nyc: So my friend and I want to go to NYC for the day, we are 18 and 19. We want to go to Times square area. My parents are freaking out and dont want me to go. So is it relatively safe if we are smart about our day trip?|||its okay in the centre of tourist.|||I guarantee that you will be safe in that part of the city at that time of day unless you do something incredibly stupid. Put your mother at ease, the streets are crowded with a mix of tourists and busines people. For example, within a block of Times Square are office buildings that house the New York Times (Hence the name), Ernst and Young, Conde Nast magazines and the biggest law firm in NYC. That doesn't sound too sketchy, does it? Plus there is a strong police presence everywhere. Enjoy the trip. One piece of advice..I think that taking the bus into town is probably the least desirable way, but it is still safe at that time of day.|||I've been wandering around Manhattan since I was 12! There's no reason for your parents to worry, especially if you aren't prone to doing anything stupid like getting in vans with strange men or wandering down dark alleys. The city is perfectly safe, especially in midtown. The biggest risk you run is getting taken in by pointless tourist traps. All through high school I went to concerts and wouldn't even get back on the train home until 2:30 AM.|||Of course it is. Besides, New York City is a lot safer now than it used to be some 20 years ago. If they your parents don't believe me, have them read the article at the link below. Good luck Native New Yorker|||thats wierd. Ive been going alone since i was 12...I even went in to take classes and lived a little there when i was 19.....But its a horrid place...no way to NOT spend money. Dont go wasting money. how do they let you go to college but not nyc?|||Times square used to be terrible with pimp's and ho's and dealers but now its a disneyfied,soulless neighborhood.|||Yes - provided you remain in mid-town Manhattan. Other areas are probably OK also, but it's not possible to generalize.|||Unless your parents have ever lived here in the last decade, they have no right to comment. You're an adult anyway.|||Of course. These days there is like a cop on every block.|||as long as you remain in the midtown area, it's ok