rest of Latin America. You’ll find a ton of Colombians, Ecuadorians and Mexicans, but also just about every other nationality in smaller numbers.
Honestly I have no impression outside of the TV show "King of Queens"
I think maybe I've passed through part of it but really only spent time exploring Manhattan and Brooklyn like any typical tourist.
There isn’t really much touristy stuff in Queens. Odds are, you’re probably flying into one of the airports in Queens, but most of Queens is working class immigrant communities and calmer, quieter middle and upper class residential neighborhoods. A lot of Queens also has no subway access whatsoever. Other than the US Open, a Mets game, and maybe restaurants with specific cuisines, there isn’t much there for tourists.
I love that museum, especially the exhibit with all the old TVs. The Queens Museum is pretty cool too solely because of the giant 3 dimensional map of NYC they have, sort of like the one Robert Moses used.
Most diverse place in the world.
If a particular kind of foreign cuisine cannot be found in Queens, it may be challenging to find it anywhere else in America.
Large, no-frills, mostly residential borough with (comparatively) cheap rents. They have two airports and the Mets play there. It's where Peter Parker is from from, along with A Tribe Called Quest.
EDIT: And the Ramones!
I guess the Chicago equivalent might be the Northwest side, or perhaps everything west of Pulaski or Cicero.
An apt quote, considering the [Flushing Remonstrance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushing_Remonstrance) is the precursor to Freedom of Religion in the United States of America.
I'm from Queens. It's got a little bit of everything. Very dense urban areas to suburbs. Pretty much every group of people you can think of are here, and they brought all their food. Democrats and Republicans, etc etc
Queens is where the regular people live, but regular in the context of the most wildly diverse city in the world. Cab drivers, librarians, the people who build sets on Broadway, office managers, and generally the people who can't afford to live in the glitz and glamor of NYC. Entry- level book editors do not live in the West village, they live in Queens.
You can also get really amazing food of almost any ethnicity on the planet. Queens is also huge.
Queens is huge, it’s only a handful of neighborhoods being gentrified. It started in Long Island City and has spread to places like Astoria, Sunnyside and Ridgewood.
I don't mind it happening to Ridgewood. People think it's 'gentrification' but in reality, my mother's family was from there and they all got pushed out by high crime over the years. If gentrification means the people who used to live there can safely return, then great.
Queens is the cleanest, nicest, borough and is severely underrated. One of the most diverse places on Earth by sqft as well. It’s MUCH more livable than the Bronx and dare I say actually functions well from what I’ve seen.
10/10 would recommend
Harlem is right on top of the Northern Edge of Central Park and the North of Harlem is across the river from the Bronx, but the Northern tip of Manhattan is Inwood— very far from Harlem; about 7 miles, 30 min drive, 35-40 min subway ride.
When I travel abroad or out of the northeast I'll always say NYC first and then follow up with Queens if they ask. It doesn't get the same reaction as someone saying Manhattan or Brooklyn, unless they're a hip hop fan and they'll say something about Nas or a number of other Queensbridge area rappers.
I will say that Queens is the most diverse of the boroughs in terms of people and geography. Western Queens has Long Island City which been built up where its skyline resembles that of most states largest cities. Only 14 states (including NY) have a taller building than the current tallest building in LIC, Queens. You can also go the beach town of Rockaway, the suburbs of College Point, or the most "foreign city" in America, Flushing. Tons to discover and see but usually flys under the radar for most non-Queens residents (and we like it that way)
I am a transplant living in Queens. When I first moved to NYC I knew it was part of NYC and where everyone said the good food was. I knew it was cheaper than Manhattan. That’s all I knew. I tell friends I live in NYC (quickly followed by “I live in Queens”).
I actually didn’t know that Staten Island was mocked and came close to getting an apartment there. 😅
I live in Queens and love it. It has both very urban and very suburban feeling and is super diverse. I can hear the muezzins every day from the mosque across the street and can walk to my church a block away on the other side of the street.
Im not sure Queens itself has many stereotypes, but the different neighborhoods do. Flushing is more of a true Chinatown than Manhattan’s China town. And Astoria is a Little Greece. You’re also more likely to see people who consider themselves moderate conservatives here in my opinion. No one would admit to being a Republican in Manhattan (though we all suspect the tech bros vote that way. But they would never admit it.) and Staten Island is the closest thing NYC has to MAGA country. Queens has a lot of older people who have lived in the neighborhood their whole life and they coexist quite peacefully with the rest of us.
I don't think most Americans make these fine distinctions between the various NYC boroughs. The exception being people really into like urban planning and shit like that, or if you live in the metro area or at least visit frequently.
