Class Note 2020. Although Hanover will always hold a special place in our hearts, so, too, will the first place we move after graduation. Most of our classmates are pragmatic, following their careers or educations to a new city and figuring it out from there. Yet, some of us are lucky enough to fall in love immediately. A sterling example of this is Sean Hawkins, one of my best friends and a “proud resident of the best neighborhood in the world, the Upper West Side.”
What does he love most about living in New York City? “Probably the social aspect and how easy it is to meet friends of friends. Everyone knows someone who knows someone who you’d get along great with, and the density makes it possible to form a lot of connections that way. Some of my closest Dartmouth friends I didn’t even meet until I moved to New York, when I met them through other friends.”
After graduation Sean started at Bloomberg as a software engineer; since then, we’ve jokingly referred to his living situation as his “perfect little life.” Naturally, a big part of that is the food.
For his favorite regular restaurant, Sean recommends La Caridad 72, an Upper West Side staple serving Cuban-Chinese food. He reports, “Cuban-Chinese restaurants are surprisingly not as rare as you’d think in the city, but this is the best one. For fast casual, TAP Brazilian Cafe has the best açai, very natural and not overly sweet. It’s the closest in the city to what I actually had in Brazil.”
I asked him what his favorite splurge restaurant was, but he said, “I don’t really do expensive restaurants—too many reasonably priced alternatives.” That’s totally valid. I estimate that about 50 percent of the places we’ve gone when I’ve visited Sean end up being among the best places I’ve ever eaten.
Despite being a notoriously expensive city, N.Y.C. has some thrifty ways to have fun. Sean says, “I live halfway between Central Park and Riverside Park. While every visitor and resident of the city goes to Central Park all the time, I do think that Riverside is super underrated. Riverside has lots of great picnic spots, bike paths, spring flowers, and beautiful sunsets over the river. Of course, the best time of year for both parks is July during firefly season. There’s nothing better than a late evening walk once it cools down.”
While I’m not someone who pays a ton of attention to my physical surroundings, if you live for the view, Sean recommends the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. It has a sunset view over the Manhattan skyline with the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges and river ferries all lit up.
Although he certainly lives like a local, I asked Sean where he would take someone who had never been to New York (or a low-key guest such as a parent). He advised, “This might be uncreative but probably a rooftop bar and a river cruise around the island. Both give full views of the city unlike anything else.” Again, most people (who are not me) really care about the views!
If your time in New York is limited, you’ll want to make the most of it. I asked Sean which spots are overrated, and he said, “Literally any restaurant, bakery, cafe with a line. I like to say if a place can afford the rent in Manhattan, it’s probably good. There’s no need to waste time in line when there are so many other options. Besides, a lot of places with lines are just boosting with paid social media.”
Many thanks to Sean for sharing this slice of his “perfect little life.” Throughout our friendship, Sean has been an inestimable tour guide and travel planner, so I present his recommendations with full confidence.
And if you’d like to feature your neighborhood in a “Virtual City Tour” of your own, shoot me a message at dartmouth20classnotes@gmail.com!
—Emma Velicky, 808 24th Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98144; emmavelicky.20@dartmouth.edu