New York's best kept secret (for travelers)

Happy T.O. day!

Welcome to Travel Onist featuring travel stories, personal growth reflections, and inspiring content for your travels.

Experience in Brooklyn, New York

NYC’s Best Kept Secret

Ok, the Brooklyn borough is by no means a secret. It’s an international brand.

Stars like Jay Z, the Beastie Boys, and Biggie, have referenced the borough in various song lyrics.

But I do believe it is heavily underrated, especially in the eyes of travelers.

From the park to the restaurants, to the people and the views, Brooklyn has a wealth of experiences to offer.

Many travelers come to NYC to see Manhattan. And I don’t blame them.

Manhattan is great for what it is — the pinnacle of hustle, excess, and ambition. It’s chaotic, it’s exciting, it’s a lot.

Brooklyn offers another side of the city (so do the other 3 boroughs, but I’m biased).

The borough is overshadowed. It’s authentic, it’s real, it’s open, it’s got some personality.

Brooklyn has the best views in NYC. Brooklyn has the best pace of life. And in my experience, Brooklyn even has the best food.

But it is MASSIVE.

And the reality is, I can’t speak to much of it.

From what I’ve seen, I love it.

When tourists complain about the chaos of NYC, I get it, but I wish they’d have the chance to see the other side.

If you’re planning a trip to New York, I highly encourage you to dedicate some time to Brooklyn. I’m working on a guide to the area, but in the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. I’ll gladly offer my personal recommendations.

Weekly Write-up

I recently started doing something that was recommended to me a while ago by my friend Matt.

After the very first day, I wished I had started sooner.

The activity is called Morning Pages.

I haven’t been doing it exactly as prescribed, but it consists of writing three pages full of thoughts each morning.

The only rule is, you don’t stop until you fill 3 full pages of your notebook.

What do you write about?

Anything you want!

Simple, right?

How could something like this pay off so soon you ask?

Well, I began writing about my life.

That led me to reflect on the last four years — the years directly following my college graduation.

Of course, these last four years have not been as transformative. College years are a true coming-of-age moment.

But that’s not to say these last four years have not been transformative.

On the day of my (online) graduation, I would be so proud of the person I am now.

I was only able to realize that as I was writing it all out.

In the day-to-day grind, it’s difficult to find that perspective.

But in creating the open space for thought and reflection, you can stumble into realizations like this.

We’ll see how long I can stick with my morning pages. I’m only on day 3.

But what I can recommend with certainty, is the practice of zooming out.

Go back 4, 10, 20 years, and allow the former you to be in awe of who you have become — the person you are, the relationships you’ve built, and the things you’ve done.

I promise it will bring a new perspective to your current challenges and worries.

Airplane Content

These guys are some of my favorite content creators. Average Rob and his brother Arno are two Belgian brothers who make videos about their experiences trying all kinds of unique sports and challenges from skeleton to drag shows.

They make an effort to showcase Belgian athletes and culture in their videos, which provides a cool opportunity to learn about the country through them. Plus, they make it fun!

AI Travel Art Piece of the Week

Cheers ‘til next week,

T.O.