Um.... maybe most Americans in the Midwest? Most Americans I would say can tell between Staten Island and Manhattan or Brooklyn, queens and long Island. Honestly everybody i know from NY (I know a ton as I have family there) will not tell you they're from NYC, they'll say they're from Brooklyn or long Island or whatever.
I disagree. I think your average educated person is well aware of the NYC boroughs, even if they have never been to Manhattan. Queens and Brooklyn are well known for being the less desirable (although Brooklyn has some trendy neighborhoods) parts of NYC, with Manhattan being the gold standard.
Why would you someone who doesn't live there, know anything about Queens? This sub is Ask An American, but if you do not know, then why respond vague? Obviously the OP is asking people who have knowledge of NYC...if you not from here...why would YOU know?
Well he’s asking about reputation.
I’m not from New York but I’ve been and I know something. Most people know about the boroughs. Also New York is the setting for so many tv shows and movies.
Well you should probably read the question. Its asking about well known stereotypes. The answer is probably that Queens doesn’t really have any major stereotypes and that the only people who know anything about queens are people from NYC.
Used to be one of the last affordable areas of NYC, but even that’s gone too now. Still more affordable than Brooklyn, Manhattan or Staten Island, but still pretty expensive. Very diverse with almost every culture you could think of, lots of great restaurants.
I lived in Queens and would say it draws up images of Diversity. I learned in college that almost all languages in the world are spoken in Queens some of which are no longer even spoken in the places from which they originate.
Within NYC it is famously hard to navigate because the address system is different. The trains and busses are a little different. I would live in every borough but queens for a non native it’s a nightmare to navigate.
Queens has more suburban areas than some of the other boroughs so it’s a haven for cops. It has a reputation of being more cop friendly than some other parts of the city.
Maybe its because I grew up watching Seinfeld and reading Spider-man comics, but living in California, I always thought of Queens as the more suburban part of NYC, with families and children living in rowhouses. George's parents live in Queens, for example.
Most probably don’t have much of an idea of Queens. Most people from outside of NYC only know about Manhattan, funny accents in Brooklyn and how the Bronx is dangerous.
Those in the know probably think about some of the greatest disparities of wealth between some of the wealthiest neighborhoods outside of Manhattan as well as some of the poorest.
Others would think of diversity or LaGuardia
Someone once told me that Queens is where they keep the dead people. Queens does have the most cemeteries of the five boroughs, and I would love to explore all of the cemeteries.
Lived in Jamaica, Queens when I was knee-high to a polecat. My parents never said anything bad about it, granted this was in the early 90s. I think Spider-Man lives there.
Big residential area. Diverse economical as well as ethnically. In my mind, it has replaced Brooklyn as the most "typical" NYC borough. This is from a person who knows next to nothing about NYC.
Depends on where. Stay away from South Jamaica & Corona. Those areas aren't great
Other areas are ok. I live in Flushing. It's pretty nice and has a lot of trees
Queens is the most varied borough. It’s honestly a microcosm for all of NYC. It has a little bit of literally everyone and everything. East Queens is more suburban than most of the other boroughs except for Staten Island I’d say. But it also has bits that make it feel like NYC still (Long Island City, Roosevelt, Astoria, Woodside all could be in North Brooklyn)
My knowledge of Queens as a midwesterner: I think there was a cop show once that was meant to take place there. Would love to visit though if it's as diverse as you say.
Manhattan "center of the universe"? lol
Whatever was left on site after the Big Bang?
If you mean someplace on earth, there isn't one. Manhattan has a lot of stuff that New Yorkers like and are interested in, but other people have different ideas and might think Westminster is way more important, or Tokyo, or their home village in a place you've never heard of. There is no one place that can be all things to all people, not even close.
.
I think of Queens as a working class community with families or struggling college grads that you only live in if you absolutely “have to”. It certainly doesn’t have the glamor or cache of Manhattan.
I hate the Mets and the most vocal 10-15% of their fanbase. I cannot overstate this.
Other than that God-awful shitstain of a baseball franchise, Queens is a really interesting place that I've enjoyed seeing on more recent trips to NYC. Tons of immigrant communities, a surprising number of remaining majority-white (but relatively diverse) middle and upper-middle class neighborhoods, great ethnic food, cool architecture in some of the more historic neighborhoods.
My father-in-law was born in Queens and raised in eastern Nassau County, so we've seen the row house in Ridgewood where he spent the first 2-3 years of his life and then eaten some *incredible* Dominican food down the block before heading to the US Open. I feel like that is a pretty good representation of modern-day Queens.
Originally from the south, lived in NYC for 14 years, and in Queens for 4 years.
It was fine. We had a car which helped. It’s definitely diverse and there is a lot of great ethnic food. And there are neighborhoods that are becoming their own destinations. But overall? It has a suburban feel, especially as you get closer to the Nassau County line. It’s just ok.
Queens is one of the coolest places in the world imo. Every time I got to NYC I make sure to spend at least a day just absolutely gorging myself on some of the best food in the US. There is a specific momo place in Jackson Heights that I always stop at before I catch a plane home.
That being said, I prefer going with a local or one of my south Asian friends when I am exporing so I don't stick out so much as a white dude lol.
Everyone talks about how diverse Queens is, but the Queens version of the New York City accent surprises me by it's persistence regardless of the background of the people from Queens, it still sounds like the way Dutxh Knickerbockers learned to speak Yankee English.
If you want to know what it sounds like, I suggest watching any interview of pretty much member of The Ramones. You might notice that it not only lacks the nasal quality associated with other boroughs, but in fact goes to the opposite extreme, sounding like your nose is stuffed up.
Most of it is not easy on the eyes at all. If you’re not from there, you’re not going to be impressed at least aesthetically. Infrastructure is crumbling and the streets aren’t clean. Most of it is pretty run down and trashy. Nostalgia is its only saving grace, but of course you can’t manufacture that.
More quaint I suppose, it's not really positive nor negative. It's well known enough thanks to NYC having an outsized role in media, and pop culture references like Spider-Man, but I don't think most people have a strong opinion on it, including New Yorkers like myself.
One thing I will say though, and I'm just guessing here, if I had to come up with the most ethnically diverse county in America - that is, a wide spectrum of diversity, more of Ecuadorian compared with Japanese, and less German with Austrian, I'd say it's Richmond county aka Queens.
My guess based on TV is that the non-new yorker stereotype would be that Queens would be seen as a working man's borough. Watch the old sitcom King of Queens. Despite the main characters being white, that is the image: working class. Before I knew much about new york I assumed that show was what queens was like.
However, if it was realistic it would have been someone latino or some other 'brown guy'. Queens is everyone else from the world with a few white people thrown in for flavor. And if they are white they are actually also immigrants who also have a thick accent from a different country. When Spiderman Homecoming came out, there were racists online going "look at how woke this movie is with all the kids being changed to asian and latino and indian." No, that's *exactly* what queens looks like, now that I've been living here since the late 00's and seen it myself.
Before visiting, Queens was just "Manhattan but with funnier voices." After visiting, it's the hub of hidden excitement to me! There are so many people and foods and things to do! My overall NY experience is that people are nice, and Queens wasn't any different.
When I think of Queens now, I think of looking at the Jamaica mall from the train while thousands of people move through day to day life. It's beautiful.
as an outsider, the old stereotype of Queens was a more residential, almost suburban borough of NYC.
Now I think many people realize it’s very diverse and has its own hipster areas like Long Island City and Astoria.
Non-New Yorker engaged to a New Yorker that spends a few weeks a year in the city here. Queens used to be mostly blue-collar residential, a bit more suburban feeling than the Bronx or Brooklyn. Nowadays, it's basically turning into what Brooklyn was 20 years ago. Still a lot of ethnic enclaves and working-class people. Still hasn't been taken over by hipsters.
I personally just think of it as the place (Flushing) with the best Korean food outside of Korea.
Grew up up there.
It's affordable and working class. Food is great and the people are pretty chill. However, it's just too slow for me. The calmness might be amazing to some people, but it drives me crazy.
It’s the biggest borough filled with just about nothing. Long Island city and Astoria are good places that many go to. In the summertime ROCKAWAY beach is a popular spot as well, but other than that it’s just a residential borough tbh lol
Spiderman. Aside from that, I think New Yorkers being so uppity about their different boroughs is hilarious and not really all that serious. I know it's usually played up more for laughs on tv shows or in movies but I find that shit insufferable.
But yeah, Queens is basically "the common folk. And Spiderman."
I grew up near NY, now live in the midwest. The first thing that comes to mind is most diverse place in the world.
I went to queens for a few hours in 2015 or so. In the short time i was on the street there, i heard probably ten different languages and zero of them were English. It was a wild experience.
It was such a normal thing growing up there and having all your friends be drastically different. When I visited other, more white parts of the country as a kid, I was always very confused.
Yeah, my basic association is "all the brown dudes, and I mean all of them"
I went to Newtown High School in Elmhurst in the late 80s. Mayor Koch came to our school to give us an official plaque for being the most ethnically diverse school in the city, which had to make us the most ethnically diverse in the world!
That's cute. I live really close to Newtown Highschool now. And I mostly like the area. Pretty tree-lined blocks etc. I've only been here for a few years, and this is off-topic but the thing I keep coming across here though is people actually being really backwards despite the diversity. It's so weird. I am from E. Texas originally, and sometimes I feel like I'm running across almost the same small-mindedness and prejudice. Also, I am still completely confused why no one in this area seems to know how to use email. I have to call businesses and sometimes literally go down there to get anything done. It's so weird. I feel like i'm living in the 90's sometimes.
It' also not a race thing. My partner is super white (although Greek and Italian background), but him and all of his friends act like it's crazy that I would do business any other way. I'm a web designer so it makes things a little difficult lol
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Not necessarily, but could you suggest a possible alternative in 1987?
i erased my comment for maybe sounding more confrontational than i had attended. but answering your question, my point is that there are multiple diverse places in the world that americans are oblivious to because they view stuff from their standards. india has multiple ethnicities, so does africa, but americans will just see them as 'asian' or 'africans'. brazil alone has hundreds of different tribes that are distinguiished but for americans its ''latinos''.
I loved living in Queens for this reason alone
Let me guess, you live in Chicago?
A reasonable place for a young prince to find his queen.
If there is one thing that Queens has a lot of,it’s common parts…
Big Al, my man!
Sir, did you happen to catch the professional football contest on television last night?
The Giants triumphed by kicking an oblong ball made of pigskin through a big H!
Just remember to let your Soul Glo
"Jackson Heights' own Randy Watson!"
Extremely multicultural; large diaspora communities from China and the Caribbean in particular. Probably one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse places in the US.
Not just anywhere in the Caribbean, you’ll find people from all over but the biggest Carribean groups are indo-Caribbean. The Guyanese community in Queens is absolutely huge, and though not as big there’s also a significant Trinidadian community.
Larger population of Guyanese in Queens than in Guyana!
Can confirm - source: I am the child of Guyanese immigrants and have lots of Guyanese family in queens.
No kidding about the large diaspora communities. You could show someone a picture of Flushing and they wouldn’t be able to distinguish it from an Asian city.
Honestly probably the most diverse place in the world
I love Queens. You can literally eat almost any country in the world’s food here and not just the more popular ones. As someone who grew up in NYC for part of their childhood, I think Queens embodies what “real” New York and NYC living is like. It’s often forgot about for non-New Yorkers because the image is always Manhattan and maybe the trendy parts of Brooklyn. That being said, it has also suffered from crazy high living costs in recent years from high rise luxury condos popping up in Long Island City to even single family homes in nicer areas like Forest Hills costing no less than a million.
Grew up in Queens. Incredibly diverse, amazing food of any type you can think of, and a lot of good, hard working people. It does have a weird reputation sometimes from people who don't spend time there. I dated a girl from Long Island who said Queens "didn't have trees." Lots of houses that are close together and that also weirds out people from outside the city. If someone tells me they're from Manhattan, I definitely view them differently than my Queens people. Also, no one in the NYC subreddits have any idea of what's going on in Queens. It's very Manhattan-area based.
I think the only NYC sub where you’ll find Queens residents is /r/nystateofmind
Best borough 🫡
When I think of queens I think of “working class suburb within the bounds of the city”. Akin to Staten Island but with a direct connection to the subway/train system instead of a ferry.
I live in Brooklyn and have lived in Queens, your description is accurate. Yes it’s still very dense. But as soon as you enter Queens from Brooklyn, it does look a bit “leafier” by NYC standards, and much of the borough is made up of single-family houses with driveways and yards, even if those yards are very small by US standards. There are parts of Querns where the average person would be shocked to know they are in New York City
I have not visited New York, but I get the impression that Queens is more "suburban" than Brooklyn but less suburban than Staten Island, as far as the boroughs go relative to Manhattan.
That’s pretty accurate.
A lot of Queens is still very densely populated and developed, pretty much on the same level as the other boroughs outside of Manhattan. Buts it’s so big and the eastern post parts are full on suburbs.
A “suburb” with a larger population than Houston at eight times the density
Queens ain’t a suburb. You guys tripping 😂 (It melts into the actual suburbs way out there but still, using “suburb” to describe most of Queens is off the mark)
Compared to the density of Manhattan and in the context of being apart of the largest/most densely populated city/metro in the country, yeah I think suburb with quotes applies.
Word
Yeah but the diversity is kind of the defining characteristic of Queens compared to basically all other places in America lol
I took the LIE train through there once on my way from JFK to Midtown Manhattan. It's frickin' *huge.* And it's not any westerner's idea of a suburb, either. It just kept going and going, and 90% of it was 8+ story hulking brick buildings.
It’s not true really because Queens is massive with 2.5 million people and at least 99 distinct neighborhoods. Western Queens is very dense, extremely urban, and is busier than almost all US downtown areas. Over a third of Queens residents live in Western Queens. There are a lot of high rises and even some skyscrapers in Western Queens. Once you get past Flushing into central Queens and Eastern Queens it looks more suburban.
I had some extended family living in Queens in the past, and when visiting them, I really liked how diverse the borough is, and consequently how diverse the food options were. It was especially cool to come across cuisines which, despite growing up in also diverse California, I rarely if ever came across (such as Jamaican, Indo-Caribbean, and Colombian). The borough also feels a bit less hectic and frenetic than Manhattan, or even Brooklyn, but that is just my impression.
Yeah in California the vast majority of Latinos are Mexican and there isn’t a large black immigrant population either. In NYC many black people are of Caribbean origin, at least partially. Latinos here come from all over Latin America, I know many Latinos who married someone with a different Latin American nationality. In NYC the Latino population leans more Puerto Rican and Dominican, but in Queens they mostly come from the rest of Latin America. You’ll find a ton of Colombians, Ecuadorians and Mexicans, but also just about every other nationality in smaller numbers.
Honestly I have no impression outside of the TV show "King of Queens" I think maybe I've passed through part of it but really only spent time exploring Manhattan and Brooklyn like any typical tourist.
I never even realized the title meant it was set in Queens, that seems sad now.
funny I was trying to do the house in Sims 4, and found out that house shown is actually in New Jersey
There isn’t really much touristy stuff in Queens. Odds are, you’re probably flying into one of the airports in Queens, but most of Queens is working class immigrant communities and calmer, quieter middle and upper class residential neighborhoods. A lot of Queens also has no subway access whatsoever. Other than the US Open, a Mets game, and maybe restaurants with specific cuisines, there isn’t much there for tourists.
Yeah we took a train into the city from JFK. I remember going through Jamaica or changing trains there but that's about it.
We have the Museum of the Moving Image which is good for tourists and can be accessed by public transportation. But yeah.
I love that museum, especially the exhibit with all the old TVs. The Queens Museum is pretty cool too solely because of the giant 3 dimensional map of NYC they have, sort of like the one Robert Moses used.
I’ve never been to the Queens Museum that’s a good idea for my next day off!
it's where the Mets play.
It's where Peter Parker is from.
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And Carrie from King of Queens.
Why?
Most diverse place in the world. If a particular kind of foreign cuisine cannot be found in Queens, it may be challenging to find it anywhere else in America.
Large, no-frills, mostly residential borough with (comparatively) cheap rents. They have two airports and the Mets play there. It's where Peter Parker is from from, along with A Tribe Called Quest. EDIT: And the Ramones! I guess the Chicago equivalent might be the Northwest side, or perhaps everything west of Pulaski or Cicero.
And birthplace of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
I'd say west of Kedzie, north of Montrose
[There are TWO big Ramones murals in queens](https://youtu.be/vEZZx9ERIho?si=0Sm0SYplBuyigTiy)
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An apt quote, considering the [Flushing Remonstrance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flushing_Remonstrance) is the precursor to Freedom of Religion in the United States of America.
I'm from Queens. It's got a little bit of everything. Very dense urban areas to suburbs. Pretty much every group of people you can think of are here, and they brought all their food. Democrats and Republicans, etc etc
Only thing I know about Queens as a Southerner is Spider-Man is from there
Exactly! West Coaster here and Spider-Man is from Queens!
Exactly! West Coaster here and Spider-Man is from Queens!
Exactly! West Coaster here and Spider-Man is from Queens!
Exactly! West Coaster here and Spider-Man is from Queens!
Exactly! West Coaster here and Spider-Man is from Queens!
Queens is where the regular people live, but regular in the context of the most wildly diverse city in the world. Cab drivers, librarians, the people who build sets on Broadway, office managers, and generally the people who can't afford to live in the glitz and glamor of NYC. Entry- level book editors do not live in the West village, they live in Queens. You can also get really amazing food of almost any ethnicity on the planet. Queens is also huge.
It had a reputation as a [very common](https://youtu.be/_6HCuwJqxUk?feature=shared) plain working class area. But it's becoming gentrified.
Queens is huge, it’s only a handful of neighborhoods being gentrified. It started in Long Island City and has spread to places like Astoria, Sunnyside and Ridgewood.
I don't mind it happening to Ridgewood. People think it's 'gentrification' but in reality, my mother's family was from there and they all got pushed out by high crime over the years. If gentrification means the people who used to live there can safely return, then great.
Stay away. Spider-man is spotted frequently there and he's a menace.
Very diverse and open to all.
Queens is the cleanest, nicest, borough and is severely underrated. One of the most diverse places on Earth by sqft as well. It’s MUCH more livable than the Bronx and dare I say actually functions well from what I’ve seen. 10/10 would recommend
I think of it as a mostly residential borough that isn't bad but isn't "glamorous" and doesn't have much to do for visitors.
As someone who’s never visited, I can name them. My only impression is that manhattan is for rich snobs. Also, isn’t Harlem in there?
Harlem is in Manhattan
I thought it was in NYC, thanks.
It is—Harlem is a neighborhood in Manhattan, which is in NYC
Manhattan is the heart of NYC. Harlem is at its northern edge before you hit the Bronx, as I understand it.
Harlem is right on top of the Northern Edge of Central Park and the North of Harlem is across the river from the Bronx, but the Northern tip of Manhattan is Inwood— very far from Harlem; about 7 miles, 30 min drive, 35-40 min subway ride.
So Manhattan is kind of Gumby shaped?
Yes, if the high point of Gumby's head was even taller than the lower point.
When I travel abroad or out of the northeast I'll always say NYC first and then follow up with Queens if they ask. It doesn't get the same reaction as someone saying Manhattan or Brooklyn, unless they're a hip hop fan and they'll say something about Nas or a number of other Queensbridge area rappers. I will say that Queens is the most diverse of the boroughs in terms of people and geography. Western Queens has Long Island City which been built up where its skyline resembles that of most states largest cities. Only 14 states (including NY) have a taller building than the current tallest building in LIC, Queens. You can also go the beach town of Rockaway, the suburbs of College Point, or the most "foreign city" in America, Flushing. Tons to discover and see but usually flys under the radar for most non-Queens residents (and we like it that way)
Love Queens. Flushing and Koreatown have some of the best, inexpensive food I’ve had.
Queens gets the money.
I am a transplant living in Queens. When I first moved to NYC I knew it was part of NYC and where everyone said the good food was. I knew it was cheaper than Manhattan. That’s all I knew. I tell friends I live in NYC (quickly followed by “I live in Queens”). I actually didn’t know that Staten Island was mocked and came close to getting an apartment there. 😅
I live in Queens and love it. It has both very urban and very suburban feeling and is super diverse. I can hear the muezzins every day from the mosque across the street and can walk to my church a block away on the other side of the street. Im not sure Queens itself has many stereotypes, but the different neighborhoods do. Flushing is more of a true Chinatown than Manhattan’s China town. And Astoria is a Little Greece. You’re also more likely to see people who consider themselves moderate conservatives here in my opinion. No one would admit to being a Republican in Manhattan (though we all suspect the tech bros vote that way. But they would never admit it.) and Staten Island is the closest thing NYC has to MAGA country. Queens has a lot of older people who have lived in the neighborhood their whole life and they coexist quite peacefully with the rest of us.
It's uh...a place in New York and um...Spiderman?
I don't think most Americans make these fine distinctions between the various NYC boroughs. The exception being people really into like urban planning and shit like that, or if you live in the metro area or at least visit frequently.
I’m sure most Americans know there’s a distinct difference between Manhattan and the “outer boroughs”
Um.... maybe most Americans in the Midwest? Most Americans I would say can tell between Staten Island and Manhattan or Brooklyn, queens and long Island. Honestly everybody i know from NY (I know a ton as I have family there) will not tell you they're from NYC, they'll say they're from Brooklyn or long Island or whatever.
I disagree. I think your average educated person is well aware of the NYC boroughs, even if they have never been to Manhattan. Queens and Brooklyn are well known for being the less desirable (although Brooklyn has some trendy neighborhoods) parts of NYC, with Manhattan being the gold standard.
Are you from here? there's definitely a distinction.
Most Americans aren't from NYC, and the OP specifically asks for non-New Yorkers.
Why would you someone who doesn't live there, know anything about Queens? This sub is Ask An American, but if you do not know, then why respond vague? Obviously the OP is asking people who have knowledge of NYC...if you not from here...why would YOU know?
Well he’s asking about reputation. I’m not from New York but I’ve been and I know something. Most people know about the boroughs. Also New York is the setting for so many tv shows and movies.
Well you should probably read the question. Its asking about well known stereotypes. The answer is probably that Queens doesn’t really have any major stereotypes and that the only people who know anything about queens are people from NYC.
Used to be one of the last affordable areas of NYC, but even that’s gone too now. Still more affordable than Brooklyn, Manhattan or Staten Island, but still pretty expensive. Very diverse with almost every culture you could think of, lots of great restaurants.
I think of The Nanny, and The Basement Yard. That is it.
Ramones
I think of Queens as a diverse suburb.
Born and raised in Queens. When I travel abroad I say I’m from New York .
Tough, diverse, and busy.
I lived in Queens and would say it draws up images of Diversity. I learned in college that almost all languages in the world are spoken in Queens some of which are no longer even spoken in the places from which they originate.
Within NYC it is famously hard to navigate because the address system is different. The trains and busses are a little different. I would live in every borough but queens for a non native it’s a nightmare to navigate. Queens has more suburban areas than some of the other boroughs so it’s a haven for cops. It has a reputation of being more cop friendly than some other parts of the city.
Visited from England back in 2016 and stayed with a local friend, absolutely bloody brilliant Greek food.
Maybe its because I grew up watching Seinfeld and reading Spider-man comics, but living in California, I always thought of Queens as the more suburban part of NYC, with families and children living in rowhouses. George's parents live in Queens, for example.
Most probably don’t have much of an idea of Queens. Most people from outside of NYC only know about Manhattan, funny accents in Brooklyn and how the Bronx is dangerous. Those in the know probably think about some of the greatest disparities of wealth between some of the wealthiest neighborhoods outside of Manhattan as well as some of the poorest. Others would think of diversity or LaGuardia
Someone once told me that Queens is where they keep the dead people. Queens does have the most cemeteries of the five boroughs, and I would love to explore all of the cemeteries.
Queens: foodie paradise
Lived in Jamaica, Queens when I was knee-high to a polecat. My parents never said anything bad about it, granted this was in the early 90s. I think Spider-Man lives there.
I've never been there. All I know about it is from The Nanny. And she's only from there.
I’m a Mets fan and have been to the nightmare that is LaGuardia, so far so bad go Mets tho
Big residential area. Diverse economical as well as ethnically. In my mind, it has replaced Brooklyn as the most "typical" NYC borough. This is from a person who knows next to nothing about NYC.
not american, but my view of queens, based on media and stories from people I know is a more middle class profile and highly diverse.
Depends on where. Stay away from South Jamaica & Corona. Those areas aren't great Other areas are ok. I live in Flushing. It's pretty nice and has a lot of trees
I grew up near Corona (Elmhurst) and it wasn’t so bad. Roosevelt Ave can get stretchy at night but other than that it was fine in my experience.
Diversity and a great restaurant boro.
Its just there
I think of The Ramones when I think of Queens
Queens is the most varied borough. It’s honestly a microcosm for all of NYC. It has a little bit of literally everyone and everything. East Queens is more suburban than most of the other boroughs except for Staten Island I’d say. But it also has bits that make it feel like NYC still (Long Island City, Roosevelt, Astoria, Woodside all could be in North Brooklyn)
My knowledge of Queens as a midwesterner: I think there was a cop show once that was meant to take place there. Would love to visit though if it's as diverse as you say. Manhattan "center of the universe"? lol
In your opinion what is the center of the universe?
Whatever was left on site after the Big Bang? If you mean someplace on earth, there isn't one. Manhattan has a lot of stuff that New Yorkers like and are interested in, but other people have different ideas and might think Westminster is way more important, or Tokyo, or their home village in a place you've never heard of. There is no one place that can be all things to all people, not even close. .
I think of Queens as a working class community with families or struggling college grads that you only live in if you absolutely “have to”. It certainly doesn’t have the glamor or cache of Manhattan.
I hate the Mets and the most vocal 10-15% of their fanbase. I cannot overstate this. Other than that God-awful shitstain of a baseball franchise, Queens is a really interesting place that I've enjoyed seeing on more recent trips to NYC. Tons of immigrant communities, a surprising number of remaining majority-white (but relatively diverse) middle and upper-middle class neighborhoods, great ethnic food, cool architecture in some of the more historic neighborhoods. My father-in-law was born in Queens and raised in eastern Nassau County, so we've seen the row house in Ridgewood where he spent the first 2-3 years of his life and then eaten some *incredible* Dominican food down the block before heading to the US Open. I feel like that is a pretty good representation of modern-day Queens.
Originally from the south, lived in NYC for 14 years, and in Queens for 4 years. It was fine. We had a car which helped. It’s definitely diverse and there is a lot of great ethnic food. And there are neighborhoods that are becoming their own destinations. But overall? It has a suburban feel, especially as you get closer to the Nassau County line. It’s just ok.
It’s where Spider-Man lives
spiderman
As others have said, Queens county is one of the most diverse places to live on the planet.
Queens is one of the coolest places in the world imo. Every time I got to NYC I make sure to spend at least a day just absolutely gorging myself on some of the best food in the US. There is a specific momo place in Jackson Heights that I always stop at before I catch a plane home. That being said, I prefer going with a local or one of my south Asian friends when I am exporing so I don't stick out so much as a white dude lol.
The Mets lose there a lot, which is nice.
Everyone talks about how diverse Queens is, but the Queens version of the New York City accent surprises me by it's persistence regardless of the background of the people from Queens, it still sounds like the way Dutxh Knickerbockers learned to speak Yankee English. If you want to know what it sounds like, I suggest watching any interview of pretty much member of The Ramones. You might notice that it not only lacks the nasal quality associated with other boroughs, but in fact goes to the opposite extreme, sounding like your nose is stuffed up.
It's softer than the Bronx but rougher than Brooklyn. In the city, but also could be its own city.
Most of it is not easy on the eyes at all. If you’re not from there, you’re not going to be impressed at least aesthetically. Infrastructure is crumbling and the streets aren’t clean. Most of it is pretty run down and trashy. Nostalgia is its only saving grace, but of course you can’t manufacture that.
More quaint I suppose, it's not really positive nor negative. It's well known enough thanks to NYC having an outsized role in media, and pop culture references like Spider-Man, but I don't think most people have a strong opinion on it, including New Yorkers like myself. One thing I will say though, and I'm just guessing here, if I had to come up with the most ethnically diverse county in America - that is, a wide spectrum of diversity, more of Ecuadorian compared with Japanese, and less German with Austrian, I'd say it's Richmond county aka Queens.
Very diverse. Mostly middle/working class. I lived in Astoria for about a year.
My guess based on TV is that the non-new yorker stereotype would be that Queens would be seen as a working man's borough. Watch the old sitcom King of Queens. Despite the main characters being white, that is the image: working class. Before I knew much about new york I assumed that show was what queens was like. However, if it was realistic it would have been someone latino or some other 'brown guy'. Queens is everyone else from the world with a few white people thrown in for flavor. And if they are white they are actually also immigrants who also have a thick accent from a different country. When Spiderman Homecoming came out, there were racists online going "look at how woke this movie is with all the kids being changed to asian and latino and indian." No, that's *exactly* what queens looks like, now that I've been living here since the late 00's and seen it myself.
The best place for the most diverse amount of food, in any city block anywhere. PERIOD.
I’ve only been to Queens a couple of times to visit my friend but both visits I really liked it!
No idea. I’ve never been up that way and I don’t plan on it.
Right over the bridge from Flushing is the Sheffield’s door
Before visiting, Queens was just "Manhattan but with funnier voices." After visiting, it's the hub of hidden excitement to me! There are so many people and foods and things to do! My overall NY experience is that people are nice, and Queens wasn't any different. When I think of Queens now, I think of looking at the Jamaica mall from the train while thousands of people move through day to day life. It's beautiful.
Diversity. Undervalued. Great food.
A few years ago Queens was rated the most culturally diverse area in the U.S.
as an outsider, the old stereotype of Queens was a more residential, almost suburban borough of NYC. Now I think many people realize it’s very diverse and has its own hipster areas like Long Island City and Astoria.
Non-New Yorker engaged to a New Yorker that spends a few weeks a year in the city here. Queens used to be mostly blue-collar residential, a bit more suburban feeling than the Bronx or Brooklyn. Nowadays, it's basically turning into what Brooklyn was 20 years ago. Still a lot of ethnic enclaves and working-class people. Still hasn't been taken over by hipsters. I personally just think of it as the place (Flushing) with the best Korean food outside of Korea.
Grew up up there. It's affordable and working class. Food is great and the people are pretty chill. However, it's just too slow for me. The calmness might be amazing to some people, but it drives me crazy.
It’s the biggest borough filled with just about nothing. Long Island city and Astoria are good places that many go to. In the summertime ROCKAWAY beach is a popular spot as well, but other than that it’s just a residential borough tbh lol
Trump grew up there. That's all I know.
Spiderman. Aside from that, I think New Yorkers being so uppity about their different boroughs is hilarious and not really all that serious. I know it's usually played up more for laughs on tv shows or in movies but I find that shit insufferable. But yeah, Queens is basically "the common folk. And Spiderman."
It’s just sort of a residential area of NYC home to LaGuardia airport and Spider Man